Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty Five
Luciano’s POV
The moment I reached the bottom of the stairs, a strong smell hit me, My steps faltered.
Then I saw it…dark red smears on the tiles. Drops at first… then bigger splashes… then a trail. Blood….My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it felt like it cracked.
No.
I crouched, pressing my fingers lightly against one of the droplets. Still warm….My breath turned to fire in my lungs.
I stood so fast my vision blurred and followed the trail, every step heavier than the last, every drop of blood tightening something cruel around my chest. The corridor leading to the dungeon stretched out before me like a black mouth.
Kamari….It had to be Kamari.
Because no one else in this damn house bled like this without someone reporting to me. No one else could be dragged away without the whole mansion hearing my rage.
My feet picked up speed, boots hitting the floor, echoing down the walls. Only one thought repeated over and over, louder than my own heartbeat:
Please. Let me not be too late.
When I reached the dungeon entrance, I heard it.
A scream…High-pitched, like she was been torture by someone. Kamari. I didn’t think. I didn’t breathe. I didn’t hesitate.
I hit the dungeon door so hard it flew inward, slamming into the wall. And the scene before me nearly stopped my heart entirely.
Kamari was tied to the pole, hands chained above her head, body slumped forward, hair sticking to her face. She was shaking, bleeding from her back, arms, and shoulder. That small, fragile frame looked like she had been ripped apart.
And crouched in front of her—teeth bared, tail lashing, eyes glowing yellow—was Shadow.
My wildcat. The one Joselyn had insisted she would “keep locked away.” She had purposely done it to toture every female she caught me with, but now she have crossed the line.
Shadow hissed and lunged at her again.
“SHADOW!” My voice thundered through the room, shaking with fury. He froze at the sound of my voice, claws inches from Kamari’s skin.
“Back!” I barked, stepping inside.
Shadow lowered himself, ears flattening. He knew I was furious—at him, at everyone, at myself. He hissed once more at Kamari, then retreated into the shadows, disappearing as fast as he came.
I didn’t spare him another glance. My attention snapped to the girl slumped against the pole.
“Kamari…” My voice broke before I could control it. I rushed toward her, fingers trembling as I unfastened the shackles digging into her wrists.
She whimpered—so soft, so faint I almost didn’t hear her. Her knees buckled the moment the chains released, and I caught her before she hit the ground.
Her body fell weightless into my arms.
Her skin was cold. Too cold. Her breathing was shallow, trembling. Her lashes fluttered weakly but her eyes didn’t open.
She was going limp. “No,” I whispered fiercely, one hand gripping her back, the other supporting her legs. “Stay with me. Kamari—stay with me.”
Her head lolled against my shoulder, blood trickling down my arm from wounds that weren’t mine. Rage and fear collided until I couldn’t tell which one was killing me faster.
I kicked open the dungeon door, carried her through the hallway, ignoring the guards who scrambled out of my way. Their faces filled with horror, but I didn’t give a damn.
They would face me later….Joselyn would face me later.
But right now—Kamari needed help.
I stormed out of the mansion and into the car, laying her gently in the back seat, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I checked her pulse.It was too faint, too weak. She could barely breath.
I nearly ripped the steering wheel off as I sped through the night, tires screeching as I pushed the engine beyond its limits. Every red light became an obstacle I blew past. Every minute felt like an hour. “Hold on,” I said, glancing back at her blood-soaked clothes. “You’re not dying on me. Not like this. Not here.”
Her chest rose shallowly. Barely.
My throat tightened. By the time I reached the hospital, nurses ran toward the car at the sight of her, shouting orders. They pulled a stretcher, and I carried her out myself, refusing to let anyone else touch her.
“Sir, we’ve got her—” one of them said. “Don’t touch her!” I snapped, my voice sharper than my usual tone. “I’m carrying her myself.”
They didn’t argue.
I laid her on the stretcher only when the doctor himself appeared and demanded it. Her hand slipped from mine as they rushed her inside, and for a split second, I considered ripping down every wall in this place just to stay beside her.
But they dragged the curtain closed. And I could only stand there, my hands stained with her blood, breathing like I had swallowed fire.
Minutes felt like hours. I paced the hallway. I threatened a nurse for information. I nearly punched a wall when no one would tell me anything.
Then the doctor finally walked out. His face told me everything before he spoke. But still, I stepped forward, voice low and deadly. “How is she?”
The doctor exhaled slowly, removing his gloves. “Mr. De Luca… she lost a significant amount of blood. Multiple lash wounds, several deep lacerations, signs of repeated trauma—”
“Can she survive?” I cut in. His silence hit me harder than any bullet ever had. “Doctor.” My voice hardened. “Answer me.”
He met my eyes, steady but grim. “We’re doing everything we can. But… she may not survive the night.” The world tilted. My vision went white around the edges.
For the first time in years—since my mother died, since the wars, since the betrayals—I felt something inside me crack.
“She will survive,” I said quietly, my voice cold enough to freeze bone. “She has to.”
The doctor swallowed. “We’ll keep trying.”
He walked away, leaving me standing there, frozen in the hallway, Kamari’s blood drying on my hands. And for the first time in my life, fear, not anger, not power, not vengeance—fear wrapped its fist around my throat.
Because I had almost lost her.And I wasn’t losing her again.
Not to Joselyn….Not to my enemies…Not to fate….Not to anythin
g.
Kamari was mine to protect. And someone was going to pay for every drop of blood she shed.