Chapter 11

A Dangerous Game

The scent of pine and damp earth clung to the midnight air as Selene sprinted through the dense forest, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting eerie shadows along the ground, but she didn't slow. She couldn't.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, drowning out everything else. Behind her, she could sense them—two alphas, locked in a chase, their rage vibrating through the night like a storm on the horizon.

Lucian and Kade.

They were hunting her.

Her fingers curled around the fabric of her torn dress as she ran, the delicate silk now shredded from the branches that clawed at her skin. She had no time to think, no time to second-guess her actions. She only knew one thing—if they caught her now, she would lose herself completely.

Lucian's possessiveness was like a cage, suffocating, inescapable. And Kade… Kade was fire and destruction, ready to consume everything in his path, including her.

A snarl echoed through the trees, closer this time.

Selene's body tensed, her wolf howling inside her, begging for release. But she fought it down. She couldn't shift. Not yet. Not when she knew both alphas were right behind her, waiting for the moment she revealed herself.

A fallen log blocked her path, but she leaped over it without breaking stride. The scent of rain thickened the air, promising a storm, but she barely noticed. She was too focused on the way their power pulsed through the forest, closing in on her from both sides.

She had spent years learning how to read her enemies, how to anticipate their moves. But she had never imagined she would be running from them like prey.

A growl to her left.

Another to her right.

Damn it.

They were flanking her.

Selene forced her legs to move faster, her lungs burning with every breath. She needed to escape, to get beyond the treeline before—

A blur of movement.

Too fast.

Before she could react, a massive body slammed into her from the side, knocking her off balance. A startled cry tore from her lips as she hit the ground hard, the force of the impact knocking the wind from her lungs.

Before she could scramble to her feet, a heavy weight pinned her down, strong fingers curling around her wrists.

Lucian.

His silver eyes gleamed in the darkness, raw fury carved into every sharp angle of his face. His breathing was rough, his chest rising and falling as if he had fought an unseen war just to reach her.

Selene struggled beneath him, but his grip only tightened. "Let me go," she spat, twisting her wrists.

His voice was low, dangerous. "You ran from me."

"I ran from both of you."

Lucian's jaw clenched, his muscles flexing beneath the dark fabric of his shirt. "You think that makes it better?" His gaze burned into hers, his body pressing her deeper into the dirt. "You don't get to run from me, Selene. You belong to me."

A new voice cut through the night.

"She doesn't belong to you, Lucian."

Selene's breath caught as Kade emerged from the trees, his blue eyes glowing like embers in the dark. His presence was like a storm rolling in—slow, inevitable, and deadly.

Lucian's grip on her tightened as Kade took a step closer.

A silent standoff.

Selene could feel the tension crackling between them, two alphas on the verge of tearing each other apart.

Kade's gaze flickered to her, his expression unreadable. "You made a mistake, Selene."

Her pulse stuttered. "What mistake?"

Kade's smirk was sharp, predatory. "Giving him the chance to get to you first."

Lucian growled, his wolf rising to the surface. "She was never yours to take."

Kade chuckled darkly. "And yet, here I am. The only thing standing between you and your obsession." His gaze dropped to Selene's body, still trapped beneath Lucian. "Let her go."

Lucian didn't move. "Make me."

Selene felt the energy shift.

A fight was coming.

She couldn't let that happen.

"Stop it," she snapped, her voice cutting through the heavy silence. "Both of you."

Kade tilted his head, watching her. "And if we don't?"

Selene took a slow breath, forcing herself to steady her voice. "Then I'll decide for you."

Lucian's grip on her wrist loosened just slightly, his expression hard. "What are you saying?"

She swallowed hard, her mind racing. "I'll go with the one who lets me go first."

A gamble.

A dangerous one.

Lucian's eyes darkened. "You're playing a dangerous game, Selene."

She knew that. She had known it from the moment she let herself get tangled in their world.

But she refused to let them be the only ones in control.

Kade's smirk deepened, his fingers twitching at his side. "Fine. I'll play."

Without hesitation, he stepped back, raising his hands in mock surrender.

Selene turned her gaze to Lucian.

His jaw ticked. His muscles tensed.

But he didn't move.

Seconds stretched into eternity.

Then, finally—

Lucian cursed under his breath and released her wrists, his frustration rolling off him in waves.

Selene forced herself to sit up, ignoring the way her body screamed in protest. She had won. Barely.

But as she looked between the two most powerful alphas she had ever known, she realized something terrifying.

This wasn't over.

This was just the beginning.