Page 8 of Untamed

I can’t quite name it, but there’s something dark and dangerous about him, like an energy that coils beneath the surface, pulling at me like a current I can’t resist. And just like the tide obeys the moon, I find myself helplessly drawn to it… tohim.

I blink, and the space where he stood a second ago is now empty, like he was never there at all. Leaving me wondering if I imagined the whole thing.

She smelled like prosecco, roses, and something far worse…trouble wrapped in nostalgia and the kind of sweetness that tricks you into leaning in before it burns.

I don’t even like roses. But somehow her scent’s been living rent-free in my ribcage ever since.I should’ve turned back the second I saw her. Should’ve said nothing. Let her fall.

But I didn’t.

Before I could stop myself, I stepped forward. Caught her. Felt her chest against mine, her heart beating against it like it was about to stop, her fingers curling into my shirt like she didn’teven realise she’d done it. Like her body trusted me before her mind could protest.

And for a second…I didn’t want to let go.

She looked at me like I was the one who had taken the air from her lungs.

Perhaps I had.

I told myself it was curiosity, that’s all. She didn’t belong here, and I don’t like surprises. Especially not barefoot girls wandering through my land like it’s theirs.

But when she gave me her name, everything locked into place.

Windslow.

Of course. The universe has a sick sense of humour.

She’s my new sister-in-law’s sister. She’sfamily.

She’s nineteen. Barefoot. Trouble wrapped in summer skin and dewy-eyed wonder. And I’m already finding myself thinking about her in ways that crossed too many lines to count.

I should’ve walked away faster. Should’ve left her with a clipped warning and nothing else. But instead, I found myself looking back.

Just once.

And there she was...still standing where I left her. Startling blue eyes staring and perfect lips parted like I’d taken something from her she didn’t even know she had.

“Careful where you wander off to, bambina... next time I might not be there to catch you.”

It was a lie. And I knew it the second I said it, because even though I had just met her, I could already feel every part of me wanting to catch her, no matter how many times she falls. Something about this girl triggered the protective instinct in me. An instinct I haven’t had in a very long time.

She looked harmless enough, five-foot-something, golden blonde hair, baby blue eyes, all sweetness and innocence. A far cry from the women I'm used to. And yet, Jordyn Windslow was about to become the most dangerous thing in my world.

“You’ve been quiet lately,” my father says, his voice low and smooth like venom laced with honey. “Makes people nervous.”

I don’t look at him right away. Just swirl the espresso in the tiny porcelain cup I don’t plan to drink.

“That is what you raised me to be,” I offer. “Quiet. Efficient.Loyal.”

My father chuckles, dark and dry as he leans back in his leather chair like we’re just catching up over breakfast and not dancing around blood and power.

“Loyalty isn’t silence, Ares. It’s obedience.”

Irritation simmers beneath the surface, but I keep my gaze fixed on the window. The view is breathtaking from up here. Taormina sprawled below like a dream. Serene. Untouched. ButI know better. I know the rot that festers beneath its beauty. It’s my town, after all.

“There’s asituationin Messina,” he continues, all business now. “A man who forgot what it means to respect thefamiglia.”

“Then remind him,” I answer, staring out at the town stretched out before me. “You have people for that.” His silence is the kind that makes the room go ice cold.

“You’remy people,” he says finally. “I needyouto remind him.”

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