Chapter 30: The Alpha’s Wrath

Pain.

That was the first thing Bella felt as she drifted back to consciousness.

A slow, dull throb pounded at the back of her skull, her limbs heavy and sluggish as she fought to open her eyes.

Her wolf, Luna, whimpered in frustration, trapped beneath the fog of whatever they had hit her with.

Bella blinked blearily, the world around her coming into focus.

A small, dark room. Stone walls. The scent of damp earth and iron.

And the unmistakable stench of Indiana Park.

Her stomach twisted.

She was in enemy territory.

Her wrists were bound behind her back, the rough texture of silver-lined rope burning her skin.

She bit back a curse, flexing her fingers, testing the restraints.

She wasn't going to sit here and wait to be rescued.

She wasn't a damsel in distress.

No—she was a warrior.

And Dante?

He was going to burn this place to the ground for taking her.

A slow smirk curled at her lips.

She just had to hold out long enough for him to get here.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall.

A door creaked open, and Bella's smirk vanished.

Because standing in the doorway was Viktor Drakov.

The Alpha of Indiana Park.

And behind him?

His Beta, Mikhail Reznov—the bastard who had dragged her here in the first place.

"Comfortable?" Viktor's voice was smooth, mocking, his blood-red eyes gleaming in the dim light.

Bella lifted her chin, her golden-brown eyes burning with defiance.

"I'll be more comfortable when I'm watching Dante rip your throat out."

Mikhail chuckled darkly.

Viktor merely smirked.

"Ah, yes. Your Alpha." He stepped closer, studying her like she was a puzzle he wanted to solve.

"Tell me, little wolf—how does it feel?"

Bella's brow furrowed.

"How does what feel?" she spat.

Viktor crouched in front of her, his smile widening.

"The bond."

Bella's stomach tightened.

Viktor tilted his head, watching her carefully.

"I imagine it's unbearable, isn't it?" His voice was soft, taunting, cruel.

"Being ripped away from your mate, feeling his rage, his pain, his desperation—"

Bella clenched her jaw.

Because fuck.

He was right.

She could feel it.

Dante's anger, his fury, his barely contained need to get to her.

It was consuming her from the inside out.

Viktor smiled.

"You don't understand the power you hold, little mate."

Bella's eyes narrowed.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Viktor chuckled.

"You think we took you just to hurt Dante?" He leaned in closer, his scent of blood and death making Bella's stomach churn.

"No, sweetheart." His lips curled into something cruel.

"We took you to control him."

Bella's blood turned to ice.

"Dante will never bow to you," she hissed.

Viktor's smirk didn't waver.

"He won't have a choice."

Dante's Hunt

Dante's massive black wolf tore through the forest, his breath coming in ragged bursts, his claws digging into the earth as he ran.

The bond was screaming inside him, burning, twisting like a blade lodged in his ribs.

Bella was in pain.

She was in danger.

And he wasn't there.

A savage snarl ripped through his throat, his vision blurring with fury.

"We will slaughter them," Zephyr growled in his mind.

Dante's claws extended, his fangs bared.

"Every last one."

The moment he reached the Indiana border, he shifted back into his human form, his bare feet crushing the dirt beneath him as his warriors arrived behind him.

Chase stepped forward, panting from the run.

"Dante, if you go in alone, it's a suicide mission."

Dante's eyes burned like ice.

"I don't care."

"We need a plan."

Dante let out a low, dangerous chuckle.

"The plan is simple." He turned, his gaze cutting through the pack.

"We take back what's ours."

And then, without waiting for a response, he stormed toward the enemy's gates.

Tonight, there would be no mercy.

The Breaking Point

Bella yanked against her restraints, her muscles burning, her pulse hammering in her throat.

Viktor's words echoed in her mind.

"We took you to control him."

They thought they could use her against him.

They thought they could make Dante bow.

Idiots.

They had no idea who they were dealing with.

A low boom echoed in the distance.

Bella's head snapped up.

The ground shook beneath her.

The walls trembled.

Mikhail and Viktor both whipped toward the door, their bodies going rigid.

Bella's heartbeat spiked.

Because she knew.

Dante was here.

And he was about to burn this entire place to the ground.

A sharp snarl ripped through the air, followed by the sounds of wolves howling, metal clashing, bodies colliding.

Mikhail's expression darkened.

"Fuck."

Viktor sighed, shaking his head.

"Right on time."

He turned toward Bella, his red eyes gleaming.

"Let's see just how far Dante is willing to go for you."

Then—

The door burst open.

And standing in the doorway—

Dripping in blood, his blue eyes burning with death—was Dante.

Bella's breath caught.

Because she had never seen him like this.

His knuckles were coated in blood, his bare chest rising and falling in slow, lethal breaths, his wolf barely contained beneath his skin.

He looked like a god of war, like death itself had come to collect.

His gaze locked onto hers.

And in that moment, everything else vanished.

"Dante," she whispered.

His body tensed.

Then—

He moved.

Faster than she had ever seen him move before.

One second, Viktor was standing in front of her.

The next—

Dante's claws were buried in his throat.

Bella let out a sharp gasp as Viktor choked on his own blood, Dante's snarl echoing through the room.

Mikhail lunged toward him—

But Dante turned and slammed him into the wall with bone-crushing force.

The Beta let out a strangled cry, blood splattering against the stone.

Bella sucked in a breath.

Because this—

This was the Alpha she had been bound to.

Raw.

Unstoppable.

Hers.

Dante ripped his claws free from Viktor's throat, letting his lifeless body drop to the ground.

Then—

He turned to her.

His chest heaving, his eyes still burning with rage and something deeper, something darker.

"Are you hurt?" he rasped.

Bella swallowed, her voice hoarse.

"No."

Dante exhaled slowly, his jaw ticking.

Then—

He broke the restraints around her wrists, yanking her against his chest.

His arms wrapped around her, holding her like he'd never let go.

And for the first time—

Bella didn't fight it.

Because deep down, she knew.

She never wanted him to let go.