Chapter 11
1419 Words
--
Dante’s P.O.V.
It was a different kind of peace—waking up beside her.
The morning light spilled through the sheer curtains of my room, bathing the silk sheets in gold, but nothing held my attention like the woman curled against me. Selene. Her dark lashes fluttered softly against her cheek, her face unguarded, her lips parted in the faintest sigh of sleep. Her bare skin was tangled in my sheets, her warmth pressed into my chest like she belonged there—because she did. She always had.
I didn’t need to go through Lucas or Emma anymore to steal glimpses of her from a distance. I didn’t need to stare at grainy surveillance footage or obsess over the shadows of her silhouette walking Valentina to school. I didn’t need to dream about what it might feel like to have her in my arms again. She was finally here. In my bed. In my home. With me.
Where she was always meant to be.
I buried my face in her hair, inhaling deeply. My scent clung to her skin. A quiet growl of satisfaction rumbled in my throat. That scent was a mark, a warning to the world. She’s mine. Every inch of her—claimed.
And I would burn the f*****g world down before I ever let her go again.
Emma wasn’t pleased when she found out I brought Selene home without so much as a word. She stormed into my office like I’d detonated a bomb in the hallway.
“You lost your damn mind,” she said flatly, crossing her arms. “Bringing her here like that?”
Maybe I had.
But if loving Selene meant madness, then I’d embrace insanity with open arms and a smile on my face. Hell, I’d bathe in chaos if it meant keeping her close.
I told Emma that Selene would be staying with me. Permanently.
That she was mine.
Emma tried to argue, her words laced with fury and concern, but my silence cut her off like a blade across the throat. I didn’t owe her an explanation. I didn’t owe anyone a damn thing.
Selene was everything I had ever wanted in this blood-soaked, ruthless world. She was warmth where I had only known cold. She was soft in a world that had only taught me to be hard. And beneath her sweetness, there was something even more dangerous—fire. That quiet, burning defiance that had once made her run from me. That same fire would now be the thing that made her survive in my world.
Even my men had taken to her.
It was subtle at first—the way they’d linger just a little longer when she passed in the hallway, the softening of their voices when they addressed her, the extra vigilance in their patrols. Now, they guarded her like she was royalty. Because she was.
They respected her.
And they feared what I’d do if even a glance lingered too long. They knew what I was capable of. What I would become if someone ever laid a hand on her.
Still… not everyone approved.
My father was f*****g livid.
He called last night, his voice cold and clipped. “What is this, Dante?” he spat. “You bring home a runaway w***e and parade her like she’s royalty?”
I could’ve snapped the phone in half. But instead, I let him talk. Let him spew the venom of an empire that had always been built on power moves and arranged marriages.
He demanded I marry Bianca—the daughter of his underboss—as we had planned years ago. A perfect political move, he said. A flawless alliance to secure our control in the East.
I told him no.
Told him I had found someone more suitable.
Someone real.
Someone mine.
He cursed me. Spat out threats laced with warnings and consequences. Said I was thinking with my c**k instead of my head.
Then he demanded I introduce her to the famiglia.
She’s not ready for that, I wanted to say. She doesn’t know what they are. What you are. But I kept it to myself. Because soon, ready or not, she’d have to face it all. There was no turning back now. She was already wrapped in this world—whether she saw it or not.
I rose from the bed slowly, careful not to wake her, and made my way to my office. The air was thick with anticipation. I poured a drink I didn’t need and stared out the window, the glass cool beneath my hands.
Below, the garden was still dew-kissed from the morning. And there she was.
On her knees in the dirt, helping the cook’s baby stack plastic cups, her laughter carrying up on the breeze. Her hair gleamed in the sunlight, catching strands of gold I didn’t remember from before. She looked like innocence. Like peace. Like everything I didn’t deserve—but would destroy heaven and hell to protect.
She was completely unaware of how lethal the world she was now tied to had become. Unaware of the eyes on her. The whispers. The danger closing in.
But I knew.
I leaned closer to the glass, watching her laugh, watching her smile.Like she hadn’t broken me and rebuilt me all in the same breath.
“How’s the preparation for tonight’s event?” I asked, not turning.
“All set, boss,” Marcus said behind me, his voice steady.
“No mistakes.”
“None.”
“Security?”
“Tripled. All entrances monitored. We’ve run drills with the new guards.”
“Good.” I took a slow sip of scotch. “There will be eyes on her.”
Marcus hesitated. “Yes. There will.”
I nodded, jaw tight. My father would be there. The underbosses. Their wives. Their sons. The soldiers who bled for this family. Every vulture and snake in our world would be present. Watching. Waiting. Judging.
And I would show them who she was to me.
Selene looked up just then, like she felt me watching her. Her eyes met mine from across the yard, and for a second, time stood still.
Fuck.
That one look—bright, open, full of something I could never name—nearly brought me to my knees. How could a woman do that to a man like me? How could a single smile make me forget blood and war and duty?
She stood, brushing the dirt from her knees, and I was already heading down.
When I stepped into the sun, she was there—waiting. She didn’t hesitate. The moment I opened my arms, she walked right into them. Soft. Trusting. f*****g mine.
Her arms wrapped around my neck, her body pressing into me.She rose on her toes, kissed me like I was air and she’d been drowning, and I kissed her back like she was the only thing keeping me alive.
“I love you,” I whispered against her lips. The words came out raw. Bare. Like a confession I couldn’t contain anymore.
Her cheeks flushed, and her smile lit up her whole face. No hesitation. No fear.
Just love.
I brushed her hair back, staring into her eyes like I could memorize her soul. “There’s an event tonight,” I said softly, voice low enough only she could hear. “And I want you there. By my side.”
Her smile faded just slightly, a flicker of something uncertain shifting behind her gaze. She didn’t speak right away.
She didn’t need to.
She was smart. She could feel the weight in my tone. The warning laced behind my request.
I cupped her cheek. “You trust me?”
She nodded slowly. “With my life.”
That did something to me. Broke something. Healed something. f****d, I didn’t even know anymore.
“Then come with me,” I murmured. “Let them see you. Let them know who you are.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “What if they don’t accept me?”
“They will.” My voice dropped to something colder. “Or I’ll bury them.”
I felt her shiver.
I pulled her in tighter, my lips brushing her temple. “You don’t need to worry about them, cara mia. You only need to worry about me.”
Tonight would be the night the world saw her.
The night they learned she was mine.
And that touching her would mean war.
- Writer
