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~Spring's POV~

I stepped forward, feeling the weight of every stare burn into me.

My heart drummed against my ribs, but I kept my chin up, refusing to give anyone, especially Yvonne, the satisfaction of seeing me falter.

When I finally stopped in front of Rael, the world narrowed to the circle of firelight. To him. To my mates watching. To the low hum of hungry whispers from the students around us.

Rael leaned back in the chair, spreading his legs just slightly. "Don't hold back on my account," he murmured.

I didn't answer.

Instead, I placed my hands lightly on his shoulders, lowering myself until I straddled his thighs, unlike what I did the last time when I had my back to him.

Gasps rippled through the crowd as the fire popped loudly in the silence.

And then I moved slowly at first. My hips rolled in circles, my thighs tightening around him as I leaned forward, letting my hair fall like a curtain around our faces for just a moment.

Rael's breath hitched barely audibly, but I heard and felt it.

I made sure everyone else did too.

Because I wasn't doing this for him, this was for them.

My gaze lifted deliberately, locking onto Jace first. His amber eyes blazed, wolf so close to the surface I could practically taste his growl on my tongue.

His chest heaved, his claws digging crescent moons into his thighs as he fought not to move.

Then Kael. His jaw was taut, knuckles white where his fingers rested on the dagger hilt.

A muscle ticked under his eye. Storm's breath was ragged, his wolf prowling just beneath his skin, coiled tight like a spring ready to snap.

And Tyrion… gods, Tyrion's calm was an illusion. I could see it now, the darkness swirling beneath the surface, the predator leashed and patient, waiting for the first excuse to break free.

He was furious.

They all were.

Every roll of my hips, every calculated shift of my body, was a silent, dangerous message meant for them, not Rael.

Gasps and whistles erupted around us. Some girls cheered; others whispered furiously behind their hands. Yvonne, though, was silent, her smile brittle as glass, her jaw tight enough to crack.

Even though she did this to cause a rift between me and my mates, probably, they were instead high on me.

Two minutes stretched like an eternity.

And then, finally, it was over.

I straightened slowly, sliding off Rael's lap, refusing to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me rush. My gaze met Rael's briefly—dark, stormy, and unreadable, but his laboured breathing gave a lot away—before I turned and left.

I didn't look back as I walked to my spot in the circle, though I could feel every single one of my mates watching me, the weight of their stares like chains dragging over my skin.

The moment I sat, the energy around the fire shifted violently.

Dominance rolled off my mates in waves. Tyrion's calm mask had shattered entirely; his gaze burned with something feral as did the rest.

The circle had gone quiet, tension so thick you could choke on it.

Yvonne opened her mouth, probably to gloat—and then shut it again, wisely, when Jace turned his head just enough for his glare to cut across her like a blade.

No one dared say a word.

And gods help me, as the fire popped and the silence dragged, one thing was crystal clear; I'd just lit a match and tossed it into a powder keg.

Storm was the first to move. He did not say anything and just walked away towards the bushes.

No one dared stop him. And I, I decided to call it a night, leaving my mates alone and the fun games to themselves.

—

The camp was quiet at 2 a.m., the soft chirp of crickets blending with the rustling of leaves. I shifted in my sleeping bag, half-dreaming, half-burning with restless thoughts I didn't want to admit were about him.

A faint sound pulled me from the haze—the soft scrape of a zipper.

Before I could react, the shadows parted, and Jace crouched beside me, his amber eyes glinting even in the dark.

"Jace…" I whispered sharply, sitting up, but he pressed a finger to his lips, silencing me.

"Shh, Sunshine," he murmured, his voice low and rough. "If you wake the others, I'll have to carry you out of here."

My heart stuttered. "You shouldn't be here."

Jace's lips curved in a slow, dangerous smirk as he leaned in, close enough that his breath ghosted over my cheek.

"Maybe I shouldn't be here," Jace murmured. "But I couldn't sleep… knowing you're lying here… probably thinking about me."

