Page 119 of Untamed

It’s not a kiss or a goodbye. Just that quiet little thing she does when she’s letting me feel her without saying anything.

She lingers there for a heartbeat longer, then pulls back, and I feel every inch of distance like a loss.

She bends to pick up her robe from the floor, red silk spilling through her fingers as she shrugs it back over her shoulders, tying it loosely at her waist. She doesn’t look at me right away. And I don’t say a word. I just stand there, every part of me screaming to stop her. To pull her back in and finish what we started.

But I don’t. I let her leave.

She moves to the door, barefoot and silent, fingers brushing the handle. Then she pauses, looks back at me over her shoulder with that half-smile that always unravels me.

“Don’t forget to feed Ladro,” she reminds me softly.

And before I can respond, she’s gone. Leaving me standing in the middle of the room, bleeding, burning, and already missing her like hell.

“Mangia, piccolo ladro.”Eat, little thief.

The soft, silken fur of the kitten ripples as he flicks his tail and lowers his head toward the creamy bowl of milk, as if he understands me. His demeanour suggests he knows exactly who owns the place, but he couldn’t care less.

I watch Ladro delicately sniff at the milk, his ears twitching with curiosity, his tail flicking arrogantly. The gentle patter of his tiny paws is barely audible in the quiet kitchen. Suddenly, Dante’s deep voice cuts through the silence from behind me.

“Ares?” I turn slightly to glance over my shoulder.

There he stands, filling the doorway with his imposing six-foot-four frame, broad-shouldered and brimming with untapped power, arms crossed defensively, confusion etched across his rugged features. His gaze drops to the small ball of fur perched on the kitchen island, and the furrow in his brow deepens with bewilderment.

“What do you know about kittens?” I ask, my voice steady and flat.

He blinks, once, twice, each blink slower as if processing an unexpected puzzle.

“Uh... not a whole lot.” His eyes remain fixed on Ladro, as if expecting the little creature might spontaneously combust. “Didn’t exactly have you pegged as a cat guy.”

I return my attention to the kitten, now uninterested in the milk, gazing up at me with wide, unblinking blue eyes that seem to pierce through my very soul, judging silently.

He licks his tiny mouth once, almost mockingly.

Smug little bastard.

I exhale deeply, dragging a hand across my stubbled jaw, feeling the roughness beneath my fingers.

“Neither did I.”

I don’t say anything for a beat. Just stare at the damn thing while it blinks at me like it already knows too much. I don’t know how it got in, why it chosemyhouse, or why it hasn't left. But I know one thing.

Jordyn cared.

Enough to laugh for real. Enough to stay. Enough tosmilein a way that carved straight into the parts of me I never show.

So yeah. The kitten stays.

I straighten, keeping my eyes on Ladro as I speak.

“Get someone to take him to the vet. Full checkup. Vaccinations. Whatever he needs.”

Dante blinks again. “You serious?”

I look over at him, deadpan. “Does it look like I’m joking?”

He shifts, glancing back at the kitten like it just became a permanent fixture in the Russo household.

“Right. Yeah. I’ll, uh, have someone from staff handle it.”

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