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Dante's POV

I had many moments of weakness in my life. I wasn't proud of it, but they were there. No matter how much I wished I could erase them, I simply couldn't. This had been my mindset for decades, yet the moment I saw Amabelle watching me with Gavina with mortified, sad eyes I wanted to be better.

In that moment I wanted to be more than just a man with mistakes and no control over them. I wanted to be someone Amabelle respected.

Then the moment passed when she ran away and I wondered if it was even possible. Could I truly change?

"So what? She saw us Dante. She was with Kamil today." Gavina finally interrupted my silence.

I turned from the fireplace and stared at her. Gavina still didn't understand. Sadly, she would never understand. She was in love with me, and I didn't do anything but add fuel to the fire. I wasn't infatuated with her like I was with Amabelle. In fact, even though it was hard to admit, I wished Amabelle was the one sitting in the chair, in love with me.

"I'm going to bed Gavina." I dismissed her comment without bothering to explain myself, and headed for the door.

Before I got very far, Gavina's hand clamped onto my wrist and pulled me around. She glared at me, the hurt and anger burning in her once gentle blue eyes. "What is it about her?"

"Amabelle doesn't beg for me, she's her own person and she fights for what's right. For what she believes in." I told Gavina, realizing those were all things that Gavina wasn't.

She let go of my arm, tears slowly trailing down her cheeks. What was worse was how little I cared. I hated myself for hurting her, and yet I did it anyway. Every time.

Turning away, I straightened my back. "She's headstrong, like me." I added, and kept walking.

The hallway felt longer somehow. It was the walk of shame that I trailed. I had been so angry with her, for even just being alone with Kamil. Everyone could see how in love he was with her, and it drove me mad to see them together today. I wouldn't have even saw it, had I not been on the balcony. Angry or not, I hadn't handled the situation well. I lashed out like I always did, and hurt her.

Amabelle's door was closed, however there was still light in the room. Swallowing my pride, I knocked on the door. Despite my anger, which had mostly dissolved into guilt, I needed to tell her that I was sorry. Hell, I wasn't even sure she would forgive me. How many times would I be able to come to her and plead for her to forgive my mistakes?

The full moons were growing fewer and fewer, and I didn't have much longer before I would forever be the beast inside me.

That was why I swallowed my pride.

Because at the end of the day, I needed Amabelle.

There was no response from Amabelle. Normally, if it were anyone else, I would just turn around and go back to my room, but since I was desperate and succumbed in guilt, I fumbled for the knob of the door. Whether or not it was locked, I was going in there.

Luckily for me, it was unlocked. However, a surprise was waiting for me inside. Amabelle, still dressed in her riding gear, was passed out in her bed. Her breathing was slow, but heavy as she was deep in sleep.

She looked beautiful, peaceful. Her wild locks of brown hair lay in a mess on her pillow and her plump, pale pink lips parted slightly as she breathed. Her lavender lily smell was all over this room, driving me mad.

Sighing, I blew out her candles and shut her blinds. I wouldn't wake her now. I would just wait until morning. She deserved some time away. Away from me.

Just when I was leaving, I heard her murmur nonsense in her sleep. Curious, I glanced at her, noticing that she shivered and curled up.

How gentle of a creature she was, and yet how passionate and untamable she became. Amabelle both inspired and startled me by how strong she was. It was part of why I think I was drawn to her.

So gentle, and kind. Yet fierce and wild.

"Sleep well, little wolf." I whispered, smiling softly, and leaving her room.

Jirri was waiting for me outside Amabelle's room. He leaned up against the wall, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Annoyed at his disapproving expression, I moved away and started walking to my room. Footsteps followed me, however.

"Dante."

I turned around just as I was at my door. "What?"

"You say you don't care, and yet you clearly do." Jirri said, his words snaking around my heart.

"What ever do you mean Jirri?" I asked sarcastically, but also evasively.

His face turned both sour and analytical. "You are afraid to love her. But it's not that you haven't fallen for her, you already have, that much is obvious. It's that you don't know if she could ever love you back."

I swallowed down the gasp that almost escaped my lips. How did he know so much?

"Since you clearly know everything, tell me the answer. Is it even possible for someone to love a monster?" My eyes grew dark.

