Page 38 of Polar Destiny
Oh sweetie, you have so much to learn. I’ve got a job to do and as my host, you’ll be responsible to help me doit.
Whatjob?
Save the world, ofcourse.
And with that dramatic statement, I’m suddenlypushed. A black haze descends over my vision and a tingling races through my muscles. I fight it out of instinct, gripping onto the hold I have on mybody.
Let go,Alis hisses.Don’t fightit.
A sharp pain builds behind my eyes and I can feel my knees go in. That’s a good sign. As long as I still feel things, Iexist.
The more you fight, the more ithurts.
She’s not going to takeover.
Mybody.
Pain.
Me.
Isla.
Alis.
Thirteen
Alis
Finally,I have a body again. It’s taken centuries, but now I’m corporeal once more. I stretch my four legs, getting used to that feeling again. It’s been too long. My white paws blend into the snowy landscape, although my black claws ruin the camouflage. I shake my massive head and feel the fur swirl through the air. I need to find a mirror soon to see if I’m still as magnificent as I used tobe.
Isla is screaming at me in the background, but I am too excited to care. I’ve got a body, a real body! With fur and paws and a tongue that can lick the snowflakes off the ground. All the sensations, allthe-
Isla hits me mentally and Igrowl.
Stay quiet, it’s my turnnow.
She screams curses at me. That girl has some colourful language, I just wish she’d use it more often. She’s too nice, but no wonder with that upbringing. I’ve been watching her ever since she was born, smiling at her first steps, crying at the death of her parents, cursing her uncle whenever he lashed out at her. She’s pushed away a lot of her memories of his abuse, but I’ve watched it all. One day, I’m going to make him pay for what he did to Isla and the other women on the island. My human doesn’t know half of what crimes hecommitted.
When she ran away, I knew it wasn’t long until I was going to meet her properly. I never doubted that she would survive. They wouldn’t have let me wait for centuries just to let her be killed at the lastmoment.
She’s a bit immature still, but her heart is in the right place. She’ll do well as my host. As long as she lets me out often enough. I’ve missed the feeling of the ground beneath my feet. I take a tentative step forward and watch in delight when my paw sinks deep into the fresh snow. I know it’s spring now, but the weather has changed a lot. The snow will likely stay for awhile.
When I was last walking on Earth, everything was different. The Drowning hadn’t happened yet, people weren’t dependent on technology and bear shifters were plentiful. I lost track of time after my last host died and didn’t watch as the world changed. Only when I was assigned to Isla did I start taking note of all that had changed. I was bound to her and couldn’t see far beyond where she was, but it was enough to notice how there were no bears left living among humans. On their fancy machines, they would talk about wolf shifters, which of course is an idiotic idea. Only bears are strong enough to share their mind with humans. Both of our species are strong-minded and stubborn, two characteristics necessary to be able to form that very specialbond.
They told Isla that there are still some bears left in Scandinavia, but knowing my assignment, it’s clear that they won’t survive long. I didn’t lie when I said that I was going to save the world. Just not all of it. Just the bears’ world. Our females are no longer getting enough cubs to keep our population alive. While I was floating in the ether, more and more bears got expelled from their human hosts without warning. Something is wrong and I’m going to have to fixit.
I wish they’d given me some instructions though. It’s hard to fix something if you don’t know what’s broken. I’m going to make Isla read that book the old bears gave her. And talk to both of them. They’ve been around for a while, maybe they know something. And if Torben is correct, then Inchbrach holds some sort of secret that will help us get to the bottom of theproblem.
But for now, I’m going to enjoy having abody.
Irun through the snow,the wind cold on my face. My strides are getting larger until I’m almost flying. I can feel the other bears join me, but they’re having a hard time catching up. They don’t know it yet, but I’m stronger than any of them. Even Torben. He’s a toddler in my eyes and he’s got nothing on my mate. I get what Isla sees in him though. And as long as he loves her as much as he does, I’m fine with it. He’s a good human and a good bear. Just like any alpha, the two of them are close, almost distinguishable. I wonder if his bear even has a name. There’s a lot of bear in Torben even without being shifted. It’s often like that for alphas. Raoul was the same. But I shouldn’t think of him. He’s lost to me for now and there’s no point in being sad about our separation. I will need to make it clear to the bears that I am taken, though. They can have Isla, but notme.
But looking at their adoration for her, that shouldn’t be a problem. She’s lucky to have found them. I find it hard to believe it was acoincidence.
I become slower until I stop on top of a hill, panting heavily. I have to get used to this again. This new body has more limitations than my old one. Seems bears are not only getting rarer, but alsoweaker.
The others are finally catching up with me and I turn to welcome them. They are some magnificent males. Torben’s fur is almost entirely white with only a few pale yellow patches on his belly and legs. At first glance, Ràn and Húnn are identical, but I know that despite they are brothers, they had very differentupbringings.
