Dorian's POV She was fighting me. Even now, bruised and exhausted, Tessa was still fighting.Kael paced in the back of my mind, still unsettled. "You shouldn’t have let this happen.""She needed it", I reminded him. "She needs to prove to herself that she’s more than what he made her believe."A growl. "She could have died."I pushed the thought away before it could settle.Tessa was watching me, her expression carefully guarded, but I could see it - the flicker of uncertainty, the crack in her defenses. She wanted to believe me. She just didn’t know how.I leaned back in my chair, keeping my voice even. “I know you think this is another cage. That I’m no different than him.”Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t deny it.Good. She was honest, even in her silence.I let the words settle before continuing. “But you’re wrong.”Tessa let out a slow breath, eyes narrowing slightly. “Then prove it.”A challenge.My wolf bared his teeth in approval. I studied her for a long moment before speak
Dorian’s POVThe door clicked shut behind me, and I exhaled, rolling the tension out of my shoulders. Kael was still restless, his presence coiling in the back of my mind, watching."You should have stayed." His voice was a low snarl. "She doesn’t trust easily, and you left her with doubts.""She doesn’t need me hovering over her like she’s fragile", I countered. "She needs space to think."Kael didn’t like that answer, but he fell silent.I moved down the dimly lit hallway, my boots echoing against the wooden floors. The packhouse was quieter than usual, but I wasn’t stupid. They were talking - whispering about the broken female their Alpha had dragged into their territory.Their murmurs had been there since I carried Tessa through the main hall, her body bloodied and bruised but still defiant. A mated Beta female, discarded by her mate and brought here? It was reckless. It was unheard of.It was my decision. And I wasn’t about to explain myself.I pushed through the double doors int
Tessa’s POVI woke to the scent of herbs and antiseptic, my body aching like I’d been trampled by a herd of wolves. My eyelids felt heavy, but as I forced them open, the soft glow of lamps illuminated the wooden beams of the ceiling above me.The clinic.I exhaled slowly, pushing past the hazy memories of the fight. My wolf, Sable, stirred sluggishly in the back of my mind."You’re awake", she murmured."Unfortunately". I swallowed, my throat dry.Sitting up took effort. My ribs protested, but the pain was manageable - familiar, even. I had lived through worse. I had survived Callum’s beatings, the humiliation of being cast aside like I was nothing. This? This I could handle.A soft knock sounded at the door. Before I could answer, it creaked open, and Elara stepped inside.Dorian’s sister.I hadn’t spoken to her much, but I’d seen her watching me from the edges of the pack’s gathering . She was tall and poised, her dark hair braided over one shoulder, her sharp golden eyes assessing
Tessa’s POVThe morning air was cold, but the heat between us burned hotter.Dorian moved like a predator - fluid, controlled, utterly lethal. Even when he wasn’t attacking, every motion was precise, effortless. He barely broke a sweat, while my skin was damp, my breath ragged from exhaustion.He was beautiful.That realization hit me at the worst moment - when he pivoted in a perfect arc, demonstrating a counterstrike I was supposed to mimic. The muscles in his arms flexed, his shirt clinging to his torso, damp with sweat. His dark hair was slightly tousled, a few strands sticking to his forehead, and his sharp jaw clenched in focus.Sable hummed in approval. "Look at him."I swallowed hard. I already was.His body wasn’t just strong - it was built for destruction, honed into something wickedly dangerous. But there was elegance in it, too, like watching a storm twist through the sky.His gaze flicked to mine, sharp and knowing.“Distracted?”My breath hitched. I forced my expression
Tessa’s POV I barely slept that night.Every time I closed my eyes, I felt him again - his hands correcting my stance, his body so close it blurred the line between dominance and something far more dangerous. The heat of his touch still burned against my skin, and the worst part?I didn’t hate it. I hated him. I hated the way he controlled everything - this pack, this training, me.And I hated that, despite every reason to resist, my body reacted to him like I belonged to him.Sable prowled in my mind, restless. "He wants to break us."I sat up in the room I’d been given, staring out the window. The moon was high, bathing the forest in silver light. Somewhere out there, Dorian was probably still training, pushing his warriors to their limits."He’s not breaking us", I told my wolf. "He’s making us stronger."Sable’s growl was low, reluctant. "Then we fight. We take everything he gives us. And we make sure he never owns us."I exhaled, gripping the sheets. "Agreed."The Next Morning
Dorian’s POVShe hit the ground hard.Too hard.A growl built in my throat as I watched her crumble, her body slack, her breathing ragged. My wolf, Kael, lunged against the walls of my mind, snarling."You pushed her too far."I ignored him, moving before I could think better of it. The warrior I’d assigned as her opponent took a cautious step back, shoulders tense as if he expected me to tear into him. Smart. I was close.Too close.I crouched beside her, pressing my fingers to her pulse. Strong but erratic. Her skin was slick with sweat, her chest rising and falling in uneven gasps. She looked fragile like this, a stark contrast to the fighter who had thrown herself at an opponent twice her size minutes ago.I gritted my teeth.I knew what she was made of. Knew that weakness had been beaten into her, that Silver Creek had tried to bury her fire.But I also knew that fire still burned. She just needed to see it, to believe it.She stirred, a soft sound escaping her lips. My breath hi