Jirri had the faint outline of a smile. "Of course, because there is a man hidden beneath that monster, and when he is present, I know there is hope for our king."

I shut my eyes, feeling a pang of guilt in my chest. For many years, this pack had lacked leadership. In recent years, I had been a ghost among them, caught in my own web of self destruction. It wasn't just I, that was stuck here in this tormented eternity of hell. We all were, and I had let myself crumble.

"You have your father's anger, Dante," he paused, causing me to reminisce through painful memories of the past, "But you also have your mom's gentleness. You're constantly trying to be tough for everyone else that you fail to let this feature be shown. I have seen it before. But do you know when I see it the most?"

My fists were trembling. "When?"

"When you're with Amabelle." He answered simply.

I dropped my gaze, shutting my eyes.

"She might be your mate, Dante. Wouldn't you like to know if she is?"

Looking back at him, he was searching my face for hope I supposed. I wanted to have hope, it just wasn't easy when for years I had slunk myself deeper and deeper into a hole of darkness.

"Of course I do." I replied.

"So stop pushing her away. Open up to her." Jirri instructed, stepping closer.

"But she is pushing me away too, how will I—" I protested.

"Don't worry about that. I'm going to talk to her too."

I sighed, wishing I knew how to do this. How to be better.

"Will you do this for us Dante? Really try?" Jirri questioned me, bringing my attention yet again. "Please understand that you weren't the only one cursed. We only have so much longer Dante."

He was right of course, and that long term guilt settled in my gut like it usually did. "She has my heart, I just hope that someday she'll give me hers."

Then I went into my room and left Jirri to his thoughts. What he decided to do with the information I had just confirmed was no longer a concern. If Jirri told Amabelle, I wouldn't even blink. The fact was I had no confidence she felt anything like that towards me. She was too perfect for words and I didn't deserve her. Yet still, a part of me wasn't ready to give up hope.

Through the night, I decided to busy my mind with art. I painted out on the balcony which was per my usual during this time of night since I never slept. Many people in my pack didn't know this... This little side effect of mine. Along with never being able to leave here, staying young forever, and living with the fact that I will probably be turned into an incurable, immortal savage beast for eternity someday, I was plagued with restlessness. Never once since the curse had I been able to get sleep. At first I thought it was just because I was emotionally distraught but the frequency made it obvious that it was just another part of the curse.

Currently tattooed on my brain were images of hurricanes, Amabelle's strong voice, and firm lips. I chose to paint them, splattering colors this way and that. That's how time passed, stroking delicate lines and tracing outlines of shapes programmed in my mind onto my canvas. In the end I had painted a sky of hurricanes. They were the background of two beautiful eyes and a set of plump lips.

The sun rose, light streaming across my creation. Dissatisfied with my work, I left it out and stalked my way to my bathroom. Surely a bath and a fresh change of clothes would help the disfiguration of my heart and brain.

A fool could hope.

For a moment after my bath, I just stared at my reflection in the mirror. It had been a while since I'd really analyzed what I look like to other people. When I examined myself, I felt like a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing. My hair was the same black curly mess it had been since my early teenage years. I had my father's strong jawline, my mother's soft, bold blue eyes, and of course, I couldn't ignore the scars of battle here and there on my toned chest.

Everyone said I looked the most like my father, which sucked for me. Because I had loathed my father for much of my life. He groomed me into the king of destruction that I was.

Only on his deathbed was he ever kind to me. And it was a brief five or six minutes.

Everyone stood by me when I became Alpha at the young age of 16. Even my own mother. She knew what my father was and what he had turned me into, yet she still showed loyalty and nothing but eternal affection.

At points in my life before she was murdered I wondered how a soul so kind could exist.

Once I was finally dressed and clean, I went to my door. A strong scent of roses and honey reached me as I did so. It was Amabelle.

Instinctively I opened the door. Her eyes grew huge and her mouth gaped. Clearly, she hadn't been expecting me to open the door. I could not help but bathe my eyes in her beauty. She was wearing a simple red gown that flowed out from her waist. Her hair was curled, a braided crown along the top of her head with the rest trailing down her back.

"I will come back later..." she started, her cheeks ablaze in a fury of embarrassment.

Painfully, I ground my teeth so the smile that was dying to come to life was hidden. "No wait..."

