Chapter 89: The Chains of the Past

Bella forced herself to stand.

To push past the agony burning in her veins.

Gabriel wasn't just stronger.

He was tethered to something dark.

Something ancient.

"You can't have me," Bella snarled.

Gabriel's smirk deepened.

"You don't have a choice, little wolf."

Dante moved first.

Again.

Faster.

Harder.

But this time—

Gabriel caught him mid-strike.

Not just caught.

Stopped him.

Held him still like a puppet in a string.

Dante froze, muscles locked, his breath ragged.

Bella's blood ran cold.

"No."

Gabriel turned to her, his gaze flickering with amusement.

"You feel it, don't you?"

Bella's heart pounded.

Because she did.

A pull.

A sick, unnatural bond linking them together, suffocating, drowning.

Gabriel tilted his head, stepping closer.

"Do you know what happens when a wolf dies but their bond remains?"

Bella stiffened.

"You should. Because it happened to you."

Her breath caught.

Because he was right.

When she had killed Gabriel the first time—

She had still felt him.

Like a phantom in the dark.

Like a shadow that wouldn't die.

And now?

He had crawled back into existence—through her.

Gabriel smiled.

*"I am inside you, little wolf. And no matter how many times you kill me—"

He leaned in, whispering against her ear.

"—I will always return."

Bella's stomach twisted.

Because if Gabriel was telling the truth—

If he had somehow anchored himself to her, twisted their connection into something unbreakable—

Then this wasn't just a war.

This was a curse.

And unless she found a way to sever it—

She would never be free.

Dante's snarl snapped her out of it.

"You think you can keep her, Santos?"

His blue eyes burned, his wolf howling, fighting against whatever force was holding him down.

"I will fucking destroy you."

Gabriel chuckled.

"Then come and try, Alpha."

And just like that?

The war had begun again.

But this time—

Bella wasn't sure if they could win.