The confession came out raw, stripped of every defense Dante tried to hide
“What?” Cordelia let out breathless.
"Every night since we met, I dream of holding you in my arms. I dream of kissing you until neither of us can breathe, of learning every sound you make when I touch you." His forest-green eyes burned into hers. "And when I wake, the wanting is so strong it physically hurts."
She stared at him, lips parted in shock. "You... you feel it too?"
"Yes." He stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. "Every moment. Every breath. Every heartbeat. It's torture being near you and not being able to—"
He stopped, jaw clenching
"Not being able to what?"
"Touch you. Hold you. Show you what you mean to me." His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "I can prove it to you."
Her heart hammered against her ribs. "How?"
His gaze dropped to her mouth, hungry and desperate, and he swallowed hard.
Dante moved with careful restraint, giving her every chance to change her mind. His hands came up to cradle her face with devastating gentleness, thumbs brushing across her cheekbones.
For a moment, he just looked at her. Like she was something precious and terrifying all at once. And when he kissed her, the world exploded into sensation.
His mouth was hot and demanding against hers, tasting of winter and something darker, something wild that made her knees weak. This was nothing like the dream—it was so much better, more intense, more real.
Heat flooded through her veins like liquid fire, and she heard herself make a sound that was half gasp, half moan. His arms came around her, pulling her flush against his body, and she felt the evidence of his restraint in every tense muscle, every controlled movement.
He kissed her like she was air and he was drowning, and she responded with equal desperation—fingers tangling in his hair, body pressing closer, closer, never close enough.
When he finally pulled back, they were both breathing hard. His forehead rested against hers, and his hands trembled where they held her waist.
"We're mates, Cordelia." The words hung in the frozen air between them, heavy with meaning. "You're mine and I'm yours in a way that goes deeper than choice, deeper than reason."
Her mind struggled to process his words even as her body already knew their truth.
"But how is that possible? I thought it is only possible among your kind, I'm not… I am human."
"The bond doesn't care." His thumb traced her bottom lip, and she shivered. "Fate chose us anyway. This thing between us—it was only ever a question of when we'd find each other, not if. Falling for you wasn't something I decided to do. It was as inevitable as breathing."
Tears spilled down her cheeks, but they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of recognition, of finally understanding the truth that her soul had known from the first moment their eyes met.
"I feel like I've been waiting for you my whole life," she whispered. "Even before I knew you existed."
"Because you were." He wiped her tears with gentle hands. "We both were. Every path we took, every choice we made—it was all leading us here. To each other. To this moment."
She looked up at him through tears, everything inside her simultaneously settling into place and fracturing apart. It explained everything—the instant pull, the consuming need, the dreams that felt more real than waking.
The way her body had known him before her mind caught up.
"So this feeling," she said shakily, "it's not going away. Ever."
"No." His voice was rough with emotion. "It only grows stronger. Every day, every moment we're together—the bond deepens."
The truth of it crashed over her like a wave. This wasn't some passing infatuation she could ignore until it withered. This was fate. Destiny. Written into the very fabric of her being before she was born.
And it was completely, utterly forbidden.
"My father…" she started, voice breaking.
"I know." Dante's hands tightened on her waist, as if afraid she might disappear. "I know what he thinks of my kind. What he's told you about wolves. And I know asking you to go against him feels like asking you to tear yourself in half."
"It does." Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "He's all I have, Dante. The only family I have left."
"But you could have more." The words came out soft but fierce. "Come with me, Cordelia. Come to Grayfen. Let me take you to my pack, show you what life could be like. I would spend every day proving I can take care of you—that you'd never want for anything."
Her breath caught at the picture he painted. "What would that life look like?"
"You'd be cherished." His thumb traced her jaw with aching tenderness. "Protected. You'd have a place of honor among my people—not just as my mate, but as their Luna. They would love you because I love you, and because you're worthy of love all on your own."
His voice dropped lower, more intimate, as he lowered his face to her, lips hovering just a breath above hers.
"I know I'm asking for everything. I know leaving your father, your home—it's not a small thing. But I would make it worth it, Cordelia. I'd give you everything I have, everything I am. You'd never doubt that you were loved."
She closed her eyes, feeling the pull of two different futures—one safe and familiar, one terrifying and full of possibility.
"And my father would see it as the ultimate betrayal. He'd think I chose the wolves who killed my mother over him."
"Your father's pain is real," Dante said carefully. "But his hatred shouldn't determine your happiness. What happened to your mother was a tragedy, but I am not the wolf who hurt her. My pack is not your enemy."
"I know that." She opened her eyes to meet his gaze. "Here, with you, I know that. But how do I make him understand? How do I tell him I'm in love with everything he's taught me to fear?"
"You're in love with me?" The question came out rough, vulnerable.
She hadn't meant to say it so plainly, but now that the words were out, she couldn't take them back.
"Yes. I don't know when it happened—maybe the moment I saw you, maybe when you told me stories in the garden, maybe when you caught me before I fell. But yes. I love you."
His eyes blazed with something fierce and tender all at once. "I love you too. More than I thought it was possible to love anyone. And that's why I'm asking you this now, before I lose my courage."
He took a step back, still holding her hands, and she saw him gathering himself for something monumental.
"Marry me," he said finally.
The words hanging in the frozen air like a prayer offered to deaf gods.
"Not in your father's sight—not yet. But under this moon that witnessed our first meeting. Let me be yours in truth, not just in stolen moments. Let me make you my wife, my mate, my Luna."
Her heart leaped—yes, yes, yes—but her father's face rose in her mind, weathered with love and sacrifice, carved by years of protecting her from exactly this.
"I can't," she whispered, though the words felt like swallowing glass. "He trusts me. He raised me. After Mother died, I was all he had left, and he gave me everything. How can I repay that trust with betrayal?"
"Is love a betrayal?" Dante asked gently.
"It is when it breaks the heart of the man who has loved me longest." Tears traced her cheeks. "He warned me about wolves. He made me promise. And I want to say yes so badly it burns. But I would destroy him."
Dante caught her hands, steady and warm, while she looked at him through tears, war raging between duty and desire.
"I can't give you an answer right now," she said finally, voice barely above a whisper. "But I promise I'll think about it. Truly think about it."