Page 15 of Blades of Ice

His phone beeped as soon as it had a little juice. Since he and Lydia had traded numbers, he got excited thinking she missed him already. He was alone on the dark road, but Beck still pulled over to be safe. None of the messages were from her though. Nor were they from his mother. Normally, that wouldn’t bother him, but since he’d mentioned they had a problem, she would have responded if she could. They were all from Delaney, and they got progressively more hateful. Where was he? Had he heard from Amara or Chloe? Why the fuck wasn’t he answering her? Chloe was now missing too, and Beck needed to call her the fuck back so she could rearrange their schedules. He checked the time on the last one. It had been fifteen minutes prior to him leaving Lydia, so he hit dial on her number and pulled back onto the road.

“What the fuck, Sawyer?”

Beck bristled. She rarely called him that, but it was like when a parent used their child’s full name. “My phone was dead, Laney. And what do you mean Chloe is missing?”

“Exactly what I said. After her tour, she took the helo back out, but the GPS tracker on it was turned off. I don’t need this shit right now. I can’t run a fucking business with one pilot.” Beck chalked Delaney’s rare cursing up to pregnancy hormones.

“Caleb and Damien are always on standby in case we need them.”

“I fucking know that, but my sister and mother are missing!”

Beck turned the volume down and waited, not ignoring how she said her mother and sister. He was the outsider and always would be.

“Well?”

Beck pinched the bridge of his nose. “I went by Amara’s earlier. She had entertained a male. His scent was familiar, but Icouldn’t tell you who he was. As for Chloe, maybe she’s off with Boyd in Sterling.”

“How do you know where my father is?” Beck shivered at the ice in her voice. That was new. They may not be close, but she’d never spoken to him with such disdain.

“You wanted my help finding Amara, and that’s what I’m trying to do. Chasing all leads.”

“I know you hate him, but he’s not the evil incarnate you make him out to be. The fight to be Queen is part of our culture, something you wouldn’t understand.”

Beck understood perfectly. “There’s nothing I can do about this tonight. I am going home to get a few hours’ sleep, and I’ll be at the harbor in time for my flight. Goodnight, Laney.” Beck ended the call before she could yell at him. He would catch hell for it come morning, but he would face her wrath then. He didn’t want to subject Lydia to his sister’s bad attitude, but if they were going to be mates, she needed to understand his family dynamic. Getting out of Alaska was looking better with each passing second.

Chapter 7

Lydia didn’t bothertrying to sleep. She was too keyed up, and she would only lie there in the dark replaying every second of being with Beck. Her mate. Lydia had found her mate. As soon as he drove away, she danced around the cabin, squealing and laughing. Then just as quickly, she sobered. Just because Beck was her fated mate didn’t mean he would accept the bond. It would suck if he didn’t. And just because he’d come close to stripping her down didn’t mean he wanted a relationship.

He said he was excited to see where this went.

True. Okay, Lydia was giddy again and so damn lucky. Some Goyles went hundreds of years before finding their mate. She could be patient. Get to know Beck and let him know her. She wanted to tell Cailín and Carleigh. They were going to laugh their asses off when she informed them Beck was indeed a bear. She had to tell her parents. Lydia plopped down on the sofa and took another beer from the bucket. Before popping the top, she put it back and took the bucket to the kitchen. She wiped the dampness off the bottles and returned them to the fridge and chose to drink water instead. She found a glass in one of the cabinets and filled it with water from the dispenser on the refrigerator. Lydia took a sip and cringed. She knew it was good for her, but she hated how it tasted like nothing. She eyed the limes Cailín had bought to make margaritas with and cut one open, squeezing the juice into her glass. It was sour, but it made drinking the water more palatable.

As she moved through the room, she noticed Beck’s leather jacket. Lydia picked it up and took it with her to the sofa. After placing the water on the coffee table, she shoved her nose against the fabric and inhaled, waiting for the nausea to kick in. When it didn’t, she examined the claw marks. Lydia hated that she’d ruined the garment, so she would find a store and replace it. With nothing better to do, she retrieved her laptop and looked for stores in the area. When she didn’t find one that sold a jacket like Beck’s, she searched the internet. Her browsing paid off, but Lydia frowned at the price. It wasn’t expensive. Neither was his truck. Lydia prayed he wasn’t a male who minded his female having more money than him. Once they were bonded, it wouldn’t matter because it would then be his money too. Instead of getting the same jacket, Lydia opted for a more expensive one. She paused long enough to look up the address for the lodge since she didn’t know where Beck lived. Once she input the address along with her account information, she paid for expedited shipping and hit the purchase icon.

