26: A Choice That Binds
26: A Choice That Binds
POV – Ava
I barely slept.
Dante’s words kept replaying in my head.
"If you walk into that palace unclaimed, they will take you for themselves."
I stared at the ceiling, my body still sore from his touch, my mind a whirlwind of doubt.
I should have said yes.
Let him mark me.
Let him claim me in every way.
But something held me back.
Not fear.
Not uncertainty.
It was the feeling that there was more to this than he was telling me.
And that terrified me more than anything.
Dante pov
She didn’t say yes.
She also didn’t say no.
That was the only reason I let it go—for now.
Because no matter what she chose, I wouldn’t let them take her.
I watched her lying in bed, her breathing slow, deep—but I knew she wasn’t asleep.
She was thinking too much.
And that was dangerous.
She was too close to running again.
To questioning me.
To turning to him.
I clenched my jaw, pushing the thought away.
Tomorrow, we would face the elders.
Tomorrow, I would make sure she was still mine.
One way or another.
\-------------------
A Forbidden Meeting
POV – Ava
The air in the estate felt too heavy.
Too suffocating.
I needed air.
Needed to breathe before I lost myself completely.
So I slipped out of the bedroom, wrapping a silk robe around me, and made my way to the balcony.
And that’s when I saw him.
Lucien.
Standing in the moonlight, waiting.
Like he knew I would come.
Like he knew I needed to see him.
I should have turned back.
Should have ignored the way my heart skipped at the sight of him.
But I didn’t.
I walked toward him.
And the moment I did, I knew I was making a mistake.
"You’re either reckless or desperate," Lucien mused, his voice smooth as sin.
"Maybe both," I muttered, stopping a few feet away.
He smirked, tilting his head. "What is it, little one? Couldn’t stand the thought of tomorrow?"
Lucien pov
She came to me.
Not Dante.
Me.
And fuck, if that wasn’t the most satisfying feeling in the world.
I smirked as she approached, watching the way she hesitated—but didn’t leave.
"Couldn’t sleep?" I murmured.
Ava folded her arms, studying me. "Why are you here?"
I took a slow step closer.
"Because you needed me to be."
She exhaled sharply, looking away. Avoiding.
But her heartbeat told the truth.
I reached for her, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She shivered.
But she didn’t pull away.
she swallowed hard. "Tell me the truth, Lucien. Why do the elders want me?"
my smirk faded.
"Isn’t it obvious?" i took a slow step forward, my presence wrapping around her like a shadow.
"You’re something new. Something powerful. And something unclaimed."
her expression twisted. "Dante said—"
"Ah," i interrupted, my gaze sharp. "And you trust Dante, do you?"
her lips parted, but she hesitated.
i chuckled darkly. "That’s what I thought."
"You don’t have to do this, Ava," I whispered.
Her throat bobbed. "Do what?"
"Let him own you."
Her eyes snapped to mine, wide, defensive. "Dante doesn’t own me."
I smiled. "Then why are you here?"
\--------------------
Ava’s Weakness
POV – Ava
I glared at him. "What is your obsession with making me doubt him?"
"It’s not doubt," he murmured. "It’s clarity."
Lucien reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face. I stiffened but didn’t pull away.
"If you let him mark you, Ava, you’re his forever. No escape. No choice. Just another possession for him to keep locked away."
"That’s not true."
"Isn’t it?"
I hated how easily he made me question things.
Hated how easily I listened.
"You have another path," Lucien whispered.
I swallowed. "What path?"
"Me."
I hated him.
Hated that he was right.
That something about him always made me question myself.
Lucien was dangerous in a way Dante wasn’t.
Dante was raw possession.
Lucien was seduction.
And right now, I was drowning in it.
His fingers traced down my arm, slow, barely there.
But I felt it everywhere.
"You’re stronger than him," he murmured, voice like silk. "You know that, don’t you?"
I swallowed hard.
"You don’t have to let him take you to the elders."
My breath hitched. "I don’t have a choice."
Lucien’s smirk faded.
"You always have a choice, little one," he whispered.
Then, before I could stop him—
His lips brushed against mine.
Soft.
So soft.
A cruel contrast to the way Dante kissed me.
And fuck, it did something to me.
Because this wasn’t a demand.
This wasn’t a punishment.
It was a question.
A plea.
And for a second—I wanted to say yes.
Dante pov
I felt it.
The shift.
The betrayal.
I moved before I even thought about it, appearing behind them in a blur.
Lucien’s lips had barely left Ava’s when my hand wrapped around his throat.
I slammed him back against the balcony railing, teeth bared, rage boiling.
"You just don’t fucking learn, do you?" I snarled.
Lucien grinned, even as his breath came short. "Missed you too, brother."
"Don’t call me that," i snapped, squeezing harder.
Lucien smirked through the pain.
"You should be thanking me," he rasped. "At least I’m giving her a choice."
My grip tightened.
Ava’s gasp broke through the storm in my head.
"Dante, stop!"
I didn’t.
Not yet.
Not until Lucien’s smirk finally faltered.
Not until he knew—deep in his fucking soul—that I would kill him if he touched her again.
I released him, watching as he stumbled back, coughing.
"Stay the fuck away from her," I growled.
Lucien wiped the blood from his lip, his smirk returning.
"I would," he murmured, "if she really wanted me to."
I turned to Ava, my chest tight with something I didn’t want to name.
"Did you?" I asked, my voice low.
She didn’t answer.
And that?
That fucking killed me.
i stepped back, his jaw clenched, his eyes unreadable.
Then, in a voice quiet and final, i said—
"You better decide fast, little one."
"Because after tomorrow, there won’t be a choice anymore."