Chapter 4
FOUR
KAIDAN
The moment Kaidan stepped outside the research station, the frigid Arctic air hit him like a physical assault—but it was nothing compared to the chaos raging inside him. He climbed onto his snowmobile with mechanical precision, his hands steady despite the storm brewing underneath his skin.
That sweet floral scent. The memory of Tessa's fragrance flooded his senses, and his polar bear stirred relentlessly, pushing against the barriers of his human form.
When their hands had touched minutes ago, the electric jolt that shot through his body had confirmed what his bear had been growling about all morning—she was his fated mate.
Of all the females in the Arctic, fate gives me a human mate.
Kaidan gunned the engine and roared away from the station, snow spraying behind him in crystalline arcs.
But with each passing meter, the distance felt like someone was stretching a steel cable taut in his chest. The mate bond—newly awakened and raw—tugged at him with increasing desperation, demanding he turn around and claim what was his.
Turn back. Protect her. Take her.
His bear's demands crashed over him in waves, and suddenly Kaidan couldn't breathe. The snowmobile lurched to a stop near a cluster of ice caves that marked the eastern border of his territory. He stumbled off the machine, his legs unsteady for the first time in decades.
The panic was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Every instinct screamed that he'd made a catastrophic error by leaving her behind, vulnerable and unprotected. His hands shook as he yanked off his gloves, the freezing air doing nothing to calm the fire racing through his veins.
What the hell is happening to me?
He'd watched his parents, seen other mated pairs in his clan, but nothing had prepared him for this consuming need. The way her green eyes had widened when they touched, the soft catch in her breath—every detail was burned into his memory with startling clarity.
Kaidan began pacing between the ice formations, his boots crunching against the snow with sharp, agitated steps. "Focus," he growled to himself. "You're the king of Frosthaven. Act like it."
But even as he said the words, another image flashed through his mind—Tessa's beautiful face, and the way her dark brown waves had caught the light shining through the research station's windows.
Mine.
A subtle tremor rolled beneath his feet, and Kaidan forced himself to acknowledge the shifting ice patterns around him.
His land was restless, responding to pressures he couldn't identify.
Under normal circumstances, he would have deferred to Eli about the environmental anomalies.
Instead, all he could think about now was Tessa venturing out into these unstable conditions for their research.
She could fall through the ice. Get caught in a storm. Or worse, Magnus could target her.
The last thought sent a surge of protective rage through him so fierce that his bear nearly broke free. Magnus had been increasing his presence near the research station the past week, and now Kaidan's mate was living there, completely unaware of the danger.
She's not equipped to handle shifter politics or Arctic warfare. She needs my protection.
But as king, he couldn't simply hover around the research station without raising suspicions. His clan and the other clans' members already questioned his judgment regarding a human presence in their territory. If they discovered he was considering a human as his queen...
The political ramifications could be devastating.
Kaidan climbed back onto his snowmobile, his jaw set with grim determination. He needed a strategy that would keep Tessa safe without revealing the true nature of his personal interest. The engine roared to life, and he headed toward the palace, his mind already working through options.
Fifteen minutes later, he strode through the corridors of his home, the weight of command settling back onto his shoulders like familiar armor. The palace had been carved from ice and stone centuries ago, its halls echoing with the footsteps of generations of polar bear kings.
He found Elora in the training gym, working through combat forms with lethal grace. Her pale blonde hair was pulled back in a practical braid and sweat gleamed on her forehead. When she spotted him, she executed a final spinning kick before straightening.
"That was quick," she observed, wiping her face with a towel. "I thought you'd spend more time evaluating the new scientist."
Kaidan's expression remained carefully neutral. "I need you to take on a new assignment."
"Another patrol route?" Elora's blue eyes—so similar to his own—studied his face with the perception that came from years of sisterly observation.
"Field guide duty. Dr. Monroe will need an escort for her research expeditions."
Elora's eyebrows rose. "Since when do we provide personal guides for humans? Eli's been managing fine on his own for five years."
"The environmental situation has become more unstable," Kaidan replied, his tone brooking no argument. "And Magnus has been increasing his surveillance of the station. I won't have a guest in our territory harmed due to inadequate security."
"Interesting." Elora's voice carried a note of amusement that made Kaidan's jaw tighten. "You've never shown this level of concern for Eli's safety."
"Eli has more experience with Arctic conditions and shifter politics. Dr. Monroe is new to both."
"Mm-hmm." Elora folded her arms across her chest, her smile growing more knowing by the second. "And this has absolutely nothing to do with personal interest?"
The accuracy of her observation hit him like a punch to the gut, but Kaidan's expression didn't change. He fixed his sister with a look that had silenced seasoned warriors, his eyes promising consequences if she pressed further.
Elora held his gaze for a long moment, then shrugged with deliberate casualness. "Fine. I'll babysit your precious human female scientist."
"You'll protect a valued guest of our territory," Kaidan corrected sharply.
"Of course, Your Majesty." But her knowing smile lingered as she gathered her training gear.
Kaidan left the gym and soon found Bjorn in his quarters, hunched over tactical maps spread across a weathered oak table. His Beta's brown eyes were focused with an intensity that made him invaluable as a strategist.
"Working hard?" Kaidan stepped into the room, noting the familiar scent of leather and steel that always clung to his second-in-command.
Bjorn glanced up, and immediately his expression shifted to one of knowing amusement. "You look like someone who just took a surprise punch."
"I need to discuss patrol adjustments around the research station."
"Ah." Bjorn crossed his arms over his muscular chest. "And this sudden concern has nothing to do with the human scientist who arrived today?"
Kaidan's jaw tightened. The last thing he needed was another person questioning his motives. "My concern is for the security of our territory."
"Right." Bjorn's tone carried the weight of decades of friendship. "Because you've never shown this level of protective instinct for Eli's welfare."
"The situation has changed." Kaidan moved to the window, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared out at the distant glow of the research station.
Even from here, his bear stirred incessantly, every instinct demanding he return to where his mate was.
"As you know, Magnus has increased his surveillance of that particular area. "
"Magnus has been circling that station like a vulture for five years." Bjorn rose from his chair, joining Kaidan at the window. "What's different now?"
Everything. But Kaidan couldn't voice that truth without revealing the mate bond that threatened to consume his rational thinking. "Dr. Monroe lacks Eli's experience with shifter politics. She's more vulnerable."
"And I heard you've appointed Elora as her personal guide now."
"Field security isn't enough. I want additional patrols—rotating shifts, overlapping coverage zones." Kaidan's voice carried the unmistakable edge of command. "Magnus's men have been testing us. I won't have them targeting the station anymore."
Bjorn studied his king's profile, noting the tension in Kaidan's shoulders and the way his hands had clenched into fists. "You know, some of our own clan members have been muttering about your... interest in the human presence here."
The words hit Kaidan like ice water. He turned to face his Beta, his eyes flashing with barely contained frustration. "What kind of muttering?"
"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, that sweet 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.