He saw her pain and vowed to become her reckoning. For years, Tessa's been nothing but a shadow in her own pack - beaten, silenced, discarded by the Beta she was forced to marry. She’s learned to survive by disappearing. By feeling nothing. By believing she’s unworthy of more. Until he shows up. An Alpha from a rival land, cloaked in danger and dominance. His golden eyes don’t just see her - they see everything she’s been forced to bury. And the moment he does, he makes a choice. "You belong to me now." He doesn’t care that she’s mated. Doesn’t care that claiming her could ignite a war. Because for him, it’s already started. And he’ll rip the world apart to free her. 🔥 A bit dark, intoxicating werewolf romance about survival, obsession, and a woman who finally learns what it means to be chosen. Perfect for fans of brutal Alphas, forbidden bonds, and slow-burning revenge. 🔥
View MoreTessa POV
The water ran red.It trickled down my arms in thin, winding streams, spiraling along the curve of my wrists before vanishing into the drain. Steam curled around me, thick and suffocating, but I didn’t move. The scalding spray beat against my skin, raising angry welts where bruises had already begun to bloom.
I braced my hands against the cold tiles, sucking in a sharp breath as pain flared through my ribs. He hadn’t held back tonight.
I pressed my forehead against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut as memories of the last hour clawed at me.
The way his fingers had dug into my arms, his breath reeking of whiskey as he hissed insults into my ear. The sharp crack of his palm across my cheek, the way I had crumpled to the floor without resistance. I never fought back anymore. Not when I knew it would only make it worse.
"You should be grateful I even keep you," Callum had sneered, looming over me. "A weak little thing like you would be nothing without me."
I had stared at the floor, waiting for it to be over. Waiting for him to lose interest, to get bored of breaking me just like he always did.
And now here I was, trying to wash away the evidence before anyone else could see it. Before I had to walk into a room full of wolves who would never suspect that the Beta’s wife - the woman who should have been cherished, respected - was nothing more than his personal punching bag.
A hollow laugh bubbled in my throat. How pathetic.
My fingers curled into fists.
How long are you going to let him do this to you?
The thought slithered through my mind like a serpent, unwelcome and taunting.
Long enough, I supposed. Until there was nothing left of me.
A sharp knock at the door made me jerk upright.
"Tessa," Callum’s voice was sharp, impatient. "Get dressed. We’re leaving in ten minutes."
I inhaled slowly through my nose, forcing the tremor from my voice. "I’ll be ready."
Silence. Then footsteps retreating down the hall.
I let out the breath I’d been holding, sagging against the wall.
Then, with numb, mechanical movements, shut off the water and stepped out of the shower.
The mirror was fogged over, but I wiped at it with trembling fingers, revealing my reflection.
And there I was.
Hollowed-out eyes, dark circles smudged beneath them. A cheekbone marred by the faint outline of a fresh bruise. My lips were split, but not enough to be noticeable under makeup.
I could hide this. I always did.
But the thing I couldn’t hide - the thing that rattled me to the core - was the emptiness staring back at me.
This wasn’t who I was supposed to be. This wasn’t the life I had once dreamed of. This was ambition of my mother. Pack's new Beta wife...
The packhouse was alive with the hum of conversation, golden lights casting a warm glow over the crowded hall. Laughter echoed off the high ceilings, the scent of wine and roasted meat thick in the air.
I stood beside Callum, my hand resting lightly on his arm.
I barely heard the words passing between him and the other ranked wolves. It didn’t matter. I had learned a long time ago how to stand there, silent and smiling, nodding in the right places while my mind drifted elsewhere.
Callum was charming tonight. He always was in public.
No one would ever suspect the darkness lurking beneath his skin.
No one would believe me if I told them.
I let my gaze flicker around the room, taking in the mingling pack members, the occasional glance tossed in my way. Unmated males sizing me up like a prize too worn to be worth fighting for.
The hall was filled with golden light and the soft hum of music, a stark contrast to the cold pit in my stomach.
The air smelled of fine wine, roasted meats, and the mingling scents of wolves dressed in their best. Laughter and conversation rippled through the space, but to me, it all felt distant, muffled - like I was standing behind glass, watching a world I didn’t belong to.
I've adjusted the sleeve of my dress. Long, flowing fabric in a rich emerald green, elegant enough to satisfy Callum’s demand that I must "look presentable." But its real purpose? To hide the bruises that marred my arms, the fingerprint-shaped stains blooming across my pale skin.
I've felt his presence before he even touched me.
Callum’s hand landed on my lower back, sliding down just enough to remind me who I belonged to. His fingers pressed, firm and possessive, over the spot he had bruised the night before.
"Smile," he murmured, lips grazing the shell of my ear. To anyone watching, it would look like an intimate whisper. "Don't embarrass me."
I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and forced a smile.
I can do this. Just for tonight.
Just long enough to survive.
I drifted through the party like a ghost, nodding when necessary, offering polite laughter at the right moments. No one noticed how my hands trembled when I lifted a glass of wine to my lips. No one saw how I flinched when Callum’s grip tightened around my waist in warning.
The music swelled, and the scent of expensive perfume mixed with the scent of wolves in the air. Conversations hummed around me, though I barely processed any of them. My focus was on keeping up appearances, on making sure Callum had no reason to punish me later.
I barely even registered when someone approached us, a Beta from another pack offering a tight-lipped smile as he greeted Callum.
"Beta Callum. Good to see you."
Callum's grip on my waist loosened just slightly as he turned his attention to the other man, his expression shifting into the charming mask he wore in public. "Likewise. And how is your Alpha?"
