The estate erupted into chaos.
Guards ran in every direction. Guns were distributed. Orders were shouted in Italian too fast for me to follow.
And through it all, Dante remained calm.
He stood in his office, surrounded by screens showing security footage of the perimeter. I could see vehicles approaching from multiple directions. Dozens of them.
Viktor brought an army, Luca said grimly.
So did we. Dante turned to Isabella. Take Bianca to the safe house. North route. Stay off the main roads.
I am not leaving, I said.
Yes, you are. He did not even look at me. This is not a discussion.
I can fight.
You can barely throw a punch. His words were harsh but true. You will die out there, and I will not allow that.
So I just run and hide while you
While I do what I was born to do. He finally turned to face me. His expression was hard. I protect my pack. I protect my mate. And right now, protecting you means getting you as far from here as possible.
Dante
Go. Now.
Isabella grabbed my arm. Come on. We do not have time for this.
She dragged me out of the office before I could protest further.
We ran through the hallways, down the stairs, and out a side door I had never seen before. Three guards surrounded us immediately.
A black SUV was waiting, engine already running.
Get in, Isabella ordered.
I climbed into the back seat. Isabella slid in beside me. The guards took positions in the front and passenger seats.
We peeled out of the estate just as the first gunshots echoed behind us.
I turned to look back through the rear window. The estate was lit up like daylight. Muzzle flashes. Explosions. Screams.
And somewhere in that chaos was Dante.
Fighting. Killing. Maybe dying.
The mate bond stretched between us, pulling tighter with every mile. I could feel his rage. His focus. His determination.
But not his fear.
Because Dante Salvatore did not feel fear.
He was fear.
The drive took thirty minutes.
Thirty minutes of silence broken only by Isabella's sharp breathing and the hum of the engine.
We drove north through dark countryside. No streetlights. No other cars. Just empty roads and the weight of what we had left behind.
Where are we going? I finally asked.
A safe house. One of several Dante keeps for emergencies. Isabella did not look at me. It is remote. Defensible. No one outside the inner circle knows about it.
Will he be okay?
Dante? She laughed, but there was no humor in it. He has survived worse. Much worse.
That did not answer my question.
She finally turned to look at me. You care about him.
The mate bond
No. She shook her head. This is more than the bond. You actually care about my brother.
I did not know how to answer that.
Because she was right.
Somewhere between the auction and tonight, between his brutality and his rare moments of softness, I had started to care about Dante Salvatore.
And that terrified me more than anything.
The car turned off the main road onto a narrow dirt path. Trees pressed in on both sides, branches scraping the windows.
Almost there, the driver said.
Five minutes later, we pulled up to a small stone house hidden in the woods. It looked ancient. Forgotten. Perfect.
Inside, Isabella immediately began checking windows and doors. The guards took positions outside.
I stood in the middle of the main room, feeling useless.
You should rest, Isabella said. It could be hours before we hear anything.
I cannot rest.
Then sit. Pace. I do not care. But stay away from the windows.
She disappeared into another room, leaving me alone.
I sat on the couch and tried to breathe. Tried to quiet the panic rising in my chest.
The mate bond was still there, still connecting me to Dante. But it felt stretched. Thin. Like a thread pulled too tight.
What if he died?
What if right now, while I sat here safe and useless, he was bleeding out on the grounds of his own estate?
What would happen to the bond?
To me?
I pressed my hand to my chest and felt tears burn my eyes.
This was insane. I barely knew him. He had bought me. Imprisoned me. Controlled me.
But he had also protected me. Claimed me. Made me feel alive for the first time in years.
And now I might lose him.
The sound of breaking glass shattered my thoughts.
Isabella burst back into the room, gun in hand. They found us.
How?
I do not know. Move. Now.
She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the back of the house. Behind us, I heard the front door explode inward.
Gunfire erupted.
Our guards were shouting. Returning fire. Dying.
Isabella shoved me into a bedroom and locked the door. She pushed a dresser in front of it.
The window, she said. Go.
What about you?
I will hold them off. She checked her gun. Go, Bianca. Run and do not stop until you find help.
I am not leaving you.
You do not have a choice. If they take you, Dante will come after you and get himself killed. So you run. You survive. You—
The door exploded.
Three men poured into the room. One of them grabbed Isabella and slammed her against the wall. Her gun clattered to the floor.
Another came for me.
Instinct took over. Training I did not know I had. I ducked under his reaching arms, grabbed a lamp from the bedside table, and smashed it across his face.
He went down.
But there were two more.
One of them backhanded me so hard I tasted blood. I hit the floor, my vision swimming.
Through the haze, I saw Isabella fighting. She was good. Fast. Brutal.
But there were too many.
One of the men raised his gun, aiming at her head.
No.
I do not know where the strength came from. Maybe the mate bond. Maybe desperation. Maybe something that had always been inside me, just waiting to be unleashed.
But I launched myself at him.
My hands found his throat. My wolf surged forward, lending me strength I did not know I possessed. I squeezed.
And squeezed.
Until he stopped moving.
Until his eyes went blank.
Until I had killed someone with my bare hands.
I dropped his body and staggered back, staring at my hands. They were covered in blood.
His blood.
Bianca, Isabella gasped.
I looked up. She had killed the other two men. But there was blood spreading across her shirt. She had been shot.
You are hurt.
I will live. She pressed her hand to the wound. But we need to move. There will be more.
She was right.
I could hear footsteps. Voices. They were searching the house.
