The alpha's bride

Chapter 21

The morning sun hit my face like a cruel reminder that sleep had been a luxury I couldn’t afford. My body ached from yesterday, but it wasn’t just exhaustion—it was the kind that comes from knowing the world you thought you understood had shattered overnight. I pushed myself up from the bed in the dorm room, every muscle protesting, and took a deep breath. The air smelled faintly of smoke and silver—residual from the fight last night.

Dastien was already awake, leaning against the edge of the window sill, his golden eyes fixed outside, scanning the horizon. I could feel him before I even looked; the subtle shift of his wolf, tense, alert, protective. I wanted to reach for him, to lean against his shoulder like I used to in safer times, but something had shifted between us last night too. This wasn’t just danger anymore—it was exposure, intimacy, and the raw pull of destiny wrapped up in one lethal package.

“Morning,” I said softly, my voice raspy from shouting, screaming, and fear.

He didn’t turn immediately. Then slowly, his gaze swept over me, and a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You survived,” he said, tone teasing but edged with relief. “Barely.”

I rolled my eyes, though it wasn’t funny. “Barely? Dastien, there’s a thing out there—” I gestured vaguely toward the window and the forest beyond—“that is not just dangerous. It knows me. And it’s coming back.”

His eyes darkened, storm clouds gathering behind that golden hue. “I know,” he said quietly. “And we’ll be ready. You… I can feel it. Something about you draws them.”

I wanted to argue, to say that I wasn’t special, that all of this was a mistake. But my wolf growled low, warning me that argument was pointless. Dastien was right. There was a connection between me and that creature—a pull in my blood, my visions, my very soul—that couldn’t be ignored.

I dressed quickly in black leggings, a fitted long-sleeve top, and boots, the outfit practical for movement. I had to be ready. I had to understand the visions that had brought me here. As I pulled my hair into a tight braid, I felt the familiar pulse in my skull, the tingling that signaled the beginning of a vision.

“Not now,” I muttered. But it was too late. Images flashed through my mind—silver claws, burning eyes, shadows moving between shadows. And then… a memory that wasn’t mine, not entirely. A pack meeting centuries ago, a figure that looked like Dastien, a howl that split the night, and the name whispered over and over: McCaide.

I staggered, gripping the edge of the dresser. Dastien stepped forward, his hand warm on my shoulder. “You okay?”

I nodded quickly, but my stomach churned. “I… I saw something,” I admitted. “Something… old. Dangerous. And it’s connected to me.”

He frowned, jaw tight. “We’ll figure it out. But you need to eat first.”

I hated to admit it, but he was right. I grabbed a granola bar and wolfed it down. The wolf inside me snarled in protest at the mundane meal, craving action instead. My eyes flicked toward him, and I realized with a pang that we had no time for hesitation. Not when the threat was still out there, and not when I could feel it moving closer with each heartbeat.

We moved silently through the hallways of St. Ailbe’s, the dorms empty, the students too terrified—or too hungover—to even consider stepping out. The silence was a stark contrast to last night, making every creak of the floorboards and rustle of leaves outside feel amplified.

Dastien led the way to the training grounds, where silver weapons and claws lay scattered from the previous night’s battle. “We need to understand what we’re dealing with,” he said, his voice calm but commanding. “And we need to know why it came for you.”

I followed, my mind racing. “Why me? I’m… I’m just a girl with visions. That’s it. Nothing special.”

He shook his head, exasperated. “You’re more than that. You’re the key, Tessa. I don’t know to what yet, but it’s why the pack, why the rogue werewolves, why—everything—seems to revolve around you. Your bloodline is… different.”

Different. That word hit me harder than the visions. My mother’s Mexican lineage, my father’s Californian pack ties… nothing had prepared me for this. My wolf growled, impatient, wanting to move, to fight, to taste the danger.

Dastien handed me a pair of training daggers, silver-edged and gleaming in the sunlight. “Start light. Feel the weight, feel the energy.”

I gripped the daggers, and immediately I felt a surge of power—something primal, raw, that seemed to come from the blood in my veins. My wolf surged, responding to the call. My visions flashed again, but this time they weren’t chaotic—they were controlled, directed toward the movements of the daggers, the flow of combat, the energy around me.

Hours passed in a blur of motion, sweat, and adrenaline. Dastien moved beside me, correcting stances, showing me angles, teaching me the language of combat my body seemed to understand instinctively. My wolf leapt forward, feeling every flick, every thrust, every strike. I realized that I wasn’t just learning—I was remembering.

By the time the sun began to set, painting the training grounds in shades of blood and gold, I was exhausted but different. Stronger. Sharper. More aware of the wolf inside me than I’d ever been.

Dastien crouched beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You’re ready,” he said simply.

“Ready for what?” I asked, though a part of me already knew the answer.

He didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes flicked toward the forest, dark shapes moving through the trees. My wolf growled low, responding instinctively. And then I saw them: three figures, cloaked in shadows, eyes glowing silver, moving with precision, with intent.

“They’re coming,” Dastien whispered.

I didn’t need him to tell me. I could feel it—the pull in my blood, the weight of destiny pressing down, the hunger of the creatures moving toward us. My heart hammered, fear and exhilaration mingling into a cocktail of raw power.

“Then let’s finish this,” I said, voice steady despite the storm inside me.

He nodded, and together we moved toward the edge of the clearing, ready to meet the threat head-on. My wolf surged forward, senses sharpened, energy bristling. And in that moment, I understood something terrifying and exhilarating: nothing would ever be the same.

Because this time, we weren’t just fighting for survival.

We were fighting for everything.