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~Spring's POV~

My palms were slick with sweat, the glow stick trembling faintly between my fingers. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to disappear into the forest and pretend this never happened.

But then Astra's voice slithered through my mind like smoke curling around my ribs.

"Simple," she purred. "Tempt them. Tempt all your mates. Remind them you haven't been claimed and do the dare. Don't chicken out."

I swallowed hard, ignoring how my breath hitched. My gaze flicked briefly toward my mates.

Storm's jaw was clenched, his wolf practically vibrating under his skin. Kael's stare burned, like someone calculating a dozen moves ahead.

Tyrion looked calm, but his grip on his flask had gone white-knuckled.

And Jace… Jace's expression was pure thunderclouds and danger, his hood shadowing half his face, but his jaw ticked like he was seconds away from snapping.

All of them watched and waited.

And Rael… Rael just sat there, leaning back on his hands, watching me with that maddeningly lazy smile like he already knew what buttons he was pressing and how deep they went.

Yvonne twirled a lock of her glossy hair around her finger and smirked as her voice cut through the tension.

"What's it gonna be, Spring? Don't tell me you're scared. Or…" she tilted her head, letting fake innocence drip like honey, "…maybe you just don't know how."

A few students snickered. Others whispered. The entire circle was buzzing now as the anticipation built.

I forced myself to breathe.

"Fine," I heard myself say. My voice was steadier than I felt. "If it's a dare…" I rose slowly to my feet, ignoring the sharp inhale Storm made beside me, "…then it's a dare."

The whispers turned into open gasps, a ripple of disbelief passing through the circle.

Yvonne's smirk faltered for just a fraction of a second, and that tiny victory almost made this worth it. Almost.

Rael's smirk sharpened, his dark eyes glinting like steel in firelight. "Oh, sweetheart," he drawled, patting his thigh, "don't hold back on my account."

I didn't move immediately. I looked at him instead, and then I let my gaze shift over to Jace.

His jaw flexed, nostrils flaring, his wolf clawing at the surface. Then Kael, whose hand had drifted casually, threateningly, to the hilt of the dagger strapped to his thigh.

Storm, tense and coiled like a predator ready to strike.

Tyrion, still outwardly calm, but his pupils had dilated into something darker, hungrier.

I let Astra's voice lace through my thoughts, guiding my next words carefully in a way that led this situation to a breathtaking moment.

"You wanted a show, didn't you?" I murmured, tilting my head just enough for my hair to spill forward, catching the firelight. My voice wasn't loud, but the entire circle heard it. Felt it.

I stepped into the fire's glow, closing the space between Rael and me in one slow, measured pace at a time.

Jace's voice cracked, and he was ignored. My heart thundered so hard I thought it might break my ribs, but my steps didn't falter.

Unlike when I did it for Eryx, I could easily fake it, and no one quarrelled, but this was different.

They'd make sure I did it well.

Rael's smirk widened, but there was a brief flicker in his gaze. Surprise. Interest. Maybe even longing.

I stopped just in front of him, close enough to feel the heat of his body, close enough to make every pair of eyes in the circle burn with barely contained tension.

Then I leaned down, just slightly, letting my lips hover by his ear.

"You really thought I'd give you what's theirs?" I whispered so softly only he could hear.

Rael froze for a fraction of a second, and then his low chuckle brushed against my skin like a dare of its own. "Careful, Spring," he murmured back. "You keep tempting me like this, and I might take it anyway."

Before I could respond, a sudden snap echoed behind me, the sound of wood splintering under pressure.

Jace.

I didn't have to turn to know his claws had half-shifted, digging into the log he sat on. The fury rolling off him was thick enough to taste.

Kael's voice cut through the heavy silence. "Game's over."

But Yvonne wasn't having it. "No," she said quickly, her saccharine tone cracking under frustration. "She hasn't done the dare yet."

Jace stood slowly, moving like a predator. Shadows clung to him like an aura, and his hood finally slipped all the way back, revealing his amber-gold eyes and the faint, glowing ring of his wolf fighting to break free.

"She's not doing it." His voice was final.

And yet, the whole circle stayed silent, watching and waiting to see what I would do.

