Chapter Four - The beginning of the End

Isabella’s POV

I woke to darkness.

The room was still. Too still.

The silk sheets stuck to my bare skin, damp with sweat and something else—regret. I reached for the warmth I swore was beside me, but the space was cold. Empty. Arseñio was gone.

For a second, I stared at the ceiling, paralyzed. Then everything hit me at once.

His touch. His scent. His voice, low and commanding. The way our bodies had moved like we were built for each other. The blood. The bite. That mark glowing mark on his chest like something divine and damned all at once.

I sat up, and pain sliced between my thighs. A reminder. I bit my bottom lip hard enough to taste blood. My legs trembled when I stood. My body was wrecked—used in the most carnal, sacred way—and yet I’d never felt more owned.

He was inside me still.

Not just physically.

Spiritually.

Emotionally.

I stumbled to the bathroom and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My eyes looked haunted. My lips were bruised. My neck… marked. I traced the bite gently. Tears spilt without warning.

What had I done?

I dressed in silence—my clothes torn and reeking of him. My dress from the night before was in tatters. I pulled on his black button-down shirt, still draped over the foot of the bed, and buttoned it unevenly. It smelled like him. Leather. Woodsmoke. Sin.

The city outside was dipped in the orange haze of early evening. I had slept the entire day. And the silence in that penthouse clawed at me like a ghost.

I limped to the elevator, and by the time I reached the curb outside, I was crying openly. A passing cab slowed. I gave the driver Anthonia’s address and slumped against the window, hugging myself tight.

When I arrived, the front door burst open before I could even knock.

Anthonia stood there in her long green robe, her braids coiled like a crown on her head, her eyes wide—not with surprise, but with knowing.

“You saw,” I croaked.

She nodded once, solemn. “Everything.”

Behind her, Genesis stood frozen, lips parted in shock, while Jethro—blunt, loud, always joking—looked like he’d swallowed glass.

Anthonia stepped aside, letting me in. As soon as I crossed the threshold, I collapsed on the couch and buried my face in my hands.

“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “I didn’t know who he was.”

“You do now,” Jethro said, his voice tight.

“He… he marked me,” I said, voice cracking. “And I marked him back.”

Genesis gasped. “Oh my God.”

“You did what?” Jethro snapped, stepping closer. “You let him— Is, do you even know what that means?!”

“I didn’t let anything!” I screamed. “It just… happened.”

Anthonia knelt in front of me, taking my hands. Her touch was warm, grounding. “You’re mated to Arseñio Dicaprio,” she said softly. “The Alpha Beast of Melbourne.”

My stomach flipped.

“You know who he is?” I asked.

She nodded. “We all do. The stories? They weren’t just stories. He’s real. He’s ancient. And he’s cursed.”

Genesis sat beside me, tears in her eyes. “He’s the reason so many clans were wiped out in the 1800s. They say he went feral. Lost control. He killed his own blood.”

“No one could kill him,” Jethro added darkly. “Some say even death fears him.”

My pulse thundered in my ears. “He said he was cursed,” I whispered.

“He is,” Anthonia said. “His mark… it glows because it’s not just a mate bond. It’s tied to an ancient power—one that should never be awakened.”

“But I’ve already awakened it,” I said, shaking. “He said I’m bound to him. Forever.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Genesis wiped her tears. “What happens now?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “But I feel… wrong. Different.”

Jethro paced behind the couch, jaw clenched. “You have no idea what you’ve done, Is. If he marked you and you marked him back… your soul isn’t just bonded. Your essence is merged. You’ll feel what he feels. Hunger when he hungers. Rage when he rages.”

My chest tightened. “I don’t want this,” I said, voice trembling. “I didn’t choose this.”

“But fate did,” Anthonia said.

"Fate? This is not fate. This is insanity. You know I knew long enough that werewolves were real but not like this. I didn't think that I would ever get intimate with one of them. No! This is not happening to me. This isn't happening. I can't allow him to claim me just like this. That man is no ordinary person. I only thought of having fun after resigning back at home. I didn't know I would jump from gas to fire. I should have stayed back there." I lamented.

I stood, too quickly, and stumbled. Genesis rushed to catch me.

“I need to get out of here,” I said, breath shallow. “I need to think. I need to breathe.”

But the moment I reached the hallway, my legs buckled. A sharp pain shot through my back, then my arms, then my ribs. I gasped, dropping to my knees.

“Isabella?” Anthonia called out, rushing to me.

“Something’s wrong,” I cried, clutching my chest. “I can’t—It feels like my bones—”

CRACK.

A pop in my spine made me scream. Fire exploded through my muscles.

My hands clawed at the ground. My vision blurred. I could feel my skin rippling, stretching.

“I think—” I gasped. “I think I’m shifting.”

And then the pain took me under.