Free Snowbound (Arctic Station Bears Book 1) by Amelie Hunt, Maeve Morrick Page B

“Lead the way.”

Chapter Two - Alanna

    T he main common room at Arctic Station was comfortable. We sat in a circle of cushy red chairs. The overhead lights were bright, and huge windows looked out on the twilight sky outside.
    “We thought it might be prudent to bring someone in with your credentials,” Liam said. “You know Ollie and you’ve met Ben.” Ollie completely ignored me, his arms folded across his chest as he stared out the window, but Ben tipped an imaginary hat and grinned. Liam gestured to the four others who were still strangers to me. “Let’s have the rest of our introductions.”
    An older, strapping man with a salt-and-pepper beard spoke first. “I’m Donny Bragg, resident microbiologist and bacteriologist. I also do all of the cooking, since the rest of these guys can’t cook worth shit.” He smiled and everyone laughed in agreement.
    “Harry Golden. Glad to know you,” said the handsome bald man across from me. “My brother Richie and I are station engineers. So if anything breaks or your hot water stops working, let us know.”
    Thank God there’s hot water! I thought. Potential crisis averted.
    “Howdy,” Richie said. In contrast to his brother, Richie had a full head of brown hair which looked like it hadn’t been combed in days. His clothes were rumpled, too—like he’d slept in them. Like his brother though, he was very attractive. So I get to spend a bunch of time with a bunch of cute, brainy guys, I thought. I’ll have to thank Oliver if he ever stops sulking.
    “I’m the lowest on the totem pole,” said a young, handsome man with a thick Russian accent. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail. “Viktor Petrov is my name. I’m Dr. Roy’s research assistant. Currently working on my PhD in anthropology.”
    “Perfect!” Liam said, then looked at me with a piercing gaze. His tone grew hushed and grave. “Now, Dr. MacCready. We have made a discovery that will change the world as we know it. Ollie tells us that you generally work alone, but this will be a shared project. We need to know that you’re interested in sharing your expertise and that you will be comfortable working with Ollie.”
    Working with others is definitely not my strong suit, but I was overcome with curiosity. “I’m a professional,” I said. “It’s not going to be an issue. I’ll help in any way I can.”
    “Ollie?” Liam said.
    “I’m totally cool,” he said, although I knew him well enough to tell that he wasn’t.
    “Great!” Liam said. “I don’t feel like I’m overstating it to say that this will be the opportunity of a lifetime. Welcome aboard, Alanna.”
    “I appreciate it,” I said. “But I have to ask. Where is the rest of the staff? This facility is huge, and there has to be tons of other research going on here. Meteorology, geology, climatology. More technicians. More assistants. Where is everyone?”
    “Nearly everyone has been transferred to different facilities in light of the recent discovery,” Ollie said.
    “The virus?” I said. “A safety precaution?”
    “It’s much more than that,” Liam said. “Ollie’s work with the virus has already produced amazing implications, but the virus wasn’t the extent of the discovery. We found a man.”
    “A skeleton? A mummy?” I said.
    “A man. A shifter. Fully intact and alive. We’re calling him the Snowman.”
    “Wait. What?” I unconsciously moved to the edge of my chair. “Did you say alive?”
    “Alive!” Ollie said. “I wanted to tell you on the phone, but I was sworn to secrecy. We pulled him out of a chunk of ice floe that was dislodged from a glacier. When we thawed him, his heart started beating and brain activity resumed. He had severe hypothermia and skin damage, but he’s since healed. He’s a shifter after all. We’re rugged.” There were some chuckles from the others.
    My head was spinning. A man buried in a chunk of ice tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago? “Can…can I