An Alpha's Lightning (Water Bear Shifters 2) Read Online Free Page B

full of life. He was exactly the kind of guy that Jade was looking for. Except for the fact that he had a dangerous job.
    Jade had promised herself she would never again let herself love someone who might easily die from the dangers of his job.
    Jade wiped the tears from her eyes and replaced the lid on the photo box. She chugged down the rest of her diet coke, then stood to head to her bedroom and change into workout clothes. She needed to do something to get her mind off of Ace. The man was off limits. And she’d told him she wasn’t interested, anyway. Odds were good she’d never see him again.
    A few minutes later, Jade was lacing up her running shoes. She headed out into the crisp February afternoon to get some exercise and get her blood flowing—and to get Ace Grimes out of her head.

Chapter Four
     
    The wind whipped violently across the Pacific Ocean, as Ace did his best to hold the helicopter steady. Ben, serving as copilot, glanced tensely over at Ace.
    “It’s getting pretty dicey out here,” Ben said into the microphone of his headset.
    Ace nodded, but didn’t flinch for a moment. “I know. But there’s still a survivor stranded down there. Brett’s almost got him back to the rescue basket. Just relax. We’ve dealt with winds just as bad as this before. I know we can handle it.”
    Ace kept his eyes on the bird’s instruments. He didn’t honestly know whether they could handle the winds. With a storm this violent, he was chancing it. But he knew Brett, and he knew Brett wouldn’t get back in the helicopter while there was still a survivor needing to be rescued. And Ace sure as hell wasn’t leaving without Brett. Even though he and Brett frequently butted heads over things, they were like brothers. Ace would die himself before he left his fellow alpha panda behind.
    Ace had become somewhat desensitized to death, anyway. He had seen so much of it already in his lifetime. He had lost his entire clan in the Great Epidemic years before, which had wiped out all but four of the panda shifters. Ace, Ben, Lance, and Brett had managed to survive, since their alpha gene made them exceptionally resilient to disease. But surviving had been something of a consolation prize, leaving them lonely and mourning. Each of them had been the only panda shifter from their clan to make it.
    The helicopter lurched sideways, and Ace once again did his best to steady it.
    “Lance, how’s Brett looking?” Ace asked into his headset. Lance served as the crew’s flight technician, which made him responsible for lowering Brett in and out of the water, and for assisting with pulling up survivors in the rescue basket.
    “He just got the survivor into the basket. Five minutes or less and we’ll be ready to get out of here.”
    “Make it three minutes,” Ace replied. “We’re playing Russian roulette with our lives right now by being out here.”
    “Roger that,” Lance said.
    Ben glanced over at Ace again and rolled his eyes. “You said just two minutes ago that we could handle it.”
    Ace laughed, despite the tense situation. “You should know by now that I’m full of shit.”
    Ben rolled his eyes again, but couldn’t stop himself from cracking a smile. The helicopter lurched again, and Ace sighed.
    “Hurry up, Brett,” Ace whispered under his breath. Then, to his surprise, Jade’s face flashed across his mind. Shit, was he getting sentimental about this girl already? She had refused a date with him, and yet his mind still went straight to her when he found himself in a life or death situation. Ace furrowed his brow. He knew his bear wanted her. But he hadn’t realized until just that moment how strong the desire had become. Was it possible that Jade was his fated lifemate?
    The helicopter lurched again, and started to spin. Ace would have to digest these thoughts later. If he didn’t get this bird out of here soon, he and the crew would all be dead, and it would be a moot point who his lifemate