Page 11 of Bite the Power
"Questions about why you allowed the research station in the first place. Whether human influence is compromising your judgment." Bjorn's tone remained carefully neutral, but his brown eyes held a warning. "Not everyone sees Eli's usefulness the way you do."
"We've been over this for five years." Kaidan's voice carried a dangerous edge. "The research station has provided invaluable intelligence about environmental threats. Eli has been nothing but respectful, and his work has proven beneficial to our territory's safety."
"I know that. You know that." Bjorn spread his hands. "But tradition runs deep in our people. They see humans as outsiders, potential threats to our way of life."
Kaidan began pacing, his boots striking the stone floor with sharp steps. "I've had my own prejudices about humans. But Eli has demonstrated that they're not the destructive force our people believe them to be."
"And what about Dr. Monroe?"
The question stopped Kaidan mid-stride. Images flashed through his mind—Tessa's green eyes widening when their hands touched, the way her scent had made his bear practically purr with satisfaction, the fierce intelligence he'd glimpsed in their brief conversation.
"She's just a scientist like Eli. Here to do a job." The lies tasted bitter on his tongue.
"A job that requires her to venture into unstable terrain, alone with Elora, while Magnus plots whatever scheme he's cooking up." Bjorn's voice turned pointed. "That doesn't concern you on a... personal level?"
Kaidan fixed his Beta with a stern look. "My personal concerns are for the security of Frosthaven and the safety of our guests."
Bjorn held his gaze, then nodded slowly. "I'll double the patrol rotations around the station. Overlapping coverage every four hours."
"Good." Kaidan moved toward the door, desperate to escape before Bjorn's perceptive questioning revealed more than he was prepared to share. "I don't have time to argue about clan politics right now. Just ensure the research station is properly protected."
"Consider it done."
But as Kaidan reached the doorway, Bjorn's voice stopped him. "For what it's worth, Kaidan—following your instincts has never steered you wrong before."
The words followed Kaidan down the corridor as he made his way back to his office.
For the next several hours, he tried to focus on resolving clan disputes, reviewing reports of minor skirmishes and drafting mediation proposals. But Tessa's face kept flooding his thoughts, and her scent seemed to linger in his nostrils, thatsweet floral fragrance that had made his bear practically drunk with need.
Concentrate,he commanded himself, spreading paperwork and maps across his desk.
He soon found himself tracing routes across the maps with methodical precision, marking points that would allow him to maintain discrete surveillance of the station's perimeter. Even with Elora as Tessa's guide, Kaidan needed a contingency plan—a way that he could intercept any threat to his mate if needed.
His mate.The reality still felt surreal, even as his body hummed with certainty.
As the moon climbed high in the night sky, casting silver light across the snow-covered landscape, he abandoned all pretense of productivity. But sleep would be impossible with his mate so close yet untouchable, separated by clan politics and the complex dance of human-shifter relations.
Kaidan poured himself three fingers of whiskey and left his office for the night. He moved silently through the corridors of his palace to his private chambers, the amber liquid burning down his throat with each step. As he passed by the frost-lined windows, the research station glowed in the distance, its lights a warm beacon against the Arctic darkness. Somewhere in that building, Tessa was probably sleeping, completely unaware that she'd just turned the King of Frosthaven's world upside down.
The whiskey did nothing to settle his nerves or quiet the possessive urgency that demanded he claim what was his. Instead, it only amplified the war between duty and desire that threatened to tear him apart.
FIVE
TESSA
Tessa woke up with a groan as morning sunlight shone in through her small bedroom window. Her body felt achy from tossing restlessly in her narrow bed all night long. Sleep had been elusive as her mind wouldn't stop churning with endless thoughts—polar bear shifters, environmental anomalies, and most persistently, the memory of Kaidan.
She'd always prided herself on being a rational person. The Monroe women didn't swoon over mysterious men with commanding presences and shoulders that looked like they could carry the weight of the entire world. Her grandmother had raised her to be smarter than that after her parents' death when she was ten.
But every time she'd closed her eyes last night, she'd seen Kaidan's ruggedly handsome face and that golden beard that had made her fingertips itch with the urge to touch it.
Get it together, Tessa. You're here to work, not fantasize about the local king.
She got out of bed and pulled on her thermal shirt and lined cargo pants, the practical clothing a reminder of why she was in Frosthaven in the first place. The research came first. It always had.
After she pulled her long dark brown hair into a ponytail, she left her bedroom and headed toward the small kitchen area of the research station. Eli sat at the cramped table with a woman Tessa hadn't met yet—tall, athletic, with pale blonde hair pulled back in a braid and striking blue eyes that seemed oddly familiar.
"Morning, Tessa." Eli gestured toward the stranger with his coffee mug. "This is Elora Veyr. Kaidan's sister."
