Chapter 4 #2
Both parents looked up, and he watched his mother’s expression shift from mild curiosity to sharp concern in the space of a heartbeat. That intuitive connection they’d always shared immediately picked up on his distress.
“Korran?” She set the reports aside, her blue eyes searching his face with the precision of someone trained to read between lines. “What’s wrong?”
“I know I was supposed to handle the meeting with Gerri and the scientist myself, but—“ He ran a hand through his hair, the gesture betraying his usual composure. “I really need your assistance.”
His father straightened in the recliner, mustering enough strength to study his son with eyes that still held traces of the commanding presence that had once ruled their territory. Despite his physical decline, his father’s political instincts remained sharp.
“Take all the time you need.” His father’s voice carried the weight of understanding, as if he sensed the same undercurrents the queen had detected. “This meeting is more important than my comfort.”
His mother rose gracefully, smoothing her elegant dress with movements that spoke of decades spent managing crises with poise. She leaned down to press a gentle kiss to the king’s forehead.
“I’ll be back soon, my love.”
The tenderness in that simple gesture hit Korran with unexpected force.
Here was the evidence of everything he’d been taught to fear—a human-shifter bond that had supposedly weakened his father, destroyed his strength, and compromised the territory’s stability.
Yet watching them together, seeing the obvious devotion and partnership that had sustained them through decades of rule and recent years of illness, made his certainty waver.
They walked back toward the main floor in tense silence, Korran’s internal battle growing more violent with each step.
The mate bond pulled at him like a physical chain, demanding he return to Tess, claim her, and protect her.
But years of conditioning, political pressure, and witnessed decline created an equally powerful resistance.
Finally, he couldn’t contain the truth any longer.
“Gerri apparently is a miracle worker.” The words tasted bitter. “Tess is my fated mate.”
His mother stopped walking entirely, her hand finding the ornate banister for support. Shock flickered across her features for just a moment before being replaced by something that looked dangerously close to joy.
“Korran, this is wonderful news! Better than I ever expected when I asked Gerri for help.”
“No.” His voice came out harder than intended. “It’s not wonderful, Mother. This is terrible.”
The smile faltered on her lips, hurt replacing joy with the swift brutality of a blade finding its mark. But she didn’t flinch away from his intensity—she never had, even when he’d been a rebellious teenager testing his strength against parental authority.
“My fated mate is human.” Each word felt like glass in his throat. “That cannot happen. It will destroy me and the clan, like it’s destroying Father and the clan now.”
The color drained from his mother’s face as if he’d struck her physically. He watched her compose herself with the practiced grace of someone who’d endured decades of whispered speculation about her human nature, but the pain in her eyes was unmistakable.
God, what kind of son am I?
“Mother, I’m sorry.” The apology rushed out of him, genuine remorse cutting through his panic. “I shouldn’t think that way, but I do. I know you didn’t purposely do anything wrong.”
She remained silent for the rest of their journey to the office, her elegant posture somehow conveying both dignity and deep hurt.
His bear whined in distress, recognizing that he’d wounded someone precious to them both, but he couldn’t let go of the fear that had been carefully cultivated over years of watching his father decline.
When they entered the office, tension crackled in the air like electricity before a storm.
Tess sat rigidly in one of the chairs facing his desk, her green eyes carefully neutral but her body language screaming discomfort.
Gerri occupied the chair beside her, looking thoroughly unimpressed with the situation she’d walked into.
“Well, then.” Gerri’s voice carried the particular brand of exasperation reserved for stubborn children. “Why don’t we all just sit down and take a deep breath? Then help Tess get acquainted with the situation and this place. No need to get ahead of ourselves here.”
Too late for that, Korran thought grimly.
His mother gestured for him to take his place behind the massive oak desk, then settled gracefully into the remaining chair beside their guests.
Despite whatever pain his words had caused, she transformed seamlessly into the queen she’d always been—composed, intelligent, ready to manage a crisis with the skill that had made her indispensable to the territory.
How had years of council rhetoric made him blind to his mother’s obvious strength?
“Tess,” his mother began, her voice carrying the warm authority that had charmed diplomats and calmed political tensions for decades.
“You’ll be staying here at the estate during your visit.
