Page 14 of Plus-Size Bullied Mate

As hard as I try to get my mind off it, I keep seeing Hayes there anyway.

The image of his hands on Tessa keeps replaying in my head, along with the bruises forming along her throat and wrist, the fear in her scent, and the way she looked at me afterward, like she genuinely couldn’t comprehend why I stepped in. Like nobody ever had before.

My inner wolf still hasn’t settled either, but rather than fixating on Hayes, it’s stuck on one word.

Mine.

The possessiveness pulses again, hard enough to make my jaw tighten.

I don’t know what the hell is happening to me tonight, but I can’t shake it.

All I know is that every instinct I have is screaming to keep her close and eliminate every possible threat around her. More than anything, I want to make sure that nobody else touches her, even if the thought is irrational.

That alone is concerning, and it only makes me angrier.

Tessa jerks away from me the second we step through the front doors of my place, which now sits empty without Cole or Mom around.

“I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re not.”

Anger flares in her eyes, and she grits her teeth as if that will be enough to deter me. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“I already did. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

The foyer lights cast a soft glow across her face, finally letting me see the full extent of what happened out there, and just how much she has changed since I’ve been gone.

Bruising shadows her pale throat, and mud streaks her jeans and coat. Her light-brown hair is still a bit tangled from Hayes dragging her through the woods, and there’s exhaustion in those honey-colored eyes now that the adrenaline’s beginning to wear off.

And despite all of that, she looks beautiful.

The realization settles in deep enough to irritate the hell out of me, only because I noticed.

Tessa was always pretty to me, even growing up. I just never let myself look too closely because I knew exactly what that would mean for me. I knew from day one that it would crumble the careful walls I put up to block those little whispers in the back of my mind from guiding me to her. I couldn’t risk giving in to that pull... not after what happened.

Now there’s no missing it, and no burying it as deeply as I can to save myself the damning reality I never wanted to face.

Her soft curves are wrapped in stubborn fury, all the while those eyes burn with exhaustion and defiance. Her full lips press tightly like she’s preparing for battle every second she’s around me, and my wolf likes it entirely too much.

This is dangerous territory, and I’m dragging her in it with me. She had always been the spark to my innate urges that became more like dry tinder each time I saw her back then, and even now, I’m walking a fine line.

“Tessa.”

“What?”

“You’re staying here,” I reiterate while she stands there, heels angled to prevent herself from being pulled forward.

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes. You are.”

She clenches her jaw tighter, uttering, “This alpha thing is already going to your head.”

My temper spikes instantly, not understanding how she can see this as anything but me trying to help her. “Someone just attacked you.”

“And it’s over now,” she returns, crossing her arms to put whatever barrier between us that she can.

“He targeted you specifically, in my territory.”