Chapter 2 The attack withen

The sound of the explosion still rang in my ears as I clawed my way through the smoke

My body ached. But the only thing I cared about was the baby in my belly.

I wasn't sure how long I had blacked out. Chaos erupted around me screams, growls, the clash of metal and claws. The De Luca mansion was under siege.everywhere was full of blood.everybody was fighting, trying to save themselves.but the enemies were not giving up.

And this time, the enemy wasn't coming through the front gates.

Flames licked the edges of the walls, casting everything in a flickering, The scent of blood and ash clogged my nostrils. I stumbled to my feet, ignoring the blood dripping down my temple. My wolf pushed forward, snarling. She wanted out-wanted to protect the life inside me to protect us

"Amara!" a voice shouted, hoarse and urgent.

Mateo. Thank the goddess.

He appeared through the smoke, face streaked with soot and fury. His shirt was ripped, exposing claw marks across his ribs. "You're hurt!"you need to leave here now follow me

"Where's Dante?" I coughed through the dust. "Is he alive?"is he save,I don't Know why I still care for a man like dante,or maybe because I still carry his child

"He's fine. Barely. Took shrapnel to the shoulder but kept fighting like a damn berserker." Mateo grabbed my arm with firm hands. "We need to get you out of here. Now."

"No I have to be here to save him,he is still the father of my child I said, dragging my arm away. "I told him there was a traitor in his pack. This isn't a coincidence. This was planned."

Mateo cursed under his breath. "You think I don't know that? But we can't deal with it if you're dead,you just have to be alive, You're carrying his heir."

I flinched. Heir. I hated how cold that word sounded. Like this baby was just a piece of power. A legacy. A pawn.

But this child... was mine first.

And I'd die before I let anyone use it against me.

We ran through the east corridor escaping all obstacle. The once-glorious mansion was a war zone. Chandeliers shattered. Paintings slashed. Blood soaked into Persian rugs.

Half the wolves had already shifted. Some were dead. Others were turning on each other

We reached the ballroom a bloodbath.

Wolves snarled and lunged at one another, some in full shift, others caught mid-transition. Gunfire rang out from the upper balcony. A bullet shattered the mirror near my head. I ducked instinctively, heart pounding in my ears. And then I saw him

Dante.

Standing at the center of it all.

His black shirt was torn, soaked in blood some of it his, most of it not. His eyes glowed silver, his wolf hovering beneath the surface like a predator barely leashed.

And for a moment, despite everything... he looked at me.

Really looked.

Like he hadn't since the day he rejected me.

Like I was something he couldn't lose.

I didn't have time to make sense of the feeling.

A rogue lunged for him from behind.

"DANTE!" I screamed.

He spun, claws slashing, ripping the attacker's throat out midair. Blood sprayed across his chest, and he never took his eyes off me.

And that's when it hit me.

They weren't just attacking the mansion.

They were trying to distract him.

From me.

"Mateo," I said urgently, grabbing his sleeve, "they're after me.

He blinked. "What?"

"They knew I was coming. The moment I stepped into this house, the attack began.

Mateo's expression darkened. "Then someone sold you out.

"No," I said slowly, connecting the dots in real time. "Someone inside wants the baby gone someone want me or my child dead Mateo I can't loose this child now not after everything. And they waited until I came back to strike."

A howl split the air sharp and high-pitched. A signal.

Another rogue dropped from the ceiling like a shadow.

Straight toward me.

Mateo tried to block it, but I was faster.

I threw up my arm, claws bursting free, and slashed across the rogue's face. Blood flew. He stumbled-but not before whispering one word in my ear.

"Your blood... ends tonight."

He lunged again only to be ripped away mid-air by a blur of black.

Dante.

His wolf fully unleashed, monstrous and feral, with eyes like molten silver and teeth soaked in rage.

He didn't hesitate.

He tore the rogue apart like paper.

Then he turned to me, chest heaving.

"You're not leaving my sight again you have to be with me.and don't act stubborn Amara."

"I didn't come here to be protected," I snapped, adrenaline spiking. "I came to tell you the truth. And now you see it.you can see it urself

He reached out suddenly, palm pressing to my stomach.

The gesture was so unexpected, so vulnerable, that it stole my breath.

He felt it.

The heartbeat.

The life.

Ours.my child our

"I didn't reject you because I didn't want you," he whispered, voice rough with regret. "I did it to keep you out of this world. To protect you.to save you from the world's

"Too late for that what if I was dead?you are trying to save me?by rejecting me and never looked back?," I said coldly. "This world found me anyway.

Another explosion rocked the ground, this one closer. I'm ending this. Tonight."

But before he could move, Mateo's voice broke through the comm in his ear.

"Boss. It's worse than we thought. The traitor... it's someone from your bloodline.

Dante froze.

"What?

The line crackled. "It's your cousin. Luca. He's behind it all.

And that's when I saw him across the ballroom, standing calmly in the chaos.

Blood on his hands. A smirk on his face.

Luca Romano.

The second-in-command.

The one person Dante trusted most.

The man who once swore to protect this family at all costs.

And now... the one who just raised a gun to my head.