Going Polar: A Stand Alone Holiday Howls Polar Bear Shifter Romance Read online

  Table of Contents

  Going Polar

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Ready for Sam and Chloe?

  Connect with Abbie

  Going Polar

  A Howls Holiday Novella

  By Abbie Zanders

  Copyright © 2020 by Abbie Zanders

  All rights reserved.

  Visit my website at https://abbiezandersromance.com

  Cover Designer: Abbie Zanders with template provided by Howls

  Editor: Jovana Shirley, Unforeseen Editing, www.unforeseenediting.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Lainey

  The stately Colonial, with its manicured lawn and picture-perfect fall decorative accents, screamed wealth and oozed curb appeal. It was a far cry from the modest farm where she and her brother had grown up. Where she still lived.

  Remember, you’re doing this for Henry.

  Lainey Swann took a deep breath, summoned a smile, and rang the doorbell.

  Thankfully, Henry was the one who opened the door. She hadn’t seen him in months, not since he’d moved into the affluent suburbs with his girlfriend, and the change in his appearance was noticeable. His normally shaggy hair was now cut with precision; his clothes were pressed and coordinated. The biggest change, however, was the weariness in his gaze and the lines etching deeper around his eyes and mouth.

  “Nice place,” she said lightly when he invited her in.

  “It is, isn’t it?”

  “Where is everyone?” Lainey asked, following Henry into the dining room. The very empty dining room that was supposed to be filled with Thanksgiving guests. “Am I early? I thought you said four.”

  Henry rubbed the back of his neck, his expression apologetic. “I did. I’m sorry. Vicki’s parents came early, so we moved up the dinner to one. They don’t like driving in the dark, apparently.”

  Well, that explained why hers was the only car out front.

  Lainey felt a stab of pity for her brother. Brilliant scientist he might be, but he didn’t have a clue when it came to recognizing subterfuge. Either that or he simply didn’t want to believe his perfect girlfriend was capable of such mean-girl crap.

  Then again, he hadn’t attempted to contact her about the change in plans either. Not that she could have left the animal hospital earlier, but a heads-up text would have been nice. She wouldn’t have felt compelled to spend as much time on her hair and makeup. As a general rule, Lainey chose comfort and practicality over fashion, but Vicki was all about appearances, and Lainey hadn’t wanted to embarrass her twin by showing up underdressed.

  She handed him the homemade French apple pie she’d been up half the night baking. It was his favorite. “No worries. I’m just glad I get to see you.”

  “I could make you a sandwich from the leftovers.”

  Her stomach rumbled. “Open-faced with mashed potatoes and gravy?”

  “Is there any other kind?” His warm smile revealed deep-set dimples as he pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. “Come on.”

  He led the way through a brick archway into a chef-inspired kitchen, complete with granite countertops and a huge center island. Lainey slid up onto one of the stools while he pulled out two plates as well as several plastic storage containers from the fridge.

  “Where’s Vicki?”

  “Resting. She was up early this morning, preparing.”

  Lainey withheld her snort. Vicki’s idea of “preparing” was having to oversee the caterers. According to Henry, Vicki wasn’t much of a cook, which was a shame since she had such a gorgeous kitchen.

  Henry laid out bread and began slicing turkey while Lainey scooped out generous portions of mashed potatoes and gravy.

  “It wasn’t the same without you,” Henry said, his smile fading as quickly as it had come.

  “Well, I’m here now.”

  “She doesn’t understand, you know,” he said quietly.

  “I know.” Lainey nodded.

  As an only child, Vicki couldn’t possibly understand the bond between siblings, especially twins. Vicki was used to being the center of everyone’s universe. The moment Henry started paying attention to anyone besides Vicki, she got her hackles up. It had been a point of contention from the get-go, but for some reason, Henry liked her, so Lainey had bitten her tongue.

  Lainey changed the subject. “So, how’s the job? Have you finally gotten used to wearing a tie every day?” she teased.

  At Vicki’s urging, Henry had left his position at the university to accept a position at the private biotech research company where Vicki’s dad was a partner. Like the overlarge, professionally decorated house in which Henry now lived, Henry’s R & D position was a far cry from the grant-funded research he’d loved.

  Henry pulled one plate out of the microwave and put in the other. “I’m not gonna lie. It’s nice, not having to worry about funding.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “How about you? Heard anything about the directorship yet?”

  Lainey shook her head. She was on a short list of applicants for a regional head of animal welfare and veterinary services position that had recently opened up. “It’s down to me and one other.”

  Henry grabbed his plate, then sat down at the island with her and bumped her shoulder with affection. “They’d be fools not to pick you.”

  She grinned, grateful for his unwavering support. “Thanks, but Ken Kaufmann has ten years’ experience on me. In any event, I should know before the first of the year.”

