Chapter 9 Tessa
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."
Eli leaned closer, his brown eyes widening. "What do you mean exactly?"
"Someone has been trying to discredit you and this research station since day one," Tessa said, her voice gaining strength as righteous anger flared in her chest. "It wouldn't have been obvious at first—just minor inconveniences that could be explained away as Arctic conditions or human error.
But now that I'm looking at everything together. .."
She traced her finger along the timeline, showing how the incidents escalated whenever Eli's research proved particularly valuable to the shifter clans.
"This person has been gaslighting Kaidan, trying to make him believe humans are unreliable and dangerous. But recently, I see they've gotten more aggressive because the subtle approach clearly wasn't working."
No wonder Kaidan has been so overprotective. His instincts were spot-on.
Just the thought of him sent a rush of heat through her body. There was definitely something deeper than mere attraction between them. Something driving his protective behavior toward her. Something that made her feel simultaneously thrilled and terrified.
"Whoever is doing this made one critical mistake though," Tessa continued, fire sparking in her voice. "They didn't count on me showing up."
Eli raised an eyebrow. "So, what then?"
"I'm not going to put up with anti-human, male-dominated bullshit.
I've spent too many years back home letting powerful men run over me, discredit my work, and dismiss my expertise.
" Her hands clenched into fists. "I'll be damned if I'm going to stand for it here, especially when we're doing nothing but trying to help these shifters stay safe. "
The determination in her voice surprised even herself. Something about this place, about Kaidan's faith and interest in her, had awakened a fierceness she'd forgotten she possessed.
"I need to call Melanie," she said suddenly, reaching for her satellite phone. "She has connections throughout the scientific community. If Magnus or anyone else thinks they can isolate us, or run us out of town, they're about to learn otherwise."
Melanie answered on the second ring, her familiar voice crackling through the connection. "Tessa! I was wondering when you'd check in. How's the frozen wasteland treating you?"
"It's complicated," Tessa admitted, settling back in her chair. "The research is fascinating, but we've got some political drama brewing."
"Let me guess, shifter politics?" Melanie's tone sharpened with professional interest. "I've heard some stories about the Arctic shifters. They can get pretty intense. What's happening?"
Tessa explained the sabotage campaign, watching Eli's face grow grimmer as she laid out their discoveries. Melanie listened with the focused attention that had made her invaluable in academic circles.
"That's seriously messed up," Melanie said when Tessa finished. "But also incredibly stupid of this Magnus character. Doesn't he realize that attacking scientific research creates a paper trail?"
"Apparently not," Tessa replied. "Can you help us put some safeguards in place remotely? Maybe reach out to your contacts and create some external accountability?"
"Absolutely. I'll make some calls tonight." Melanie paused, and Tessa could practically hear her grin. "So, besides work drama, any eligible bachelors in this mysterious town of yours?"
Heat crept into Tessa's face as Kaidan flashed through her mind—the way his golden beard framed lips that looked far too kissable for a king, and the controlled strength in his arms when he'd carried her away from the cracking ice.
"I've had my hands full with data collection and analysis," she deflected. "And now with this shifter drama, romance is really not my priority. You should know that better than anyone."
"I do know that," Melanie said gently. "And I understand what's happening there is a big deal. But maybe someday you'll let your guard down long enough to make real connections with people—even platonic ones."
Before Tessa could respond, rustling noises outside the station made her freeze. They weren't the natural sounds of wind through ice, but deliberate movement.
"Mel, I really need to go," she whispered urgently.
"Everything okay?"
"I'll call you later. Work your networking magic for us."
"Will do. Be safe, Tessa."
The line went dead just as another sound reached her ears—footsteps crunching deliberately through snow, circling the research station like a predator testing its prey.
Tessa pressed her face against the frost-covered window, her breath fogging the glass as she peered into the Arctic darkness. The footsteps had stopped, but something felt wrong—the silence stretched too thin, like a held breath before a scream.
"I don't see anyone out there," she whispered, though her pulse hammered against her throat. The research station's interior lights reflected back at her, making it impossible to see beyond their small circle of illumination into the vast wilderness.
