Page 286 of Untamed

He laughs. A dark, mocking sound that scrapes across my skin like barbed wire.

“Ares won’t find you,” he says, voice soft, almost pitying. “And even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. I’m not afraid of him.”

“You should be,” I snap.

His eyes flash. “He’s old power. Rusted and ruled by sentiment. I am the future. I’ve already taken his girl. Next, I will take his throne, and when I do…” His lips hover near my ear, his breath hot and sickening. I can feel the bile rising up my throat. “You will sit beside me as my Queen.”

I slam my hands against his chest, shoving him back with everything I have. He stumbles half a step, more from surprise than force.

“I’d rather die,” I retort.

His expression doesn’t change. “You say that now. But soon, you’ll understand. I always get what I want, Tesoro. And what I want isyouand it would do you good to accept your fate because you will be mine.”

My fists clench at my sides. My skin burns with the urge to strike him again. But I force myself still, trembling with rage as I lift my chin and glare up at him.

“Vai all’inferno,”Go to hell.I hiss, my voice sharp and shaking, “I will never be yours. I don’t care how many guards you post outside my door or how many threats you spit through those snake teeth of yours,you are nothing to me.And Ares...”

His name on my tongue makes Nicolai’s eyes flash with something dangerous.

“...will find me. You think this is your victory? All you’ve done is sign your own death sentence.”

For a moment, he just stares at me, his chest rising and falling beneath the expensive fabric of his blue shirt. Then, that same cold, arrogant smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth.

“Perhaps,” he says softly. “But I’ve survived worse. And I’ll survive him too. One day, Tesoro, you’ll see I’m the only man willing to burn the world just to touch you.”

“No, you’re not, but you’ll see that for yourself soon enough,” I snap, my voice cracking. “If it’s the throne you’re after, you didn’t have to abduct me. Ares doesn’t want it. He has no interest in becoming Cappo dei Cappi.”

“Which is why Luciano handed you over thinking it would force Ares to fall back in line, marry Giana and take the crown. But he doesn’t understand. I don’t want tobuildan empire for Ares; I’mtaking it for myself. The throne. The legacy. And you, Stellina. You’re the only crown I’ve ever wanted.”

Luciano.

I can’t believe that son of bitch betrayed his own son. There really isn’t a line that man won’t cross to get his own way.

I refuse to let him see the flicker of unease his words stir within me, though my heart pounds like a drum against my ribs. Instead, I keep my gaze locked on his, unyielding. “Of course, because that’s all I fucking am to you, right? You want me like I’m some trophy, something to hold up and say you’ve won. But Ares? He never had to take. He was enough on his own.” I say, sharply. “And that’s why I chose him. Why I will continue to choose him.”

Nicolai smirks, a flicker of something dark and dangerous clouding his dark eyes, but I don’t stop. I lean into the fury bubbling in my chest and sharpen every word like a blade.

I scoff. “You’re delusional if you think I will ever show any emotion other than repulsion toward you. Get it in your thick skull. I belong to Ares Russo, with every breath in my body until the day I die, I will be his.”

The bastard exhales, slow and deliberate, but I don’t flinch. I tilt my chin higher instead.

“That’s what kills you, isn’t it?” I whisper. “That no matter how much power you claw for, how many pawns you move across your little chessboard, none of it will evermakeme love you.”

His nostrils flare, and his composure frays at the edges, but his voice stays eerily smooth. “You say that now, Tesoro. But loyaltyfades. Fear has a way of shaping the heart. You’ll learn to love me.”

I laugh, bitter and quiet. “You don’t know the first thing about my heart. And you sure as shit don’t get to shape it.”

“Keep baring your teeth, amore,” he murmurs, his fingers grazing my jaw and I recoil from his touch. “You only make yourself more irresistible.”

“I want my sister.”

His head tilts.

I press forward, my breath catching in my throat. “Where is she? Where’s Bianca?” My voice sharpens, brittle and frantic. “What are you going to do with her?”

Nicolai’s expression darkens, the playfulness bleeding from his features like ink in water.

“Bianca…” he repeats slowly, as though tasting the name. “That depends.”

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