#territorial

Steve, your boyfriend’s best friend, stiffened next to Bucky. He dipped his head, one brow cocked. “She likes to make quite the entrance, huh?” He commented, earning a huff from you.

Dolores threw her hair back, acting like she was on a catwalk. In reality, she was putting on a show for your boyfriend, a taken man.

You wanted to suppress jealousy and possessiveness clawing their way to the front of your mind.

Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she only wanted to make a good impression—even if it meant dressing to the nines at a casual get-together of a few friends at a local bar.

“She’s Bucky’s friend, Steve. We shouldn’t judge her by her looks,” you tried to sound convincing and failed. The slit reaching Dolores’ thigh forced a growl to leave your throat when she stepped closer to your chosen alpha.

“Hi, you must be Dolores. Bucky mentioned you will come around tonight,” you cooed, holding out your hand. “It’s nice meeting you.”

Even if that woman was overdressed and wore too much make-up, you wanted to remain civil, for Bucky’s sake. Some women are just better at showing off their attributes. It wasn’t their fault that they looked hot in anything.

Dolores said your name with so much venom in her voice that your eyes widened. She didn’t know you, nor did she know anything about your relationship with your boyfriend.

You tried to shrug her behavior off for what it was. An omega trying to make her presence known in someone else’s territory. Your territory, to be precise.

That was until she dug her crimson nails into your hand. You winced and tried to shake her off, but she only dug them deeper into your flesh.

Dolores smiled at Bucky, acting like she didn’t claw your hand. She believed that you are just like any other woman Bucky dated, too shy to fight back.

“What the fuck!” Before she could get away with clawing at your hand, you growled at her. “Did you just claw my hand with your nails?” She dropped your hand, still with that fake smile on her lips.

“No. Why would I do such a thing?” She lied straight to Bucky’s face, but you wouldn’t let her get away with it.

“Oh yeah? Then why are there clawing marks all over my hand?” Bucky carefully grabbed your wrist to look at the nail marks she left on your hand. Two of them were deep enough to bleed.

A deep guttural growl left Bucky’s chest, and his jaw tightened as he examined your hand, his eyes darkening.

“What the hell is this?” He snarled at Dolores, the woman he grew up with and always admired for her strength and grace. Now, there was something cold and dangerous in his blue orbs—something forcing her to take a step back.

Dolores’ smile vanished, but she quickly masked it with feigned innocence. “She must have scratched herself, Bucky. It wasn’t me.”

“Cut the crappy act,” you snapped, done with playing nice. “I’m not some meek and shy omega letting you walk all over her, Dolores. I heard through the grapevine that you loved to mess with Bucky’s relationships in the past.”

Bucky side-eyed his friend Steve, who raised his hands in surrender. “You warned her?” He laughed, impressed by his friend’s loyalty towards you.

“Sure did,” Steve replied with a shrug. “In the past, you let things slip and believed Dolores over your girlfriends. I didn’t want the same to happen to Y/N.”

Dolores wanted to say something to defend herself, but Bucky spoke up before she could.

“Maybe you should leave now, Dolores. I invited you to celebrate my bond with my chosen mate. I expected you to be happy for me. I did the same for you in the past.”

“Fine,” she snapped at the three of you. “I didn’t want to come here to watch you with your next ex-girlfriend either way.”

“Not just his girlfriend,” you replied, dipping your head to show her the claiming mark Bucky left months ago. “Mate.”

Dolores turned on her heel, red silk flaring behind her, and stormed toward the exit.

“Doll, are you okay?” Bucky gently took your hand to inspect the nail marks again. “I’m so sorry. Steve tried to warn me, but I only saw a friend in Dolores and wanted her to share my happiness.”

“Next time, we will talk about the guest list,” you laughed, leaning into Bucky’s gentle touch. Bucky kissed your temple, Steve’s clue to leave you and Bucky to chat up the pretty omega eying him from across the room…