Heat rushed to my face before I could stop it. "You're arrogant," I whispered back, trying to keep my voice steady.

That knowing smirk deepened. "You weren't complaining earlier."

"Earlier," I snapped, forcing the word through clenched teeth, "was a mistake."

He tilted his head, his amber eyes glinting with something dark and possessive. "Mm. Then why are you shaking, Sunshine?"

I hated him for noticing. Hated him more for being right.

"Go back to your tent, Jace," I said, though my voice betrayed me, thinner than I wanted it to be.

He didn't move. Instead, his hand brushed mine, fingertips trailing up my arm in a slow, maddening tease that made my breath hitch.

Every muscle in me tensed as memories from the cave clawed their way back vividly.

"Jace…" I whispered, meaning it as a warning, but it sounded more like a plea.

His jaw tightened, and for the first time tonight, his mask cracked. Hot, unrestrained jealousy burned in Jace's gaze. "I saw you," he rasped. "Grinding against him. Acting like he was yours."

My chest tightened. "It was part of the game…"

"Game?" He gave a harsh laugh, leaning closer until his forehead almost touched mine. "Watching you straddle him wasn't a game for me, Sunshine. You think I didn't see his hands on you? You think I didn't hear the crowd cheering for what was wrong and how good you were?"

My lips parted, but no words came out.

"You're mine, Spring Kaine," he asserted, voice low and rough, as if daring me to deny it.

My heart stumbled. "You don't get to claim me," I whispered back, even though the bond between us ached with every word.

His thumb brushed my jaw, gentle despite the storm in his eyes. "Then tell me you haven't thought about me since the cave."

I opened my mouth to deny it. No sound came out.

Jace's grin was slow, triumphant, and infuriating. "That's what I thought."

And then his lips were on mine, hard, hungry, and unrelenting.

My resistance shattered instantly, melting beneath the heat of him. One hand tangled in my hair while the other anchored at my waist, dragging me closer until there was no space left between us.

Every breath, every thought, every shred of restraint vanished.

For one reckless, burning moment, there was no Rael, Yvonne or my other mates watching from the shadows.

There was only Jace.

But I knew it was only a matter of minutes, if not seconds, before they sensed what was wrong with their mate or smelled my arousal from a distance away.

I knew we couldn't.

Fuck that. I knew we shouldn't.

But gods, when his lips crushed against mine, I didn't care.

My fists curled into his shirt, dragging him closer as if I could breathe him in and make the chaos stop.

That and the heat I felt from grinding against Rael made me want to fulfil every naughty fantasy I had.

Jace's hand slid into my hair, gripping just enough to tilt my head back and deepen the kiss, rough and unrelenting, like he needed to claim me, right here, right now.

The firelight from outside the tent cast faint shadows across his face, but his amber eyes burned hotter than any flame.

He kissed me like he hated me, like he wanted to punish me for dancing on Rael's lap, and each bruising press of his mouth sent heat rolling through me.

When he finally broke the kiss, his forehead rested against mine, breath ragged.

"You think I didn't see you tonight?" he growled softly, his voice low and dangerous. "Grinding on him like that, like you were craving friction, craving me and what we did earlier."

My chest heaved. "Stop being jealous of a game, Jace—"

"A game?" His laugh was sharp, humourless. "You call that a game when you had my wolf ready to tear through every bastard sitting around that fire just to get to you?"

I swallowed hard, heat pooling low in my belly despite the tension sparking between us. "I wasn't doing it for him."

"Then who?" he demanded, his hand sliding to my jaw, tilting my face toward him until there was no escape from his blazing stare. "Tell me it wasn't for me."

I couldn't do that. If I did, I was signing away myself. I didn't.

The silence between us was answer enough.

Jace's jaw clenched, but instead of pulling away, he leaned in, lips grazing the shell of my ear. "You drive me insane, Sunshine," he whispered, roughly. "I can't stand seeing you touch someone else. I hate it."