The conversation droned on, and I let my mind drift, trying to ignore the dull ache in my ribs, the sting of the bruises hidden beneath my dress.
I exhaled slowly, willing the night to pass quickly, unaware that everything was about to change.
Dorian POV Tessa was trembling by the time we returned to our quarters. Not from fear.From too much power - too much truth - unleashed all at once.I guided her to the bed, gently pulling off t-shirt as if she were made of moonlight and embers. Her eyes were heavy, but her body still pulsed with energy. I could feel it under her skin. Ancient. Uncontainable.Her wolf was awake now. And so was mine.“She’s not the same girl we met,” my wolf murmured, awe lacing every syllable. “She’s a storm, wearing soft skin.”I pulled the covers up over her bare shoulders and climbed in behind her, drawing her against my chest like she was the only warmth left in the world.She didn’t speak. Just curled into me with a sigh that broke something open in my chest.I kissed the back of her neck, murmured, “Sleep,” into her hair.And this time, she did. But I didn’t. Not for hours.I lay awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling, listening to the rhythm of her breath. The bond between us wasn’t just h
Tessa POVThe room was quiet, but inside me, a storm raged.Not the kind that broke trees or tore roofs from homes - no. This one unfolded inward, like roots splitting through stone.I sat in Dorian’s lap, his arms strong around me, grounding me, but I felt like I was floating just above the skin of the world. Like the veil had lifted - and now I couldn’t go back."You’re awake now," Sable whispered inside me. Her voice no longer distant, no longer muffled by fear or magic. "You remember enough to begin."My hands trembled. Not from fear. From knowing.From a quiet, rising awareness that everything I believed about myself - the story I’d been told - was only a shard of the truth. And the rest?Buried.Hidden by spells. By tears. By choices made before I could speak for myself.Dorian hadn’t said anything since I told him. He just held me tighter, as if his silence could protect me better than words.I leaned into him, cheek pressed to the solid warmth of his shoulder, and let myself b
Tessa POVThe doors hadn’t even closed behind them before my knees buckled.Dorian caught me instantly, his arms locking around my waist, strong and steady, anchoring me in place. But even his touch couldn’t stop the way my body trembled. It wasn’t fear.It was something older. Deeper. Like I’d opened a door inside myself and couldn’t shut it again.I didn’t want to.“I’m okay,” I whispered, though my voice sounded distant even to my own ears.“You’re more than okay,” Dorian murmured behind me, his breath warm against my neck. “You just shook the bones of the Council’s spine, and you didn’t even try.”I wanted to believe him. But something in me still pulsed too loud - too alive.My skin prickled. The air still tasted like smoke and power. My hands had stopped glowing, but the pressure under my skin was still there. A hum. A heartbeat.And then Sable spoke again. “You felt it, didn’t you?”Her voice was clearer now than it had ever been - no longer a whisper in the shadows of my thoug
Dorian POVI didn’t sleep. Couldn’t.Even as Tessa drifted deeper into rest, tangled in my arms, my wolf remained sharp-eyed and alert. The bond between us hummed like a live wire, thrumming with magic and something older - wilder. I could feel Sable’s presence in the back of my mind, watchful now. Quiet, but present.We were marked by something ancient. And if I could feel it, others would too.A sharp knock split the quiet.I went still.Three precise raps. Measured. Not panicked. Not friendly either.Tessa stirred, but I brushed my lips against her forehead. “Stay,” I whispered. “I’ll handle it.”I slid from the bed, throwing on a pair of pants and grabbing the nearest shirt - still warm from earlier. My wolf growled low in my chest as I moved to the door, scent already catching what lay beyond."Not pack. Foreign. But not rogue either.""Council."I opened the door without ceremony.“Alpha Dorian.” The voice was clipped. Formal. And far too self-assured for someone standing at my
Dorian POVThe storm of our bodies had passed, but its echoes lingered in the silence.Tessa lay curled against my chest, her breath warm against my skin, her hand resting over my heart like it belonged there. I watched her, unable to look away. Her lashes fluttered softly as she drifted toward sleep, her expression serene, almost glowing in the faint silver light that spilled through the window.She looked like peace. She felt like home.And still - despite the quiet, despite the warmth of her in my arms - the fire in my chest refused to settle. It wasn’t just desire anymore. It was something older. Deeper. Primordial.My fingers traced the curve of her spine slowly, grounding myself in the rhythm of her breathing. I didn’t want to wake her. I just wanted this. Her. Everything.My wolf stirred in the back of my mind, pacing silently, eyes fixed on her too. "She’s more than we dreamed."“I know,” I whispered."She carries something ancient inside her, he murmured. Not just Alpha blood
Dorian POVTessa sat in the water leaned against my chest, flushed from the heat of the water and the aftermath of power she didn’t yet understand. Her eyes held the remnants of uncertainty, but her body - her body was relaxed against mine, like she trusted me to hold her through the unraveling.She didn’t realize she was becoming divine. And fuck, that only made her more dangerous. More mine."I told you", my wolf murmured, voice low and hungry inside my head. "She isn’t just a Luna. She’s a goddess reborn. A storm in our hands.""Our storm. The Council was terrified of her. Rightly so."They saw only a threat - something wild, unstable, impossible to control.But I saw the truth.She wasn’t just the mate I’d waited for. She was the perfect partner for the empire I intended to build. A queen for wolves who had none. A weapon forged in silence, tempered by fate. She would raze the old world, and I would shape what rose from the ashes.Together, we would tear the old order down.But be
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