Chapter 3 : A Dance With Danger

Tessa POV

I couldn’t breathe. Not because the room was too crowded, not because of the heavy perfume hanging in the air.

It was him. Dorian.

Even after he disappeared into the crowd, the weight of his gaze lingered. Something shifted inside me the moment ours eyes met. A crack in the fragile world I had built around myself.

I shouldn’t have looked at him. I shouldn’t have let myself feel anything.

But now? Now I was trembling.

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stand tall. It was just a moment. A glance. A fleeting interaction with an Alpha who held no significance in mylife. And yet… I felt marked.

Branded by the memory of golden eyes that had seen through me.

“Tessa.”

The sharpness of my name pulled me back, Callum’s voice laced with irritation.

Iturned just as he stepped in front of me, his fingers curling around my wrist. Not enough to bruise - yet. But the message was clear. Mine.

"Are you deaf?" he hissed, his voice low enough that no one else could hear. His thumb dug into the tender skin of my pulse point. "What the hell was that?"

I swallowed hard. "What was what?"

Callum’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t a fool. He had seen it. Felt it.

The moment between me and Dorian. The way my body had responded to his presence, the way I had looked at him - like I had forgotten my place.

Callum’s grip tightened. "You’re embarrassing me."

I lowered my head, silent. That’s what he cared about. Not me. Never me.

"Do you have any idea who that is?" he continued, his voice softer now - dangerous. "Dorian Kane doesn’t just show up at parties like this without a reason. If I can secure an alliance with him, do you think I’ll let you screw it up?"

I didn’t respond. There was no right answer.

Callum’s fingers slid to my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His smile was all polished control, but his eyes were dark with warning.

"Stay by my side. And keep your head down."

And just like that, he released me. I let out a shaky breath as he disappeared into the crowd to talk with other Beta's.

I shouldn’t have felt relief. But I did. For a moment, at least. Because the moment I looked up again, Dorian was there.

Not close. Not speaking. Just watching. His golden eyes unwavering. Calculating. Waiting.

This wasn’t just attraction. It was something deeper. Something darker. Something that made her blood hum in a way it never had before.

The music swelled around me, a rhythmic hum of bodies moving in sync. Laughter and the clinking of glasses filled the air, but I felt none of it.

I stood near the edge of the dance floor, hands clasped tightly in front of me, trying to steady myself. 

The weight of Alpha's Dorian golden gaze still lingered on my skin. He hadn’t approached since their first encounter, but I felt him. A predator biding his time.

A shiver traced down my spine, though not from fear.

And then like a shadow slipping through the crowd - he was there. A presence at my back. Unshakable. Undeniable.

I inhaled sharply, but before I could turn, a voice rumbled low in my ear, sending a tremor down to my very bones.

“Dance with me.”

No question. No room for refusal.

My breath hitched. I shouldn’t. I couldn’t. Callum would lose his mind if he saw me in another man’s arms - let alone this man’s.

And yet…

A calloused hand extended in front of me, palm up. The weight of expectation settled over me, thick as the dominance rolling from his skin.

I should say no.

Instead, I placed my fingers in his.

Dorian’s grip closed around mine - warm, firm, irrevocable. A silent claim.

The world blurred as he pulled me into the thrumming sea of dancers. I barely had a chance to exhale before his hands found my waist, fingers splaying over the silk of  my dress. The contact sent a jolt through me, heat coiling in my belly.

I had danced before. But never like this.

Never with a man who held me like he meant it.

I swallowed, heart hammering in my chest as we moved together, slow and deliberate. Dorian didn’t lead. He commanded. His touch wasn’t cruel like Callum’s - it didn’t bruise or punish.

But there was no question who was in control.

I dared to glance up.

Mistake.

Those golden eyes bore into me , darkened with something unreadable. He was studying me . Measuring every flinch, every breath.

"You're too thin."

The words were quiet, yet they struck harder than I expected. A cold, unwelcome truth.

My lips parted, but no words came.

Dorian’s hands shifted subtly at my waist, his touch almost gentle. But his next words made my breath catch.

"Why do you smell like fear?"

A shudder passed through me before I could suppress it.

I tried to look away. He didn’t let me.

I forced a smile, a flimsy mask of indifference. "I don’t know what you mean, Alpha."

Dorian’s smirk was slow, knowing. A lie didn’t work on a predator.

But before he could press further, a hand ripped me away.

I barely had time to stumble before Callum’s fingers dug into my arm, yanking me back to his side.

Anger darkened his eyes, his grip punishing, but his voice remained smooth. "Apologies, Alpha Dorian. I hope my mate isn’t bothering you."

Dorian remained perfectly still, his expression unreadable. A beast at rest. But his eyes flickered down - to where Callum’s hand branded my skin.

A slow smirk touched his lips. Not amused. Not kind. A promise.