"Eli, call the palace. Now."
Eli's hands fumbled with the satellite phone, his scientific composure cracking. "Bjorn? It's Eli at the research station. We need patrols here immediately. Someone's been circling the building."
Tessa continued scanning the perimeter through different windows, her analytical mind cataloging every shadow and movement. The Arctic wind howled around the station's corners, but underneath that natural sound, she caught something else—the faint crackle of...
Oh, shit.
Faint gray tendrils curled under the entrance door like ghostly fingers seeking purchase. The acrid smell hit her nostrils a heartbeat later.
"Eli, get to your bedroom window at the back of the station. Now!"
"What?" He looked up from the phone, confusion written across his weathered features.
"Fire!" Tessa pointed at the door where smoke now billowed more visibly. "Someone set the front of the station on fire. Get out through your bedroom window and run!"
Eli's face went white. "What about you?"
Tessa was already moving toward the small utility closet where she'd spotted the fire extinguisher earlier. "I'm going to try to contain this before we lose everything."
"Tessa, that's insane! The research can be replaced—you can't!"
She grabbed the red canister, its weight solid and reassuring in her hands. "I'm not letting five years of your work burn because some asshole wants to play games with us."
Grandmother always said I was too stubborn for my own good.
"Go!" she shouted as Eli hesitated. "I'll be right behind you!"
The smoke thickened rapidly, transforming from wispy tendrils into choking clouds that burned her lungs and made her eyes stream. Tessa pulled her thermal shirt up over her nose and mouth, but the acrid fumes still clawed at her throat.
Orange light flickered through the front windows now, and she could hear the hungry roar of flames consuming the station's exterior. When she foolishly tried the door handle, searing heat bit through her palm.
"Shit," she gasped, peering through the window. Fire licked up the front wall like demonic tongues, fed by whatever accelerant the arsonist had used.
The research files. Five years of Eli's meticulous data collection spread across the kitchen table behind her—irreplaceable observations that could help prove their sabotage case.
Without conscious thought, Tessa began stuffing the papers into her field gear backpack in the corner, her movements quick and efficient despite the smoke burning her eyes.
Flames crept under the front door, racing across the linoleum with unnatural speed. Whoever had done this knew exactly how to make a building burn fast.
Move, Tessa. Move now.
She slung the heavy backpack over her shoulders and sprinted toward her bedroom, where the window offered her only escape route. The smoke grew denser with each step, her lungs screaming for clean air.
Three feet from her bedroom window, her boot caught on something—maybe a loose floorboard, maybe her own panic-clumsy feet. The weight of the backpack threw off her balance, and she tumbled forward, her left leg sliding between her bed and the heavy oak dresser with a sickening thud.
Pain exploded up from her ankle like lightning, white-hot and nauseating. She tried to pull free, but the narrow gap held her leg like a vise, and any movement sent fresh agony shooting through the joint.
"No, no, no," she panted, tugging desperately at her trapped limb. The angle was all wrong—she could feel the bones grinding together, definitely sprained and threatening to break completely if she forced it.
Heat pressed against her back as the flames reached the station's back area. Smoke poured into her bedroom, thick and black and deadly. Her vision began to blur, consciousness flickering like a candle in the wind.
This is how I die. Trapped like a rat because I was too damn stubborn to run when I had the chance.
Tears streamed down her face—whether from smoke or terror, she couldn't tell anymore. Her grandmother's voice echoed in her fading thoughts: Sometimes courage and stupidity look exactly the same, girl.
The bedroom window seemed miles away now, an impossible destination. Her lungs burned, each breath a struggle against the poisonous air. Darkness crept in from the edges of her vision.
I'm sorry, Eli. I'm sorry, Melanie. I'm sorry...
Suddenly, strong hands gripped her ankle, working it free with swift movements. Before she could process what was happening, powerful arms lifted her against a broad chest, carrying her toward the window with purposeful strides.
The last thing she saw before unconsciousness claimed her was a flash of golden hair and ice-blue eyes filled with a fury that could have frozen the flames themselves.