Chapter 4
FOUR
KORRAN
The morning had stretched endlessly before Korran like a battlefield where he could only wait for the enemy to arrive.
He’d worn a path in the Persian rug of his father’s office—his office now, though the transition felt more like theft than inheritance.
Each measured step from the massive oak desk to the frost-etched windows had been punctuated by the same internal mantra.
She’s coming to save Father. Nothing more.
But his bear had prowled restlessly beneath his skin since dawn.
The beast had been insisting all night that this woman—this human scientist—carried significance beyond her professional credentials.
Korran had dismissed the feeling as desperation.
Of course she was important. She represented his father’s potential salvation and Korran’s return to the research labs where he belonged, away from the suffocating weight of crown and council.
Five years.
Five years since he’d offered to shoulder his father’s duties so the king could focus on recovery.
Five years of watching his father’s strength ebb like tide pulling away from shore, leaving behind only the stark bones of what had once been an unshakeable ruler.
The treatments Varix administered—those yearly immunity boosters that provided brief, flickering hope—had become their lifeline.
But his mother’s faith in the healer’s methods was cracking like ice under pressure.
That’s why she hired Gerri Wilder.
The legendary matchmaker’s reputation preceded her like thunder before lightning.
Stories of her impossible successes, her uncanny ability to unite fated mates across galaxies, had reached even the Northern Dominion’s isolated peaks.
But surely she agreed to help them purely for her connections, and her ability to locate the right specialist for an impossible case.
Suddenly, a scent drifted up from the grand foyer below, carried on the estate’s ancient ventilation system like smoke from a distant fire.
Rose water and rain, clean and intoxicating and utterly human.
Korran’s nostrils flared involuntarily, his bear pressing close to the surface with sudden, fierce attention.
Just her scent. She’s human. My bear can detect the difference.
But even as rational thought provided explanations, something deeper responded to that fragrance with recognition so primal it made his hands shake. His bear roared with satisfaction, as if a piece of a long-unsolved puzzle had finally clicked into place.
No. Absolutely not.
Before paranoia could fully take root, knuckles rapped against the office door with practiced efficiency. Gabrielle’s voice followed, calm and professional as always.
“Your Highness, your guests have arrived.”
Korran straightened, rolling his shoulders back into the commanding posture that had become second nature.
Whatever chaos his beast was experiencing, he would handle this meeting with the dignity befitting his position.
He opened his mouth to grant entry, but the door burst open before he could speak.
Gerri Wilder swept into the room like a force of nature wearing designer red.
Her petite frame seemed to expand to fill the space, confidence radiating from her snow-white bob to her clicking boots.
She moved through his office as if she owned not just the estate but the entire mountain range surrounding it.
“Well, hello there!” Her voice carried the warmth of summer sunshine and the authority of someone accustomed to bending the universe to her will.
“So lovely to finally meet the hybrid prince who’s been so considerate of his parents, taking such good care of the territory during this unfortunate time. ”
Korran stepped forward, extending his hand with the automatic courtesy of years of diplomatic training. Her grip was surprisingly strong for someone barely reaching his chest.
“It’s an honor to finally meet the legendary Gerri Wilder.” He kept his tone carefully neutral, professional. “I’ve heard many stories about your... successful matches. Your track record is quite impressive.” He paused. “But surely you’re not here for matchmaking this time.”
Something sparkled in her eyes—gold flecks that seemed to dance with secrets he wasn’t privy to. The expression was deeply unsettling, like she could see straight through his careful composure to the chaos brewing underneath.
Before he could analyze her reaction further, movement in the doorway drew his attention like a magnet finding true north.
The woman who entered made Korran almost forget how breathing worked.
Beautiful was too simple a word for what she was.
Self-assured in a way that spoke of intelligence earned through struggle, she carried herself with the precise economy of someone who’d learned to trust only her own capabilities.
