Chapter 4 : The Breaking Point

Tessa POV

I barely felt the cold night air as we stepped outside, my pulse still pounding from the dance.

Dorian's touch still lingered on my skin, phantom heat seared into my memory. I could still feel him. The way he had held me - not like I was fragile, not like I was an object - but like I was someone he had already decided was his.

A shudder ran through me. Not fear. Not entirely.

Callum’s grip on my wrist was the opposite - crushing. Possessive in the worst way.

He hadn’t spoken since dragging me away from the dance floor. But his silence was a promise.

I glanced up at him, at the rigid line of his jaw, at the fury barely contained beneath his polished mask. He was waiting.

Not here. Not in front of witnesses. But once we were alone.. I swallowed hard, dread curling in my stomach.

The guests behind us were still laughing, still dancing. The music carried through the crisp night air, mocking me with its lightness. A perfect night for everyone but me.

My steps slowed. Maybe if I lingered, he’d cool off. Maybe if I stalled, something - someone - would interrupt.

Callum noticed. His grip tightened painfully as he yanked me forward, his breath hot against my ear.

“Keep moving.”

My stomach turned. I forced myself to walk, each step heavy with the weight of inevitability.

From the shadows near the entrance, a pair of golden eyes followed me.

Dorian leaned against a sleek black car, arms crossed over his chest. Unmoving. Unrelenting. His expression was unreadable, but something in his posture - coiled, waiting - sent a chill through me.

He knew.

Even in the dim light, I saw it - the way his gaze flicked to Callum’s hand on my wrist. The way his wolf lurked beneath the surface, silent but present. I didn’t dare look for too long.

I forced my gaze forward, praying Callum hadn’t noticed Dorian watching.

But as we reached the car, as Callum opened the door for me with just a little too much force, a quiet growl rumbled through the night.

Low. Dangerous. Almost imperceptible.

I felt it more than I heard it.

My heart slammed against my ribs as I slid into the passenger seat, stealing one last glance through the window.

Dorian hadn’t moved. But his wolf had spoken.

And for the first time, as the car sped away into the darkness, I wondered if someone might finally come for me.

The drive home was silent. Too silent. I sat stiffly in the passenger seat, my hands curled into fists on my lap. Every muscle in my body was tense, waiting.

Callum’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel. Slow. Controlled. Dangerous.

The streetlights flashed past, casting brief moments of light across his face. His jaw was tight. His lips pressed into a thin line.

But it was his eyes - burning with barely restrained fury - that made my stomach knot.

He wasn’t just angry. He was seething. I knew better than to speak. Maybe if I stayed quiet, if I didn’t provoke him, he would let it go.

Maybe...

The tires screeched as Callum suddenly swerved onto a side road, the car jerking violently.

I sucked in a breath, my heart lurching. “Callum..”

He slammed the brakes. The car skidded to a stop on an empty stretch of road, surrounded by thick, dark trees.

No houses. No witnesses.

My pulse pounded. I barely had a second to react before Callum turned to me , his hand snapping out to grip my chin.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” His voice was ice, controlled but sharp enough to cut.

My breath hitched. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Callum’s fingers dug in. “Don’t lie to me.”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to wince.

“You think I didn’t see you?” His lips curled into something that might have been a smirk if there wasn’t so much venom behind it. “You were all over him.”

My stomach twisted. “I wasn’t..”

He yanked me closer. “I saw the way you looked at him.”

Dorian. His name echoed in my mind, but I didn’t dare say it out loud.

“You embarrassed me,” Callum spat. “You acted like a desperate little whore in front of the most powerful Alpha in the room.”

My nails dug into my palms. Shame. Rage. A mix of both. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” I whispered.

Callum’s grip tightened. “You belong to me.”

The words sent a cold shiver through me.

Not ‘you’re my mate.’ Not ‘you’re my wife.’

You belong to me.

My vision blurred for a second. Not from tears. From fury. Something inside me snapped.

Maybe it was the memory of golden eyes watching me.

Maybe it was the way Dorian had looked at me like I was something more than just a possession.

Or maybe it was the unbearable weight of years of silence, years of swallowing me pain.

But suddenly, I wasn’t afraid anymore. I wrenched my chin out of Callum’s grip. Hard.

He wasn’t expecting it. He blinked, stunned for half a second. Then his expression darkened.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Tessa..”

I opened the car door and stepped out. Cold air hit my skin, but I barely felt it. All I could feel was the thunder in my chest. The burning heat in my veins.

I heard Callum curse before the driver’s side door slammed. He was coming after me. But I didn’t care.

For the first time in years, I refused to let him see me cower.

