12: The Blood Oath’s Curse

12: The Blood Oath’s Curse
Isabella’s POV 

Something was wrong with me.

And Luca knew it.

The mirror didn’t lie.

I stood frozen in front of the glass, my breathing shallow and unsteady. My own reflection stared back at me, but it wasn’t right. My pupils had swallowed the color of my irises, leaving nothing but an unnatural abyss in their place. It wasn’t a trick of the light. It wasn’t my imagination. Something inside me was shifting, becoming something else, something unrecognizable.

I blinked hard, hoping it would be gone when I opened my eyes again. For a brief second, the darkness contracted—then, just as quickly, it vanished, my eyes returning to normal as if nothing had changed.

Like it had never happened.

Like I had imagined the whole thing.

But I knew I hadn’t.

My fingers trembled as they pressed against the edge of the sink. The porcelain was cold beneath my palms, grounding me, but it did nothing to stop the rapid hammering of my pulse. My body felt foreign, wrong. My skin prickled with an awareness I didn’t understand, a sensation creeping through my veins like something just beneath the surface was trying to claw its way out.

Whatever Luca had done to me—whatever was happening inside me—was getting worse.

The hunger hit me like a strike of lightning, sharp and unbearable. It coiled low in my stomach, twisting and writhing like a living thing, demanding to be fed. But it wasn’t normal hunger. It wasn’t the simple craving for food or water. This was deeper, darker.

My tongue ached, as if something was changing there, something sharpening. A dull, throbbing pressure built behind my teeth, and I felt a sting against my gums. My stomach clenched violently.

And I could still taste him.

Luca’s blood lingered on my tongue, rich and intoxicating, and the worst part was—I wanted more.

The thought made my stomach churn, but the craving didn’t ease. It only grew stronger, curling around my insides like a sickness, twisting and relentless.

No. No, I would not become this.

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to breathe through it, to ignore the way my body was screaming for something I couldn’t give it.

A sharp knock at the door sent me jolting upright.

"Isabella."

Luca’s voice. Calm. Controlled. Unforgiving.

The sound of it sent a shiver down my spine.

I gripped the sink tighter, my knuckles turning white as I fought for control. I knew why he was here. He knew what was happening to me, and he had the answers I needed.

And I was going to get them.

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When I swung the door open, Luca was already waiting, his tall frame leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. His silver eyes watched me carefully, but they gave nothing away.

"You’re lying to me," I said without preamble.

Luca tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "Am I?"

I clenched my fists at my sides. "Something is happening to me, and you know what it is."

His face remained maddeningly impassive.

"You drank from me," he murmured.

A lump formed in my throat. I swallowed against it, my voice turning sharp. "You forced me to."

Luca smirked, a slow, wicked curve of his lips. "Did I?"

Rage flared hot and fast inside me.

"Stop playing games, Luca!" I snapped, my voice rising. "Tell me what’s happening to me!"

The smirk disappeared.

He took a step closer, and the air between us grew heavy, charged with something I didn’t understand. His gaze locked onto mine, pinning me in place.

"You’re awakening, dolcezza," he murmured.

A chill rippled down my spine.

"Awakening into what?" I whispered.

Luca didn’t answer. Instead, he reached up, his fingers trailing lightly along my jaw before dipping lower, brushing against my throat.

Against the mark.

His bite.

His claim.

"You were never meant to be just human," he whispered, his voice softer now, but no less dangerous.

My breath caught in my throat.

"Your blood was always meant to be mine."

A sharp pulse of heat rippled through me.

No.

He was lying.

He had to be.

"You’re insane," I rasped, my pulse hammering.

Luca’s smirk returned, slow and knowing. "Am I?"

His fingers moved lower, barely ghosting over my collarbone.

My body betrayed me. I shuddered beneath his touch, my skin igniting with an unwanted, wicked heat.

"Then tell me, dolcezza," he murmured, his voice dangerously soft.

He leaned in closer, his lips hovering just above mine, the warmth of his breath brushing my skin.

"Why do you crave me?"

I sucked in a sharp breath, my chest rising and falling too fast.

I tried to push him away—but my hands didn’t move.

Because he was right.

I did crave him.

Even now, the fire beneath my skin burned hotter, my body thrumming with a need I didn’t understand, a hunger I refused to name.

Luca’s smirk deepened as if he could read every thought racing through my head. His fingers curled around my throat, pressing just enough to make my breath hitch.

"You’re changing," he whispered, his voice dark with satisfaction. "And soon, you’ll beg me to finish it."

A shaky breath left my lips, my thighs pressing together involuntarily.

Luca noticed.

And he laughed softly, the sound rich and knowing.

"You hate how much you want me, don’t you?"

Something inside me snapped.

I shoved against his chest, my nails digging into the fabric of his shirt.

"Go to hell," I spat.

Luca only chuckled, releasing me as he turned toward the door.

"I told you before," he murmured, amusement laced through his voice.

"I’ll take you with me."

The door clicked shut behind him, but his presence lingered in the air, thick and suffocating.

I exhaled sharply, my hands shaking as I ran them through my hair. My entire body trembled with unspent frustration, with confusion, with something far more dangerous.

I turned back to the mirror, gripping the sink for balance.

The girl in the reflection stared back at me, but she didn’t look like me.

Her wide eyes were too wild, her lips parted as if she were gasping for breath. Her skin was flushed, her expression caught between fear and something far more primal.

A girl who had just been touched by a monster.

And wanted more.

No. This wasn’t me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing away the hunger, fighting against the cravings twisting deep inside me like a sickness.

Then—

A sharp crack shattered the silence.

My eyes flew open.