Chapter 163: A Desperate Alpha

Dante had never been a patient man.

Had never been good at losing.

Had never been good at letting go.

And now?

Now, with Bella so close, so fucking close, but still keeping herself just out of reach—

He was coming apart at the seams.

"You think I care if you're broken?" he growled, his hands slamming down on either side of her.

"You think I give a fuck if you're different now?"

Bella's pulse roared in her ears.

Dante leaned in, his scent thick with rage, with grief, with something dark and aching and unrelenting.

"You are still mine."

Bella's chest heaved.

"No, I'm not."

Dante's lips curled back in a snarl.

"Then why do you still look at me like this?"

Bella's heart skipped.

Because she knew what he meant.

Knew that despite everything—

Despite the pain.

Despite the hate.

Despite the war between them—

The bond between them still burned.

Still existed.

Still ached.

Dante saw the hesitation in her eyes.

Saw the way her body betrayed her, the way she shivered at his touch, the way her breath caught when he was too close.

And he took it.

Took that moment of weakness, of truth, of something neither of them wanted to admit.

Then—

He kissed her.