Ultimatium

Isla’s POV

I jerked my hands free, but the movement only caused my skin more pain. Flaring hot and real, goosebumps racing down my arms as consciousness dragged me back from darkness.

I tried to shift, but something cut into my wrists….a rope. Strongly tied around my wrists, my breath coming out ragged. The more I tried to free myself, the movement tore my skin.

Where the hell am I?

The air smelled of damp stone and metal, like an abandoned basement. My eyes strained against the dark until different shapes began to form, but the creak of a shadow cut me off from my thoughts.

He stepped out of the shadows…the man from the gala, still dressed in his steel-gray suit even though it looked darker here. His face was calm, almost bored, except for his eyes which were cold and calculating.

“Well…well”, he drawled, circling me like a predator, the knife in his hand glinting under the light. “You didn’t take long to wake up.”

“Let me go!!”

I yelled, my voice cracked, weak, and shaking. “What do you want from me?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, the blade flashed up, its cold metal grazing the bare skin of my arm. Not deep—just enough to sting, enough to make me scream in pain. I gasped, trying to jerk back. The ropes held me fast.

“Please…don’t….” The words left my mouth, desperate, but he only leaned closer, the steel edge of the knife kissing my throat.

“Do you know what that mark on your wrist means?” He asked smoothly, tapping the blade against my covered wrist. “That,” he murmured, pressing his finger hard against the ink.

“Means you belong to Damian Cross.”

My chest heaved. “No…No, I don’t…you must be wrong. I don’t belong to anyone. It was just a stupid..”

The blade tilted up, using it to force my chin higher. Forcing my eyes to meet the cold smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I have my orders. To kill anyone he marks.”

“Everything he owns dies, starting with you, sweetheart.”

The blood drained from my face. I shook my head so hard my vision faded with the hot tears streaming down my cheeks. “I don’t belong to anyone. You’re wrong. I don’t even know who Damian Cross is.”

“I’ve never met him in my life. I swear!!”

I pleaded, begging whatever that was hearing my prayers to save me from this psychopath. “I’m sorry, darling. But you will have to die.”

“Say your last prayers.”

The tip of the knife traced slowly down my throat. My heart was pounding so loud I thought it might burst. I squeezed my eyes hard, waiting for him to finally end it once and for all.

So this is how I die?

Killed in the most painful way all because of someone I had just met in one night. I curse you Damian Cross, why did I have to cross paths with you tonight?

Oh God…help me

I was still praying silently as I waited to be killed when a gunshot sliced through the air. The man staggered back, his eyes going wide as the blade slipped from his fingers in an instant.

And then he fell to the floor.

I forced the scream that threatened to choke me down my throat. Trembling as a shadow moved again. He stepped out.

Damian Cross.

Looking calm. Composed. Deadly. Holding the gun in his hand as if he’d just signed a contract instead of killing a man. His grey eyes swept over me, sharp and merciless, before circling behind me.

“Look who we have here. We finally met again, Isla Mendez.” He growled, pulled a knife from his belt, and sliced the ropes free. The bindings fell away, leaving my skin raw and bloody.

“H… how did you know my name? How…how did you even know I was here?” I asked, rubbing my wrists together. He leaned closely, his lips inches away from mine. “I marked you, darling. I can bloody find anyone I mark, no matter where they are.”

“The mark was no accident.”

“No. No, I don’t care who you are, I don’t belong to you.” I said, shaking my head, furious tears spilling down my cheeks. My voice cracked, but I still managed to force them out. “You saved my life. Thank you so much. But I’m not your possession.”

I stumbled to my feet, the room fading around me as my weak legs carried me up, trying to force myself towards the door when a hand gripped my arm.

His hand.

“You have two choices, Isla,” his voice was low, lethal, every word sounding like a command. “Walk away, and they’ll kill you before you even make it to dawn. Or accept my protection..”

“But it comes with a price.”

His eyes dropped to my wrist, to the black line that was still there. “You’ll become my wife for a year. Bound by a contract which you’ll have to sign.”

My breath stopped. The room is spinning around me. How did he even know my name or who I was in the first place? Who..who the hell have I gotten myself involved with?

“You’re insane.” I snapped, yanking my hand from his grip. “I won’t. I’d rather die than…then belong to you….or anyone.”

"You don't even know me. So why do you think I would even want to be in a contract marriage with someone like you?"I asked, forcing myself to look into his eyes without falling for him even more than I was.

"

His mouth curved into that same dangerous smirk that had stuck itself into my memory. He slid out a black card from his pocket, extending it to me like a quiet threat.

“You will call me,” he said softly, almost a promise. “You’ll come back to me and tell me you’ve accepted my offer. Whether you want to or not.”

I took the card from him with shaking hands, ignoring the pain in my wrists, ignoring the sinister look in his eyes that looked like a death sentence. Without another word, I walked past him and staggered out of the freezing dark.

The sound of his threat still echoes over and over in my head.