The alpha's bride

Chapter 19

The morning sun was sharp, slicing through the blinds in hard white lines across my floor. I groaned, burrowing deeper under the blanket, trying to convince my body that staying horizontal was the best way to survive the day. Dastien’s absence beside me made the bed feel enormous and empty, though I knew he was patrolling the borders of the St. Ailbe’s territory, making sure no one had followed the envoys in the night.

I swung my legs over the side and pressed my feet to the cold floor. The chill alone was enough to wake me, and the memory of yesterday’s meeting with the envoy gnawed at my gut. I felt the weight of being observed, measured, and judged—not as a girl, not as a student, but as a lineage. Crescent Moon lineage. It felt like a chain I hadn’t agreed to wear.

Breakfast in the dining hall was subdued, the chatter of other students muted by tension. I found myself sitting with Axel and a few others, trying to anchor myself to familiarity, but the conversation bounced over my head. Half the pack was talking about the new patrol schedules, and the other half whispered about the envoy’s plans. The air was thick with expectation and quiet fear.

“I can’t believe they actually came,” Axel muttered, dropping a slice of toast onto his plate. “Crescent Moon, here? At St. Ailbe’s? What’s next, a trial by fire?”

I laughed, but it was hollow. “They could just take me if they wanted. That’s the worst part. My parents… they agreed to let it happen.”

“Your parents have always been protective,” Axel said, though his voice lacked conviction. He glanced at me, searching for reassurance, but I had none to give. The truth was uglier than I wanted it to be: I was on my own now, tangled between my bloodline, my pack, and Dastien, who I wanted more than I wanted air.

After breakfast, I wandered through the school grounds, trying to clear my head. The frost of early morning sparkled on the hedges, and the air smelled of pine and damp earth. I was restless, my wolf itching at the edges, eager to hunt, to test my strength.

That was when I saw him.

Dastien. Across the yard, his dark hair catching the light in strands of gold, his expression focused and tense as he spoke to Luciana and Michael. Something about the way his jaw tightened set my nerves on fire. I couldn’t explain why, but instinct screamed at me that danger was closer than anyone realized.

I ducked behind a tree, my heart hammering. My wolf flicked its ears, senses alert. I crouched lower, peering around the trunk. The envoy’s representative—one of the men from yesterday—was walking along the treeline, but he wasn’t alone. Shadows slipped behind him, figures I didn’t recognize. Not students. Not pack members.

And then I saw the glint: silver. Not normal silver jewelry or coins—actual silver. A weapon.

My vision snapped.

Flashes of chaos hit me in sharp waves: fire, blood, screaming. I saw the envoy’s representative raise the weapon. I saw Dastien and Axel, and I saw myself—helpless, pinned to the ground. The air smelled of ozone, iron, and fear. My stomach lurched, and I stumbled backward, heart hammering.

I blinked, and the world snapped back. The envoy was still walking calmly, shadows slipping behind him, but my wolf growled low in my chest.

I needed to warn Dastien.

I sprinted across the yard, my boots barely touching the frost-covered grass. I caught his attention just as he started toward the training fields. “Dastien!” I shouted, voice cracking.

He spun, eyes widening when he saw my expression. “Tessa—what is it?”

I grabbed his arm, shaking him. “They’re coming. The envoy… he’s not alone. They have silver. Weapons. I saw—”

Dastien’s frown deepened, his protective instincts kicking in. “Show me.”

I led him to the treeline, pointing out the envoy and his hidden guards. “They’re planning something. I don’t know what, but it’s bad. Really bad.”

Dastien’s wolf flared, teeth bared even in his human form. He looked at me, eyes dark, intense. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been wrong before,” I said, swallowing my fear. “Something’s coming, and we need to be ready.”

He nodded, tension coiling in his shoulders. “Alright. You stay here.”

“No,” I said immediately. “I’m not staying while you fight. You can’t keep me out of this.”

Dastien studied me for a long moment, his jaw working. Then he gave a small, almost reluctant nod. “Fine. But stay close. And don’t get in front of me.”

We moved through the shadows, weaving between trees, silent as the frost under our feet. The envoy and his group were closer than I’d realized, their conversation low but audible now.

“…tonight,” the envoy was saying, voice smooth and deliberate. “We strike before they can mobilize fully. No witnesses, no mistakes.”

Dastien’s hand went to my shoulder, a grounding touch. “Tonight,” he echoed, voice low. “They’re planning an attack tonight.”

My blood ran cold. “How many?”

“Too many,” he muttered. “We’ll have to call the pack. Warn everyone. But we can’t show fear. Not yet.”

I shivered, the wolf inside me straining, anxious to leap and protect. I hated feeling small, but I also hated feeling the thrill of danger creeping along my veins.

We slipped back toward the main building, planning our warning, our strategy. By the time we reached the hall, Michael was already coordinating with the upperclassmen, Luciana giving orders, and Axel gathering weapons. The energy was electric, tense.

“You saw them?” Michael’s voice was sharp as he turned to me. “What did you see?”

I swallowed hard. “Silver. Weapons. Guards. The envoy is planning to attack the school tonight.”

A murmur ran through the room. Dastien’s grip tightened on my hand. “We need to prepare defenses. Lockdown the dorms. Evacuate the students who can’t fight.”

Hours passed in a blur of training, preparation, and tense planning. I moved like a shadow, helping wherever I could, my wolf humming approval at the adrenaline, the fight, the looming threat.

By evening, the school was a fortress: wards in place, weapons distributed, students positioned strategically. The sky was dark and heavy with clouds, the moon a thin blade behind the gray.

I stood next to Dastien on the roof, watching the tree line, the shadows of the invaders slipping closer. My stomach twisted.

“Ready?” he asked, voice low.

“As I’ll ever be,” I said, though I felt anything but ready.

The first flash of silver caught my eye—a reflection off a blade, moving through the shadows.

And then I froze.

Something moved faster than it should have. Not human. Not like the others.

My vision blurred, flashes hitting me in rapid succession: the envoy raising a weapon, someone else falling, Dastien calling my name, my wolf howling, a shadow slipping past all our defenses.

I gasped, and Dastien’s arms were around me instantly, strong and grounding. “Tessa—what is it?”

I pointed, voice trembling. “There… something else. It’s not them. It’s bigger.”

Dastien’s eyes narrowed. “Show me.”

I wanted to, but the last image burned into my mind, making my chest seize: eyes glowing red, claws glinting in the moonlight, teeth bared in a predatory grin.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

And then I realized: this was something we weren’t ready for. Something even the Crescent Moon hadn’t counted on.

The forest was silent for a heartbeat, then the first scream shattered it, and everything changed.