The ballroom lights had gone out unexpectedly.
Gasps. Screams. Then darkness.
Dante had gripped Ava's wrist and whispered sharp and low:
"We need to leave. Now."
No time to argue. No time to think.
Now, hours later, Ava stood at the entrance of his penthouse office.
She slammed the door shut behind her.
"I need an explanation, you dragged me out," she snapped, "then disappeared."
"It wasn't safe," he said.
"That's all you ever say," she shot back. "Not safe. Not now. Not yet. Meanwhile, I'm out there playing my part while you are shutting me out."
Dante turned slowly. His eyes weren't glowing—but they felt like they were.
"There was someone watching you."
"I'm used to that," she bit out.
"Not in the way you think."
Ava faltered.
"What does that mean?"
Dante moved closer. "You think this game we're playing is about reputations? Scandal? Your mother's empire and a cheating ex?"
He stopped inches from her. "There are powers in this city that would devour you if they knew what you are to me."
Ava blinked. "And what exactly am I to you?"
Dante stepped closer and touched the pendant on her neck.
"You already feel it, don't you?"
She stared at it. Then at him.
"No more riddles,Dante."
He stepped closer, his voice lower.
"You're not just someone I'm protecting, Ava. You're mine."
She scoffed. "Possessive much?"
"I mean that literally."
Silence.
Ava's breath hitched.
He added, quieter now, "I am a Lycan Wolf and you're my mate."