The alpha's bride

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The tequila burned all the way down my throat, searing like fire. I coughed once, clutching the lime slice so hard it squished between my fingers, juice dripping sticky-sweet down my wrist. Everyone around me cheered like I’d just done something epic, but all I could think was how much I hated the taste. Bitter. Sharp. Wrong.

Carlos grinned like he’d accomplished some kind of victory, leaning in close enough that I could smell the cheap cologne mixing with alcohol. My stomach twisted. His mind pressed against mine, a tidal wave of lusty images that made me want to claw my skin off. I jerked my gaze away, but it was too late. The pictures stuck. His fantasies weren’t just gross — they were invasive, smearing through my head like graffiti.

I wiped my wrist on my jeans, trying to shake the stickiness off, trying to shake him off, but I couldn’t.

“Not bad, chava,” Carlos said, his voice slick.

My lips twitched in something that might’ve been a smile but felt more like a snarl. “Thanks, I guess.”

Rosalyn was perched across the room, her arms crossed, smirk practically dripping venom. She saw the way Carlos leaned toward me, the way I edged back, and she looked like she was eating popcorn at a movie theater. Enjoying every second.

I wanted to scream at her, but what would be the point? She was waiting for me to fail. To trip. To prove that I didn’t belong here, that I was nothing but the outsider.

I grabbed for the counter behind me, needing to ground myself. The wood beneath my palm felt rough, solid. Except—

A rush of images slammed into me before I could yank my hand away.

Blood. So much blood. The hallway at St. Ailbe’s, the lockers dented, paint peeling, and claw marks carved into metal like butter. A howl split the air, echoing in my skull. Shadows lurked at the edges of the vision — vampires, their red eyes glowing like coals in the dark. Students screaming, running, but they weren’t fast enough.

I gasped and staggered back, ripping my hand free like it had been burned.

“Tessa?” Carlos’s voice cut through, muffled, too close.

I blinked, and suddenly the kitchen was back, the music thudding through the walls, laughter spilling in from the living room. My heart jackhammered. I shoved past him, needing distance, air, space — anything.

“Hey, where are you going?” His hand clamped on my wrist, skin to skin.

Shit.

The images came again, fast and furious. Carlos grinding against some girl in the hallway. Carlos shoving someone against a locker. Carlos picturing me in ways that made bile crawl up my throat.

I ripped my arm free, chest heaving. “Don’t touch me.”

He raised his brows, clearly amused. “Feisty. I like it.”

God, I hated him.

I pushed past him, nearly colliding with Rosalyn on my way out. Her perfume was a wall of artificial sweetness that made me gag. She tilted her head, eyes glinting. “Careful, Freaky Tessa. Don’t want everyone to see you losing it.”

My fists curled. My vision blurred. It would’ve been so easy to punch her smug little smile off her face.

But then—

“Back off, Rosalyn.”

The voice wasn’t mine.

It was low, rough, steady as thunder rolling over hills.

I froze.

Dastien.

He was standing in the doorway, tall and broad, dark hair falling into his eyes. His presence filled the room like gravity, pulling everyone’s attention whether they wanted to look at him or not. My pulse skipped.

Rosalyn’s smirk faltered for a split second before she recovered, pasting on her fake-sweet smile. “Dastien. Always so protective.” She brushed invisible lint from her dress, acting unbothered. “Don’t worry. I was just talking.”

“Didn’t sound like it,” he said. His eyes flicked to me, amber in the light, catching and holding me like a snare. My lungs forgot how to work.

I wanted to say something — anything — but words were useless in that moment.

Carlos laughed nervously, raising his hands. “Hey, man. No problem here. Just a party.”

Dastien’s gaze cut to him, sharp enough to slice. Carlos swallowed and stepped back, muttering something under his breath.

The tension thickened, pressing down on me until I couldn’t breathe.

“I need air,” I whispered, mostly to myself.

I shoved past them all, pushing through the crowd in the living room, ignoring the drunken shouts, the bass vibrating the floor. My skin was on fire, visions buzzing like static under my skin.

The backyard. That was the goal. I needed open space.

I stumbled through the sliding glass door, gulping cool night air like water. The stars overhead blurred. My head spun.

And then — his scent.

Woodsmoke. Pine. Something wild.

I didn’t have to turn to know he’d followed me.

“You shouldn’t let them get to you,” Dastien said, his voice quieter now, almost gentle.

I spun, anger flaring just to keep from collapsing. “Easy for you to say. You don’t have to see what I see.”

His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean—” My throat closed. I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t explain what it was like to touch someone and see too much. To drown in their darkest thoughts. To choke on their secrets.

But he didn’t look away. He didn’t laugh. He just watched me like he actually wanted to understand.

And that was dangerous.

Because I wanted to tell him everything.

I shook my head, stepping back. “Forget it.”

But he moved closer, slow, deliberate. “I can’t forget it.”

The words hit me low in my gut. My chest tightened.

I hated how much I wanted him near, how the pull between us was magnetic, impossible to fight.

“Why are you even here?” I asked, desperate for distraction.

His jaw clenched. “To make sure you’re safe.”

