Beyond Their Expectations: From Street Rat To Supreme Ruler

The ruins stood silent under the moonlight, crumbling walls casting jagged shadows across the scorched earth. Dante Moretti picked his way through the debris, his jaw tight, his dark eyes scanning what remained of his childhood home.

Ten years. Ten years since the flames had devoured everything.

He crouched beside a half-collapsed doorway, running his fingers along the blackened stone. His parents' laughter had once echoed through these halls. His sister's voice had sung from the garden. Now there was nothing but ash and ghosts.

"They're gone," he muttered, his voice rough. "But I'll find who did this."

He'd been away training that night—a stroke of luck that had saved his life and haunted him ever since. Master Armani, the legendary retired God of War, had taken him in, honed him into something sharp and deadly. Now, finally, he'd descended from the mountains, ready to tear apart whoever had destroyed his family.

A woman's scream shattered the stillness.

Dante's head snapped up. The sound came from deeper in the ruins, near the old courtyard. He moved swiftly, his footsteps soundless.

Three men surrounded a woman in the courtyard. She fought like a wildcat, her long dark hair whipping as she tried to break free. One thug held her arms while another fumbled with a syringe, now empty.

"Feisty one, aren't you?" The ringleader—a bull of a man with a scarred face—grabbed her chin roughly. "That drug's already in your system, bella. Stop fighting and we might go easy on you."

The woman—Giulia Santoro—glared at him with ice-cold eyes despite her flushed cheeks. "Touch me again and I'll kill you myself."

Her voice was flat, emotionless, even as her body began to tremble.

The scarred man laughed. "Big words for someone who's about to—"

CRACK.

His hand flew across her face, snapping her head to the side.

"Know your place, you arrogant bitch," he snarled. "We're going to have our fun with you, then dump your body where no one will ever find it."

Giulia's lip split, blood trickling down her chin. But her expression remained cold, detached, as if she were observing from somewhere far away.

The other two thugs chuckled, closing in.

"Stop."

The single word cut through the air like a blade.

All four heads turned. Dante stood at the courtyard entrance, hands in his pockets, his lean frame silhouetted against the moonlight.

The thugs squinted at him, then burst into laughter.

"Are you fucking serious?" one of them wheezed. "Look at this kid!"

The ringleader grinned, releasing Giulia's arm. "What's this? Did you get lost on your way home from university, ragazzino? Does your mommy know you're out this late?"

"Turn around and run home before you piss yourself," another thug added, jabbing a finger at him. "This doesn't concern you, boy."

Dante's expression didn't change. He took a step forward.

"You little shit." The scarred man's grin widened. "You barely look old enough to shave. What, you think you're some kind of hero? Going to save the damsel in distress?"

"Here's some advice, kid," the third thug sneered. "Go home before your mama calls the cops. Adults are working here."

"Last chance," Dante said quietly. His voice was calm, almost bored. "Let her go and walk away. Or stay and die. Your choice."

Silence fell over the courtyard.

Then the ringleader threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Did you hear that? This little prick just threatened us! Dio mio, I haven't laughed this hard in months!"

"You've got balls, I'll give you that," another thug said, cracking his knuckles. "Too bad you're about to lose them."

"Stupid fucking kid asked for death," the scarred man growled, his expression turning vicious. "Let's teach him what happens to boys who play at being men."

They rushed him as one.

Dante moved.

His fist crashed into the first thug's throat before the man could blink. The second lunged with a knife—Dante caught his wrist, twisted, and the crack of breaking bone echoed off the ruins. A spinning kick sent the third man flying into a wall.

"What the—" The ringleader barely got the words out before Dante was on him.

The fight was brutal and efficient. Dante fought like water—fluid, relentless, impossible to pin down. Every strike found its mark. Every counter left another thug gasping on the ground.

Within minutes, all three men lay unconscious in the dirt.

The scarred ringleader struggled to his knees, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. One arm hung at an unnatural angle.

"Wait—wait!" he gasped, holding up his good hand. "Please! I was forced to do this! They made me kidnap her—I had no choice!"

Dante stared down at him, expressionless.

"I'll disappear!" the man begged, his voice cracking. "I'll never show my face again, I swear! I'll change my ways, become a better man! Just spare me—please!"

Dante's lip curled. "You should have thought about that before."

His fist flashed out. The ringleader's head snapped back, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Dante turned to Giulia. She had collapsed against the wall, her eyes half-closed, her breathing shallow and labored. Her skin burned with unnatural heat, flushed deep crimson from the drug coursing through her veins.

He knelt beside her, reaching for her wrist. Her pulse raced beneath his fingers—dangerously fast, erratic.

Aphrodisiac. A strong one.

He pressed two fingers to her neck, checking again. Her body temperature was rising rapidly. Sweat beaded on her forehead as her consciousness began to slip away.

His jaw clenched.

"Can you hear me?" he asked sharply.

Giulia's eyes fluttered but didn't open. Her lips parted, but no words came out. The drug had already taken hold, pulling her deeper into its grip. Within seconds, her head lolled to the side, completely unconscious.

Dante cursed under his breath, checking her pulse once more.

Less than two hours. That's all the time she had before her organs would begin to fail, before the drug's lethal effects would consume her from the inside out.

He looked at her flushed face, at her unconscious form trembling against the wall, at the way her body fought a battle it couldn't win on its own.

"Cazzo," he muttered, scooping her up into his arms. "Damn it."

She was completely limp in his grasp, her head falling against his chest, utterly unaware of the danger she was in or the choice he would have to make to save her life.