Dante’s POV
Robert turned to the door and left. I felt my claws sink into the table but I put myself under control.
“Come in.”
Erica walked in and I felt my wolf leap at the sight of her. I could barely control myself. My breathing was erratic and my body was tense. I wanted to grab her and kiss her. I wanted to make her mine.
“Erica…”
Her name was like milk on my tongue and it escaped my lips in a desire-filled breathy way.
Her eyes dazzled me but in their beauty, there was a deep sadness.
I rushed to her. My body wanted to feel her against it. I wanted to relish the scent of her perfume and hair. I wanted…
“Stop.”
She put a hand out in front of me and I stopped in my tracks.
“Good morning, Dante.”
Her voice and mannerisms were cold. She clutched her bag close to her chest and stood away from me.
“May I have a seat?”
I hurriedly gestured to a chair and she sat down. I sat down as well. My eyes feasted on her and I felt all my desires for her spring to life once more. I was still desperate to touch her, to hold her but something about her was not right.
“It is nice to see you again, Erica. I missed you. Why did you stop picking my calls?”
She was silent; she turned her head away and didn’t say anything. I was silent as well and took the opportunity to gaze at her exquisite beauty. Why did it seem like she had gotten prettier than when I last saw her?
“Erica”
I leaned forward and tried to take her hands but she pulled them away.
“I know that you are hurt about what Laura said and I’m sorry. But you don’t need to worry about it anymore. It was all a lie from her. She tried to fake a pregnancy and pin it on me. The tests show that she wasn’t pregnant…”
I rummaged through my drawers to find the test results.
There they are. I grabbed them and handed them to Erica.
She took them and began to glance through them quietly. As she did, tears streamed down her face. I felt a smile creep on mine. Tears of relief probably.
“Erica”
She looked up at me. Her eyes were red and swollen. I tried to take her hand again but she shied away.
“look, we can be together. I want you Erica. I want you to be my wife, my bride. I made a mistake before, six years ago. I shouldn’t have let you go. Laura is out of my life now. I want you to be in my life. Barren or not, I swear that I will love you with everything that is in me. Please…”
She burst into tears and I began to worry. What was going on? What was wrong with her?
“I’m sorry, Dante. I…I have to go. I shouldn’t have come here. It was a mistake.”
She stood up but I was faster. I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me.
“Where are you going? What is going on?”
I looked down at her hand and that was when I saw it. She flexed her fingers to hide it but it was too late.
My grip on her weakened and she pulled her arm away.
“Erica?”
She looked me dead in the eyes and ea still silent.
“Erica, what is going on?”
Her arms fell to the side and she spoke, tears choking her words.
“I came to tell you that we can’t be together and we can’t keep seeing each other. That ‘thing’ that we had going on between us is over.”
I took a step forward. I could hear her trembling. Was she saying what I thought…
“What are you saying, Erica?”
She took a deep breath. Her tears had dried up and the only thing that was left were her red blotchy eyes.
“Lorenzo proposed to me and I said yes. We are getting married and I am giving my devotion to him. We can’t be together, Dante.”
I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. I felt my world shake and it felt like I was tossed out of my own reality. She was joking. She had to be joking.
“It can’t be true. Tell me that this is some kind of joke.”
“It is not a joke, Dante. We can’t be together. And even if I wasn’t getting married to Lorenzo, we still can’t be together. Did you think that my family would accept you after all that you did to me six years ago? My father was broken when I told him about the things you did to me. He would never let you back into my life. I love him and I am not willing to break his heart, even for you.”
My heart was beating at a fierce tempo and my breath was heavy.
Lorenzo! That bastard! I should have killed him myself. He was the cause of all this!
I didn’t give a damn about Erica’s father. She was my mate. The Goddess gave her to me!
I slammed my fist into the wall and concrete gave in to the force of my fist and cracked.
My anger was hot and unbridled. I would not accept this. Never!
I punched the wall over and over again and the crack became larger and larger, debris falling from the shattered concrete and coating the floor beneath my feet with fine dust.
“Dante! Stop!”
Erica cried out to me but I didn’t stop. I wasn’t going to stop. That bastard thought that he could take my mate away from me. I wasn’t going to allow it. I was going to end him if it was the last thing that I did.
“Dante, none of this is going to change my mind. Stop!”
“You are mine, Erica! No one else can have you!”
Tears streamed down her face again.
“You should have thought about that six years ago. Why do you think that you can always get your way all the time? You can’t eat your cake and have it…”
“Don’t you dare talk to me about eating my cake and having it!”
I stormed up to her and glared down at her in anger. She whimpered and cried even more.
Seeing her cry shattered my heart and I eased up a little.
“Erica, I want you and I won’t let anyone take you away from me.”
“You should have thought about that before you sent me away. I would have been yours if you didn’t send me away. What makes you think that I can still be with you after all that you did?…”
“Because you love me, Erica. Tell me that you would rather be with him than with me. Tell me to my face. If you say that then I will let you go. I won’t bother you anymore. Tell me.”
My heart beat wildly in anticipation. Was she really going to say it?
“Erica, say something.”
She was silent. Tears flowed freely down her beautiful face.
“Erica!”
“Me loving you doesn’t change the fact that you hurt me when I needed you the most. It doesn’t change the fact that you treated me like a pauper and threw me out without a care in the world!”
She pulled herself away from my grasp and I looked at her stunned.
“I only came to tell you that I was getting married to Lorenzo. I think you have gotten the message. I won’t tell you when the wedding is. I don’t want to see you there. Goodbye Dante.”
She grabbed her bag and turned around. I watched her walk to the door. My heart was shattered. I stopped thinking for a while. All this had to be a joke.
“No!”
I rushed forward and blocked the door.
Erica was shocked and looked at me confused.
“I want to leave, Dante. Get out of my way.”
“I won’t let you. If you want to leave, then move me…”