Page 300 of Untamed

And we will.

We have to. I have to believe that, because it’s the only hope I have left to hold onto. The only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.

I glance down, my hand resting protectively over the flat plane of my stomach. Ares knows now. I can still see the moment his eyes dropped to that spot, the silence that fell between us before helooked back up with something raw and unshakable in his gaze. Like the earth had shifted beneath him… and in the wreckage, he’d found a new reason to fight. A new reason to survive.

A piece of him...ofusgrowing quietly inside me while the rest of our world burns.

It doesn’t show yet, not really… but how long until it does? How long can I keep it hidden until Nicolai figures it out? I need to see a doctor. I need someone to tell me everything’s okay, that this baby is okay. That I haven’t already failed before I even had the chance to protect it properly.

Ares vowed, we’d be back with him. That he would find a way to rescue us from this hell. Whether he has a plan or not, I don’t know. But right now, he’s tied to a chair, beaten and bleeding, and in less than thirty minutes he’ll be forced to watch as I’m handed to his enemy like I’m some prize to be claimed.

Tears sting again, but I blink them back.

He’ll come.

He promised.

And until he does… I’ll carry this life, the one we made together and protect it with every breath I have left or die trying.

The two women doing my hair and make-up leave, and the room falls silent. I sit alone, my hands clasped tightly in my lap, still trembling from the credence of everything they’ve forced me into. The dress clings to my skin like ice, suffocating in its beauty, and every breath feels shallower than the last. The soft tick of a distant clock is the only sound as I stare at the floor, willing the tears to stop.

But they don’t. And then, the lock clicks and my head jerks up.

The door opens, and one of Nicolai’s men steps in, dressed in black, his eyes cold and flat. “It’s time,” he says.

My stomach lurches. A wave of nausea rises so violently I nearly double over. Fear coils in my gut like poison, spreading outward, tightening my chest, making my vision blur. My legs barely respond when I try to stand. They shake so violently beneath me I almost collapse right there. The man grabs my arm to steady me, and I flinch at his touch, but he doesn’t let go.

I’m not walked...I’m dragged out. Through corridors I don’t recognise. Deeper into the mansion. Every step echoes like a countdown.

And then we reach it.

A room lit by candles and shadows. A makeshift altar stands at the front, draped in white cloth and white roses, like this is something sacred. But nothing about this is holy. It’s not a wedding. It’s a fucking funeral.

Nicolai stands waiting, smug in a tailored suit, eyes glittering with victory. A priest stands beside him, expression unreadable. Scattered around are a few silent observers—strangers to me. Except for one.

There’s a woman. She’s older, regal, reserved. Her hands clasped in front of her, her lips pressed into a sharp line. That must be Nicolai’s mother. She’s watching me like she already sees me as her son's possession.

And then, I see Luca.

I freeze. My breath stutters.

He’s barely recognisable. One eye is missing, the socket hollow and swollen. His hand...no, hisstump... hangs limply by his side, missing fingers. The sight makes me gasp.

Jesus.Aresdid that to him.

And then I see him.

At the far end of the room, forced to his knees. His arms are bound behind his back with coarse rope, his ankles shackled by heavy chains. His head is bowed... but only for a second.

He lifts it. And our eyes meet. The pain in his gaze knocks the breath from my lungs.

His face is bloodied, a fresh stream trickling down the side of his temple, his cheekbone split. But it’s not the injuries that break me, it’s the look in his eyes. I’ve never seen such despair in his eyes, not until now.

He’s looking at me like I’m being ripped out of him in real time.

I stagger. My knees buckle. Tears stream freely down my face, and my lip trembles as I try to breathe through it...but I can’t.

I can’t do this.

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