KAYROS'S POV
Odette falls asleep in my arms again, tucked under my chin, her face pressed into my neck, one hand resting over my ribs as though she wants to crawl inside me and stay there.
In this quiet moment—after losing sight of her for sixty-six agonizing hours—my mind replays exactly how I got her back from the Medicis.
Alexander had taken Sarah just as she left her apartment for work. Hands and legs bound, eyes covered, mouth taped shut—helpless in the backseat of an unmarked car.
Sarah Mars… no, Sarah Medici. The vulnerable point of the entire Medici family. Because when you love something that much, it becomes your greatest weakness.
Back in the Black Wolf command center, I called Azriel Medici personally.
"What a pleasure to hear from the Cub of Black Wolf!" Azriel's voice was playfully relaxed, but my head was ringing with one thought:
They have her.
I wasn't acting as the heir of Black Wolf, or the next boss of the underworld. I was a man on the verge of becoming the monster I swore I'd never be—rageful, impatient, cold in a way that would sacrifice thousands without a second thought.
"I have your daughter."
Silence.
Then the sound of a chair toppling over. Azriel's voice dropped dangerously. "You wouldn't dare."
I snapped my fingers. Instantly, a live CCTV feed of Sarah—tied to a chair, blindfolded, screaming in raw panic—was transmitted to his screen.
"NOOO! PLEASE, LET ME GO! I BEG YOU!"
Azriel gasped sharply. Even through the phone, I could feel the heat of his fury.
"KAYROS NATHENIEL! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!"
Everyone in the command center stiffened. Even Czar looked at me with tense worry. Yes, I was playing with fire. But I didn't care—not until she was back in my arms.
"I dared the same way you dared to touch what is mine."
Azriel went silent, his breathing ragged. He was the kind of monster who rarely showed his claws, who wrapped his violence in civility. But this… this was personal.
"You think I won't harm Odette just because you have my princess?" he threatened.
I laughed—a sound devoid of humor. "And you think I won't break your daughter in the most inhuman way possible?"
My voice was a low, merciless growl. Enough to make even Azriel Medici shudder. My reputation wasn't built on mercy.
"No," his voice cracked. "NO!"
I didn't need more words. Actions spoke louder.
I clicked a button on the console. On the feed, water began rising slowly in the chamber where Sarah was held.
She screamed, feeling the cold liquid climb her legs. "PLEASE! STOP! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
Azriel's frantic voice tore through the speaker. "KAYROS! STOP, YOU FUCKING MONSTER! I'LL KILL YOU IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER! STOP!"
The water halted at her knees. Sarah trembled violently, soaked and terrified.
It wasn't rare for me to be this cold, this calm, while the other side lost its mind. Azriel choked back a sob.
"You have five hours. Two to hand my woman back to me," I said, my voice flat. "For every moment you delay, I'll pull one strand of your daughter's hair."
I heard something shatter on his end—glass, maybe. Something thrown in helpless rage.
"You're a monster," Azriel growled, the words heavy with paternal fury.
I laughed again, cold and empty. "You haven't seen the real monster yet." My jaw clenched so tight the veins in my neck stood out. "If she isn't safe and sound in my hands within the given time, by dusk, the entire Medici island will burn."
Azriel went silent for two full minutes. He knew I meant it. And I had his precious daughter—the one they'd searched for for two decades—in my grasp.
"If anything happens to my daughter, even after I hand Odette over," he said, each word weighted with a father's rage and a boss's authority, "it will be war."
I didn't flinch. I never did—not when it mattered.
"You have my word."
Azriel said nothing more. The line went dead.
I sat back in my chair, my head heavy with tension, the pressure of the last few days pressing down on me like a physical weight. I counted every second.
Alexander approached cautiously. "What should we do with Sarah?"
I lit a cigarette, the smoke curling toward the ceiling. No one in the room dared to breathe too loudly.
"They don't know what she looks like," Czar suggested quietly. "We could send someone else in her place. Keep the leverage."
It wasn't a bad idea. If I hadn't seen firsthand, in my past life, how far the Medicis would go for Sarah, I might have agreed.
