Ava sat on the floor, her back against the mirrored wall. Her arms ached. Her breathing was shallow.
"I'll teach you all you need to know about yourself. But first, we find out who the hell sent that thing. And why it wants you."
Ava didn't respond. Her chest was tight. The chains, that creature—it wasn't random. It came for her.
Not Dante. Her.
Dante pulled a blade from inside his coat. His hand shook slightly as he drew it across his palm.
I swore an oath to my pack. But I've never sworn one like this."
She blinked at him, heart thudding.
"I swear on my blood, my name, and my beast—I will protect you. I swear to stand between you and whatever dares to touch you. I will protect you, fight for you, bleed for you, I'll be with you till I take my last breath."
Ava blinked, her throat burning.
"I don't need saving," she whispered.
"I know," he said. "But that doesn't mean I won't fight beside you."
He held the blade out to her.
Her fingers wrapped around it slowly.
She sliced across her own palm—messier, shaky. But she didn't look away.
The moment her blood touched his, the bond between them pulsed—stronger.
Dante knelt in front of her, hand still clasped with hers, blood drying between their palms. His eyes searched her face, no longer burning with fury, but with something else.
He was waiting—for her to move, to speak, to pull away.
And she didn't want to pretend that she didn't want this.
Slowly, Ava leaned in, her free hand rising to touch his face. His skin was warm beneath her fingertips, jaw tense.
"Ava," he whispered, like her name alone was a prayer he wasn't worthy to say.
She tilted her head, eyes on his.
"I'm not kissing you because we're bonded," she said softly.
"I know," he breathed.
"I'm not doing this because you saved me."
His jaw tensed.
"I'm doing it because I want to."
Then she kissed him.
Her lips moved against his with quiet urgency, and the tension in his body snapped. Dante responded like a man starved of oxygen, kissing her back like she was the air he needed. His hand slid up her arm, careful, reverent, as if she might disappear.
She deepened the kiss, pulling him closer, grounding herself in the warmth of him, in the way his body trembled against hers like he was holding himself together only for her.
When they broke apart, Ava didn't step back.
She stayed in his space, forehead brushing his.
"I'm not running anymore, we will face this together." she murmured.
"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear that" he whispered.
A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Good."