Page 5 of Bite the Power
Gerri Wilder's warm, teasing voice filled the office, carrying that distinctive mix of affection and authority that made even alpha shifters straighten their spines. Her tone suggested she knew exactly what she was interrupting—and found it amusing.
"Depends," Kaidan grunted as he walked over to his desk. "What kind of trouble are you stirring up now?"
A knowing chuckle crackled through the speaker. "Oh, the best kind. I hear that Eli's losing his mind up at the station. Tremors, glacier shifts, storms flaring without warning. Seems he needs an extra pair of competent hands."
Kaidan's bear stirred restlessly, sensing something significant approaching through the casual conversation. Gerri never called just to chat about research logistics.
"And I have just the person to help him out," she continued, her voice dropping slightly, taking on that particular cadence that meant she was about to drop something important. "Her name is Dr. Tessa Monroe. She's ambitious, smart, and practical. She's got the experience to handle the research station—and Eli."
The name hit him with force.Tessa Monroe.Something deep within him responded to the syllables, his bear suddenly alert and focused. The sensation was foreign yet familiar, like recognizing a scent carried on the wind from a place he'd never been but somehow belonged.
Kaidan caught himself leaning forward, his scarred hands gripping the edge of his desk as an unexpected wave of...somethingrolled through him. Anticipation. Recognition.Hunger.
He cleared his throat. "I trust your judgment, Gerri." The words came out rougher than intended, betraying the sudden turbulence beneath his carefully maintained composure.
"Speaking of judgment—when are you going to stop pretending you don't need what every other shifter in the world has found by your age?" Her voice turned playfully exasperated. "Honestly, Kaidan, you're thirty-five. Most Alphas have claimed their mates and produced heirs by now. That poor polar bear of yours must be going absolutely feral with loneliness."
Heat crawled up his neck—irritation, embarrassment, and something darker he refused to acknowledge. "My personal life isn't?—"
"Your personal life is exactly my business when it affects the stability of an entire shifter territory," she interrupted smoothly."A kingdom needs a queen, darling. And Frosthaven has been waiting long enough for one."
His bear rumbled agreement, the traitorous beast. For years, he'd convinced himself that duty came first, that the right mate would appear when the time was appropriate. But sitting here, withTessa Monroeechoing through his thoughts like a bell struck in perfect pitch, he wondered if he'd been lying to himself.
"Fate has a funny way of conspiring in our favor," Gerri continued, her voice turning cryptic in that way that made his instincts prickle with warning. "Sometimes what we need most arrives exactly when we're least prepared for it. Funny how that works."
The line went quiet except for the subtle static of long-distance transmission. Kaidan found himself staring out at the glaciers, watching ice crystals dance in the morning light while his mind raced through implications he couldn't quite grasp.
A female human scientist. Coming here. Today.
His bear prowled beneath his skin, restless and expectant in a way that had nothing to do with territorial security. Something was shifting—not just in the land, but in the very fabric of his carefully ordered world.
"Kaidan?" Gerri's voice held a note of satisfaction, as if she could sense his internal struggle through the satellite connection.
"She'll have protection," he said finally, the words emerging like a vow. "Both from the environmental hazards and any... political complications that might arise."
"I knew you'd see reason. She's flying in this afternoon. Do try not to terrify her on first meeting, won't you? Humans can be delicate when encountering territorial Alphas."
The call ended with Gerri's trademark knowing laugh, leaving Kaidan alone with a growing certainty that his life was about to change in ways he couldn't control. He pressed onepalm against the cold glass of the frosted window. The research station was visible in the distance against the pristine landscape. Somewhere in there, Eli was probably pulling his hair out over seismic readings that made no scientific sense.
Dr. Tessa Monroe.
That name kept rolling through his thoughts like smoke, carrying implications that made his bear pace with increasing agitation. In all his years as king, he'd developed an almost supernatural ability to compartmentalize—to separate duty from desire, strategy from instinct. But something about this woman, this stranger he'd never met, was already breaking down those carefully constructed barriers.
He tried to focus on practical matters. Patrol routes needed adjustment. The zones of unstable ice required mapping and monitoring. His people needed protection from both environmental hazards and Magnus's increasingly aggressive tactics.
But underneath the tactical planning, something primitive and possessive was awakening. The same instinct that had driven his ancestors to claim territory and defend it with their lives was stirring. But instead of being focused on land or resources, this instinct was on a woman whose name alone had shattered his composure.
She's human,he reminded himself. The clan's fragile acceptance of Eli had taken years to cultivate, built on consistent proof of the scientist's value and discretion. Introducing another human—especially a female who might command his attention—would require delicate political maneuvering.
Magnus would see it as another weakness. Evidence that Kaidan prioritized outsiders over shifters. The rivalry that had simmered for decades would undoubtedly intensify, adding another layer of complexity to an already volatile situation.
And yet, as he watched the glaciers in the morning light, Kaidan felt something settle into place. A rightness that had nothing to do with logic and everything to do with the ancient wisdom his bear carried.
The oak door of Kaidan's office swung open without warning, admitting his Beta and sister with the casual confidence of people who'd never needed permission to enter his space. Bjorn's sandy brown hair was still damp from patrol duty, while Elora's pale blonde locks caught the morning light streaming through the frosted windows.
"Well, well," Elora drawled, her striking blue eyes sparkling with mischief as she surveyed his position by the window. "The mighty king brooding again? What catastrophic thoughts are weighing down that massive brain of yours today?"
Kaidan turned from the glacier view, his jaw tightening at his sister's teasing tone. "I don't brood."
