Page 224 of Untamed

“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not here to threaten you,” he continues. “I’m here to tell you the truth. Ares choosing you puts a target on his back. Refusing the Mancini’s? Publicly humiliating their daughter? That wasn’t just emotional, it was political.” His voice hardens. “You think love is enough to survive that?”

He leans forward, his gaze sharp. “If you truly care about Ares, if you love him like you say, you’ll do the right thing and walk away. Before you become the reason he’s buried.”

The silence that follows is thick, stifling.

“Ares is reckless when it comes to you.” He swirls the drink in his glass, eyes fixed elsewhere. “He ignores logic. Disobeys orders. Forgets who he is, what he was made for.” Then his eyes return to mine. Cold. Unflinching.

“And I understand the appeal. You’re young. You’re beautiful. Untouched by all this... rot.” He gestures faintly to the room. “But that’s exactly what makes you dangerous. You make him want out. You make him believe he can live a life that isn’t steeped in blood.”

Luciano leans forward, hands folded again. Steel creeps back into his voice.

“He cannot. Ares Russo doesn’t get to dream. He doesn’t get to choose. Not if he wants to survive.”

A pause. “Not if we do.”

His words land like a blow, sharp and hideous.

“This family, our name, rests on men like Ares doing what they’re told. Marrying who they’re told. Bleeding when necessary. Loving, if permitted.” His smile is thin. “You thinkI haven’t seen what’s happening between you? You think I’m blind?”

He tilts his head.

“You weren’t raised for this life, Jordyn. You weren’t trained for it. And you’re not ready for what loving a man like him will cost you.” He lets the words settle like ash. “Or what it will cost him?”

His tone softens, not kindly, but with a quiet finality that cuts deeper than rage. “I’ve watched boys like him burn for girls like you. And I’ve buried both before the year was out.” He stands, drink still in hand, his gaze drifting to the far wall.

“You think this is just about a marriage. A girl. A boy defying his father.”

He turns, meeting my eyes once more. “It’s not.”

He lifts his glass, tapping the rim with the ring on his finger.

“Ares was never meant to stay in the shadows. I’ve spent years shaping him into something more. Something this island hasn’t seen in decades.”

My brows knit, but he only smiles, and there’s nothing warm in it.

“You wouldn’t understand the title. But simply put, he’s meant to be the man every other man answers to.” A pause. “The one who wears the crown… even if it’s made of knives.”

A chill snakes down my spine.

“But he can’t wear it if he’s distracted by softness. By sentiment. Byyou.”

My stomach churns, nausea clawing up my throat.

“Ares and Giana will marry. It’s not a possibility, it’s an inevitability. They’ll have an heir. And my son will become the head of this family. Capo dei Capi.”

He takes a step toward me, voice quiet but unmistakably final.

“You have two choices, Jordyn. You can walk away and allow him to fulfil what he was born for...”

I lift my chin. “Or what?”

His smile is slow,chilling.

“Or you stay… and watch how quickly love turns to ruin in a world like his.”

The silence stretches long after he finishes. His warning hangs in the air, thick and suffocating, like smoke after a fire.

I could let it sink in.

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