Sybil's POV
My brain lagged for a moment.
"Mmm!"
I shoved Hunter as hard as I could.
It was like pushing a mountain.
His chest didn't budge.
Rage and humiliation flared hot in my veins.
Oh, hell no. If he thinks I'm weak, I'll show him I'm not!
I planted my foot, twisted my hips, and drove my elbow toward his ribs with trained precision, like I always teach my students in my close combat class.
That moved him.
Not much, but enough.
Hunter's eyes flashed with surprise just as I followed through, hooking my leg behind his knee and shoving his shoulder with both palms. It was a clean MMA sweep, one I'd used countless times in training.
He staggered back a step.
I tore myself free and jumped away, creating distance between us.
My pulse thundered. My lips still tingled from the kiss.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I snapped, breath coming fast.
Hunter straightened slowly, a grin spreading across his face.
"Oh," he said softly, almost impressed. "So the princess bites."
I didn't answer, I attacked.
I lunged forward, fist aimed for his jaw.
He caught my wrist mid-strike.
Too fast.
I pivoted instantly, using his grip against him, spinning under his arm and driving my heel toward his ribs. He blocked with his forearm, but the impact forced him back another step.
Somewhere in the chaos, fabric slipped.
My towel loosened, then dropped to the floor.
I didn't even notice.
Didn't care.
Adrenaline roared through me, drowning everything else.
Hunter's towel hit the ground a second later when I drove my shoulder into his chest, tackling him backward.
We crashed into the wall.
He laughed as if he was enjoying this.
"Careful," he murmured, voice low and thrilled. "You're going to hurt yourself."
"I'm trying to hurt you," I shot back, twisting his arm behind him.
He shifted his weight effortlessly, reversing the hold and pinning me briefly against the wall.
I reacted on instinct, knee up, heel hook, hip turn.
We broke apart again.
The fight turned fluid after that.
Fast.
Breathless.
A blur of limbs and movement across the marble floor.
I struck. He blocked. I twisted free. He caught me again.
Every time I thought I had leverage, he countered but never fully overpowered me. It was like he was matching my strength instead of crushing it.
Playing.
That realization only made me fight harder.
We stumbled through the hallway toward the main entrance, bodies slick with sweat, breaths coming sharp and heated. His hands kept finding my waist, my arms, my hips, guiding, redirecting, restraining just enough.
"Not bad," he murmured when I nearly flipped him over my shoulder.
"Shut up," I growled.
I feinted left—
Then dropped low, sweeping both his legs out from under him.
This time, he went down.
Hard.
Hunter hit the cold stone floor with a grunt of surprise, and before he could recover, I was on him.
I swung my leg over his hips, straddling him, pinning his arms to the ground with my knee and forearm. My other hand shot to his throat, not choking, but firm enough to hold him still.
Completely immobilized.
Hunter stopped moving.
His chest rose and fell beneath me, warm skin against mine, his eyes dark with something that wasn't defeat at all.
It was admiration.
And heat.
"Well," he said hoarsely, lips curving. "I stand corrected. You're dangerous. But I love the fact that you are on top of me. Are you a dominant?"
My heart hammered wildly, adrenaline mixing with something far more volatile as I realized exactly how close our bodies were. And that's when I felt it. I was sitting on him, and something warm and hard was throbbing beneath me, between my legs.
Then—
The front door opened.
Cold night air rushed inside.
I froze.
Hunter's gaze flicked past my shoulder.
I turned.
Two men stood in the doorway, with one slung drunkenly over his shoulder.
Both of them went completely still.
Their eyes dropped.
Then widened.
Shock.
Pure, unmistakable shock.
The sober man blinked once. Twice.
The drunk man squinted drunkenly, as if he suddenly became sober.
"…You're at it already?" he slurred. "Didn't even wait for us?"
And suddenly, I became very aware that I was naked, straddling a naked Alpha, pinning him to the floor, and sitting on his hard cock that's definitely making itself known under me.
"You are seriously doing this by the front door?" the sober man asked.
Hunter laughed underneath me, the vibration of it rolling through his chest and straight into my thighs.
"You caught us," he called lazily toward the door, completely unbothered by the situation. "You can still join if you want. It's not too late. We're just getting started." His hands rested loosely at my hips, thumbs brushing absent circles against my skin. "Our mate is a feisty one."
Heat exploded across my face. I was completely red.
"Oh my God—" I scrambled off him so fast I nearly slipped, frantically grabbing the nearest towel and wrapping it around myself. My heart was still racing from the fight, from the kiss, from the way his body had felt under mine.
I didn't look back.
I ran.
Up the stairs. Down the hall. Into my room.
I slammed the door and locked it, chest heaving as I pressed my back against the wood.
What the hell just happened?
My lips still tingled. My body still hummed with adrenaline and something far more dangerous. Something that I thought I would never feel for any of the men I just married.
A knock sounded.
"Sybil," Hunter's voice came through the door, lower now. Rougher. "Open the door."
"Stay away!" I yelled back, panic and frustration tangling together. "I mean it!"
There was a brief silence.
Then—
The door exploded inward.
Not opened.
Exploded.
Wood tore from its hinges and went flying past me, crashing through the balcony doors and disappearing into the darkness outside.
"What the fuck?!" I shouted, staring at the empty doorway. "You destroyed my door!"
Hunter didn't answer.
He crossed the room in two long strides and grabbed my wrist.
"Hunter—what are you doing? Let me go!"
His jaw was tight, his eyes darker than I'd ever seen them.
For a split second, he just looked at me.
Then he moved.
One arm slid under my knees, the other around my back, lifting me effortlessly against his chest before I could protest again.
"Hunter!"
The next moment—
We were airborne.
He jumped off the balcony.
Wind rushed past us. My stomach dropped. Instinctively, my arms wrapped around his neck as he landed smoothly on the grass below.
And then he ran.
Fast.
Faster than anything I'd ever experienced.
The villa blurred behind us as he sprinted toward the forest, carrying me like I weighed nothing at all. Trees swallowed us in shadows and moonlight, silver beams flashing across his skin with every stride.
My heart pounded, not from fear alone.
From him.
From the heat radiating off his body.
From the way his scent, faint, almost unreachable, was starting to tease the edges of my senses.
"Hunter!" I gasped, gripping his shoulders. "Where are you taking me?!"
His arms tightened around me.
"To save you from this…"