Page 24 of Bite the Power
TEN
KAIDAN
Kaidan's arms trembled as he carried Tessa's unconscious form away from the inferno that had been the research station. Her dark hair spilled over his forearm like silk, and the smell of smoke clung to her thermal shirt. Every step away from the flames felt like a small victory, but the rage burning in his chest threatened to consume him more thoroughly than any fire ever could.
Thirty minutes.That's how long it had been since his bear had started pacing restlessly, an inexplicable dread clawing at his ribs. He'd been reviewing patrol reports when the sensation hit him like a bolt of lightning, and he knew immediately that something was terribly wrong with Tessa. The mate bond had screamed danger with such intensity that he'd actually staggered, gripping his desk to stay upright.
Then Bjorn had burst through his office door, his eyes wide with urgency. "Eli called from the research station. Someone's prowling around the perimeter."
Kaidan had fled from his office before Bjorn had finished speaking, and as soon as he got outside the palace, he'd shifted into his polar bear form. He had thundered through the Arctic night faster than any snowmobile could carry him. But he hadn'tbeen fast enough. The orange glow on the horizon had told him everything he needed to know about his failure to protect what was his.
I should have killed Magnus when I had the chance,he thought savagely, adjusting his grip on Tessa's limp body. Her breathing was shallow but steady, and the faint pulse at her throat reassured him that she was alive.I confronted the bastard, warned him to stay away, and then I let him go like some green Alpha king who still believes in honor among enemies.
Behind them, Bjorn and several clan members worked frantically to extinguish the flames engulfing the research station's front wall. Their shouts and the roar of water hitting fire created a chaotic symphony, but Kaidan's world had narrowed to the woman in his arms and the overwhelming need to get her to safety.
He reached his Jeep that Bjorn had driven over and carefully arranged Tessa across the back seat, her head pillowed on his jacket. In the firelight, he could see the angry red mark across her palm where she'd burned her hand on the door handle, and her left ankle was already swelling beneath her cargo pants. The sight of her injuries sent fresh fury coursing through his veins.
She almost died because of my political games with Magnus. She almost burned alive because I was too civilized to end this properly.
A shadow flickered at the edge of his peripheral vision, and Kaidan's head snapped toward the treeline. Someone stood among the spruce trees, watching the chaos with what could only be satisfaction. The arsonist had the audacity to stay and observe his handiwork, probably waiting to report back to whatever coward had sent him.
The sight of that lurking figure was the final thread holding Kaidan's control in place, and it snapped with an almost audible crack.
His bear exploded outward in a rush of heat and transformation that shredded his clothes and sent him to all fours in seconds. Five hundred pounds of enraged polar bear emerged where the king had stood, golden-streaked white fur bristling with lethal intent. He thundered toward the treeline like a force of nature, his massive paws eating up the distance with predatory grace.
The figure turned to run, but Kaidan was already upon him. Within seconds, instead of a man, another polar bear faced him—smaller, darker, with the lean build of someone who survived by cunning rather than strength. Not Magnus obviously, but one of his lackeys sent to do the dirty work while their leader maintained plausible deniability.
The rogue shifter's claws raked across Kaidan's shoulder, drawing blood that steamed in the frigid air. But the attack only fueled Kaidan's rage. He reared up on his hind legs and brought his full weight down on his opponent, massive paws delivering devastating blows that sent the smaller bear tumbling across the snow.
You tried to kill my mate,his bear snarled through actions rather than words, each strike punctuating the thought with bone-deep satisfaction.
The rogue bear scrambled backward, clearly outmatched by Kaidan's size and fury. After one particularly vicious swipe that opened a gash across his flank, the coward turned tail and fled into the deeper wilderness, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
Kaidan shifted back to human form, his chest heaving, but his thoughts were already turning back to Tessa.
He sprinted to the Jeep where she lay motionless in the back seat, her face pale but peaceful in unconsciousness. The contrastbetween her fragility and the violence he'd just unleashed made his chest tighten with an emotion too complex to name.
"Hold on, sweetheart," he murmured as he quickly dressed in his tattered clothes and started the engine with more force than needed. The Jeep roared to life, and he pulled away from the research station, driving as fast as the icy terrain would allow while keeping his movements smooth enough not to jostle her injured body.
That was the last straw,he thought grimly, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.No more games. Magnus just declared war, and he's about to learn what happens when someone threatens a polar bear's mate.
Within ten minutes Kaidan was back at his palace, and his hands shook as he lifted Tessa's unconscious form from the back seat of the Jeep, her body limp and trusting against his chest. The acrid smell of smoke clung to her hair, and every breath she took sounded labored.
I almost lost her before I even had her,he thought, his jaw clenched tight enough to crack teeth.
The palace corridors had never felt longer as he walked through them, his boots echoing against the stone floor. Several clan members paused in their tasks, their eyes widening at the sight of their king carrying the human scientist, but Kaidan's glacial stare warned them against questions or comments.
He shouldered through the heavy oak doors to his private chambers and laid Tessa carefully on his king-sized bed, the dark furs contrasting starkly with her pale skin. The sight of her there, vulnerable and injured in the place where he'd dreamed of having her under vastly different circumstances, made his chest constrict with an emotion he couldn't name.
She belongs here,his bear growled with fierce satisfaction.In our den. Where we can protect what's ours.
Kaidan retrieved the first aid kit from his bathroom, his movements efficient despite the tremor in his hands. When he returned, he perched carefully on the edge of the bed and began examining her injuries. Her right palm bore an angry red burn, and her left ankle had swollen to twice its normal size.
As he wrapped the elastic bandage around her ankle with practiced precision, Tessa stirred, a soft moan escaping her lips. Her green eyes fluttered open, confusion clouding their depths as she tried to focus on his face.
"Hey," he said softly. "You gave me quite a scare."
"Where..." She attempted to sit up but winced, falling back against his pillows. "Where am I?"
