Alaskan Sabears 1: No Contest [Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting] Read online

  Alaskan Sabears 1: No Contest

  Celeste “Celestial” Marsden is a supermodel and is being stalked. She sees the creepy man following her at every photo shoot and even suspects he’s been in her hotel room while she was working. When she gets an invite to visit her college friend Tamara Parks, Celeste jumps at the chance.

  Tarik Parks and Hodge Holmes have been best friends since they were young kids and do everything together. The moment Tarik carries his sister’s friend from the plane wreck, he and Hodge know that Celeste is their mate. However, they’re not sure they’ll be able to convince the famous supermodel to give up a life of glitz and glamor to be with them on a cold, desolate island. But that’s not their only fear. Most of the men living on St. Lawrence Island are shifters.

  How are they supposed to tell their mate that they can transform into an animal that is a mix of a polar bear and the extinct saber-toothed tiger?

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter

  Length: 63,640 words

  ALASKAN SABEARS 1:

  NO CONTEST

  Becca Van

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

  [email protected]

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  ALASKAN SABEARS 1: NO CONTEST

  Copyright © 2017 by Becca Van

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-822-3

  First E-book Publication: January 2017

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2017 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Alaskan Sabears 1: No Contest by Becca Van from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Becca Van’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Becca Van’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  To all my wonderful, loyal readers,

  Even though I haven’t been on Facebook or interacted in the last twelve months or so, you are all in my heart.

  The last year, or more, has been very difficult for me because I’ve been rather ill. Some days and months, it has been a struggle for me to write—not because I find my job boring or tedious, but because I’ve been so unwell. However, I’ve pushed through and am praying I’m on the road to recovery.

  I actually love writing, love to see my characters developing and becoming real people in my imagination.

  Hopefully, 2017 will be a better year for all of us with more peace in the world.

  Stay healthy and never take your family for granted, since they are our backbone and what life is all about.

  Wishing you all a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year.

  Love,

  Becca. xxoo

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  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

  About the Author

  Landmarks

  Cover

  ALASKAN SABEARS 1:

  NO CONTEST

  BECCA VAN

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  Celeste dug her nails harder into the arms of her seat. She was a seasoned flyer, but even she was scared shitless as her pilot flew through the turbulent storm. The small plane was being buffeted by strong wings and just as she hoped the pilot had managed to level the charter plane out, it was tossed almost onto its side.

  Her stomach roiled and for the first time since she’d left her home base of Seattle, she wished she’d never told her college friend, Tamara, she was coming for a visit.

  “You doing okay back there?” Jarvis, the pilot asked.

  She swallowed around the sick lump in her throat and finally managed to answer, “Yeah.”

  “There are airsick bags in the pocket of the seats if you need one.”

  Celeste hoped like hell she wouldn’t need it, but dug around in the pocket of the seat in front of her and pulled the sealed bag out. She ripped open the thin plastic and tugged at the sick bag until it lengthened. Just in case.

  She was so tired, her eyes felt gritty and her eyelids were heavy, but there was no way in hell she’d be able to sleep as the plane bucked and swayed.

  Celeste startled in her seat so hard that if she hadn’t been wearing a seat belt, she probably would have ended up on the floor, and on her ass. She glanced toward the pilot but with his back to her, she couldn’t see his expression. What made her look out the window toward the wing and propeller engine, she’d never know, but when she saw the fire and smoke shooting out, she knew they were in trouble.

  She’d jumped at the chance to visit Tammy when her friend extended an invitation to come to her home, t
hinking she’d be safe for the first time in months after living in fear for so long. Looked as if fate was testing her. She’d never expected to end up on a damaged plane while trying to escape her creepy stalker. She snorted and pushed him from her mind as she stared at the fire and smoke spewing from the engine.

