The alpha's bride

Chapter 20

The scream ripped through the night air, slicing the tension like a knife. My heart slammed against my ribs, my wolf leaping in alarm, muscles taut and ready to spring. Dastien’s grip on my arm tightened, his golden eyes scanning the treeline, every movement precise, predatory. The invaders hadn’t expected a warning, not from a girl like me, but my visions had given us the edge… for a moment.

“Stay behind me,” Dastien ordered, his voice low but commanding. There was no room for argument, and I didn’t even try. My wolf snarled under my skin, thirsting for the hunt, for the danger.

We sprinted toward the source of the scream, leaping over frost-covered grass and fallen branches. The wind whipped my hair into my face, but I hardly noticed. All I could focus on were the flashes of my visions, replaying over and over: glowing eyes, claws, teeth, blood.

When we reached the clearing, the scene that met us was chaos incarnate. One of the guards from the envoy lay on the ground, slashed from shoulder to thigh, blood seeping into the frozen earth. Another had collapsed near the tree line, silver glinting in his hand, though the wound wasn’t his—it was theirs.

And then I saw it.

The creature. Standing taller than any man I’d ever seen, with fur black as night streaked with silver, eyes like molten gold burning with a hunger that made my wolf growl uncontrollably. It moved with a fluid grace, predatory and deliberate, as if calculating every step before it landed. And it was watching us.

My stomach dropped. This wasn’t one of the envoy’s soldiers. This was something else entirely. Something… ancient.

“Holy hell,” Axel muttered from behind me, voice low and incredulous. Even he, who had faced pack skirmishes and rogue werewolves, looked frozen.

Dastien’s hand went to the hilt of his dagger, the silver blade catching the moonlight. “Get back,” he warned. “Now.”

I wanted to obey, but my wolf was already ahead of me, drawn to the creature like a moth to a flame. The connection was instant, visceral, primal. I felt its hunger, its rage, its power. And beneath it all… a whisper of recognition.

“Wait,” I breathed, my voice trembling. “I… I know it.”

Dastien’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?”

Before I could answer, the creature lunged. Faster than anything human, it covered the distance between us in seconds, and I felt the air rush past my face as it passed. My wolf snarled, trying to meet it head-on, but Dastien pushed me behind him, dagger poised.

The first strike came from the envoy’s remaining guards, and chaos erupted. Silver blades clashed against claws, sparks flying, the sounds of growls, shouts, and metal ringing in my ears. My heart hammered in my chest, fear and adrenaline merging into a singular, all-consuming awareness.

I ducked behind a fallen log, trying to steady my breathing, my visions flashing like strobe lights. I saw Dastien move like a shadow, taking down two guards in succession with brutal precision. His wolf flared, teeth bared, growls reverberating through the night.

Then I saw it—the creature again—moving toward the school building, and instinct screamed at me. I had to warn the others. I had to do something.

“Dastien!” I shouted, breaking cover. “The creature—it’s heading for the dorms!”

He spun, eyes locking with mine, and for a heartbeat, fear flickered across his face. Then determination took over. “Stay close. I’m not letting it get to them.”

We ran together, weaving through the chaos. I felt my wolf stretching, muscles coiling, senses heightened. The creature was powerful, faster than anyone I’d encountered, but I could feel a strange pull between us, like a tether of fate that neither of us fully understood.

Inside the dorms, the students were screaming, scrambling to barricade doors and windows. I grabbed a young freshman by the arm, pulling her behind a desk. “Stay down! Don’t come out until we say so!”

Dastien moved with lethal grace, cutting through the remaining envoy members with silver blades and sheer force. I wanted to help, but my abilities were chaotic—my visions, though helpful, often left me dizzy and disoriented. I focused on what I could control: guiding the students, keeping them calm, and listening to the whispers of danger that my wolf emitted.

And then I saw it again. The creature, at the far end of the hallway, its eyes fixed on me. My blood ran cold. Recognition twisted into horror.

It wasn’t just a random predator—it was tied to me. My lineage. My blood. My curse.

“No…” I whispered, voice trembling. My wolf growled low in warning. “It knows me.”

Dastien appeared beside me, his hand on my shoulder. “Tessa, what is it?”

“I… I don’t know,” I admitted, heart hammering. “But it’s not just here to fight—it’s here for me.”

A low, guttural growl echoed down the hall, reverberating through the floorboards. The students froze, wide-eyed, realizing that something far beyond their comprehension was moving closer.

“Everyone, stay calm!” Dastien shouted, voice cutting through the fear like a blade. “Lock the doors! Stay inside!”

I took a step forward, and the creature’s eyes locked onto mine. My wolf snarled, but there was something else there—something terrifying and intimate. The creature tilted its head, as if considering me, and then… it spoke.

Not words, not in the human sense, but a sound that carried meaning directly into my mind, bypassing my ears entirely.

“Tessa… it’s time.”

My stomach dropped. The words were mine, somehow, but not mine. Ancient, commanding, irrevocable. My wolf growled louder, straining against my body as the creature began moving closer, its massive frame pushing toward us like a living avalanche.

Dastien’s eyes narrowed. “Tessa… what did it say?”

I swallowed, fear choking me. “I… I think it’s… calling me. But I don’t know why.”

The air thickened, charged with energy, as the creature stepped closer. Its claws scraped the floor, sparks of silver fire erupting with every strike. The students screamed, huddling together, and I felt the pull, the tug of my destiny twisting around me, tighter and tighter.

I turned to Dastien, panic in my eyes. “We can’t fight this… not alone.”

He didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed on the creature, calculating, preparing, ready to do whatever it took. My heart ached at the intensity in him—the mix of fear, protectiveness, and something else. Something raw, unspoken, but unmistakably there.

And then, as if sensing my hesitation, the creature lunged again. Faster than anything I could anticipate. Dastien shoved me aside, dagger raised, and the world became a blur of motion, claws, and teeth.

I closed my eyes, praying my wolf could guide me. When I opened them, the creature was gone—but a shadow lingered. The dorms were quiet now, eerily so, and I realized with a jolt that we weren’t done. This was only the beginning.

And in that moment, I understood: everything I thought I knew about my life, my lineage, my power, and Dastien… had changed. Forever.

The first strike of chaos had passed. But the war—the real war—was just beginning.