Bound by Shadows and Desire

SACRIFICE FOR A BEAST

The atmosphere in the car was suffocating. Not from fear I had moved past that. I was seething with rage.

Dante sat next to me, completely composed, his face resembling a chiseled statue as the city sped by outside. The gunfire had ceased, but the sounds still reverberated in my mind, like ghostly bullets following us down the streets.

I turned to him, my heart racing. “Who was that?”

Dante remained silent. I grasped his arm, my fingers pressing into his suit jacket. “Dante” He seized my wrist with a grip that sent a current of electricity through me. It wasn’t painful, precisely, but it was enough to remind me of his true nature.

“Don’t question me,” he said softly. His tone was unsettlingly calm. I withdrew my hand, my heartbeat thundering in my chest.

"Someone just tried to kill us, and you act like it was merely a nuisance." Dante let out a measured breath, as if testing my resolve. “If they truly wanted us dead, we wouldn’t be here.” My stomach turned.

“So it was a warning?” A slow smile spread across his face. “Not for me, little dove. That was for you.”

The impact of his words struck me sharply. “For me?” He tapped his fingers on his knee, his eyes locked on mine. “Your father has made powerful enemies, Isla. And now, you’re their pawn.” I shook my head in disbelief.

“That doesn’t add up. My father sold me to you. Why?”

“You think he owed me just money?” Dante replied darkly with a chuckle. “Your father was in deep trouble, the kind even I wouldn’t handle.” My throat tightened.

“What do you mean?” Dante’s gaze was intense. “You were never intended to be mine.”

I froze.“What?”

He leaned closer, reducing the distance between us.

“Your father had promised you to someone else first.”

The ground felt like it was shifting beneath me. My heartbeat faltered. “Who?”

Dante’s grin was sharp. “Ricci.” Marco Ricci.

A name I had only heard in murmurs. Always with hesitance. Because Marco Ricci was not just any man. He was worse than Dante.

Dante operated with control, with intent. He didn't kill for amusement. He had a reason. But Ricci? Ricci relished it. And my father had handed me over to him first.

A chill spread through me. I struggled to voice my question. “Then why am I here?”

Dante reclined in the seat, his expression inscrutable. “Because I reached you before he could.”

The car slowed, entering a gated driveway guarded by security. Dante's estate.

As soon as we stopped, I flung the door open and stumbled onto the ground. I needed fresh air. Distance. I needed to breathe. I looked back at him as he exited the car, his demeanor steady, his movements effortless, as if none of this had unsettled him, and I was the only one caught in the chaos.

My fists clenched. “What do you want from me?” I demanded, my voice strong.

Dante regarded me intently. “That’s not the right question.” I swallowed hard. “So what is?” A slow, predatory smile appeared. “What do you want from me?” I resented how my stomach churned. How something heated coiled in my chest at his gaze, as if I were his prime puzzle to solve.

I forced myself to breathe.“I want out.”

Dante exhaled, almost as if he anticipated my response. “And if I let you go?”

My heart raced. “You won’t.” His smile deepened. “Smart choice.”

I turned to walk past him, but he moved swiftly, grabbing my wrist and spinning me back around. Heat surged through my skin. “Let go,” I spat. His eyes flickered with mine, his grip firm yet not painful.

“I’m the only one protecting your life, Isla.”

“I don’t need your help.”

Dante tilted his head, amused. “You lack options.” And then a gunshot echoed.

Before I could react, Dante shoved me behind him. Pain erupted in my shoulder. Air whooshed from my lungs. I faltered. Dante caught me before I could collapse, his grip unyielding around my waist. The world spun. Blood, my blood. Dante’s voice turned fierce.

“Luca!” I fought to remain upright, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate. Dante pulled me closer, his face mere inches from mine, his voice more intense than I had ever heard it.

“You were ready to take a bullet for me?” I blinked, my vision blurring. “I… I didn’t…” His jaw tightened. His grasp grew firmer.

“You belong to me.” His voice was low, menacing. “And I don’t share.”

Everything became a haze. The pain faded. The last thing I heard before the darkness enveloped me was Dante’s urgent voice, raw with intensity.

“Don’t you dare die on me, little dove.”