Chapter 60: The Rift Between Us

"Tell me everything."

Dante's voice was low, commanding, his hands pressed against his desk as he stared her down.

Bella hesitated.

Just for a second.

But Dante caught it instantly.

His eyes narrowed, his body going still.

"You're hiding something."

Bella exhaled slowly. "I saw someone last night."

Dante's entire body tensed.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

His jaw locked.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

Bella lifted her chin. "They were in the trees, watching me. And before they left, they said—"

She swallowed hard.

"They said Mikhail isn't the only one coming for me."

Silence.

A thick, deadly silence.

Dante's fingers curled into fists, his chest rising and falling with slow, measured breaths.

Then—

The desk cracked under his grip.

"And you're just now telling me this?" His voice was calm—too calm.

Bella gritted her teeth.

"I didn't want you to lose control."

Dante laughed.

Not a real laugh.

A dark, humorless sound filled with fury.

"You didn't want me to lose control?" He stepped forward, his presence overwhelming.

"Bella, someone is hunting you. Someone who isn't Mikhail. And instead of telling me immediately, you—"

He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair.

"You're going to be the death of me, little wolf."

Bella's chest ached.

Because she hated this.

The fighting. The tension. The war between them.

She thought that once she gave in to the bond, once she stopped running from Dante, things would get easier.

But she was wrong.

Because now?

Now, she had more to lose than ever.

Dante took a slow step closer, his fingers brushing against her wrist, a silent plea.

"You should have told me."

Bella swallowed. "I'm telling you now."

Dante's blue eyes burned.

"Too late, Bella."

Then, he turned—and left.

And Bella?

For the first time since this war started—

She felt like she was losing him.