“You’ve got some fucking nerve,” he hissed “Get in the fucking car.”

He didn’t wait for me to move. He yanked the passenger door open and shoved me inside.

I sat stiffly, hands trembling in my lap, while he stalked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. The engine roared to life.

The silence in the car was suffocating. But Callum wasn’t done. “I don’t know what game you think you’re playing, Tessa,” he said as we pulled onto the dark road. “But I won’t be made to look like a fool. Especially not in front of him.”

I stared out the window, jaw clenched.

“You’re mine,” he growled. “And nothing - no one - is going to change that.”

The rest of the drive was a blur. Callum didn’t speak again.

I stared out the window, watching the trees fly past like ghosts in the dark. My hands trembled in my lap. My jaw ached from clenching it too tight.

I was unraveling. But not in the way he thought. I wasn’t afraid. Not anymore. Not like I used to be.

The front door slammed shut behind us with a thunderous bang. I flinched instinctively. The sound wasn’t just loud - it was final. A warning shot through the still, cold air of the house that screamed: You’re alone now. And there’s nowhere to run.

I took one step forward, heels clicking softly against the floor. Another. Another.

Maybe if I could reach the bedroom...

“Don’t fucking walk away from me.” The voice behind me was low. Deadly. I froze mid-step.

His footsteps echoed louder than mine, deliberate and sharp - like a blade dragged across marble.

“You think I didn’t see it?” he growled. “You whored yourself in front of him.”

I turned slowly, barely breathing - just as he reached me. The first slap came like lightning.

It cracked across my cheek, snapping my head sideways. My ears rang. My vision blurred. I staggered, catching myself against the wall.

“Stupid little bitch,” Callum hissed, and then - his fist drove into my stomach.

All the air was knocked from my lungs. I doubled over, choking on my own gasp, clutching my abdomen as nausea rolled through me.

But he didn’t stop. Another backhand to my face. I tasted blood. Felt the sting of a split lip, warm and sticky as it dripped down my chin.

“You made me look like a fucking joke in front of an Alpha,” he spat. “You couldn’t even act like a decent mate for five goddamn minutes.”

He grabbed my hair and slammed my head into the wall once, twice.. White exploded behind my eyes. The world spun. My knees buckled.

“You’re pathetic,” he seethed, dragging me upright again, fingers digging into my jaw. “Do you really think someone like him would want a useless, broken Omega with stretch marks and no spine?”

My body screamed in pain, but something inside me went terrifyingly still.

He shoved me backward again. I slammed into the wall, my shoulder hitting a corner. A sharp, searing pain tore through my collarbone.

“You looked at him like he was your fucking savior,” Callum sneered, pacing in front of me like an animal. “You forget your place so easily. You forget who owns you.”

I didn’t speak. Couldn’t. Blood dripped from my nose now, a trail staining my dress.

“Callum..” I tried to whisper, but my voice cracked. He punched me in the ribs.

A muffled sound escaped my lips as she fell, clutching my side. The floor was cold beneath my palms. Distantly, I registered that I couldn’t draw a full breath.

Callum stood over her. Sneering.

“I should’ve left you where I found you. Crying in that pathetic little pack, begging to be noticed. You’re a fucking burden. No one else would want you.”

Something snapped. Not a bone. Not a rib.

Me.

I pushed myself up, slow, trembling, blood dripping from my mouth.

I spat blood at his feet. “Then let them see what kind of Beta you really are,” I rasped. “Maybe he already did.”

Callum stilled.

Rage darkened his features. His hand twitched.

I thought he would finish me. But something in my voice stopped him. The defiance. The spark.

He stepped back slowly, nostrils flaring. “Get. Out. Of. My. Sight.”

I staggered upright, using the wall to steady myself. My knees wobbled. My body was screaming.

But  I didn’t collapse. I turned. Walked away. Not to the bedroom. To the bathroom. My sanctuary.

I locked the door behind me, hands shaking violently. A sob rose in my throat - but I swallowed it.

Instead, I peeled the bloodstained dress from my skin, flinching at the bruises, the swelling, the bone-deep ache.

I turned on the shower. Hot. Scalding.

The steam clouded the mirror, blurred the room, but I didn’t care. I stepped into the water.

Let it burn. Let it cleanse. Let it strip away everything that wasn’t me. And in the silence, behind the pain, behind the humiliation, something stirred.

Something woke.

Him.

His eyes. Alpha Dorian.

He saw something worth fighting for. 

My lips trembled as I leaned my forehead against the tile, water trailing down my bloodstreaked skin.

My wolf - silent for so long - growled. Not in fear. But in warning. I think. This was so quiet and distant.