The estate smoldered like a beast barely held at bay, and Bella stood in the center of it, eyes sharp, senses blazing. Every movement, every sound glass cracking, boots on debris, gunfire in the distance was a thread she wove into a map of control.
Crystal moved to her side, chest heaving, fingers brushing hers as he adjusted her stance. The contact lingered, electric, and Bella felt it in her veins, a rush sharper than any gunshot. "You're reckless," he said, voice low, gritted with frustration and something darker something not entirely anger.
"I'm not reckless," Bella said, eyes glinting. "I'm awake. And I'm in control."
Christian appeared moments later, moving with the predator's precision that Bella had learned to read. His hand brushed the small of her back as he guided her behind a barricade. The warmth of his body pressed against hers, steady, grounding but charged. Every inch of proximity between them was a spark she could feel, a tension neither man would release.
"You shouldn't put yourself in the line like this," Christian murmured, voice soft but edged with warning. "One wrong move—"
"I won't make a wrong move," she cut him off, lips curving into a small, sharp smile. "But you… you'd better keep up."
The three of them moved as a unit. Bullets rattled, explosions cracked the air, smoke clawed at lungs, and yet Bella felt clarity. She wasn't just reacting—she was dictating. Every glance, every move, every brush of skin between them was a declaration of power and desire.
Crystal growled as a mercenary lunged from the side. Bella pivoted, rifle steady, and he went down. Her hand lingered on the weapon, and she felt Crystal's fingers press lightly against hers, a subtle claim, a promise of something she hadn't asked for but wanted anyway.
Christian intercepted another threat, dragging a man down with brutal precision. His eyes flicked to hers, storm-dark, commanding, and Bella shivered. She wanted both needed both but she wouldn't submit. Not yet.
Anthony's laughter drifted from the shadows, low and cruel. "Beautiful," he murmured. "The fire is yours to wield, little queen. And yet… you're tangled in chains you don't see."
Bella didn't answer. She aimed, fired, moved, weaving between danger and dominance. Every touch, every brush from Crystal and Christian, was a thread in a web she controlled. But it also tugged at her, a dangerous pull she didn't resist.
Crystal leaned closer as they ducked behind a smoking vehicle. "You could burn us both," he said, voice husky, eyes locked on hers. "And I'd still follow you."
Christian's hand lingered at her hip now, firm, grounding, hot. "And if anyone touches you, I'll burn the world around us first," he growled, low, dangerous.
Bella's breath hitched not from fear, but from the raw, magnetic intensity of being wanted, needed, and untouchable all at once. She tilted her head, letting the tension coil, savoring the unspoken war in the space between them.
"I don't need saving," she whispered, voice sharp as flint. "I need… acknowledgment. Respect. Fire. And I decide who earns it."
Crystal's jaw clenched. Christian's eyes flared. Both men, storms in human form, orbiting her gravity, restrained by honor, blood, and desire but desperate to cross the line she held between them.
And Bella? She smiled, wicked and deliberate. The estate was chaos, fire, and smoke but she was the eye. She was the storm.
Anthony's laugh cut through the air again. "Do you feel it, little queen? The tension, the hunger, the impossible choices. Everything is yours… if you dare take it."
Bella's gaze sharpened. "I already have," she whispered. "And if anyone tries to take it from me—"
Crystal growled, and Christian's fingers dug lightly into her back, protective and claiming. Bella didn't flinch. She stepped forward, letting the heat, the desire, and the danger surge through her. She was untamed. Desired. Dangerous. And neither storm nor man could dictate her path.
The battle raged, but in that moment, Bella knew something undeniable: she was no longer a pawn, a prize, or a target. She was the queen of fire and chaos, and both men would follow, or burn trying.