Chapter 11
ELEVEN
TESS
Dawn crept through the windows of Tess’s guest suite, but sleep had been a stranger all night.
Every time she’d closed her eyes, her body had betrayed her, replaying the sensation of Korran’s hands on her skin, the weight of him above her, the way he’d filled her so completely that she’d felt remade.
Now, she lay tangled in sheets that carried the lingering scent of pine and spice mixed with the musk of their joining.
She threw off the sheets with more force than necessary and padded barefoot to the walk-in closet. Her reflection in the mirror caught her off guard—hair mussed, eyes bright, lips still slightly swollen. She looked like a woman who’d been thoroughly claimed.
But the connection between them had been more than just physical. It was something deeper and more primal than anything she’d experienced. Even now, there was a strange humming sensation beneath her skin.
Probably just pheromones, she told herself firmly, rifling through the expensive clothes he’d somehow procured for her. Some bear shifter thing that’ll fade.
She bypassed the elegant dresses and silk blouses, reaching instead for her own practical dark jeans and cream sweater.
The last thing she needed was to send mixed signals by wearing his gifts.
She wasn’t leaning into whatever had happened between them—she was here to work, to solve a medical mystery that had stumped an entire territory for a decade.
As she pulled on her boots, memories from her graduate school days surfaced unbidden.
Professor Jacobs and their ill-fated romance that had nearly derailed her career before it had even started.
She’d learned then that mixing professional obligations with personal desire was a recipe for disaster.
She’d transferred out of his class after they’d slept together, though they’d continued their relationship for another year before she’d finally ended it. Her ambitions had to come first.
The parallel wasn’t lost on her now.
She made her way to the sitting area and realized with a spike of annoyance that she’d left her notebook and datapad in Korran’s SUV. Too caught up in wine and that intoxicating presence of his to remember the most basic professional necessities.
Get it together, Tess. You have twelve days left to save a king.
The grand staircase felt endless as she descended, her boots clicking against the polished marble. Korran was already waiting in the foyer with his winter coat on and a wooden box clutched in his hands. When their eyes met, his darkened noticeably—something hungry and possessive in his gaze.
Her body responded immediately, her skin flushing with remembered heat. The strange humming sensation intensified, and she could swear she felt an echo of his desire and his frustration at the distance she was trying to maintain.
“Good morning,” he said, his deep voice carefully neutral despite the fire in his eyes. “I was able to dig up my old notes from when I worked in the lab.”
Despite her resolve to keep things professional, a genuine smile tugged at her lips. “That’s excellent. We can dive into those with Kael when we get to the lab.”
Something flickered across his expression—annoyance, jealousy—at the mention of Kael’s name. As if he wanted her undivided attention, wanted to be the only one working closely with her.
Don’t read into it, she warned herself, brushing past him to grab her winter coat from the rack.
She slipped into her coat with brisk efficiency, not giving him the chance to help her with the gentlemanly gestures he seemed inclined toward. “Ready?”
They walked to his SUV in silence, the morning air crisp against her cheeks. When he moved to open her door, she was already climbing into the passenger seat, determined to maintain professional distance. He paused for a moment, then placed the box in the back seat before sliding behind the wheel.
But the moment the engine started and they were enclosed in the vehicle together, Tess knew she was in trouble.
His scent filled the confined space, wrapping around her like a physical caress.
The warmth radiating from his large frame seemed to beckon her closer, and she found herself gripping her recovered notebook and datapad like a lifeline.
She stared intently out the window at the snow-laden landscape, trying to ignore the way his heated gaze kept flicking to her. The silence stretched, thick with unspoken tension and the memory of tangled limbs and desperate kisses.
This is going to be the longest two weeks of my life.
The drive to the medical facilities felt interminable, though it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes. When Korran finally pulled into a parking spot and cut the engine, Tess practically launched herself out of the vehicle, not waiting for him to come around and play the gentleman.
She hurried toward the glass and steel building, her breath forming small clouds in the cold air.
Behind her, she heard his longer strides catching up, but she didn’t slow down.
The sooner they got to work, the sooner she could lose herself in data and analysis instead of the way his mouth had felt against hers.
Kael was already at her designated workspace when she pushed through the lab doors, his bright brown eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. His disheveled hair and eager expression reminded her of herself in her early career—all passion for discovery and none of the cynicism that came with experience.
“Good morning, Dr. Holt.”
“Good morning, Kael.” Tess shed her coat and hung it on the back of her chair.
This was her element—data, hypotheses, and the methodical pursuit of truth.
Korran appeared beside her workspace, setting the wooden box on her desk with careful precision.
“My notes from the first five years of my father’s illness,” he said, his voice professionally neutral despite the way his eyes tracked her every movement.
“Before I had to step back and focus on... other responsibilities.”
“This should help us fill in the gaps that Varix’s notes left,” Tess said to Kael, who looked visibly relieved. “Finally, we’ll have some kind of baseline to work from.”
Korran’s expression showed a flash of satisfaction at her praise, while Kael nodded eagerly. “Excellent. Between Prince Korran’s historical data and my recent observations, we might actually be able to piece together a coherent timeline.”
Tess opened her notebook, pen poised, trying to project an air of scientific detachment. But when she glanced at Korran—the way his shirt stretched across his broad chest, the memory of those hands on her skin—her concentration fractured.
How am I supposed to focus on cellular degradation when all I can think about is how right we are together?
The morning stretched into afternoon as they hunched over Korran’s wooden box and Tess’s datapad, the lab bustling around them with the quiet efficiency of focused researchers.
