The black screen lasted all of three seconds before my phone lit up like a wildfire.
Notifications: 327 unread.
Mentions: Thousands.
Trending Tags: #VelvetIsBack #StreamerWar #StoneVsWolfbane
But I didn't have time for Twitter—or the hate threads already dissecting every breath I'd taken.
Because the stream wasn't over. Not really.
I hit "Resume" and the room exploded.
Viewer count slammed past 3,000 like a wrecking ball. The leaderboard flickered, numbers climbing so fast they blurred.
Stone: $17,500.
Wolfbane: $15,000.
The chat was a screaming, foaming mess:
> — WE'RE BACK BABY!!
— BLOOD BATH TIME 🔥🔥🔥
— STONE GONNA LET THAT SLIDE?
— WOLFBANE JUST DROPPED ANOTHER 3K WTF.
— Girl better marry BOTH at this point.
I muted for half a beat, breath shaking—then unmuted, voice dripping honey and gasoline.
"Well," I purred, "seems we've got two very generous gentlemen tonight."
The comments combusted.
And then—BOOM.
$5,000 – From: Stone.
"Message: Mine."
The banner slashed across the screen in gold, brutal and possessive.
The chat detonated like a live grenade.
> — MINE???
— HE SAID WHAT HE SAID.
— WOLFBANE YOU GONNA TAKE THAT??
Wolfbane's answer came five seconds later.
$8,000 – From: Wolfbane.
"Message: Don't get ahead of yourself."
The leaderboard flipped:
Wolfbane – $23,000.
Stone – $22,500.
A low laugh slipped from my lips before I could stop it—smooth, lethal, laced with just enough sugar to burn.
"Oh my," I breathed, "this is getting dangerous."
Inside, my pulse was a wildfire.
Keep fighting, boys. Burn for me.
The gifts flew like bullets. $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 in a single swipe. Gold banners stacking, fireworks bursting across the room.
Stone: $30,000.
Wolfbane: $31,000.
The chat lost its collective mind:
> — THIS ISN'T A STREAM, THIS IS WAR.
— $61K IN TEN MINUTES?!
— PLATFORM'S GONNA CRASH.
They weren't wrong. The system lagged, frames stuttering as the war raged on.
I leaned into the mic, lowering my voice until it was pure silk.
"Gentlemen…" I let the word purr slow, molten, "…what exactly are you fighting for?"
The comments went nuclear.
And then—Stone moved.
Not just with gifts.
With words.
[Stone: End the stream. Now.]
The command hit like a whip crack.
Before I could react, Wolfbane fired back:
[Wolfbane: Or maybe she doesn't belong to anyone.]
The breath caught in my throat.
The chat went feral.
> — DID HE JUST CHALLENGE STONE?!
— I'M GETTING POPCORN THIS IS A MOVIE.
— VELVET DROP AN "OMG" FOR THE DRAMA.
I let my lashes lower, masking the storm in my chest, and said softly—so softly—
"Boys, play nice."
The words were sugar. The fire beneath? Pure napalm.
Stone didn't answer in chat.
Instead—
$10,000.
No message. No emoji. Just dominance carved in gold.
Wolfbane's reply was instant:
$12,000.
And then—
$15,000.
The numbers stacked like skyscrapers, blotting out the sky.
Stone: $50,000.
Wolfbane: $58,000.
The platform locked the room. No new viewers allowed. VIP war zone.
Muse Talent went rabid in my inbox:
[Muse Rep: ARE YOU INSANE?! STOP THE STREAM OR YOU'RE DONE FOR LIFE.]
The system timer flashed another warning:
"⚠ Account Review: Critical."
I didn't care.
Because in that moment, with two kings bleeding cash like rivers, with the whole platform watching and praying for carnage, I felt alive.
The gifts roared like thunder. My rank shot to #1. Global trending. The room glowed molten gold.
And then—just when I thought it couldn't get higher—
Wolfbane dropped the nuke.
$25,000.
The screen went white with fireworks, banners, global notifications screaming his name.
Wolfbane – Total Tonight: $95,000.
The comments collapsed into hysteria:
> — ALMOST 100K WTF IS THIS.
— STONE YOU DEAD?? HELLO??
— GIRL YOU BETTER SEND HIM A DNA SAMPLE AT THIS POINT.
Stone didn't answer for twenty long, burning seconds.
Then—
$50,000.
The biggest single drop the platform had ever seen.
The room shook. The system froze. My breath punched out in a silent gasp.
Leaderboard:
Stone – $100,000.
Wolfbane – $95,000.
The chat shattered into static, emojis, and pure chaos.
And in my private inbox, a message slid like a blade:
[Stone: Stream's over. You're coming to me.]
I stared at it, fingers trembling, when another ping cut through the silence.
Not from Stone.
Not from Wolfbane.
From a name I'd never seen.
[???: So this is the girl they're killing each other over.]
And attached—
A gift.
$100,000.
The room went nuclear. The screen white-hot. The world tilting under me like a shipwreck.
And in the ruins, one thought curled dark and sweet in my chest:
The war's just beginning.
To be continued…
---