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 withoutexamining 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 bythese 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 theimprovements 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?”
