Page 21 of Bite the Power
The taunt hit its mark, but before Kaidan could respond, Magnus delivered the blow that shattered his control.
"I noticed the new human female scientist the other day," Magnus said casually, as if discussing the weather. "Quite the looker, isn't she? Those curves would certainly keep a man warm during the long Arctic nights."
Red exploded across Kaidan's vision. His bear surged forward with murderous intent, demanding he rip Magnus's throat out for even looking at their mate with lustful eyes. Kaidan's fist drew back, trembling with the effort to restrain himself.
One punch,his bear snarled.Just one, and this bastard will never speak about her again.
But rational thought pierced through the rage just in time. If he attacked Magnus over a comment about Tessa, it would be a dead giveaway about his feelings. The entire territory would know by nightfall that their king had unofficially claimed the human scientist as his mate.
With tremendous effort, Kaidan forced his fist to unclench. "You're not worth my time."
He turned on his heel and stalked back to his snowmobile, Magnus's laughter following him like ice down his spine.
"Running away, Kaidan? How very kingly of you!"
Kaidan gunned the engine and tore across the snow toward home, leaving Magnus behind in a cloud of crystalline spray. But he couldn't outrun the truth that clawed at his chest—things were spiraling beyond his control. His feelings for Tessa were written across his face for anyone clever enough to read them.
Back at the palace, he strode through the corridors toward his chambers, nodding curtly at the staff and clan members who bowed respectfully. But as he passed a group of younger warriors near the great hall, their whispered conversation made his blood run cold.
"—seen how he watches her?—"
"—two days in a row at the research station?—"
"—never paid this much attention to any female before?—"
Kaidan's step faltered, but he made himself continue walking with measured calm. Inside his chest, his heart pounded like a trapped animal.
They knew. Or at least suspected.
His worst fears were crystallizing into reality. His people were already whispering about his fascination with the human scientist, and it wouldn't be long before someone connected the dots and realized what Tessa truly was to him.
Reaching his chambers, Kaidan slammed the door behind him and leaned against the solid wood, finally allowing hiscomposure to crack. His bear paced restlessly, torn between the primal need to claim their mate and the political necessity of discretion.
For the first time since becoming king, Kaidan was completely without a strategy. He couldn't announce Tessa as his mate when he hadn't even told her the truth about their bond. But he also couldn't continue this charade of casual interest when his every action screamed of a male protecting what belonged to him.
The mate bond pulsated even from this distance, his bear growing more irritated at the forced separation from Tessa. Soon, the need to claim her would override every other consideration—duty, politics, and clan approval.
NINE
TESSA
After the rumble of snowmobile engines faded into the Arctic silence, Tessa found herself staring at the door where Kaidan had stood moments before. Her thermal long-sleeved top clung to her curves, and she tugged absently at the hem while her mind replayed the intensity in his ice-blue eyes when he'd promised to return tomorrow.
Come on, Tessa. You came here for science, not romance.
She pulled her dark hair back into a loose ponytail and settled at the small table beside Eli, who had spread out five years' worth of research files across the surface.
"Alright," she said, cracking her knuckles. "Let's figure out what the hell is really going on here."
Eli pushed his glasses up his nose. "I've been so focused on day-to-day data collection that I never had time to do this kind of comprehensive analysis. Thank goodness you're here now."
Tessa opened his original grant proposal, her green eyes scanning the methodical language that had convinced funding agencies to support an Arctic research station in a town that didn't officially exist on maps. The irony wasn't lost on her.
"Your initial environmental baselines are solid," she murmured, cross-referencing with weather data from five years ago. "But look at this pattern."
She laid out her recent field data alongside Eli's historical records, creating a timeline that told a story neither of them had expected. The seismic readings showed natural fluctuations for the first three years, then subtle inconsistencies began appearing—equipment malfunctions that happened with suspicious timing, weather reports that didn't match actual conditions, and supply shortages that coincidentally occurred during critical research periods.
"Son of a bitch," Tessa breathed, her analytical mind connecting dots that painted a disturbing picture. "Eli, this isn't petty sabotage. This is a systematic smear campaign."