  “Great! It’ll give us another reason to celebrate. I’ll even buy a bottle of the good stuff this year.”

  “We’re spending the holidays in Vail,” Vicki announced, breezing into the room with an exaggerated yawn. As always, she moved right to Henry’s side.

  Henry’s smile faded. “Why would we do that?”

  Vicki sat on the stool next to him and crinkled her nose at his plate. “Because that’s where my parents’ ski house is. We always spend the holidays there.”

  Henry’s frown deepened. “We didn’t discuss this.”

  “What’s to discuss? It’s our first Christmas together. I want it to be special. I’m sure Lainey understands.” Vicki shot Lainey a challenging glance. “Don’t you?”

  “Of course,” Lainey said. She forced a smile, something made easier by imagining slapping that smirk from Vicki’s face. What else could she say? This was Henry’s battle, not hers, and she’d
be damned if she was going to add fuel to the fire.

  “The house has extra guest rooms, right? Lainey could come with us. She loves skiing.” Henry’s face brightened as he looked to Lainey. “Remember how much fun we had on that trip to Killington a few years ago?”

  Henry couldn’t see Vicki’s face, but Lainey clearly saw her lips purse as if she’d just sucked a lemon. Lainey felt the same way. As much as she loved her brother, she couldn’t spend more than a few hours in Vicki’s presence, not without saying what she really felt, and ultimately, that would hurt Henry.

  Instead, she said, “Thanks, but I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve got plans.”

  Henry’s eyes widened. “You made plans? For Christmas?”

  Lainey looked down at her plate and tried to think of something that wasn’t complete bullshit. She’d never been good at lying, especially not to her twin. “I figured you’d be busy, you know?”

  Henry’s golden brows pulled downward; his eyes held hurt. “Vicki, would you excuse us for a moment, please? I need to talk to my sister.”

  Vicki shot Lainey a warning glance, then pasted a smile on her face and kissed Henry’s cheek. “Of course, baby.”

  The moment Vicki was out of the room, Henry turned to her and said, “What the hell, Lainey? Is this your idea of payback for Thanksgiving? I’m sorry, okay?”

  Lainey didn’t know what bothered her more—that Henry was blind to Vicki’s manipulation or that he actually believed Lainey would try to hurt him that way.

  “Don’t be an ass,” she hissed in a low tone. “You know I can’t spend a week in Vail.”

  “Can’t you just try to get along with them?”

  His words were like a punch to the gut. Lainey had been doing nothing but trying. Biting her tongue, forcing a smile when she wanted to rip into Vicki for taking advantage of her brother and acting like the spoiled princess brat she was.

  She pushed away from the island, leaving her half-eaten sandwich. Her appetite was gone.

  “I do try, Henry, but it would be nice if she met me halfway.”

  His face was tortured. “She’ll come around. Give her time.”

  “You’re my brother. I will always love you, and I will always be there for you. But I refuse to be treated like crap because your girlfriend feels threatened by your twin sister, for God’s sake.”

  “She’s an only child. She doesn’t understand.”

  “Then help her understand. She’s a big girl.”

  Henry clamped his lips shut, and Lainey knew the conversation was over. It was so frustrating! Henry was a great guy, and he deserved so much better than Vicki, but for whatever reason, he either couldn’t or didn’t see that.

  It wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation, and if Lainey stayed any longer, it would end the same way it always did—with her telling Henry what she really thought and him telling her to back off.

  “Thanks for the sandwich, but I have to run. Happy Thanksgiving.”

  Lainey didn’t wait for a response. She gathered her jacket and went out to her SUV, angry with herself for losing her temper. Henry was her twin, the only family she had left. She was just looking out for him, wanting him to be happy.

  Henry was a quiet, patient man, but he wasn’t a doormat. Eventually, Vicki would push him too far, and then that would be the end of that. Lainey only hoped that he came to his senses sooner rather than later.

  In typical Vermont fashion, icy-cold rain began to pelt the windshield about halfway into the two-hour drive back to her place. It was barely six p.m., but the sky was black as pitch. Lainey kept a close eye on the digital dash thermometer as she ascended into the higher elevation. The roads were already slick enough with wet fallen leaves covering them; the last thing she needed was for them to start icing up too.

  The rain had changed to sleet by the time she pulled safely into her driveway. One step on the iced-up asphalt confirmed that she’d made it home just in time. Perhaps the words she’d had with Henry were a blessing in disguise. If she hadn’t left when she did, she might have been stuck in the valley for the night.

  Lainey changed into comfortable lounge pants and an oversize jersey. Then, she made herself a cup of soothing herbal tea and curled up on the sofa with a fleece blanket.

  What was she going to do about Christmas? Going to Vail was definitely not an option. Now that she’d told Henry she had other plans, she should make some. Besides, the thought of spending the holidays alone was depressing.

