The sound of Ava's fists slamming into the punching bag echoed through her private gym.
Each hit was a scream she didn't let out.
Her life had taken a weird twist all of a sudden
What path was she to take now.
The argument still buzzed in her ears.Dante's voice—furious, possessive. The way his eyes flashed. The way he almost shifted.
She had walked away from Dante .
She didn't know what hurt more—the argument, or the bond that still throbbed between them.
She grabbed her wraps and wound them around her hands with jerky motions. She didn't need him or anyone telling her what she was or wasn't ready for. She was a Sterling. An heiress. She built herself from pressure.
She faced the punching bag and let the fury take form.
A flicker of movement in the mirror caught her eye.
She stilled.
Behind her reflection, the shadows shifted unnaturally. The temperature dropped. Her breath misted.
A shadow peeled away from the far wall, humanoid but not. Its features blurred, cloaked in shifting darkness. Its voice distorted.
"Daughter of cursed blood," it hissed."
"What do you want from me?" Ava spat, struggling as the chains tightened, burning against her skin.
"To unmake you… before he marks you."
Something snapped inside her.
A light, hot and foreign, flared in her chest. Her fingers twitched—and energy pulsed out of her in a crackling wave.
The chains recoiled. The shadow flinched.
Ava gasped. What—what was that?
She barely had time to recover before three more chains lunged for her. She threw her hands forward instinctively—another burst of power shot out, but this time it fizzled midair.
Her body shook.
The shadow recovered quickly.
"Security!" she screamed, knowing no one would hear. The gym was underground—a luxury bunker.
She reached for a kettlebell and hurled it. It passed through the figure.
The creature lunged. This time faster.
She tried firing the light again, but it flickered.
Chains wrapped around her arms and waist, slamming her against the wall.
The shadow loomed over her now, its face just an empty blur.
"Found you," it whispered in a voice that wasn't a voice at all.
Then the wall shattered.
A roar.
The wall exploded.
Dante tore through the rubble—half-shifted, eyes glowing gold, claws out, shirt soaked in sweat. Fury radiated from him in waves.
He didn't hesitate.
He was on the creature in seconds, slashing, snarling.
The shadow fought back with its chains, but Dante ripped through them like paper. His form flickered—man, beast, something in between.
The creature shrieked, retreating in a swirl of smoke—vanishing into nothing.
Dante turned to Ava, panting.
Ava," he breathed, voice raw. "Are you hurt?"
She was shaking, barely upright. "I… I think I did something. There was power. But I couldn't hold it. I couldn't stop him—"
" Wait…How did you know I was in danger?"
"You called to me," Dante said, kneeling beside her. His voice was hoarse. "Not with your voice. Through the bond. I felt you, Ava. That's the power of the bond"
Her breath caught.
He reached out, fingers brushing the marks left by the chains. "Now we know you are not just human,we will need to learn more about your people" he said softly. "But you're also not alone."
Ava looked down at her hands. They were still trembling.
"Dante,I've made my decision if I am at risk to creatures like this, I need to learn what I am," she whispered.
Dante's jaw tightened. "Then I'll teach you. But first, we find out who the hell sent that thing. And why it wants you."