Her bracelets jingled as she sank deeper into the sofa. It had been hours since Lydia thought of Tinsley, and that was because of Beck. What would he think of her when he found out she’d killed someone? Instead of falling back into despair, she researched Sagan Adventures. She didn’t have Carleigh’s expert computer skills, but Lydia was no slouch either. Being archivist wasn’t exciting. It took little effort to keep the Clan’s information updated. She had sat for hours with Carleigh when Julian was teaching her everything computer related, and the knowledge stuck. Lydia had taken graphic design classes for something to cure her boredom, and she made a good chunk of change designing websites and creating logos. Since she was freelance, she could work when she wanted.

After a cursory glance at Sagan Adventure’s website, which showed photos of Beck and his sisters, Lydia opened a securebrowser and pulled up the same information Carleigh had earlier. Amara, Chloe, and Delaney Sagan owned the company. Two things stood out. One, there was no mention of Beck having any ownership in the company. Two, the daughters had their mother’s last name whereas Beck didn’t. He had mentioned polar bear shifters were a matriarchal society, so that explained the last one. Lydia guessed it explained the first as well, but that didn’t seem fair to her.

After hitting a few snags, Lydia was able to find the company’s financials, including how much each of the four earned. The amount Beck made was peanuts compared to what his sisters were paid. Lydia opened a different browser and researched how much a seaplane pilot in Alaska earned. Beck was paid more than average plus ten percent of the profits. She went back to the financials. By her calculations, he made more than enough to afford a new truck and a nice jacket. Not wanting to intrude further into his private affairs, she closed out of the company’s tab. Lydia figured he saved his money instead of splurging. She made a list of everything she had learned since speaking to her cousin, sent the information in an encrypted email, and closed the lid on the laptop, setting it aside.

Since she had a couple of hours before she needed to leave, Lydia decided to shower and take extra care with her makeup. Beck had seen her without it. He’d seen her after it had worn off somewhat. She wanted to look as good as possible in case he had doubts about agreeing to the mate bond.

While under the water, she thought back to seeing Boyd in his shifted form. He had been talking to someone, but Lydia couldn’t see them well. The person was much smaller than Boyd, but their face was hidden by the hoodie they wore. It looked like the two were arguing. When Lydia decided to eavesdrop, that was when Boyd shifted, and he roared at the person in the room. Instead of hanging around, Lydia hightailed it out of there, andthat’s when she ran into Beck. She had neglected to tell Beck about the other person. She would do so the first chance she got in case they were working together against Amara.

Not wanting to worry about keeping up with her purse, she took the keycard, her driver’s license, and a credit card out of her wallet and shoved them in her back pocket. She then grabbed her key fob and phone. Once inside the rental, she tossed her parka into the passenger seat. She thanked the gods she was a shifter, and the brisk air didn’t bother her the way it would if she were human.

The drive to Seward was uneventful in the early morning hours. Lydia arrived a few minutes early, but the area was already bustling. She followed the GPS to where The Egg Cup was located and found a parking spot a few doors down. She didn’t want to mess her hair up with the beanie, so she shoved it in the pocket of her parka before sliding the coat on. Beck was waiting outside the little café. His eyes lit up, and his smile was wide as she approached. He pulled her into a hug right there on the sidewalk.

Lydia laughed and returned the embrace. Beck stuck his nose against her neck and inhaled deeply, humming when he released her. “Good morning, Mate.”

If she wouldn’t be embarrassed, Lydia would do a little dance at that one word. “Good morning, My Bear.”

Beck threaded their fingers as he led her inside. The aroma of coffee was mixed with enticing food offerings, and Lydia’s stomach rumbled. Once they were seated, he handed her a menu but didn’t take one for himself.

“A regular, I take it?”

“Not really. I usually fix something before I leave the house, but when I do eat breakfast out, I come here. It’s close to the office.”

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