Page 236 of Untamed

Because this isn’t over.

Because it wasn’tmeantto be over.

Dante walks to the table and drops the file. Surveillance footage. Body ID. Vehicle registration. All of it tied up in a neat, lethal bow.

“He didn’t resist,” Dante says, every word stiff with restraint. “Didn’t try to fight you. Didn’t try to run.”

“I noticed.”

He lifts a brow. “You know what that means, right?”

I don’t answer, because I do. It was a performance. A calculated message.

Dante sits on the edge of the desk, arms folded. Watching me.

“Nicolai knew you’d come,” he says. “Hell, I think hecountedon it. This wasn’t about hurting her, not yet anyway.”

My hands curl into fists at my sides.

“He wanted you to see what he’s capable of. That he could take her. That he can get insideyourworld. Your walls. Your head.”

I look over at him. “He succeeded.”

Dante nods slowly. “Yeah. But he didn’t just want to provoke you. He wanted to get insideherhead, too.”

I don’t move, don’t breathe so he continues.

“Think about it. No bruises. No chains. No scars. He could’ve made a statement with pain. He didn’t. Instead, he went for the cat.”

“Why though?”

“Because he’s trying tosoften her first,” Dante says, his voice cold. “Instill fear. Make her question her safety, her place, her strength. And worst of all,you.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose.

“This isn’t about hurting, Jordyn. He’s going to try to win her. Not through violence, but manipulation. Seduction. He’s playing the long game.”

Dante nods again. “You’re not just in a war for territory anymore, Ares. You’re in a war forher mind.”

A long silence hangs between us.

Then I speak, words like ice through my teeth.

“Then I’ll remind him,slowly, violently, that she was never his to want.”

I haven’t moved in hours. The blanket clings to my skin, damp from the cold sweat that won’t dry. My eyes are open, fixed on the ceiling, but I’m not really seeing it.

Because I keep seeing him. Over and over again.

Ladro.

The image is burned behind my eyes like someone branded it there. I blink and it’s back. The soft white sheets soaked in red. His tiny body curled, too still. Too wrong.

I didn’t hear Ares behind me. Didn’t hear anything, really. Just the white noise ringing in my ears and the broken sound thatclawed out of my throat when I saw him, our kitten, laid out like an offering.

My knees gave out. I remember that much. I remember the rug scratching my skin as I fell.

The way my hands trembled so badly I couldn’t even cover my mouth.

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