Page 285 of Untamed

And that’s when I see him.

Nicolai.

He’s standing at the far end of the room, his back to me, staring into the flames like he’s contemplating poetry instead of orchestrating hell.

Once the door clicks shut behind me, slowly, he turns.

That smile.

The same cold, calculated smile I saw once at Eden. The one that crawled under my skin and made something inside me recoil. His eyes roam over me now, not like a man seeing a woman, but like a collector sizing up a new prize.

“Jordyn,” he says, as though we’re old friends meeting under civil terms. “Finally. Welcome home,Tesoro.”

I straighten, rage overriding the tremor in my limbs for one fleeting second. “Home?” I spit, my eyes narrowing into blades. “This isn’t my fucking home, you delusional psycho. Youabductedme. My home is with Ares.”

Nicolai’s smile doesn’t falter, if anything, it widens. That smug, slow curl of his mouth makes my skin crawl.

“With Ares?” he echoes, stepping closer. “That butcher doesn’t know how to love. He only knows how to destroy. But me? I’moffering you something far more valuable than whatever scraps he fed you.”

I take a step back, heart thudding like thunder against my ribs. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’d ever want anything from you.”

His eyes flash, sharp and cold. “You will,” he says softly. “In time. They always do.”

Then he reaches for me, and I jerk away, repulsion twisting through me. “Don’t touch me.”

Nicolai pauses, head tilting, lip curling into a smirk. “Still fighting.Bene. I like them better when they’ve got a little fire left to burn out.” He says, licking his lips as he leans in closer. “And I’m going to take great pleasure in burning yours out, amore.”

I stand my ground, even though every instinct inside me is screaming to run or die trying. My hands are balled into fists at my side, fingernails biting into my palms. “What do you want from me?” I shout, voice echoing off the cold marble walls. “Why am I here? If your plan is to kill me and send a message to Ares, you could have a million times over by now. Why bring me and my sister here? What the hell do you want, Nicolai?”

He stops just a few feet away, the flicker of something dark and twisted glinting in his eyes. His smile softens, but it only makes him more unnerving, like a snake trying to charm before the strike. “Kill you?” He intones with a shake of his head, as though the concept is ludicrous to him. “You’re right, if I wanted to hurt you, I ‘ve had plenty of opportunity to do so, but I’m not going to kill you, Tesoro.”

I should be relieved, but somehow him keeping me alive feels a lot worse. “What do you want then?”

“The only thing I’ve ever wanted,” he says, his voice low and steely. “You.”

My blood goes ice cold at his admission.

“From the first moment I saw you that night at Eden,” he continues, gaze raking over me like he’s committing every inch to memory, “you unsettled something in me. Something I didn’t know I was capable of feeling. I watched you walk into a room and steal the air from it. Watched you smile at that monster and give him everything I’ve spent my life trying to earn.”

He takes another slow step forward, and I match it with one back.

“You’ve been mine since the beginning, Tesoro. You just didn’t know it yet. I’ve waited,patientlyfor this moment.”

I let out a breathless, disbelieving laugh, my head shaking. “You’re insane,” I bite. “Obsession isn’t love, you psycho. You think you can kidnap me, imprison me in this fortress and force me into loving you?” I shake my head. “That will never happen. I loveAres, I belong tohim.”

His jaw twitches, just slightly, before that cold calm settles over his features again. “You can hate me all you want,” he murmurs. “But you’ll learn, amore. I always get what I want.”

“You’re delusional.” I bite back. “You will never have me.”

Before I can blink, Nicolai moves.

In a flash, he’s in front of me, his hand slamming against the wall beside my head, his body crowding mine. I jerk back instinctively, spine pressing hard into the cold stone behind me, but there’s nowhere to go. He’s too close. His other hand clampsaround my jaw, fingers digging in just enough to hurt as he forces me to look at him.

“You don’t get it,” he snarls, all charm wiped from his face, replaced with something primal and possessive. “You think this is about love. About Ares. But this is bigger than him. Bigger than your misplaced loyalty.”

I twist my head, trying to break his grip, but he only tightens it, dragging my gaze back to his.

“You’re wasting your time. I will never love you, Nicolai,” I growl through gritted teeth. “You can hurt me, threaten me, cage me in this gilded tomb, but it won’t change a thing. I will never be yours. Either kill me or let me go. Because when Ares finds me and he will, he’ll,”

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