But this was about making an enemy—or preventing one.
"No," I said flatly. "We'll hand Sarah over."
Alexander and Czar exchanged a look but didn't press. They knew I wasn't in my right mind.
All I cared about was having Odette back—safe, sound, and in my arms.
---
Just as I expected, within five hours, a Medici private helicopter touched down on Black Wolf's helipad. Ten elite guards from Seven Cross descended, and Gabriel Medici stepped out, cradling an unconscious Odette in his arms.
His violet eyes burned with fury and caution.
An ugly, possessive rage roared in my chest at the sight of him touching her.
I took long, measured strides toward him. His guards raised their weapons, but Gabriel shook his head, and they lowered them.
"Where is my sister?" His voice was clipped, cold, barely containing the rage beneath.
My eyes never left Odette's face. My hands itched to wrap around Gabriel's throat for daring to lay a finger on her.
"Look behind me," I said flatly.
Gabriel's gaze shifted, widening as he saw Sarah standing beside Alexander—alive, unharmed, but terrified.
He opened his mouth—to call her name, to beckon her—but Sarah, who had no memory of him, only saw a stranger. She flinched and hid behind Alexander.
"No…" Gabriel's voice broke.
Czar stepped forward, breaking the tense silence. "It's up to her if she wants to go with you or not."
Gabriel's jaw tightened. He looked back at me, and I gave nothing away.
"Give her to me," I said, my voice strained, my hands trembling at my sides.
Without another word, Gabriel placed Odette in my arms.
The moment her weight settled against me, the moment I felt her warmth, I almost sank to my knees.
God.
My heart finally stopped clenching. The screaming in my head went silent as I pressed my face into her hair, inhaling her scent like a drowning man gasping for air.
"Now hand my sister over," Gabriel demanded, desperation edging his voice. He didn't dare step farther onto the helipad.
I met his gaze, my voice rough. "That's up to her. If she wants to go with you, I won't stop."
Gabriel turned back to Sarah. She flinched again, her grip tightening on Alexander's sleeve—the man who had kidnapped her.
Sarah had no memory of her real identity. For twenty years, she'd lived as an orphan. To her, Gabriel was just another threat.
"Batuffolo," Gabriel whispered—little one, a term of affection that meant nothing to her now.
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut. "Stay away."
Gabriel's face contorted with pain. His hand trembled as he reached for her, but Alexander caught his wrist.
"Do not touch her," Alexander said, his voice unnervingly calm.
Gabriel shot him a death glare, but Alexander didn't react.
Czar let out a low, amused whistle. I raised an eyebrow. It was shocking—Alexander never involved himself in others' business unless it gave him an advantage. And he wasn't reacting to Sarah clinging to him like a frightened child.
"I thought he was allergic to being touched," Czar muttered.
"Shut up," I replied, my focus still on Odette.
Gabriel inhaled sharply, seeing Sarah's terror. He straightened, his expression hardening as he turned back to me.
"Kayros Nathaniel," he said, his eyes dead serious. "If anything happens to my sister, I will kill you personally."
I just rolled my eyes, pulling Odette tighter against my chest. As if I could merge her into me, keep her safe inside my own skin.
With that, Gabriel Medici left. Sarah looked up at Alexander, her eyes glassy, her hands still shaking.
"Thank you," she whispered.
For a fraction of a second, something in Alexander's usually impassive expression shifted. Cracked.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do," he said quietly.
Czar's mouth dropped open. Even the guards who had worked with Alexander for years stared as if they'd seen a ghost.
Absurd.
But it worked. I had Odette back.
And now she's asleep in my arms, in my bed, in my penthouse—a place I've never brought anyone before. Not even in my past life did I bring Ophelia or our son, Elias, here. Not because I didn't love them, but because this penthouse holds memories of my mother… and i was too desperate to protect them the shadow of my past.
and that's a story for another day.
For today, I just want to sleep.
To feel her breath against my skin and forget that a world exists beyond these four walls—beyond this stillness, and this fragile, momentary peace.