Chapter 174
Steam curled around us like a ghostly veil, softening the moonlight and cloaking the hot springs in an otherworldly glow. The laughter of the junior ambassadors echoed around the stony pool, their voices carefree under the starlit sky. I sat at the edge of the springs with my legs dipped into the warm, mineral-rich water, the heat soaking into my bones, relaxing my muscles from the day’s earlier debates.
“Okay, you killed that debate, by the way,” Anna said, bumping my shoulder playfully. She sat next to me in a maroon bikini, her curls piled high atop her head.
I shrugged with a small smile. “You really think so?”
“Girl, please. You had the whole room holding their breath. That guy from the Southern territory looked like he wanted to fake a fainting spell just to escape your questioning.”
I laughed, letting my head fall back. “He brought stats from three years ago and tried to spin them like they were gospel. He had it coming.”
“Still,” Tomas added from the other side, wading through the water with a smirk, “you’re ruthless. Like Alpha-daughter ruthless. I kind of love it.”
As I reached over for my water bottle, I spotted Alex across the spring. His dark hair was damp, clinging to his forehead in soft curls, and his lean body—tattoos hidden until now—gleamed with water and moonlight. He wasn’t saying much, as usual, but his eyes scanned the area like he was always two steps ahead of everyone else.
“Is it just me or is he hotter when he’s quiet?” Anna whispered under her breath.
I snorted. “He’s always quiet.”
“Exactly.”
Alex met my gaze then, and it was like the rest of the noise died around me. There was something in the way he looked at people—or maybe just me. Intense. Like he saw more than I said, more than I even knew I was feeling.
He stood and began making his way over.
“Oh. Oh boy,” Tomas murmured dramatically.
“Mind if I join you?” Alex asked, water lapping at his waist.
“Please do,” Anna said before I could speak.
He settled beside me, close enough for his warmth to radiate under the night air. “You were incredible today,” he said simply. “In the debates. Sharp.”
I smiled. “Thanks. You didn’t do so bad yourself.”
He gave a modest shrug. “I just don’t like losing.”
“So you’re competitive?”
His smirk made my stomach flutter. “Only when it counts.”
The conversation continued, low and charged with something I couldn’t quite name. I leaned forward to dip my hand in the water, and his fingers brushed mine—accidental, maybe, but the contact sizzled.
That’s when I felt it.
A searing gaze on the side of my face.
I looked up. Alpha Jeremiah stood several feet away, towering, arms crossed. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, and his jaw clenched so tightly it looked carved from stone. His eyes were dark, locked on Alex’s hand still near mine.
“Alright, fun’s over,” Jeremiah barked suddenly, his voice cracking through the laughter like thunder.
Conversations halted. Water sloshed. Confused faces turned to him.
“This was a break, not a vacation. Dry off, change, and prepare for a full day of study tomorrow. Test in the afternoon. Anyone who fails is off the council track. Understood?”
The collective groan that followed was met with his sharp stare.
I stared at him too—furious. His anger wasn’t subtle. It was directed right here, at me, at Alex. At the skin I was showing, the smile I was wearing. His nostrils flared, wolf at the edge.
“Who peed in his coffee?” Anna muttered.
“He’s always like that,” Tomas said, towel already in hand.
“You guys go ahead,” I said quickly. “I left my small bag and towel back near the ledge.”
I slipped away from the group, half-dried, heat simmering under my skin—not from the springs, not even from Alex. From the look Jeremiah had given me.
I found my towel folded on a boulder, my bag beside it. I crouched to grab them—
A hand slammed against the stone wall beside me.
Jeremiah.
Before I could turn, I was pushed gently—yet firmly—back against the wall. His other hand slid around my thigh, lifting it slightly, and my breath caught.
“Jeremiah—”
“Don’t say my name like that,” he growled lowly. His voice was rough, frayed at the edges. “Not after what I just saw.”
I swallowed hard. “You’re acting crazy—”
His eyes met mine—feral, golden, his wolf’s presence brimming beneath the surface. “You think you can show off like that? Let him look at you like that? You’re mine, Astrid. Mine.”
He pressed closer, the hardness of his body against me sending a rush through my limbs. My heart pounded like a war drum. His scent—cedar, smoke, the storm of him—wrapped around me.
“You’ve been ignoring me,” I said, my voice barely audible.
“Because I’m trying to control this,” he snapped. “But I saw the way he looked at you. Like he had a chance. Like I’d let him touch what’s mine.”
His hand gripped my hip, and I gasped.
“This isn’t you,” I said, though my voice trembled. “You need to calm down.”
His chest rose and fell against mine. “You walked in here, body glowing in the moonlight, laughing with him. And you expect me to just stand there?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong—”
“You wore that knowing I’d be there.”
I shoved him lightly. “Don’t you dare blame this on what I wore.”
His breath hitched. The air was heavy between us. His fingers dragged across my thigh, slow, reverent.
“I hate this,” I whispered. “I hate that you act like I mean nothing in public. Then pull this in the dark.”
Jeremiah’s jaw clenched. Then—
Snap.
A twig broke behind us.
He pulled away instantly, chest heaving. His eyes still glowed, his wolf barely contained. “I… I’m sorry. I lost control.”
I didn’t respond. My skin still burned where he touched me.
He glanced around, then took off his jacket, draping it over my shoulders. “It’s getting colder.”
Before I could ask him what that moment meant—what any of it meant—he turned and disappeared into the trees.
Leaving me breathless. Flushed. Angry. And undeniably shaken.
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