Page 294 of Untamed

Nicolai grins. “You heard me. You want your beloved to live...you becomemine. Not just in theory. Not just in spirit. In name. In blood. You walk down that aisle, take my last name, and say you belong to me. Or I will make you watch as I remove one piece of him at a time.”

I shake my head once when our eyes lock from across the room.

He yanks her closer, his mouth grazing her ear. “Say yes, Jordyn. Or I’ll decorate this floor with him.”

She looks at me.

And for the first time in my life, I want to scream. Because she’s going to do it. I can see it in her trembling lips. The way her eyes flicker, like she’s already made peace with dying inside if it means I don’t.

“No, Bambina, don’t.” I breathe. “Don’t you dare do it. You think you’re saving me, but you’re not. Let him kill me. I’d rather diethan let you sacrifice yourself to save me by giving yourself up to this son of a bitch.”

“I don’t have a choice. You don’t get to sacrifice yourself for me, I won’t let you.” she chokes out, looking only at me now. “You were right. I should have listened when you told me to stay away. You’re here because of me.”

She turns to Nicolai, tears falling freely. “Let him go,” Jordyn says through gritted teeth. “Let him walk out of here unharmed, and I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.”

But Nicolai laughs. “No, no. First, you marry me. Then he walks, if he’s able.”

Her voice breaks. “How do I know you’ll keep your word? How do I know you won’t kill him the second you get what you want?”

“You don’t,” he shrugs. “That’s what makes it fun.”

Jordyn shakes her head, her voice cracking as she stares down the man with a gun to her temple. “I don’t trust you. Let Ares go… and give me your word you’ll never come after him again.”

Nicolai clicks his tongue, pretending to weigh her words as though they carry actual weight. “Hmm.” He tilts his head, the picture of mock consideration. “Tempting.”

“No!” I roar, surging forward, but the three men holding me slam me back to my knees. My shoulders scream in protest, muscles torn between breaking free and breaking down. “Don’t, Jordyn. Please. Look at me.” My chest heaves. “You can’t trust him. Don’t... don’t do this, bambina. You might as well put a fucking bullet in my head yourself. You hear me? Don’t.”

She turns, meeting my eyes.

And what I see in hers, shattered hope, a soul already mourning, rips me apart from the inside out. She’s breaking for me… to save me. And I’ve never felt more powerless in my life.

Nicolai leans in closer to her, his grin slicing across his face like a knife. “You have my word, Tesoro,” he croons, tasting the word like poison-laced candy. “I’ll even be so generous as to give Ares here a front-row seat at our wedding.”

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard, I taste blood.

“Watching me take what you love,” he continues, voice dark with delight, “will be a fate far worse than death.”

Jordyn trembles. Her eyes are glassy, lashes wet and heavy. She keeps her eyes on mine, our gazes locked in a silent world only we know.

Her lips barely move, but the words strike like a bullet to the chest.

“Solo tuo,” she whispers.

Then she mouths it again, softer, for only me to see.

Only yours.

And in that moment, with those two words hanging between us, every scream in me goes silent.

“Lock him up,” Nicolai orders his men. “Make sure our guest receives afittingwelcome.”

“No,” I thrash in Nicolai’s grasp, nails clawing at his arms as his men close in.

Three men lunge for Ares at once.

“No!” I scream, fighting with every bit of might I have in me against the arms holding me back. “Please, let him go. Ares!”

He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t look the slightest bit afraid. His eyes stay locked on me, wild and burning, even as they yank his arms behind his back and start dragging him away.

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