Because despite everything, despite Jace's fury, Storm's tension, Kael's lethal calm, Tyrion's quiet restraint, everyone wanted to see what I would do next.

And gods help me because… I still hadn't decided.

The silence around the bonfire was suffocating. Firelight flickered over faces caught somewhere between shock, amusement, and anticipation.

I stood frozen in front of Rael, every nerve in my body strung tight like a bowstring.

"Fine, I'll do it."

A few unapproved growls rolled out, but I did not meet their eyes, knowing who they were from.

Just as I was about sitting on Rael, I heard a sharp voice ring out.

"Four minutes," someone announced from the circle, scrolling through their phone for a song.

"Four?" Yvonne scoffed immediately, tossing her hair back. "Please, that's barely enough to make it interesting. Let's give her the full five."

"No." Storm's voice cut through the murmurs sharply. He stood halfway from his seat, his storm-blue eyes glinting. "One minute. No more."

Yvonne's lips twisted into a mocking pout. "What are you so afraid of, Storm? That he'll steal her? It's just a game. You don't have to be overprotective of her. This behaviour is no different from choking her."

Emerald chimed in, leaning forward with a smirk. "Two minutes, then. That's fair."

"Two minutes," another girl echoed. "One's too short. Four's overkill."

"Two," Jace growled. "Get this over with."

The entire circle stilled at the sound, as if his wolf had spoken through him.

"Two it is," someone finally muttered, settling the argument.

A slow, sultry beat filled the air, the kind of song designed to make pulses race.

I forced myself to move, stepping closer to Rael until the heat of his body brushed mine. He leaned back slightly, giving me space, smirk still firmly in place. I lowered myself just enough to make it look like I was sitting on his thigh, but never actually touched him.

Instead, I mimicked every movement I'd done with Eryx. Enough to make it look real. Enough to make every single one of my mates seethe.

Rael's gaze burned into me, his lazy smile edged with something darker. He knew. He knew I wasn't really touching him… and that made him even more intrigued.

And thankfully, Rael had played along, but not before whispering, 'You owe me one.'

The fire crackled while the song played on. Still, every second was a game of restraint.

And just when I was sure two minutes were soon to be finally over, I sighed in my mind and got ready to stand up.

"She's not even sitting on him!"

The words hit like a spark tossed into dry tinder.

Gasps and murmurs followed. Then, almost instantly, a chant began to ripple through the group, low at first but growing louder with every beat of my racing heart.

"Sit. Sit. Sit."

Yvonne was smirking like a cat about to taste cream, her glossy lips curling cruelly as she leaned forward.

"Come on, Spring," she purred over the chanting. "You wouldn't want to back out now, would you? Rules are rules."

Someone else chimed in from behind her, "Or…" a pause, dripping with glee, "…you kiss someone we choose."

I froze.

Kiss someone of their choice? That was worse. A thousand times worse.

Hell no.

There was no way in hell I was letting them dictate that. Who knows what or whom they would dictate for me to kiss?

Nah huh. I wasn't trusting Yvonne and her silently controlled slaves.

The circle erupted into whoops and whistles.

My pulse thundered. My throat was dry. Every instinct screamed, "Don't," but Astra's tempting voice purred through my head.

"Do it, Solstice. Make them watch."

I swallowed hard, my eyes sweeping briefly to where my mates sat, all four of them. They had come together now, watching me.

Storm, tense and brimming with silent rage. Jace, hood gone, claws half-shifted, amber-gold eyes burning holes through Rael.

Kael, expression carved from ice, his wolf balanced on a knife's edge.

Tyrion, calm and quiet but so intent I could almost feel his stare against my skin.

I inhaled slowly… and let it out in a resigned sigh.

"Fine."

The word came out low but carried clearly in the night air.

Rael's smirk deepened like he'd just won some silent war. "Your call, Princess." He winked, and for a second, my heart skipped a beat before I looked away.

"Atta girl," he murmured, voice pitched just low enough for me to hear, and gods help me, it sent a shiver down my spine.

Someone dragged out one of the foldable chairs we'd brought on the trip, setting it down in the centre of the circle.

Rael stood, stretching languidly, before settling into it with the ease of a king taking his throne.

The chants died down into a hum.