Chapter 140: The Monster She Cannot Deny

The blood was still warm on her hands.

Bella stared at it, fingers trembling, breath shallow, mind splintering.

The body lay at her feet, torn open, ruined, destroyed.

And she had done it.

Her.

Not the Hollow One.

Not a curse.

Not a monster lurking in the dark.

Just Bella Santos.

She felt Dante behind her, his presence a wall of heat and tension, his breath uneven.

He hadn't moved.

Hadn't spoken.

Because what could he say?

What words could undo this?

Bella swallowed hard, her throat aching.

"Say something."

Dante exhaled slowly.

"Who was he?" His voice was calm, steady, but she knew him too well.

He was barely holding himself together.

Bella forced herself to look at the body again.

Her chest tightened.

"I don't know."

Dante's fingers twitched.

"You don't remember?"

Bella let out a shaky breath.

"No."

And that was the worst part.

Because she had felt it.

The power.

The violence.

The thrill.

She had ripped him apart like he was nothing.

Like he was meat.

And it had felt good.

A shiver ran through her.

Something inside her whispered.

"You liked it, didn't you?"

Bella's stomach twisted.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

"No."

But she could feel it lingering.

The hunger.

The darkness.

She had killed before.

In battle.

In war.

But this?

This was something else.

Something worse.

Because she hadn't been fighting for her life.

She had been hunting.

And Dante?

Dante could see it.

He always saw her.

"Bella."

She tensed.

His voice was soft.

Dangerous.

Like he was speaking to a caged wolf and not his mate.

"Look at me."

Bella turned.

And she saw it.

The fear.

Not for himself.

For her.

For what she was becoming.

Bella's lips parted, but no words came out.

Because she didn't know what to say.

She didn't know how to tell him that she wasn't sure she wanted to fight it anymore.