  Better get used to it, Lainey.

  She opened her laptop and searched holiday travel packages. Some were tropical island getaways, which she dismissed almost immediately. She wasn’t a hot weather island kind of girl, preferring cooler temps and fresh powder to sun and sand.

  A hiking tour of Europe sounded interesting. She bookmarked that one.

  Australia? Yeah, she’d always wanted to go there, but winter in North America meant it was summer there, so she put that on hold.

  Glass igloo package in Finland? Sounded great ... until she looked at the price. She bookmarked that one too anyway. She was allowed to treat herself once in a while, right?

  She was about to call it quits for the night when a pop-up window caught her attention. The image was a polar bear peeking into a window with the caption, Got seal? Intrigued, she clicked on the ad and was taken to a site for Aurora Falls, the self-proclaimed polar bear capital of the world.

  The more she read about Aurora Falls, the more intrigued she was. The small village was located on a peninsula in northern Canada, which became an island at certain times of the year. According to several online scientific publications, Aurora Falls was home to species of animals and plants found nowhere else in the world. As it was also in a key position along a polar bear migratory route, it boasted the world’s highest population of polar bears.

  Lainey was intrigued. She’d had an affinity for polar bears since she was a little girl. She clicked through the images, her smile growing wider at the pictures of massive polar bears ambling through town, peeking into windows, and striking poses on the ice.

  A trip to Aurora Falls sounded like exactly what she needed.

  Chapter Two

  Finn

  “Can you cover for me?”

  Finn Isberson accepted the bowl of butter-laden dumplings from his brother-in-law, scooping a hefty portion onto his plate, right alongside the heavily marbled steak. One of the great things about being a polar bear shifter was the ability to process fat without the health implications humans had to worry about.

  “Sure, no problem.”

  It didn’t matter that Steve was human. He and Finn had been best friends since they were boys, and the years hadn’t changed that. If Steve needed his help, Finn was there for him even if that meant going into town and dealing with tourists.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go so far,” Finn’s mother said, worry in her eyes. “There’s a storm brewing. What if you get stuck on the mainland? It could be weeks before you get back.”

  “I’ll be fine, Mom,” Hildie answered, rubbing her baby bump. “We’ll be back in plenty of time for Christmas.”

  His mother sighed. “What we need is a doctor here, in Aurora Falls. One who can see to our needs.”

  “Not likely,” Finn’s dad scoffed. “Docs don’t want to set up in places like Aurora Falls. They want to be where the money is.”

  Not only would they need to relocate to a place where freezing temperatures were the norm up to eight months out of the year, but they’d also have to be strong enough to resist the temptation of exposing a centuries-old secret that would undoubtedly bring them notoriety and wealth, Finn thought to himself. In his limited experience, that eliminated most of the world’s human population.

  It was a fine line they walked between the worlds of animal and human. With the ice caps melting and their numbers dwindling along with their food sources, they’d entered into a mutually beneficial allianc
e with the citizens of Aurora Falls, who’d been having some sustainability issues of their own. That agreement—and the knowledge that came with it—was a closely guarded secret and did not extend to outsiders.

  “When’s the next tour group coming in?” Finn asked Steve.

  “Tomorrow. It’s a small group. Beau’s flying them in early for the holidays.”

  Finn nodded. Beau—aka Melvin Beauchamp—was a good friend of theirs. A local guy and former serviceman, he handled most of the transportation for the nearly lodge as well as ran popular helicopter tours.

  “Mayor Bill’s having the usual Alliance meeting tonight with all the details.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  LATER THAT NIGHT, FINN was thankful for his natural insulation as he used his big, sharp claws to pull himself out of the icy water and into the private, members-only ice-fishing hut at the south end of town. He, like many of the local shifters, kept a locker there with a change of clothes for convenience. He changed into his human form and dressed quickly, walking the rest of the way on foot.

  Bill McKinley was the mayor of Aurora Falls and an all-around decent guy. His wife, Ginny, opened the door and ushered Finn inside.

  “Come in, Finn. It’s nice to see you! How’s Hildie?”

  “Getting big.” Finn grinned. “And cranky.”

  “Well, you would be, too, if you had to carry babies for nine months.”

  “Probably worse,” he agreed. “Steve’s taking her to the mainland for a checkup, so I’ll be covering for him.”

  A mother herself, Ginny’s eyes held empathy and compassion. “Steve told us. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

  Finn nodded. It had to be.

  “Go on back. Bill’s waiting on you and a few others.”

  Finn went deeper into the house to the den where Bill conducted alliance business. He exchanged greetings with those already assembled, asking and answering the requisite inquiries about friends and family members. When the last of those invited arrived, Bill cleared his throat and got the meeting underway.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll be welcoming our special guests. It’s a small lot, only half a dozen, but they’ve paid for the VIP holiday package.”