Bearing the Whiteout (Ice Bear Shifters Book 2) by Sloane Meyers Page A

Eric, but you all need to be more careful about putting yourselves in these situations.”
    Eric frowned. “With all due respect, Neal, I was being perfectly safe. And you said yourself that you thought the Blizzards were gone for the season. I wasn’t expecting to encounter them out there on the ice.”
    Neal’s eyes burned with anger. “I told all of you that I want to approve any human before you start dating her. You took Delaney out on the ice without even telling me about her.”
    “I wasn’t planning on it being anything serious.”
    “You smell like sex!” Neal bellowed. Delaney’s face turned bright pink at the accusation, but no one else in the room seemed surprised at the blatant accusation.
    “I wasn’t planning on anything serious,” Eric repeated, then took a deep breath and stood tall and straight, facing his alpha head-on. “But my bear had other plans. I mated with Delaney and we bonded. I’ve asked her to be my life mate, and she has agreed. We would like to seek the clan’s blessing.”
    Delaney saw Tyler’s eyes widen, but no one in the clan said anything. They all focused on Neal, waiting for his response.
    “You asked her to be your life mate?” Neal said, his voice filling with rage. “You barely know her.”
    “I do know her,” Eric said. “We bonded. She’s forever a part of me now.” Despite the tense situation, Delaney felt her heart filling with warmth at Eric’s words. She was a part of him! He was hers, and she was his.
    The warm, fuzzy feeling didn’t last long, however. In the next moment, Neal let out a giant roar, and his hand morphed into an enormous polar bear paw with impossibly long claws extending from its edges. Neal slapped Eric across the room with his paw, sending Eric tumbling into a pile of boxes with a yelp. Delaney sucked in her breath and resisted the urge to run to Eric. Eric stood, slowly, and glared at Neal.
    “What is your problem, Neal? I found a wonderful woman, who not only accepts me for who I am, but loves me for who I am. Why don’t you take off your blinders for a minute and stop automatically thinking that all humans are out to get you. Of course, many are. But many aren’t. Delaney’s a good, noble woman. She’s exactly the type of person we need to help rebuild our clan.”
    “What is my problem?” Neal asked. “My problem is that I have a clan to protect. A clan with hardly any bears left. If the humans start a bear hunt against us, we don’t stand a chance. We have to be more careful. We can’t afford to keep recklessly exposing ourselves to humans.”
    Delaney’s heart burned with anger. This wasn’t fair. Eric was a good man, and a good bear. And she was a loyal human, perfectly capable and willing to keep their secret. Neal was punishing Eric for no good reason.
    “No!” Delaney yelled, standing up and looking Neal straight in the eye. Neal’s violet eyes appeared startled, and Delaney could see Eric in her peripheral vision, shaking his head at her, silently pleading with her to sit down and stay out of it. But Delaney had never been one to sit idly by when someone she loved was being attacked. She didn’t care if Neal was an angry bear. She wasn’t going to let him treat Eric this way. Besides, she had already faced death more than once in the last few days. She wasn’t going to let a hot-tempered alpha bear scare her off.
    “No, you’re wrong,” Delaney said, her voice still raised. “Eric wasn’t reckless. He had no way of knowing the Blizzards were going to set us out to sea. And he tried everything he could to save me without shifting. But you know what? I’m glad he had to shift in the end, because I got to see him for who he really is. And I love him for who he really is.”
    Neal’s eyes blazed with anger, but he said nothing, so Delaney continued.
    “I know you’re the alpha here, and you’re concerned with protecting your clan. But you’re so blinded with rage that you won’t see what’s