Tess’s fingers traced through pages of meticulous handwriting, cross-referencing symptoms and dates with the sparse information Varix had provided.
The contrast between the two sets of documentation was stark—where Korran’s notes painted a detailed picture of his father’s decline, Varix’s records felt deliberately sanitized.
Like someone was hiding something, Tess thought, her scientific instincts prickling with unease.
Korran’s notes were thorough, almost obsessively so.
Every symptom cataloged and every treatment response documented with the precision of someone desperately seeking answers.
But as Tess read deeper, her irritation mounted.
The data showed a clear pattern of natural decline—fatigue, reduced healing rates, cognitive fog—but nowhere did she see concrete evidence supporting the mate bond theory that seemed to drive every conclusion.
“Your documentation is excellent,” she said, glancing up at Korran, who sat rigid in his chair beside her.
The tension radiating from his large frame was palpable, and she could feel that strange humming sensation beneath her skin intensifying whenever their eyes met.
“But I need to ask—why didn’t you demand to see the hard science behind Varix’s mate bond theory?
Your notes don’t indicate that anywhere. ”
Korran’s jaw tightened, his dark eyes flashing with something that might have been defensiveness or doubt. “Because Varix has forty years of experience. He’s proven his expertise with countless other cases.”
“That’s not how science works.” Tess’s voice sharpened with professional frustration. “You don’t accept a hypothesis without examining the supporting data, especially when it involves something as serious as your father’s life.”
Kael shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly caught between them as the air crackled with unresolved tension. The poor man had been trapped in their charged atmosphere all morning.
“The mate bond changes shifter physiology,” Korran said, his voice carrying that commanding edge. “Supernatural bonds can certainly alter cellular function over time.”
Tess slammed her pen down on the desk, the sharp sound echoing through their workspace.
“That’s complete nonsense. I’ve studied enough shifter biology to know that supernatural bonds don’t just randomly decide to attack cellular structure.
The only things that cause systemic cellular damage are external stressors—toxins, compounds, environmental factors.
Not some mystical connection between mates. ”
The muscle in Korran’s jaw jumped, and she could see the war playing out across his features—ingrained belief battling against growing doubt. His broad shoulders tensed as he leaned forward, invading her personal space in a way that made her stomach flutter despite her anger.
“Fine,” he growled, his voice dropping to that low rumble that seemed to vibrate through her bones.
“Then let’s stop arguing about the mate bond theory.
Let’s start proving that something external introduced stress into my father’s system ten years ago and has been progressively weakening him ever since. ”
There it is, Tess thought with satisfaction. The crack in his certainty.
Kael finally found his voice, his brown eyes darting between them nervously.
“Going out on a limb here, but what if something was introduced into the king’s body ten years ago—something designed to mimic the effects of aging accelerated by these alleged mate bond complications?
And what if that same something has been continuously stressing his system? ”
Tess felt the familiar thrill of a breakthrough, her mind racing through possibilities. “The immunity booster,” she said, the words tumbling out as the pieces clicked into place. “Kael, you mentioned you’ve never been able to examine its composition directly.”
“Varix keeps it locked away,” Kael confirmed, his voice dropping to barely a whisper. “Only he has access to the compound itself. The rest of us just assist with administration.”
“What if we obtained a sample?” Tess leaned forward, her scientific excitement overriding caution. “We could analyze its components, determine if it’s actually helping or...” She let the implication hang in the air.
Korran’s body went rigid, his alpha instincts clearly rebelling against the suggestion. “Absolutely not.”
“We’re trying to save your father’s life,” Tess shot back, matching his intensity. The air crackled with more than just professional disagreement. “Besides, if the compound is therapeutic, we prove Varix’s credibility and eliminate one variable. If it’s not...”
“The booster has helped my father for months after each administration,” Korran argued, but she could hear the uncertainty creeping into his voice. “The improvement is documented.”
“Temporary improvement followed by accelerated decline,” Tess countered, flipping through his notes. “Look at your own data—each recovery period gets shorter while the subsequent deterioration gets more severe.”
Kael’s eyes widened as understanding dawned. “A compound that provides short-term benefits while causing long-term damage would be the perfect cover. Everyone would credit the improvements while attributing the decline to the underlying condition.”
Korran stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor as he began pacing behind their workspace. Tess found herself watching the play of muscles beneath his shirt, remembering how that powerful body had felt pressed against hers.
“I can get the vials,” Kael offered quietly, his voice steady despite the magnitude of what he was suggesting. “Varix trusts me enough to—“
“No.” Korran cut him off, his alpha authority making several nearby researchers glance in their direction. He lowered his voice. “If we’re doing this, we do it together. I won’t have either of you taking risks alone.”
Tess felt a flutter of something warm in her chest at his protective instinct, even as her rational mind cataloged it as another example of his controlling nature. “So we’re agreed? Tonight, we obtain samples of the immunity booster?”
Korran stopped pacing, his dark eyes boring into hers with a piercing intensity that made her breath catch. “Against my better judgment, yes. But you follow my lead on this—no unnecessary risks, no heroics. We get in, take what we need, and get out.”
“Understood,” Kael said, his excitement barely contained.
Tess nodded, her pulse quickening with anticipation. They were finally moving beyond theories and speculation into concrete action.
The weight of their decision settled over the small workspace, charged with possibility and danger in equal measure.
Tess caught Korran’s gaze and saw her own determination reflected there, along with something deeper—a growing willingness to question everything he’d been told, to fight for truth even when it meant abandoning comfortable certainties.
We’re really doing this, she thought, her scientific mind already racing ahead to plan their analysis protocols.