The room was alive with tension. Shadows stretched across the polished floor, twisting with every flicker of the dim lights.
I stood in the center, heart hammering, senses on fire.
Every step I took, every breath I drew, was a statement: I was here. I was aware. I was dangerous.
Stone and Wolfbane entered simultaneously.
The air between them was taut, ready to snap.
Two storms meeting head-on, and I was in the eye of the hurricane.
Stone's jaw was set, eyes ice and steel.
"You crossed the line," he said, voice low, dangerous.
Not at me—at Wolfbane.
Wolfbane's smirk never wavered, amber eyes gleaming like molten gold.
"I think she likes it," he murmured.
"And I don't plan to stop."
The shadowed man behind me moved slightly, a silent warning.
"You are hers," he said to them both.
"And until I decide otherwise, you follow the rules."
I tilted my chin, letting the shadows of my hair brush my shoulders.
"Rules?" I asked softly.
"Or suggestions?"
Stone's hand brushed the edge of the table, close enough to make me shiver.
Wolfbane leaned closer, heat radiating, close enough to feel his breath.
I smiled.
Not fearfully. Not meekly.
Powerfully.
Because suddenly, I realized—this was my game too.
Stone lunged first, subtle, controlled, testing boundaries.
Wolfbane mirrored him, unpredictable, playful, dangerous.
Every movement was a question. Every glance a challenge.
I responded with equal precision.
A tilt of my chin.
A step closer to Stone, just enough to draw attention.
A whisper to Wolfbane, soft and teasing, making him hesitate.
They froze—both men, at once, caught off guard.
"You think you can control her?" Wolfbane hissed, voice low, threatening.
I laughed softly, letting the sound curl around them.
"No," I said.
"Not control. Influence. And right now… I decide how this ends."
Stone's hand moved, deliberate, brushing mine, claiming, testing.
Wolfbane's fingers twitched, itching to touch, to provoke, to stake a claim.
The shadowed man behind me observed silently, allowing me to navigate the dangerous waters.
"You've learned quickly," he said.
"Now, play."
I stepped between them, moving with a grace I hadn't known I possessed.
Each motion calculated, each word a weapon.
"Both of you," I whispered, letting my voice drip like honey, sharp and sweet.
"You want me. But you forget—I want this too."
Stone's eyes narrowed, wolfish and ice-cold.
Wolfbane's grin sharpened, playful yet dangerous.
I could feel the tension, electric, thickening like storm clouds ready to break.
I let them push.
I let them test me.
And every reaction, every subtle shift in posture, every word whispered under my breath, drew them closer—under my control.
Stone moved to block Wolfbane, Wolfbane leaned toward me—every second, a dangerous dance.
And I, in the center, smiled.
Not because I was safe.
Because I was alive.
Because for the first time, I understood the power of the triangle—and the crown it placed on me.
The shadowed man stepped aside, voice soft but lethal:
"Remember, she is not just surviving. She is shaping the outcome."
Stone and Wolfbane exchanged glances—both realized, finally, that I was no longer a pawn.
I was the game.
And the game… had just begun.
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TO BE CONTINUED…
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