I grabbed Isabella's gun from the floor and helped her toward the window.
We climbed out into the dark woods and ran.
We made it maybe half a mile before Isabella collapsed.
I cannot, she gasped. Go. Leave me.
No. I pulled her arm over my shoulder and kept moving. I am not leaving you.
You are stronger than you look.
I have had practice surviving.
Behind us, flashlights cut through the trees. They were following.
I dragged Isabella behind a fallen log and made her lie flat.
Stay quiet, I whispered.
Then I did something insane.
I stood up and walked away from our hiding spot. Making noise. Drawing attention.
The flashlights turned toward me.
There, someone shouted. The girl.
I ran.
They followed.
I led them away from Isabella, deeper into the woods. My heart was pounding. My lungs were burning.
But I kept running.
Until I could not run anymore.
I turned to face them. Four men. All armed. All focused on me.
This was it.
This was how I died.
The first man raised his gun.
And then his head exploded.
Gunfire erupted from behind me. The other three men went down before they could react.
I spun around.
Dante stood there, covered in blood. His eyes were pure gold. His wolf was barely contained beneath his skin.
He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
Bianca, he breathed.
Then I was in his arms.
He held me so tight I could barely breathe. His face buried in my hair. His body shaking.
I thought I lost you, he said. When they told me the safe house was compromised, I thought—
I am okay. I pulled back to look at him. Isabella is hurt. She is back there, behind the log.
Luca, Dante barked.
I had not even noticed Luca and the other wolves behind him. They immediately spread out, searching.
They found Isabella and carried her back. She was pale but alive.
I will live, she said weakly. Thanks to your mate. She fought like a wolf possessed.
Dante looked at me. His hand came up to cup my face. You fought.
I killed someone. My voice shook. I killed him with my hands.
Good. His thumb brushed away the blood on my cheek. You survived. That is all that matters.
But I,
You did what you had to do. He pulled me close again. And I am so proud of you.
The words broke something inside me.
I started crying. Not delicate tears. Harsh, ugly sobs that shook my entire body.
Dante just held me. Right there in the middle of the woods, surrounded by death and danger, he held me and let me break.
We returned to the estate as the sun was rising.
The damage was catastrophic.
Bodies everywhere. Guards. Wolves. Some I recognized. Most I did not.
Dante walked through it all with his jaw clenched. Luca stayed beside him, quietly reporting numbers.
Twenty-three dead on our side. Forty-seven of theirs. They retreated when they realized they could not breach the main house.
And the safe house?
Compromised. Someone leaked the location.
Find out who. Dante's voice was cold. And kill them.
Already on it.
We went inside. Medics were treating the wounded. Isabella was taken to be stitched up. She gave me a nod as they carried her past.
Respect.
I had earned her respect.
Dante took me to his room. He ran a bath and helped me undress. My hands were still shaking. Still covered in dried blood.
He washed me himself. Gentle. Careful. Like I was something precious.
Then he dried me off and carried me to bed.
Rest, he said.
What about you?
I have work to do. Bodies to bury. Traitors to find. He kissed my forehead. But I will be here when you wake up.
Dante.
Yes?
I was terrified. I thought you were going to die.
I will not die. His eyes met mine. Not until I have kept you safe. Not until Viktor and Lorenzo are ash and memory. I will not leave you, Bianca. I promise.
I wanted to believe him.
But in this world, promises meant nothing.
Still, I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.
When I woke up, it was dark again.
Dante was sitting in a chair beside the bed, watching me.
How long was I asleep? I asked.
Fourteen hours.
What?
You needed it. He leaned forward. How do you feel?
Like I killed someone.
You did. And you will probably have to do it again before this is over.
The honesty should have scared me. Instead, it was almost comforting.
Did you find the traitor? I asked.
Yes. His expression darkened. It was one of the guards who drove you to the safe house. Viktor paid him to install a tracker on the vehicle.
What did you do to him?
What I do to all traitors. Dante stood and walked to the window. But that is not our biggest problem.
What is?
He picked up an envelope from his desk and brought it to me.
This arrived an hour ago. By courier. Addressed to you.
I took it with trembling hands. There was no return address. Just my name written in handwriting I recognized.
Lorenzo.
I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper and a photograph.
The photograph was of me. Years ago. Barely sixteen. Bruised and crying.
The letter said:
My dear Bianca,
How lovely to hear you have found yourself a mate. And what a powerful mate he is. I am sure Dante believes he can protect you. But he does not know you like I do. He does not know the broken little girl you really are. He does not know how you begged. How you cried. How you broke so beautifully under my hand.
I am coming for you. And when I take you back, I will remind you of everything you tried to forget. Every lesson. Every punishment. Every moment you realized you were nothing.
See you soon, little wolf.
Yours always, Lorenzo
My hands were shaking so hard the letter fell to the floor.
Dante picked it up and read it. His expression went murderous.
He knows nothing, Dante said quietly. Nothing about who you are now. What you have become.
He knows enough. I looked at the photograph. He knows exactly how to break me.
Then we will break him first. Dante crouched in front of me. Look at me, Bianca.
I met his eyes.
That man, he said, touching my past, has no power over you anymore. You are not that scared girl. You are my Luna. My mate. And you are stronger than he could ever imagine.
I want to kill him.
You will. I will give you that chance. I promise.
He pulled me into his arms, and I let him.
Because right now, he was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
And outside, in the dark, Lorenzo and Viktor were planning my destruction.