Chapter 2 : The Party & The Alpha’s Arrival

Tessa POV

It was sudden. A ripple in the air, thick with dominance. A pressure settling over the room, forcing conversations to stall and heads to turn toward the entrance.

A presence entered. I didn’t need to look to know he was there. I felt him first.

And when I did turn - when my gaze finally locked onto the man standing in the doorway - my world tilted.

The Alpha.

He was a shadow against the warm candlelight, broad shoulders and a chiseled form wrapped in an elegant black shirt that fit him like sin. He wasn’t just tall - he loomed, a force of nature wrapped in flesh.

Midnight-dark hair, slightly tousled, as if he couldn’t be bothered to tame it. Sharp features, aristocratic yet rugged, like a warrior forged through war.

But it was his eyes that stole the breath from my lungs. Molten gold, gleaming like a predator catching scent of his prey.

And right now? He was looking at me.

Heat crept up my spine, an unfamiliar sensation curling low in my stomach. It wasn’t fear. It was something else. Something far, far more dangerous. Something I've never felt before, and never even imagined I will. Desire. 

A slow, almost lazy smirk curved his lips. Not friendly. Not kind. Amused.

Like he already knew something I didn’t. Like he had already decided something I had no say in.

Callum stiffened beside me. I  felt the way his muscles tensed, the way his grip on my wrist turned bruising. He noticed.

And so did the Alpha. His gaze flickered down - not at Callum. At the way his fingers dug into my skin.

A silent assessment. Calculating. Then, with agonizing slowness, the Alpha’s golden eyes lifted back to mine.

His smirk deepened. And then, he moved. Stepping into the party, into the crowd, into my space.

Suddenly I forgot how to breathe.

Callum quickly recovered, his grip loosening slightly as he forced a pleasant expression onto his face. "Alpha Dorian," he greeted smoothly, his voice carrying the careful politeness of a man who wanted something. "It’s an honor to have you here."

Alpha Dorian.

The name settled in my mind like a whispered warning. I had heard of him before - heard of his ruthlessness, his strength. The Alpha of the Nightshade Pack, a man whose reputation alone sent lesser wolves trembling.

Dorian’s golden eyes flicked to Callum, studying him with the same lazy amusement, like a predator humorously indulging the presence of a lesser wolf.

"Beta Callum," he finally said, his voice deep, smooth, but carrying an undeniable edge of command. "The honor is mine."

Callum let out a chuckle, overly rehearsed, overly eager. "I’ve been hoping for a chance to discuss matters between our packs. Perhaps we could.."

"Later," Dorian cut him off, effortlessly dismissive.

His gaze returned to me

A slow, deliberate perusal.

And for the first time in years, under the weight of those golden eyes - I felt seen.

The silence between us stretched taut, an invisible thread woven with unspoken words and dangerous possibilities.

My heart pounded against my ribs, too fast, too loud. I forced myself to look away, to breathe, but it was impossible to ignore the weight of Dorian’s stare, the way his presence changed the air itself.

Callum’s fingers twitched against my wrist before he finally let go. He wasn’t stupid - he knew other wolves were watching, waiting to see how he would handle this. His lips curled into something resembling a smile, though it never reached his cold, calculating eyes.

"If you’ll excuse us, my mate and I should.."

"Your mate?"

Dorian’s voice was quiet, yet it sliced through the noise like a blade.

I stilled. The way he said those words - your mate - it wasn’t a question. It was a challenge.

A warning.

Callum laughed, the sound brittle. "Yes. Tessa is my mate." His arm slid around my waist, pulling me closer than I wanted to be. "Though I doubt you came all this way to discuss my personal life, Alpha."

Dorian didn’t respond. He didn’t even blink.

Instead, his golden gaze dropped to where Callum’s hand rested against my hip. The air grew heavier, thick with something unspoken, something primal.

A flicker of something crossed Dorian’s face. Displeasure. No, it was possession. A claim that had not yet been spoken aloud.

I swallowed hard, a shiver skimming down my spine.

Then, slowly, deliberately, Dorian looked back at me.

"Interesting."

That was all he said before turning away, stepping into the crowd as if their exchange had never happened.

But I felt it.

Something had changed.

A mark had been left, invisible yet undeniable.

I touched my wrist absently, the spot where Callum’s grip had been moments ago, now burning for an entirely different reason. My breath came shallow, My thoughts spinning.

Dorian hadn’t just seen me. He had acknowledged me. And in doing so, something inside me - something I thought long dead - stirred.

Deep in my bones, I knew - Dorian was not done with me.

The warmth of the room pressed in around me, but I felt cold.

Callum’s fingers returned to my waist, gripping tightly as he guided me toward the far end of the hall, where the Beta table was set up. He leaned down as they walked, his lips brushing the edge of my ear in a show of affection for the watching eyes.

“Don’t look at him again,” he hissed. “You’re embarrassing yourself. Embarrassing me.”

My jaw clenched, but I didn’t respond. There was no point. I had learned that long ago.

The truth was - I hadn’t meant to look. Hadn’t meant to stare at the Alpha like a moth drawn to fire. But there was something about him… Something in the way he had looked at me. Not with pity. Not with disgust.

But with recognition. As if he saw something buried deep inside me - a version of myself  I’d long forgotten.

I sat down at the table beside Callum, my gaze dropping to the crystal goblet in front of me. I reached for the wine, desperate for anything to numb the burning under my skin.

But even as I drank, I felt it - him.

Watching.

From across the room, hidden in the shadows of a tall archway, Alpha Dorian leaned against a pillar, glass of dark liquor in hand. His posture was deceptively casual, but his eyes were anything but.

They never left me.

Not once.

Callum was speaking to another Beta at the table, boasting about patrol strategies and border alliances, but I heard none of it. My skin prickled, my senses sharpened as if my wolf - long quiet, long dormant - had stirred.

My heart raced as my gaze lifted, almost involuntarily, and collided once more with his.

Dorian.

His golden eyes glinted like firelight, daring me not to look away this time.

I didn’t. My breath hitched.

The corner of his mouth twitched - not quite a smile, not quite a smirk. A promise.

Then someone laughed too loudly beside me, and she blinked, the spell breaking. I dropped my gaze quickly, pulse thundering in my ears.

Callum noticed.

His eyes narrowed as he looked across the room, and something bitter twisted his features.

“I warned you,” he murmured, his hand clamping down painfully on my thigh beneath the table. “Do not make me regret bringing you here.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, tasting blood.

But it was too late. Someone had already noticed. And he wasn’t going to let me go unseen again.