KARINA
Frost clung to the high, arched windows of the main hall, chilling the damp air as fifty armed fighters stood in dead silence. Flanked by four massive brutes, a rival rogue boss named Vane strutted across the worn stone floor with a sickening, arrogant swagger. Wearing a greasy leather coat and sporting a jagged scar across his missing ear, he wanted to absorb our territory.
He treated Kole’s syndicate like a minor annoyance he could simply swallow whole. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Kole, I squared my stance, refusing to blend into the dark shadows behind the war table. My newly awakened silver eyes tracked every subtle movement Vane made, cataloging the relaxed grip on his hip-holstered gun and the dismissive sneer twisting his lips. He thought we were weak. He assumed th
