16: The Call of the Blood

16: The Call of the Blood
Isabella’s POV  

"I pushed him, and for the first time—Luca pushed back harder."

I was still breathing fast, my chest rising and falling in sharp, erratic movements. My body trembled from the power I couldn’t control, from the wild energy that had just surged through me. It was still humming under my skin, licking at my nerves like a live wire, demanding more.

Luca's silver eyes burned into mine, unwavering, unrelenting. His grip on my waist was like steel, pressing me into the wall behind me, holding me in place. His strength had always been absolute, unshakable, but this time...

This time, he wasn’t the only one who felt in control.

Because for the first time, I had made him hesitate.

And I wasn’t letting go of that.

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Luca’s fingers dug into my skin, his grip tight and unyielding, like he thought I might disappear if he let go. Maybe he believed I would—maybe he thought whatever was shifting inside me would rip me from him if he didn’t hold on hard enough.

"You think this is a game?" he growled, his voice low, dangerous.

I smirked, still drunk on the thrill of knocking him off balance. My pulse was still racing, my breath still coming too fast, but I didn’t care. The way he looked at me—like I had done something impossible, like I had reached inside him and twisted something out of place—made me want to push further.

"I don’t know, Luca." I licked my lips slowly, letting the taste of power linger. "Am I winning?"

His expression darkened, shifting into something unreadable.

Then, without a word, he moved.

In one swift motion, he flipped me—one second I was against the wall, the next I was pinned beneath him on the bed. The impact sent a gasp from my lips, my back sinking into the mattress, his weight pressing me down. Heavy. Dominant. Unyielding.

And yet—I didn’t feel weak.

I felt powerful.

Because I had shaken him.

Because for once, he didn’t have absolute control.

And that made me want to push him even further.

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"You think you’ve won something?" Luca’s voice was barely above a whisper, but there was a lethal edge to it. A warning.

I arched my neck, tilting my head back against the pillow. I could feel the heat between us, thick, suffocating, burning with something neither of us was willing to name.

"I’m not the one bleeding," I murmured, letting my words slip between us like a challenge.

Luca inhaled sharply, and my breath caught when his fangs flashed in the low light. The sight sent a thrill through me, a dangerous, reckless craving that I couldn’t shake.

His growl vibrated through my skin. "You want to test me, dolcezza?" His lips hovered just over my throat, so close I could feel the warmth of his breath. "I can break you apart in ways you’ve never imagined."

A shiver ran down my spine, my body betraying me with the way it reacted to him, to the promise in his voice.

"Then why haven’t you?" I whispered, tilting my chin up in defiance, daring him.

For a moment, I swore his control slipped.

His hand slid down my thigh, his fingers rough and unrelenting as he gripped me tighter. There was something different in the way he touched me now, something raw.

"Because," he murmured against my skin, his lips brushing the hollow of my wrist. "When I take you fully—"

His grip on my arm tightened as he lifted my wrist, pressing his mouth just over the pulse point.

"You won’t want anyone else. Not even him."

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The air in the room shifted.

The heat between us snapped into something colder, something heavier.

Him.

Luca meant Dante.

I stiffened beneath him, and Luca pulled back slightly, his jaw tight, his silver eyes locked onto mine. The possessiveness in them burned, but beneath that, beneath the need to claim me, I saw something else.

Fear.

It was subtle, nearly invisible, but I knew Luca too well not to recognize it.

He was afraid.

As if Dante’s presence in my mind was a shadow even Luca couldn’t erase.

"You can feel him," I accused softly, my voice barely above a breath. "Can’t you?"

Luca’s silence was all the answer I needed.

And it infuriated me.

"You knew this would happen," I hissed, shoving at his chest. "You knew something was wrong with me—"

His hand clamped over my mouth before I could finish.

"Quiet," he ordered, his tone cold and sharp like a blade.

I shook my head, my anger twisting through me like wildfire. I shoved his hand away. "You don’t get to shut me up." My voice trembled, but not from fear. From rage. "You don’t get to decide what’s happening to me—"

Luca’s fingers wrapped around my throat, tilting my head back sharply, forcing my gaze to his.

"You belong to me," he said softly, but there was no warmth in it.

Only raw, unforgiving truth.

"And I won’t lose you to him."

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I should have been afraid.

I wasn’t.

Instead, I pushed harder.

"You already are," I said, knowing it would cut him.

Luca’s control snapped.

His palm struck my thigh, a sharp sting echoing through the room. The suddenness of it stole my breath, but before I could pull away, his grip tightened, keeping me in place.

"You think this is a game, dolcezza?" His voice was lethal, but shaking slightly.

I let out a breathless laugh, hating how much I liked the bite of his punishment.

"You’re the one playing," I taunted, my chest heaving.

His fangs lengthened, his pupils dilating as he leaned closer, his hand moving to pin my wrists above my head.

"You want me to lose control?" His breath was ragged, his body trembling against mine.

I lifted my chin. "Maybe I want to see what happens if you do."

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His grip on me tightened—but it wasn’t in dominance.

It was hesitation.

For the briefest second, he froze.

And I felt it.

Something else in the room.

A chill ran down my spine, an icy dread creeping into my veins. I wasn’t sure if it was coming from inside me… or outside.

I opened my mouth to speak—

But then Luca’s entire body went rigid.

His gaze lifted over my shoulder, and his silver eyes turned cold as death.

The air in the room shifted, thickened, darkened.

A shadow loomed behind me, something ancient and unseen pressing against my skin.

Luca exhaled sharply, a single word falling from his lips like a warning.

"Dante."