Chapter 18: The Beast Unleashed
She pushed him.
Not hard enough to move him.
Not hard enough to be a real threat.
But just enough to test him.
To push his patience—and see what happened when it ran out.
Dante's muscles coiled.
His jaw tightened.
The urge to snap, to take, to claim— burned.
She had no idea what she was provoking.
Kavy's chest rose and fell rapidly.
Her wide, panicked eyes locked onto his—waiting.
Waiting for his reaction.
Waiting to see if she'd made the worst mistake of her life.
Dante stepped forward.
She pressed herself back.
Wrong move.
Nowhere to run.
He caged her in, one arm on either side, his body swallowing her smaller frame.
The air thickened between them, suffocating, electric.
Her scent—**pure fear, pure defiance—**wrapped around him like a challenge.
And he was done pretending.
Dante's voice dropped to a growl.
"You think you can fight me?"
Kavy swallowed hard.
"I will."
His smirk was gone.
Now, there was only hunger. Only need.
"You already lost, little one."
She shook her head. "No."
Dante lowered his head, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.
She flinched.
But she didn't pull away.
And that was her second mistake.
"I can hear your heart, Kavy."
He pressed in closer.
"It doesn't lie."
Her pulse slammed against her ribs.
Faster. Louder.
His smirk returned.
"You feel it, don't you?"
Her breathing hitched.
Her silence was his answer.
Dante's lips barely grazed the skin beneath her ear—a ghost of a touch, a promise of what he could do.
Kavy's entire body shuddered.
And Dante?
Dante felt victorious.
Because she was breaking.
And this time—
He wouldn't let her escape.