Chapter 146: The Taste of Blood

Dante's hands were warm.

Steady.

Real.

They grounded her.

Kept her from drifting too far.

But the darkness was still there.

Still whispering.

Still hungry.

"You don't want to fight it."

Bella's breath hitched.

Because it was right.

She didn't want to fight it.

She wanted to know what would happen if she let go.

If she stopped pretending.

If she stopped resisting the thing inside her that wanted to run wild.

She looked up at Dante, her golden-brown eyes flickering.

"What if I don't want to stop?"

Dante stilled.

For a long moment, he just stared at her.

Then—

His grip tightened.

"Then I will stop you."

Bella's stomach twisted.

"Even if you have to kill me?"

Dante's jaw clenched.

"I will not let you become a monster."

Bella tilted her head.

"What if I already am?"

Then—

Faster than he could react—

She moved.

Her claws sank into his chest, just deep enough to pierce skin.

Dante didn't flinch.

Didn't move.

Didn't even breathe.

He just held her gaze.

And then—

"Do it, Bella."

Bella froze.

Her pulse roared in her ears.

Dante's voice was low, calm, deadly.

"If this is what you want, then do it."

Her hand trembled.

She could kill him.

Right here.

Right now.

One strike. One rip. One tear.

But she didn't.

Because she couldn't.

Bella let out a shaky breath, her claws retracting, her hand falling away.

Dante's fingers wrapped around her wrist, his grip firm, grounding.

"See?" he murmured.

"You're still mine."

Bella's throat tightened.

Because she had wanted to prove him wrong.

To prove that she was gone.

But deep down?

She was still his.

And that?

That terrified her more than anything.