All Chapters of Save Me, Claim Me: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Dorian POVThe cold air bit through the training grounds before sunrise, the sky still ink-dark and silent. Perfect. No distractions. No softness.Only the hard edge of discipline.I stood at the top of the ridge overlooking the sparring rings, arms crossed as my warriors assembled below. My Beta, Rylan, barked orders like gunshots. My Gamma, Victor, walked the lines with a blade in hand - not to use, just to remind them what was at stake.They respected me.Feared me, some of them. Good. Fear kept a blade sharp. Respect kept it from turning on its wielder.Rylan met my gaze, nodding once. He didn’t need words. None of them did. That’s how I trained them - silent understanding, unity built in blood and repetition. We weren’t a pack of pampered nobles sipping wine and waxing on about diplomacy. We were wolves. Soldiers. Survivors.“Start with full-shift combat,” I called, voice cutting through the morning like steel through silk. “I want three rotations before first light. No healing un

Tessa POV There was someone outside my door.I felt it before I heard it - an energy, heavy and sharp, pressing against the other side like a storm trying not to break. My breath caught. I set the book down slowly, listening.No knock. No voice. Just... presence.My heart picked up its pace.Dorian.It couldn’t be anyone else. No one else moved like that. Carried that much weight in their silence.I stood from the armchair, the blanket slipping from my lap to the floor. My bare feet made no sound on the stone, but I felt the cool bite of it, grounding me. I reached for the door - then stopped with my hand hovering just above the handle.Why wasn’t he knocking?Why did it feel like the air was trembling?I leaned in slightly, and my wolf stirred, uneasy. She didn’t feel threatened. But she was... alert. Listening. Cautious.And still, I opened the door. Slowly. Carefully. He didn’t move.Dorian stood there, one hand braced against the doorframe, head lowered, eyes closed. But even lik

Tessa POVThe wind carried a hint of warmth through the trees, teasing the edge of spring, though the forest still held onto winter's chill. Sunlight filtered down through the bare branches, casting broken shadows on the path as I walked alongside Isla.“I still can’t believe you’ve never tried pine tea,” Elara said, tugging a scarf tighter around her neck as we moved toward a small clearing. “It’s like drinking the forest.”I smiled, amused by her excitement. “Does it taste like bark?”She wrinkled her nose. “A little. But in a cozy, earthy way. You’ll see.”This was the first time I’d spent real time with Dorian’s sister. She was… disarming. Gentle but whip-smart. Talkative, but never overbearing. The opposite of what I expected from the sister of a man like him. And yet, somehow, I could see the resemblance - in the eyes. The way she looked at you like she saw more than you wanted her to.We reached the clearing where a fire pit waited, half-buried in frost. Elara crouched and bega

Tessa POVPain tore through me, sharp and relentless, pulling me under like a riptide. My limbs convulsed, muscles spasming as the shift forced itself upon me, dragging me from wolf to human with violent, unforgiving force.I couldn’t stop it.Couldn’t control it.Heat pulsed beneath my skin as fur retracted, vanishing as if it had never been there. My bones cracked, snapping into place, reshaping. My limbs thinned, my fingers stretching, clawing at the dirt beneath me as the weight of my body felt wrong - too light, too fragile.I gasped, lungs seizing, my chest tightening as exhaustion slammed into me. My vision blurred, the world tilting as I fought to stay upright.I was shaking. Trembling. My bare skin slick with sweat, feverish.A voice cut through the haze. Deep. Familiar.“Tessa.”I barely registered it.The ground beneath me felt unsteady, spinning, and my knees buckled before I could stop them.Then - warmth. Strength. Arms catching me before I hit the earth.Dorian.His sce

The knock at my door was sharp, decisive.I tensed, my body still aching from the shift, but I forced myself upright. The two guards stationed outside hadn’t moved all morning, their presence a constant reminder that, despite the warmth of the room, I wasn’t free.The door opened before I could answer. A woman stepped inside, carrying a folded set of clothes. She was tall, strong, with dark brown hair tied back and sharp eyes that raked over me with a look I couldn’t quite decipher."Get dressed," she said, placing the clothes on the bed. "The Alpha is waiting."I hesitated. "For what?"Her expression didn’t change. "You’re to stand before the pack."A weight settled in my stomach.I didn’t get a choice in this.With a slow breath, I pushed back the blankets and reached for the clothes. They were simple but sturdy - black leggings, a long-sleeved tunic, and boots. Better than the loose, clothes I’d woken up in. My movements were stiff, my muscles sore, but I didn’t let it show.The wo