Chapter 103

• Dante
• I turned the pages of the book I was reading, unable to actually focus. My mind was elsewhere, tangled in the chaos of the past few days. I leaned back in my chair, closing the book shut with a soft thud. The silence of my study was usually a comfort, but tonight it was the furthest thing from it. Slide after slide of memories flooded my head: Bianca’s icy stare after I'd called off the mating ceremony, my relief that the pack had accepted my decision, Aiden’s attack in the woods; his claws tearing at me, his face twisted with a hatred I still didn’t understand.
• The scent of blood - my blood - had filled the air that night, and for the second time, he'd been able to escape. I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair. The council and I were overdue for a meeting - a real one, not just a string of half-hearted decisions made under duress. I had to take control. But control was a double-edged sword, wasn’t it? Every time Isabel walked into a room, I felt it slipping. My instincts screamed to claim her, to mark her, to silence the doubts of everyone who looked at her and saw nothing but a rogue. But I hadn’t. Instead, I’d held myself back, playing the role of an Alpha who could separate duty from desire.