Tessa POV The warm water ran over my skin, washing away the sweat and dirt from training, but it didn’t quite cleanse the ache deep inside. My muscles screamed in protest, every bruise a reminder of the punishment I’d endured. The sting from my ribs flared as I reached up to rinse my hair, and I hissed, biting my lip to hold back the pain.The water was comforting, but it didn’t ease the storm raging in my mind.When I stepped out of the shower, the chill of the air hit me, and I wrapped a towel around my body before walking to the mirror. The reflection staring back at me wasn’t what I wanted to see.It was the face of someone broken, someone who had barely held her ground against an opponent far stronger, far more ruthless than anything I’d known.The bruises were already forming, darkening as the hours passed. One across my cheek. Another on my collarbone. My ribs were sore to the touch, my arms stiff from the constant strain of blocking strikes I couldn’t always deflect.The warr
Tessa POVI closed my eyes, lying back against the pillows, letting the silence of the room swallow me. My mind kept racing, the images of the fight, the training, and the roughness of his touch when he picked me up spinning in my head. The heat between us had been undeniable.And now, it was a fire that I couldn’t put out.I wasn’t sure what came next. But as the darkness started pulling me under again, I knew one thing for sure. I wasn’t going to break. Not if I had anything to say about it.The question was: Would I become stronger, or would I keep falling into his trap, one fight at a time?Every time I closed my eyes, I felt him - his hands, his heat, the ghost of his voice murmuring in my ear.I shifted against the sheets, my body aching, but it wasn’t just from the bruises left during training. It was something deeper, something I didn’t want to name.Dorian had touched me. Held me. And I had burned for it. I shouldn’t have. I should have hated it. Hated him.But when I closed
Tessa’s POVThe door clicked shut behind Marcus, leaving only silence and the distant whisper of wind against the stone walls. I didn’t move at first. Neither did Dorian.My chest rose and fell in a rhythm I couldn’t quite control, like my body was still catching up to what had just been said - what had been confirmed. I wasn’t just different. I was legacy. Power. A thread in a tapestry that spanned generations.And Dorian… he wasn’t just my mate. He was part of the same story. The other half of a design that had been written before either of us were born.My gaze drifted to him, and when our eyes met, the current between us ignited again—unspoken, electric, heavy with things we hadn’t said yet.“You okay?” he asked quietly.“No,” I admitted, voice hoarse. “But I will be. I just... ”He nodded once, as if that was enough. As if that small promise held the weight of an oath.“I’m not sure what scares me more,” I whispered, “that someone gave up everything to hide me, or that I might be
Tessa POVThe scent of pine and morning chill still clung to my skin as I walked beside Dorian through the hallway, the distant hum of voices and training sessions fading behind us. My muscles thrummed with power - alive, tingling, as if every nerve had been awakened and flooded with something wild and ancient. This morning’s training had proven what I already suspected.I was stronger. Faster. Sharper.And not just physically. Sable had moved with fluid grace and precision I hadn’t felt before - our connection was clearer, her instincts more confident. We didn’t stumble over each other like we used to. We were finally in sync.The other wolves had noticed too. Some had watched me with open curiosity. Others, with quiet reverence.But there wasn’t time to bask in any of that. The letter burned in the back of my mind, the name Seraphine Vael like a song I couldn’t stop humming.We stepped into the study where Alpha Marcus already waited, standing near a tall window with a thick leather
Tessa POVThe morning air was crisp, sharp enough to sting my lungs in the first breath as I stepped outside. Dew clung to the grass, and a thin mist curled across the training grounds like smoke trailing from an unseen fire. My bare feet pressed into the cool earth, grounding me. The moment I exhaled, Sable stirred beneath my skin, more alert than ever.“I feel it,” she whispered.So did I.Power no longer flickered at the edge of awareness like a candle too shy to burn. It coursed through me now, liquid heat and lightning under my skin, vibrant and real. I could feel every heartbeat, every subtle shift in the wind, every breath Dorian took as he approached from across the field.He looked like he'd already been training. His shirt clung to him, dark with sweat at the collar and along the sculpted lines of his chest. But his eyes… they were locked on me, intense, proud, and hungry in a way that made my stomach flutter.“You’re early,” he said, voice low, approving.“I couldn’t sleep,
