0006 - The Beast and His Anchor

Vera's Pov 

Daemon's neck was turning purple under Dante's grip. Blood poured from where the claws had pierced skin, pooling on the expensive marble floor. His legs kicked uselessly, eyes bulging as he clawed at the hand crushing his throat.

Dante's fangs were fully extended, dripping venom. His eyes burned pure red, no trace of gold left. This wasn't the controlled Lycan king anymore. This was the monster underneath, the vampire-wolf hybrid that had been caged for years, finally unleashed.

"Dante!" Sofia's voice cut through the silence. She pushed through the frozen crowd, her own eyes flashing gold with fear. "Stop this! If you kill him, the Shadowfang Pack will demand retribution. The two packs will go to war!"

Dante didn't even look at her. His claws dug deeper into Daemon's throat. More blood spurted out, warm and copper-scented.

Daemon's face was going from purple to blue. His movements were getting weaker. He was dying.

"Brother, please!" Sofia grabbed Dante's arm, trying to pull him back. She might as well have been pulling at a mountain. "Think about what you're doing! The council will get involved. Other packs will choose sides. This will start a war that could destroy both territories!"

No response. Dante's chest heaved with each breath, his fangs gleaming in the chandelier light. His hand tightened incrementally. Daemon's eyes started rolling back.

The blonde girlfriend was screaming, high-pitched and useless. Other Alphas in the crowd shifted nervously, hands moving toward weapons. The tension in the room was suffocating.

"Dante, as your second, I'm ordering you to stand down!" Sofia's voice cracked with desperation. "This isn't worth it! He's not worth starting a war!"

But he was too far gone. The hybrid had full control now, and it only understood one thing—someone had hurt his mate. That someone needed to die. Slowly. Painfully.

I stood frozen, watching Daemon's life drain away. Part of me wanted it. Wanted to watch him suffer the way he'd made me suffer. Wanted him dead and gone so I'd never have to see his face again.

But Sofia's words echoed in my head. War. The packs would go to war.

Because of me.

More people would die. Innocent people. Wolves who had nothing to do with my rejection would lose their lives because Dante was killing Daemon in my defense.

I couldn't let that happen. Couldn't let an entire pack suffer because of me.

"Dante, please!" An older Alpha stepped forward, hands raised. "The girl isn't worth this! She's just—"

Dante's head snapped toward him so fast it was inhuman. The Alpha stumbled backward, terror written across his face. One look at those red eyes and he knew he'd nearly joined Daemon in death.

Everyone was begging now. Sofia, the Alphas, even some of Dante's own men. Their voices overlapped, desperate and frantic.

"Boss, think about the family—"

"The council won't let this stand—"

"We're not ready for a full-scale war—"

"Please, please just let him go—"

Dante heard none of it. His claws punctured deeper. Daemon's body went limp, only the hand around his throat keeping him upright. His heartbeat was fading. Twenty seconds left. Maybe less.

I looked at the blood. At Daemon's dying face. At the red-eyed monster my mate had become.

And I realized—no one could stop him. No words, no logic, no threats of war. Once the hybrid took over, Dante was unreachable.

No one except maybe me.

The mate bond hummed in my chest, weak and uncertain. I'd been pushing it away since it formed, terrified of what it meant. But now I felt it clearly—a golden thread connecting me to the monster across the room.

I moved before I could think better of it.

My legs carried me through the crowd. People tried to grab me, stop me. "Don't get close to him!" "He'll kill you too!" "Stay back!"

I ignored them all.

Dante's free hand came up as I approached, claws extended, ready to strike at whoever dared interrupt his kill. His red eyes locked on me and for a second I saw nothing but rage and death.

Then I crashed into him.

My arms wrapped around his torso, holding tight. My face pressed against his blood-soaked chest. His body was rigid as steel, muscles coiled to kill.

The mate bond exploded.

It wasn't gentle. It hit like a shockwave, gold and red light bursting between us so bright people gasped. The bond that I'd been suppressing, that I'd tried to reject, that I'd pushed down out of fear—it erupted with the force of a dam breaking.

Mine. The word thundered through the connection.

Mate. My wolf sang it, desperate and pleading.

"Please, Dante." My voice broke. Tears streamed down my face, soaking into his shirt. "Please don't hurt him. He's not worth it."

Dante's body didn't relax. The hand around Daemon's throat stayed locked. But I felt a flicker—the barest hesitation.

"Don't do this." I pressed closer, my scent rising between us. The bond made it stronger, made it call to him specifically. Vanilla and lavender, sweet and calming. "Please. I'm begging you."

His chest rumbled with a growl that vibrated through my bones. Not agreement. Just awareness.