I’ve also arranged for you to work with our healers and scientists at the medical facilities to see if you can help us understand this decade-long illness that has been causing the king’s deterioration. ”
Tess leaned forward slightly, and Korran found himself captivated by the way intelligence sparked in her green eyes. When she spoke, her voice carried the confidence of someone accustomed to being the smartest person in the room but tempered with genuine compassion.
“Your Majesty, I want to assure you that I’ll do everything in my power to figure this out.
I’ll work with your team accordingly, but I may need to conduct some independent research as well.
” She paused, and something that looked like regret crossed her features.
“Unfortunately, I only have a limited time I can be here. Two weeks before I need to return to Earth.”
Two weeks?
The words hit Korran like a slap. His bear surged forward with violent protest, every instinct screaming that she couldn’t leave them.
The rational part of his mind tried to argue that two weeks was actually perfect—just enough time to solve his father’s medical mystery without the complications of a permanent human presence.
But his beast wasn’t interested in logic.
“I’ll provide you with whatever you need.
” The words escaped before he could stop them.
“I’ll even help you personally. I know my way around the medical facilities, and I have considerable knowledge of shifter biology and physiology.
Whatever you need to accelerate your investigation, we can accommodate. ”
What are you doing? his rational mind demanded. You need distance, not closer proximity.
But his bear roared with deep satisfaction at the promise of time spent with their mate, even if that time would be professional rather than personal.
Tess’s gaze met his directly for the first time since that catastrophic handshake, and he caught a flicker of something—gratitude mixed with wariness—before she looked away.
“That would be helpful, Your Highness, but I’m sure you have other pressing duties. I’ll try not to request your assistance unless absolutely necessary.”
The careful distance in her tone should have been a relief. Instead, it felt like rejection, and his bear responded with frustrated snarling.
Fine. Distance is probably better anyway.
His mother rose with fluid grace, the perfect picture of royal hospitality despite the emotional minefield they’d all been navigating.
“I can show you to your room now, Tess. We’ll all meet in the dining room with the king for your first meal here in an hour.”
Tess stood and followed the queen toward the door, but not before shooting one last unreadable glance in Korran’s direction. The mate bond stretched taut between them like a rope under tension, making every step she took away from him feel like physical pain.
When the door closed behind them, leaving him alone with Gerri, the full weight of his situation crashed down on him.
“How dare you.” The words exploded out of him with all the pent-up frustration and terror of the past thirty minutes. “How dare you bring my fated mate here without warning me first? And how dare you bring her here at all when you knew she was human?”
Gerri’s eyebrows rose with an expression of someone thoroughly unimpressed by royal tantrums.
“I can’t complete the mate bond with a human.” He was pacing now, his massive frame making the office feel suddenly cramped. “Not after what it did to my father.”
“Oh, dear,” Gerri replied softly. “That whole narrative is complete nonsense, and you really shouldn’t let the clan’s fears cloud your better judgment and instincts.”
“I need to follow logic.” His hands clenched into fists at his sides. “And logic says human mates cause instability.”
Gerri stood, her petite frame somehow managing to project authority that filled the entire room. Her eyes flashed with that gold light that made him wonder exactly what species she was.
“Coming from a hybrid prince, that’s rather hard to believe—though not surprising when you’ve spent years feeling isolated in a bear shifter clan due to your own uniqueness.
” Her voice carried steel beneath the sass.
“Maybe you should start embracing that uniqueness for a change instead of running from it.”
Before he could formulate a response, she was already moving toward the door with the brisk efficiency of someone who’d delivered her message and had no patience for arguments.
“I hope you can figure this out soon, Korran, before something unavoidable happens. And for your mother’s sake, I hope you can see that humans aren’t the bad guys in this story.
” She paused, her hand on the ornate door handle.
“I really must get going, but please reach out if you need anything—though I suspect you can handle this situation just fine.”
Then she was gone, leaving him alone with the wreckage of his carefully controlled world.
Korran sank into his father’s chair—his chair now—and buried his face in his hands.
In the span of one morning, he’d managed to alienate the legendary matchmaker who’d brought salvation to their door, hurt his mother with his thoughtless words about human weakness, and made his fated mate think he was nothing more than an overbearing prince who needed to control everything.
Which, unfortunately, is exactly what you are right now.
Gerri thought he could handle this situation, but for the first time in his adult life, Korran wasn’t sure he could handle anything at all.