  As if in slow motion, she turned back toward the pilot and saw him talking into the radio, but the wind from the storm was too loud for her to hear what he was saying. She looked out her window again, trying to spot her destination—St. Lawrence Island, west of Mainland Alaska—but all she saw was ocean. But considering the plane was tilted to one side—her side—that was to be expected. She glanced back just as Jarvis turned to look at her. She felt all the blood drain from her face when she saw how pale he was. Her heart stopped mid beat and missed another before slamming painfully against her sternum. A cold sweat broke out all over her body, causing her to tremble and shiver. Even though she was panting, she couldn’t seem to fill her lungs enough.

  “Engine one just blew,” Jarvis yelled to be heard of the roaring of the wind. “We’re going down. Brace for impact.”

  The trembles shifted to full blown quivers that wracked her whole body, and though she felt so weak that she felt like a big blob of jelly, she forced herself to move. She bent her body in half and covered her head with her arms. As the plane listed and fell faster from the sky, Celeste began to pray. She’d never been very religious, but there had to be some merit to the all-powerful being, God, since there were so many people who believed in such things. Right?

  Her stomach lurched into her throat and when she tasted acidic bile on her tongue, she swallowed convulsively as she clutched the sick bag over her head. She hoped that Jarvis would able to put the plane down on water, but close enough to land so that when they finally stopped their terrifying descent, they both survived. A hysterical bubble of laughter balled in her chest and emitted from between her parted lips as she gasped in another shallow breath. Tears of frustration and fear welled in her eyes, and while she normally wasn’t a person to cry at the drop of a hat, and had tenacious control over her emotions, she let them trickle down her cheeks.

  “Brace,” Jarvis shouted, but she was so scared his voice seemed to reach her from a great distance.

  The small plane slammed into the water, sending a great gush of spray into the air. Celeste cried out when her body was jarred from the impact. Her stomach once more ended up in her throat when they went airborne again, only to thump back down with a bone-jarring jolt. Her body was flung sideways and the side of her head cracked against the window. Pain shot through her skull and into her brain. Nausea roiled in her stomach and just when she thought they were coming to a stop the nose of the plane hit something hard.

  She screamed when the world turned end over end. Metal screeched and scraped in a never-ending cacophony of terror. Celeste moaned as her forehead smashed into something hard. The agony in her head was so bad she wondered if she’d fractured her skull. The noise from the crash died down and the plane finally came to a standstill. She blinked her eyes, or thought she did, but saw nothing but darkness. Every muscle in her body was screaming in agony, and with a sigh, she gave into the bliss of the painless darkness.

  * * * *

  “What time is it Tarik?” Tammy asked her older brother.

  He was working on his Hummer in the shed fifty yards from the house he shared with his best friend Hodge Holmes.

  “Tammara Parks, give it a rest,” Tarik grumbled at his sister.

  “I can’t,” Tammy whined. “I’m too nervous and excited.”

  “Are you sure your friend wanted to come here?” Hodge asked, as he crawled out from under Tarik’s Hummer.

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “How did you meet her again?” Tarik frowned with concern as he waited for Tammy’s reply. He would be very angry if his sister ended up disappointed if her friend was a no-show.

  “We met at Seattle Central College.”

  “What’s her name?” Hodge asked.

  “Celeste Marsden.”

  “Isn’t she the girl who quit college only after six months?” Tarik quirked an eyebrow.

  “So, you do listen to what I say.” Tammy smirked.

  “Smartass.”

  “You taught me well big brother.”

  Tarik smiled and after making sure his hands were clean, tugged on her ponytail.

  “Knock it off, Tarik.” Tammy swatted his arm. “I’m not six anymore.”

  “Hodge, Tarik, we’ve got trouble,” Calloway Walden called from the entry to the shed.

  “What?” Tarik asked, as he hurried toward the door.

  “Jarvis’ plane’s going down. The storm must have damaged the craft.”

  “What?” Tammy asked in a horrified whisper, before she covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, God. Celeste is on that plane.”

  Tarik rushed out the door after Cal. “Call the others and bring the ambulance.”

  Tarik and Cal ran toward the airport, which was close to the northern tip edged by the Bering Sea. “Who’s in the tower?”

  “Fin,” Cal answered.