Tessa POV I held the letter in my shaking hand and read it second time... This can't be .. real .My dearest Tessa,If this letter has reached you, then the threads of fate I so desperately tried to shield you from have begun to tighten. Forgive me. There is much I cannot say outright. I bound myself with oaths and blood to keep certain truths hidden - for your safety, and for reasons that may soon reveal themselves.You were never meant to be ordinary, little star. You were born of two worlds, and in you, something ancient sleeps - something that frightened even those who swore to protect it. I had to give you away, though it broke me in ways I never recovered from. I know the day will come when your power will return to you. You will feel it, burning like wildfire through your bones, washing away the veil I was forced to place over you. Please forgive me for that. I did it to keep you alive. The moment you were born, you became a target.The seal was not meant to break until you w
Tessa POVI stood at the edge of the packhouse balcony, the morning air crisp against my skin. The sky above was painted in soft blues and golds, the sun rising like it had something to prove. Much like me, I thought with a faint smile. There was a strange stillness in the world today - one that hummed just beneath my skin.My reflection in the tall window panes startled me at first. I looked... different. My features were sharper, more radiant. My eyes glowed faintly, gold flecks flickering like embers in a deep forest. My hair - gods, even my hair seemed fuller, darker, shimmering with strands of silver and shadow. Power hummed through me like a current I hadn’t felt before.“You see it too,” Sable whispered, her voice a soft rumble at the back of my mind. “You are more. This is what we were meant to be.”“I feel like I’ve changed overnight, again.” I whispered, fingertips brushing against the slight glow beneath my skin.“Because you have. The bond unlocked something buried. Somet
Dorian POVThe morning sun hadn’t yet crested the distant ridges when I stood at the tall window of my private study, watching the mist curl through the trees like pale fingers. The room was quiet - too quiet - and my wolf didn’t like it.Kael stirred beneath my skin, restless. "She's different now."I nodded to the silent room, though the reflection in the glass answered me - tall, sharp lines in a black shirt, collar open just enough to reveal the mark Tessa had left on my throat. The claiming."More than different," I murmured back. "She’s magnificent."Kael hummed, almost reverent. "You knew she was strong, but not this strong."He was right. I had known Tessa was special - had known it the moment I first caught her scent in the Silver Creek territory. But even then, I hadn’t imagined… this.Her transformation after the Luna ceremony had been nothing short of breathtaking. Strength hummed from her in quiet pulses, radiating in the air around her like heat from the sun. Her eyes, o
Tessa POVI woke up slowly, the sunlight filtering through the curtains, bathing the room in a soft glow. The bed beneath me felt different, as if I were lying on a cloud. Everything about this morning felt different, but it wasn’t until I stretched, feeling the stretch of muscles that hadn’t felt quite so… powerful before, that I realized something had changed. I didn’t know exactly what, but there was a difference. A subtle shift that I couldn’t ignore.Sable was awake the moment my eyes opened, her presence a comforting hum in the back of my mind. She was still, just watching, waiting for me to recognize what had happened. And when I did, she purred softly, a ripple of approval running through our bond.“You feel it too, don’t you?” I asked quietly, my voice still thick with the remnants of sleep."I do", Sable replied, her voice steady, yet tinged with awe. "Something has been unlocked. Something… powerful."I pushed myself up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. My feet hi
Tessa POVThe sky was painted in ink and silver by the time we slipped away. Stars shimmered like scattered dust over the dark forest line, and the wind whispered secrets in a tongue only the wolves could truly understand. I leaned against the cool stone railing of the balcony outside our private quarters, a crystal glass of deep red wine held loosely in my fingers.Below, the estate grounds were hushed. The fire pits still glowed softly, casting flickering light across the stone pathways. Most of the guests had retired. The official meetings were done, and the mask of diplomacy had slipped from Dorian's face the moment the doors to our suite had closed behind us.Now, with just the two of us, the night felt like it finally belonged to something real.Dorian emerged from inside, two fingers holding the stem of his own glass, the rest of him bare from the waist up. The soft moonlight carved lines across his chest and shoulders - each scar a story I hadn’t yet heard, but a few I already
Dorian POVThe first strikes of sunlight cut across the floor like a blade, but Dorian was already awake.He stood by the tall windows, bare-chested, the cool morning air brushing against his skin as he sipped from a glass of dark coffee. The city beyond the trees stirred to life in the distance, unaware that history had shifted the night before.She was still asleep.He didn’t turn to look at her - not yet. He could feel her presence in the room like a second heartbeat, tethered to him through the mark she wore, the bond they'd completed in body and blood. Tessa had fallen asleep curled in the sheets after the second time he’d taken her. Possessive, wild, animal. Kael had been dangerously close to the surface, and for once, Dorian had let his wolf have a say.He was different this morning. Lighter and heavier at once. More himself. Kael paced lazily in the back of his mind, still sated, still sharp.“She’s ours now,” his wolf murmured.“She’s always been,” Dorian replied in silence,