SCARLETT
"If you touch me again, Alpha, I swear I'll let the other one find out."
My whisper was venom wrapped in silk, my back pressed to the cold stone wall of the pack's hidden passage. The dim light of the torches made my red hair gleam like fire against shadow, my lips curved into the kind of smile that promised both danger and desire.
But I wasn't alone.
A low growl vibrated through the air, brushing against my skin like a physical caress. His body caged mine in, broad shoulders blocking any escape, though escape was never truly what I wanted.
I had wanted this from the moment I saw him—Alpha Kael. Brutal. Commanding. The kind of man who could break me in two and still make me beg for more.
And yet, this was forbidden.
Not just because Kael was the ruthless leader of the Bloodfang Pack, but because I already had another Alpha's mark on my neck.
A mark I'd stolen.
A mark I never intended to honor.
"Do you think I fear his discovery?" Kael's voice was rough, his breath hot against my ear. His hand slid down my waist, his thumb grazing the edge of my thigh where my dress had ridden up. "I could claim you here and now, and he wouldn't dare challenge me."
I tilted my head, baring my throat in deliberate mockery, the faint bite mark already bruising there. "Oh, he would dare. He would fight. And the third Alpha," I let the word linger, savoring his slight flinch, "he would never forgive either of you."
The forbidden triangle of desire had already become a deadly game of chess. And I was the queen who moved between them, whispering promises, bartering secrets, offering my body as both temptation and weapon.
Three Alphas.
Three kings in a world of wolves.
And I, the cunning traitor, threading them together with lust and lies.
Kael's grip on me tightened until I gasped, the sound dangerously close to a moan. "You play with fire, Scarlett."
My smile widened, wicked. "I don't just play, Alpha. I burn."
His mouth descended on mine before I could taunt him further, and my resolve melted like wax beneath a flame. His kiss was brutal, teeth dragging across my lower lip, tongue forcing entry with a dominance that matched his rank. I arched against him, my nails digging into the hard muscle of his chest.
It wasn't love.
It wasn't even trust.
It was hunger. Raw. Forbidden. Addictive.
And somewhere deep in my cunning heart, I knew I would never belong to just one Alpha.
Because one was never enough.
The hallway air grew hotter, heavier, as Kael's hand slid higher up my thigh, dragging my dress along with it. His palm was rough, calloused from battle, and when his fingers brushed the heat between my legs, I bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood.
He growled, the sound vibrating through my body, and the sharp taste of copper flooded my tongue. I licked it away with a feline smirk.
"Scarlett," he snarled, "you'll make me lose control."
"Then lose it." My words were daring, reckless, my voice dripping with lust and challenge alike. "Show me what happens when an Alpha stops pretending to be civilized."
The dangerous promise in my eyes was a challenge no Alpha could resist.
Kael shoved me harder against the stone wall, his hand tearing at the delicate lace of my dress. The fabric gave way with a soft rip, exposing my pale skin to the cold air and his burning gaze. I arched my back, offering him more, letting him think he was winning.
When in truth, I had already won.
Every stolen kiss, every forbidden touch, was a thread in the web I spun around them. I wasn't just taking pleasure—I was weaving control.
Kael's mouth descended to my throat, fangs grazing the sensitive skin near my stolen mark. I trembled, not from fear but anticipation. If he bit, if he dared to mark me as his, the war between the three Alphas would ignite into bloodshed.
And I wanted it.
Gods, I wanted it.
But just as his fangs pierced my skin—
A voice thundered through the corridor.
"Kael!"
My eyes flew open, my lips parting in shock. The sound of boots striking stone echoed like a death knell.
I recognized the voice instantly.
Alpha Darius.
My first claim.
My greatest danger.
Kael growled low in his throat, eyes flashing gold as he pulled back just enough to shield my half-bared body with his own. His chest heaved, fury and lust battling in his expression.
My pulse raced with wicked delight.
Two Alphas.
One forbidden hallway.
And I was caught between them.
The sharp echo of Darius's footsteps grew louder, closer, each step pounding like a war drum in my chest. But I didn't panic. Oh no, panic was for the weak.
I bit my lip to hide my smile.
Kael's hand gripped my hip tightly, his body pressing into mine as though shielding me from sight, but his golden eyes flicked toward the direction of the approaching Alpha. Rage simmered there, but also possession.
"You'll get me killed," Kael hissed into my ear.
I tilted my head, brushing my lips across the sharp line of his jaw, my breath hot against his skin. "Or crowned."
My hand slid boldly down his chest, fingers curling beneath the waistband of his trousers. The growl he gave was primal, shaking the very air between us.
"Scarlett," he warned.
"Yes, Alpha?" I purred.
The sound of Darius's voice echoed again, closer now. "Kael! I know you're here."
My pulse skipped—not from fear, but exhilaration. The danger of being caught thrilled me more than Kael's touch, more than the heat pooling between my thighs. I thrived in this razor's edge between death and ecstasy.
My lips brushed Kael's ear. "If you want me, take me before he finds us."
That was all it took.
Kael's control snapped.
He crushed his mouth to mine, his hand forcing between my thighs, claiming what I had taunted him with all evening. I moaned into his kiss, my legs parting shamelessly as I hooked one around his hip, pulling him closer. The stone wall scraped my bare back where the fabric of my torn dress hung loose, but I welcomed the sting. Pain was nothing compared to the fire of being wanted by an Alpha.
"Scarlett…" he growled again, his voice breaking with need. His fingers teased me mercilessly, sliding through wet heat that made me shudder against him.
The footsteps were nearly upon us now.
I arched into Kael's touch, my mouth against his throat, sucking, biting, marking him in ways I knew would enrage Darius if he saw.
The thought made me wetter.
I gasped, my nails clawing down Kael's chest as he pushed me closer to the edge of release. His teeth found my shoulder, grazing, biting just enough to make me cry out softly.
Too loud.
Darius's footsteps halted.
"Kael?" his voice thundered, sharper this time. Suspicion laced it.
Kael froze against me, but I didn't stop. I rolled my hips against his hand, biting my own lip to stifle my moan. My eyes glimmered with a wicked light as I whispered against Kael's mouth, "Don't stop. Let him hear."
Kael's eyes blazed with fury and lust. His instincts screamed at him to claim me now, to stake his dominance, but his mind warned of the consequences.
I, however, thrived in consequence.
I dragged his hand harder against my slick folds, my head falling back against the stone as I whispered his name like a prayer and a curse all at once. "Kael…"
My voice carried.
It echoed down the corridor.
And Darius heard.
The silence that followed was more terrifying than any growl then.
"Scarlett."
My name. Spoken not in lust, not in love, but in the low, deadly tone of a man who realized he had been betrayed.
Kael jerked his hand away, fury flashing in his eyes not at me, never at me, but at the storm that had just broken. He turned, broad shoulders squaring as Darius's silhouette filled the corridor.
I slowly lowered my leg from around Kael's hip, my body still trembling from the edge of unfinished pleasure, my lips swollen, my dress torn. I didn't bother to hide it
. In fact, I straightened my posture, tilted my chin, and smiled.
Because I knew what came next.
Two Alphas.
One woman.
And the game had only just begun.
Should I kill them?