Page 226 of Untamed

I blink. Once. Twice.

My heartbeat stutters. There’s something beneath it, tucked just under the curve of the stem.

A card.

My skin turns to ice. Slowly, I step closer. There’s something beneath it, a card. Heavy stock. Black. No ink. No handwriting.

Just words. Inred, pressed into the paper like a brand.

Tick, tock, the hour bleeds,

Soft white roses hide sharp needs.

Tick, tock, I’ll make you mine,

Not with chains, but with time.

Tick, tock, the world will see,

He chose war.

You’ll chooseme.

I stare at it...the message carved in silence, pressed deep like a secret meant only for me.

Not just a warning.

Adeclaration.

And someone made it into my room to deliver it personally.

The room smells like cigar smoke, espresso, and something darker, something that clings to men who’ve killed and made peace with it.

Maps stretch across the conference table in front of me. Trade routes. Shipment schedules. Movement patterns of soldiers that aren’t ours.

Dante’s voice cuts through the static in my mind. Calm. Focused. Delivering the latest recon like gospel.

“They’ve reinforced the ports in Catania. That means one of two things, they’re either expecting retaliation… or preparing to strike first.”

I nod, fingers steepled beneath my chin.

Around the table, men shift. Wait. Watch.

But I’m barely hearing them.

Because my phone buzzes on the table. Once. No sound, just the sharp flicker of the screen.

1 new message: Safe. Lobby. Checked in 08:07. Uniform pressed. No contact. Eyes on.

A photo follows. Candid. Blurry, but enough.

Jordyn.

Hair up in a ponytail. Black heels. A silver tray in her hand and a look on her face that says she thinks she can handle this.

God help anyone who thinks they can touch her.

I let the screen go dark and shift in my chair.

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