  “Has he spotted the plane yet?” Tarik asked, glad for the strength, stamina, and speed his inner beast gave him. He and the other men on St. Lawrence Island were sabear shifters—a mix of a polar bear and the extinct saber-toothed tiger.

  “Not before I’d left.” Cal frowned.

  Tarik scanned the sky ignoring the gale-force winds, rain, and lightning from the summer storm, which was a usual occurrence this time of year. Normally, Jarvis had no trouble flying in all types of weather, which made Tarik think that something had gone wrong with the plane. Jarvis wasn’t a shifter but he was a good man, and Tarik hoped that he could put the plane down safely without injury to himself and his passenger.

  He glanced over his shoulder when he heard pounding feet behind him and saw Tammy was running after them. Although he wanted to order her to get back inside just in case the worst happened, he knew she wouldn’t heed him.

  “There it is,” Cal shouted.

  Tarik came to a stop beside Cal and followed where he was pointing. He sucked in a breath when he saw flames and dark smoke spewing from one side of the plane. He didn’t need to be a pilot or an aeronautical engineer to know that one of the engines on the plane was history.

  “Phelan, Hopper we’re going to need the fire rescue truck on standby.” Tarik contacted his other friends through their animal pack shifter link.

  “Already on it,” Hopper replied. “Fin contacted us as soon as Jarvis made the mayday call.”

  Tarik glanced toward the large hangar where the rescue equipment was kept and saw Hopper already driving the truck out of the shed. Phelan was in the passenger seat and both men were dressed in their firefighting gear. Tarik just hoped there wouldn’t be any need for the truck.

  He followed the plane’s wild trajectory and knew that Jarvis wasn’t going to make it. He glanced at Hodge and they both took off running again. They hit the shoreline as the aircraft hit the water, bouncing once, before splashing down again. For a moment, Tarik thought the rough ride for Jarvis and his passenger was over, but his heart flipped over and then slammed against his ribs when the nose of the craft dropped just as it slid into land. The nose dug into the rocky sandy shore and then flipped tail over nose three times before coming to a halt. The silence after the loud screeching of metal scraping and breaking apart was almost deafening even over the squalling wind.

  “Fuck!” Hodge muttered, just before he and Tarik reached the plane. It was upside down and there was a gaping hole in the fuselage. The pungent aroma of leaking fuel assaulted his sharpened senses, but so far, the craft hadn’t yet caught fire.

  He could see a woman hanging from her seat, the only thing stopping her from falling out, the seat belt across her lap. Hodge moved around to the front of the plane toward Jarvis. Tarik ducked and entered the hole, aware of the necessity to get Tammy’s friend out of the plane in case it
caught fire and exploded. Normally he would have assessed for injuries so he wouldn’t compound them before moving her, but there wasn’t time. He could literally hear the clock ticking. He ignored the sound of the rescue truck’s tires coming to a screaming halt close by, and after bracing the woman’s stomach with his broad shoulder, released the seat belt. She flopped down over him and after wrapping an arm around her legs, he carefully maneuvered her out of the hole again.

  Tarik glanced over toward Hodge as he jogged away from the plane with his precious cargo and sighed with relief when he saw his friend was carrying Jarvis from the wreck. He detected two steady heart beats with his enhanced hearing, letting him know both pilot and passenger had survived the crash.

  Tarik spotted the ambulance right behind the fire truck and changed direction to where Serge and Ward were pulling out equipment. Serge and Ward were trained paramedics. They often treated the local humans for illness and injury when necessary. Serge had completed his medical training and would have been a doctor but hadn’t wanted to leave the island again to get his medical degree. Just like him and most of his friends, Serge hated being surrounded by a lot of people. However, he was a highly trained medic and Tarik would trust him with his life and the life of any other member of his family and friends.

  He glanced at his sister to see Tammy was standing beside the vehicle, her face so pale she looked as if she was about to pass out and anxiously shifting from foot to foot.

  “Is Celeste—” Tammy swallowed audibly and tears rolled down her cheeks.