Even though he knew he came off as an ungrateful ass, he did appreciate Vicki’s concern. Hell, she was the closest thing he had to a mom. And the Polar Point wolf pack was the closest thing he had to a family.
When he walked away from the North Slope Bears, he was only a teenager trying to escape the brutality of the cruel alpha ... along with the corruption and abuse of power. Once the Polar Point wolves took him in, he never looked back. And he vowed he never would. There was no way in Hell he would submit to the alpha’s authority just to be brainwashed over a failed mating. He’d rather live with a broken heart and be alone with only memories of Joy until the day he died.
“Fuck that,” he said aloud.
Settling into the cockpit, Adam soon raced down the runway. Lifting off into the freedom of the open sky was a feeling that never got old. Flying had long offered him an escape, but he quickly learned it didn’t provide him even the slightest diversion from his memories of Joy. No. In fact, every minute he was apart from her, he felt worse. The unfulfilled mating bond gnawed at his very soul.
After two weeks, he finally had to admit that throwing himself completely into his work had zero effect. Picking up his phone, he made a call to Vicki.
“I need to take a break, get away for a bit.”
“Uh, by taking a break, I sure hope you don’t mean you’re going to Florida to stalk a certain someone.”
“No, I’m thinking of traveling up the coast. Maybe find a place for a new cabin. I can’t seem to imagine going back to my old fishing cabin.”
“I get it. Have you given any thought to what I said about making a trip to the North Slope Clan?”
Adam paused. To be honest, he had given it more thought. There were times when the pain from being without his mate seemed nearly unbearable. “Yeah. I’ve mulled it over once or twice, but even if there is something that could be done, what would be the cost to me? Nope. I’m just not selling my soul to another corrupt alpha. I’ve seen enough of that firsthand and what it does.”
“Then take whatever time you need, Adam. I hope you don’t mind, but I did talk to Ted and Pete. They seem to understand the effects of the mating pull better than I do.”
“Did they have any ideas?”
“They have totally opposite and ridiculously useless advice. Ted thinks you should find some cute bear shifter to shack up with and take the edge off. Pete says that’s the worst thing you could do. He thinks you should go straight to Florida and drag Joy back up here. I told him kidnapping is frowned upon by the law. After listening to those old fools, I consider myself lucky for hooking up with my mate right off the bat. Anyway, they’ll understand if you want to take off for a while. We’ll figure things out here. Hell, maybe Ted and Pete can fly your routes for a while. Keep them out of my hair for a bit.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll only drop off the map for a short time. Two weeks should be good. My thought is to challenge myself against the brutal forces of nature. My theory is that if I can trigger the instinct for survival, it will overwhelm his insane mating instinct that’s been eating me alive.”
“Just make sure that survival instinct of yours keeps you alive.”
Owning his own airplane gave him the freedom to travel wherever he needed to. Gathering up supplies, he intended to use his plane as a shelter for a base camp. There were several suitable places along the rivers, but the place he chose also provided access to the sea ... a necessity for any true polar bear. It was farther up the coast from his old camp and even farther from Seal Harbor. But the isolation didn’t bother him a bit.
With the weather looking good, he flew up the coast. Checking his map, he spotted the mouth of the river as well as a calm lake which provided the ideal place for a water landing with his pontoon plane.
The water was crystal clear and the scenery pristine ... like camping in the middle of a beautiful painting. He anchored his plane on the shore and set up his tent on the high ground. Once camp was set up, it was time to explore. And the best way to do that was to shift and begin roaming.
“This is what I’m talking about,” he said to himself before stripping down. He stretched and let his bear take over his body. Charging toward the sea, he leapt into the icy water, diving under and rolling with the waves. The cold energized him, recharging his spirit. Whether it would be enough to forget about Joy was doubtful, but even if it was only a temporary reprieve, he’d take it.
Along the distant shore, he spotted something out of place. It was bright orange, not a natural color. He couldn’t be sure, but it appeared as though something had washed up. At first, he thought perhaps it was a tarp or some cargo that had been thrown off a passing ship. Closing in on it, he recognized it was the remnants of an inflatable life raft, and he broke into a full run.
Lying in the sand were two people, a man and a woman. They both wore life jackets and were unconscious. Realizing their raft had failed and they must have swum to shore and collapsed, he knew how lucky they were to have survived in the frigid water.
Placing them in the raft, he snatched the tow line in his massive jaws and dragged them back to his camp. Arriving at camp, he shifted. Once they were safely in his tent, he lit a small propane tent heater and looked them over for any injuries. Remarkably, their pulses were strong, and their breathing was regular. Their body temperatures quickly recovered to normal levels.
The man stirred to consciousness. Bewildered, he quickly looked around and immediately grabbed the woman’s shoulders. “Helen! Wake up!”
She groaned, and her eyelids fluttered open. “Hank? Wha ... where are we?”
“Safe, in my tent. You’re lucky I found you two out there. What happened?”
The man answered first. “We left Seal Harbor yesterday, heading north. Everything was fine, but then we started taking on water this morning. Things weren’t looking good. Turns out our life raft was trash too.”
Something the man said concerned Adam. “I have to say, I’m shocked you both aren’t dead from hypothermia. Your recovery is nothing short of a miracle.”
Helen glanced nervously at her partner. “Yeah, just lucky, I guess.”
Adam poured out a cup of coffee from his thermos and handed it to Helen. “There isn’t much north of Seal Harbor. Where were you guys going, exactly?” Adam asked.
“Just a camp, really. Some folks we know are up on the North Slope.”