Amabelle stopped in her tracks and turned back to me. Her wine red lips caught me off guard today, and my wolf imagined what it would be like to feel those lips against mine. Scolding him, I tried to ignore those thoughts.

"Amabelle, I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. My actions are inexcusable." Swallowing my pride was easy with her, because she could see right through me anyway.

She appeared taken aback. "I accept your apology. But you deserve some clarity, Dante. So I wanted to tell you that Kamil and I's relationship is purely innocent and simply a friendship. Yesterday-"

I began to stop her, "You don't need to explain yourself-"

She put her hand up. "Yes I do. Yesterday Kamil and I did share a brief intimate moment. But it passed. And I told Kamil that we could only be friends. That's all that happened."

Even though it did bother me that they had any kind of connection, I did respect Kamil was someone who got through to her when I still hadn't. Unfortunately my wolf was not as accepting of that as me. Holding him down inside me, I took a steadying deep breath.

"I don't own you Amabelle, you're free to be friends with whoever you want. I'm sorry I ever made you feel different." I told her truly.

That same surprised spark flashed through her warm chocolate eyes. "Thank you for apologizing."

An idea came to me as I watched her eye me suspiciously. Like she could not understand something. I had a hunch Amabelle liked to read, considering how intelligent she was, maybe she could appreciate my love of literature.

"I was going to head to the library, would you like to join me?" I proposed, finally smiling at her.

Amabelle's wall came down so quickly I debated whether it had been there to begin with. "Of course, I would love to!"

"Follow me," I told Amabelle, and we were off.

She trailed beside me silently, but it was a comfortable silence. It was almost like we were getting used to one another's presence. As we walked I would sneak glances at her. It was impossible not to. Her eyes were glowing with this adoring curiosity, and she appeared... giddy.

When the double doors opened, Amabelle gasped. She sauntered in without even looking at me. Her eyes were wide with excitement, and her smile... goddess, her smile was golden.

"This is the grandest thing I've seen in my life. There are so many books!" Amabelle cried happily.

She spun in a circle, giggling. I grinned, greedily taking in every moment I could of seeing her so happy. Rarely in the time she had been here had I personally seen her smile. My wolf even yipped in joy, loving her energy.

There were two stories in total that made up the library. Books that held countless stories, tales, myths, legends, truths, facts, history, was a number too high to give an exact estimate. However even so, with so much time on my hands, I had read close to all of them. Even about things that didn't interest me.

"You're free to come here anytime you like," I said, drawing her attention again.

She smiled so wide, I wondered if it hurt. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

I returned her smile. "What's mine, is now yours."

Amabelle's eyes seemed to melt into her smile, and a true kind of understanding surpassed both of us. Soon after she waltzed away to a bookshelf and began her search for a proper reading. I decided to let her browse for a while, so I sat myself in a comfy chair by the big glass windows that overlooked the rose garden.

Oddly enough, I didn't get bored watching her wander around, get excited over books and come show me, it... it made me happy. I loved her passion for knowledge and the magic of adventure she had.

"What is your favorite genre?" Amabelle asked me as we sat together in chairs across from each other in the library.

I smiled. "Romance, of course."

Amabelle burst out laughing. "No way!"

Pursing my lips, I tried to ignore how contagious her laugh was. "And why is that funny?"

She bit her lip, trying not to giggle. "Oh, it's... it's not. I hadn't expected you to enjoy romance."

I smirked. "Is it hard to believe I'm a man of passion?"

Her cheeks blossomed pink and a shy smile fell upon her lips. "I suppose."

I leaned forward. "Well now you're aware."

Amabelle's whole face was red now, and I chuckled. She was adorable.

Somehow hours passed by, and sometimes we spoke about literature and its beauty. Other times we sat in silence, just reading books. What I learned from today was that reading books with Amabelle was one hundred percent better than reading by myself, and that my new favorite sound was Amabelle's laughter.

That day, when we went to dinner, I was happier than I had been in a very, very long time.

There was a new hope on the horizon, and little did Amabelle know just how important she was becoming to me...

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Author's Note

Helloooooooooo peopleeee. How was the chapter? How's reading from Dante's perspective? Different and weird?

It's weird writing in his perspective, trust me.😂

Anwayyyyyyyyys. Thank you for reading! Vote, comment and add to your library if you love it!

See ya next time lovelies😘