Her long brown hair caught the office’s warm light, and those sharp green eyes swept the room with analytical precision that made his scientist’s heart skip.
But it was her curves—perfectly proportioned beneath practical clothing—that caused his bear to surge forward with possessive hunger.
That rose and rain scent flooded the office completely now, wrapping around him like invisible chains.
Professional. Keep it professional.
He forced himself to move forward with measured steps, extending his hand. “Welcome to Northern Dominion. I’m Prince Korran Deyvar.”
The human scientist stepped closer, her hand extended. “I’m Dr. Tess Holt. Your home and territory are breathtaking.”
Their hands were almost touching now for what should have been a simple business introduction. But the moment their skin made contact, the world tilted off its axis.
The mate bond slammed into him like lightning striking iron.
Electricity coursed through his nervous system, setting every nerve ending ablaze with recognition and need.
His bear pressed so close to the surface that he could feel his canine teeth lengthening, could sense the beast’s desperate desire to pull her closer, to mark her as theirs before another male could even look at her.
No. This cannot be happening.
But her pupils dilated in perfect mirror to his own, her sharp intake of breath confirming she felt the same impossible connection. His hand tightened around hers involuntarily.
My fated mate.
The truth crashed through his carefully constructed worldview like a wrecking ball through glass. She was here. The human scientist meant to save his father. His mother had said Gerri couldn’t possibly find his fated mate and a healer in the same woman unless she could work miracles.
Apparently, miracles were Gerri’s specialty.
But as the initial shock faded, rational thought returned with vengeance.
His fated mate was human—just like his mother.
Just like the woman whose mate bond had allegedly been slowly killing his father for the past decade.
The clan’s whispers, the council’s concerns, Malvek’s warnings about the dangers of human-shifter pairings—it all came flooding back with the force of an avalanche.
This is exactly what destroyed Father. I cannot—will not—repeat his mistake.
His bear snarled in protest, but Korran’s will had been forged in years of duty and sacrifice. He jerked his hand back as if she’d burned him, the loss of contact leaving him bereft despite his rational mind’s relief.
“I—“ His voice came out rough, thick with emotions he couldn’t afford to acknowledge. “I just remembered my mother wanted to be present for introductions.” The lie tasted bitter on his tongue, but it was the only escape route he could see in that moment. “I need to find her. I’ll... I’ll be right back. ”
He could feel Gerri’s knowing gaze boring into his back and could sense Tess’s confusion and hurt radiating like heat from a forge.
But if he stayed in that room one moment longer, his bear would take control.
He would lift her into his arms, would take her to his private chambers, would claim her and mark her, damn the consequences and the territory’s stability.
Panic clawed at Korran’s chest like ice breaking apart under pressure. He moved through the estate’s corridors with the desperate efficiency of a man fleeing wildfire. The ancient stone walls seemed to close in around him as that rose and rain scent clung to his clothes, his skin, his very soul.
Find Mother. She’ll know what to do.
The logical part of him—the part trained in diplomacy and crisis management—recognized the catastrophic implications of abandoning his guests. But the primal part, the part currently being shredded by mate bond recognition, could only focus on escape before he did something irreversible.
He found his parents in their private chambers, a sanctuary he rarely entered anymore.
The sitting area had been transformed into a makeshift recovery room over the past months, with medical equipment discretely arranged between the elegant furniture.
His father occupied the leather recliner that had once been reserved for evening reading but now served as King Voran’s primary resting place during his increasingly frequent episodes of weakness.
Today, his father looked particularly fragile.
The once-powerful frame that had commanded respect across the Northern Dominion seemed to have shrunk overnight, skin pale against the dark leather, eyes dulled with the exhaustion that never seemed to lift.
His mother sat beside him in her usual chair, reading aloud from what appeared to be territorial reports—keeping him connected to the territory even when his body betrayed him.
“I’m sorry to interrupt.” Korran’s voice came out rougher than intended, betraying the chaos churning beneath his controlled exterior.