"If you kill him, there will be war." I spoke directly into his chest, lips moving against blood-stained fabric. "People will die. Your family will be in danger. Everything you've built could be destroyed."

The growl deepened. His free hand came down, claws still extended, hovering near my back. One swipe could tear me open.

But he didn't strike.

"Please," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Please, Dante. Come back."

His hand moved. I braced for pain.

Instead, claws retracted. His palm pressed flat against my back, still trembling with barely restrained violence. His other hand still gripped Daemon's throat, but the pressure eased slightly. Just enough for Daemon to drag in a rattling breath.

"He hurt you." Dante's voice came out layered—his normal roughness underneath something older and darker. "Made you cry. Made you think you were worthless."

"I know," I whispered. "But not like this."

We stood there, pressed together, blood and tears and the bond pulsing between us. Everyone held their breath. Sofia's hand was over her mouth, eyes wide with shock.

Slowly, incrementally, the red began to fade from Dante's eyes. Gold bled through, bit by bit. His fangs retracted slightly. The tension in his muscles eased.

My scent wrapped around him—vanilla and lavender cutting through the copper smell of blood. His breathing slowed. Deepened. The monster retreating inch by inch.

His hand opened.

Daemon collapsed to the floor, gasping and choking. Blood poured from the wounds in his neck. The blonde rushed to him, sobbing.

Dante didn't look at them. His arms came around me, holding me against his chest. One hand tangled in my hair. His face buried in my neck, breathing in my scent like it was oxygen.

The bond hummed between us, settling from explosive to steady. Golden-red, pulsing. I felt his emotions—rage cooling slowly, possessiveness burning hot, something fierce and protective.

But I didn't say the words. Didn't accept the bond out loud. Not yet. I was still too scared, too broken. But I'd stopped him. Somehow, I'd reached the monster and pulled the man back.

After a long moment, Dante lifted his head. His eyes were gold again, clear and focused. But the violence still simmered underneath.

He turned slowly, keeping me tucked against his side. His gaze swept the room—over Sofia, the Alphas, his men, the crowd of party guests. Every single person who had witnessed what just happened.

When he spoke, his voice was calm. Cold. Deadly.

"Let me make something very clear." Each word fell like a hammer. "Vera is under my protection. She is mine. Anyone—and I mean anyone—who speaks badly about her, who insults her, who so much as looks at her wrong, will face a fate far worse than this."

He gestured casually to Daemon, still bleeding on the floor.

"I stopped today because she asked. Only because she asked." His eyes flashed red for just a second. "But my patience has limits. My mercy has limits. And for anyone who disrespects my mate, those limits are already reached."

The temperature in the room dropped. I felt people shrinking back, fear rolling off them in waves.

"This applies to everyone. My family, my soldiers, visiting Alphas, other packs." His arm tightened around me. "You will treat her with the respect due to a queen. You will protect her as you would protect me. Because anyone who harms her will wish Daemon's fate had been theirs instead."

Silence. Absolute, terrified silence.

Sofia's face had gone pale. The Alphas looked like they wanted to run. Even Dante's own men seemed shaken.

"Do you understand?" Dante's voice dropped to a growl.

"Yes, boss," came the chorus of responses.

"Yes, sir."

"Understood."

"Crystal clear."

"Good." He looked down at Daemon, who was being dragged to his feet by guards. "Get him out of my territory. He lives today only because she asked. But he's marked. Banished from every territory under Russo control. If he steps foot on my land again, nothing will stop me. Not her, not Sofia, not the threat of war. Nothing."

The guards nodded and hauled Daemon toward the exit. The blonde followed, crying.

Dante's gaze swept the room one more time. "This party is over. Everyone out. Now."

People scattered. Within minutes, the grand hall was empty except for Sofia, a few trusted soldiers, and us.

Sofia approached carefully. "Dante—"

"Not now." His voice was rough. He looked down at me, and his expression softened just slightly. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head.

"Did anyone else say something to you tonight? Before he showed up?"

"No."

"Good." He cupped my face in his blood-stained hand. "You shouldn't have come near me. I could have killed you."

"But you didn't."

"Only because you're my mate." His thumb traced my cheek. "Only you could have stopped me. You understand that? No one else. Just you."

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

"Go upstairs. Clean up. I'll come to you soon." He pressed his forehead to mine briefly. "We need to talk."

Then he released me, and Sofia was there to guide me away. As we climbed the stairs, I heard Dante's voice below, cold and commanding as he gave orders to his men.

But I'd felt it. Felt how he'd calmed for me. How only my touch, my scent, my presence had pulled him back from the edge.

The bond hummed in my chest. Still unaccepted. Still terrifying.

But undeniable.

And everyone in that room now knew—Vera might not be his official mate yet, but she was the only one who could tame the monster.