I barked a laugh. “From what? Drunk teenagers and bad music?”

His gaze darkened. “From what’s coming.”

I froze. My heart stopped.

He knew. Somehow, he knew.

But before I could ask, Rosalyn’s laugh sliced through the night like glass breaking. She sauntered out, drink in hand, eyes locked on Dastien. “There you are,” she purred.

I stiffened.

Dastien didn’t even glance at her. His eyes were still on me.

And I hated how much that meant.

The music inside shifted louder, shouts rising, a fight breaking out near the kitchen. But all I could hear was the rush of blood in my ears, the whisper of fate curling around me like a noose.

Something was going to happen tonight. I could feel it in my bones.

And whatever it was, there’d be no going back.

The air between us tightened like a wire pulled too taut. Dastien still hadn’t looked at Rosalyn, and that fact alone made something flutter in my chest I didn’t want to name.

Rosalyn wasn’t used to being ignored. Her lips pursed, then she plastered on a brighter smile and reached out, her manicured nails grazing Dastien’s forearm. “Come inside with me. People are asking where you are.”

The second her skin touched him, heat surged in my chest — not mine, not even his, but hers. A flare of envy so sharp I swayed.

Dastien stiffened. He peeled her hand off like it was poison. “Not now, Rosalyn.”

The words hung heavy. Her face fell for a fraction of a second before she shot me a glare sharp enough to cut. “Suit yourself,” she muttered, flipping her hair as she stalked back inside.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Embarrass her.”

He finally looked away from me, out toward the pool, where strings of fairy lights glittered in the water’s reflection. “She embarrasses herself.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. My head still buzzed from the visions, my skin still crawling from Carlos’s fantasies.

And speaking of—

The sliding glass door banged open. Carlos stumbled out, a beer in one hand, his grin sloppy. His eyes landed on me and lit up like a dog spotting a bone.

“Thought you ran off,” he slurred. “Don’t be shy, chava. Party’s just getting started.”

He started toward me.

Dastien stepped in front of me, his stance shifting, predatory. “Back off.”

Carlos froze, his grin faltering. “Whoa. Didn’t know she was taken.” He raised his hands like surrender, but his eyes flicked between us, calculating.

My pulse raced. Taken? No one had ever said that about me before. The word made my stomach flip in ways I didn’t want to examine.

“She’s not your concern,” Dastien growled.

Carlos held his beer up like a shield. “Fine, fine. Chill.” He retreated a few steps, muttering under his breath.

When he finally disappeared back inside, I exhaled so hard my knees almost gave out.

“You didn’t have to—”

“Yes, I did,” Dastien cut me off. His eyes locked on mine, fierce and unrelenting. “He touched you.”

Something in his tone made my skin prickle. Possessive. Dangerous. Like I already belonged to him.

I should’ve been furious. Instead, I was trembling.

I looked away, trying to steady my breath. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough.”

The silence stretched, thick and electric. I couldn’t stand it. My body moved before my brain caught up, turning away, pacing toward the far end of the yard.

But he followed. Always close. Always there.

“Stop,” he said softly.

I froze.

The command wasn’t loud, but it vibrated through me, tugging at something deep and primal I didn’t understand. I turned back to him slowly.

He was only a few feet away now. His amber eyes glowed faintly under the string lights, wolf bleeding into man.

My heart hammered.

“This pull—” His voice was rough, uneven. “Do you feel it?”

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Because yes, I did. And it terrified me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I whispered.

He stepped closer. My back hit the fence. My breath caught.

“Don’t lie to me.”

I couldn’t. Not when his gaze stripped me bare. Not when every inch of me was screaming with awareness.

His hand lifted, hesitated, then brushed a strand of hair from my face. The touch sent a shock through me, sparks racing under my skin.

I gasped.

He cursed under his breath, like he hadn’t meant to do it but couldn’t stop.

The world narrowed to this moment — his hand, his eyes, the magnetic force between us pulling tighter, tighter.

And then it snapped.

His mouth crashed onto mine.

Heat exploded, raw and consuming. My knees nearly buckled, but his arm slid around my waist, holding me up, holding me close.

It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was wild, hungry, desperate — like he’d been starving and I was the only thing that could save him.

And God help me, I kissed him back.

My fingers tangled in his shirt, clinging. His scent wrapped around me, pine and smoke and something darker, something that felt like home.

The bond flared. I felt it — not imagined, not dreamed, but real. Threads weaving between us, tying, binding. Fate locking into place.

It was too much. Too fast. Too dangerous.

I tore away, chest heaving, lips swollen. “What the hell was that?”

Dastien’s eyes glowed brighter, wolf riding close to the surface. “What we are.”

I shook my head, panic rising. “No. No, that’s insane. I didn’t ask for this.”

“You don’t get to choose,” he said. His voice was low, but his words hit like stone. “Neither of us do.”

I staggered back, my mind spinning, the ground tilting under my feet.

Mate. The word I couldn’t bring myself to say hung in the air between us anyway.

Rosalyn’s laughter floated from inside. Music thudded. The party carried on. But for me, the world had already shifted.