Chapter 2: The First Hunt
1514 Words
The alley behind the Inferno Club was a world away from crystal chandeliers, smelling like wet asphalt and poor life choices.
And I’d let three dangerously attractive men guide me right into it. Three men who now knew my name, Any sane person would be screaming, running, or frantically texting Chloe for a rescue.
Instead, I stood there like a deer in headlights, still feeling the phantom burn of Jaxon’s kiss.
“Well,” Ronan said, leaning against the brick wall as if he owned it. “This is a development.”
Outside the chaotic energy of the club, he was even more unsettling. His black hair was impossibly perfect, his suit looked more expensive than my tuition, and his sharp green eyes missed nothing. He was the kind of dangerous that wore a five-figure price tag.
“Commissioner Hart’s daughter,” he mused, lighting a cigarette with a flick of his wrist. “Sneaking out to slum it with the common criminals, Daddy would be so proud.”
“I’m not slumming it.”
Maddox let out a rich, amused laugh. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re wearing it like a brand new dress. The question is, do you know you’re in the deep end?”
Jaxon was a silent, brooding statue by the alley’s mouth, still shirtless and glistening. Every time his tongue darted out to probe his split lip, a traitorous part of me shivered.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” Ronan said, exhaling a plume of smoke. “You’re Marcus Hart’s daughter. Your father has been a thorn in our side for years. And here you are, planting one on our star fighter. You expect me to believe that’s a coincidence?”
“I didn’t know who you were!”
“Iron Serpents Motorcycle Club,” Maddox supplied helpfully, circling me with a predator’s grace. “Public enemy number one, according to your dad’s department.”
“I don’t scare that easily.”
“No?” Jaxon’s voice was rough, scraping over my skin. “What do you do when you’re scared, princess?”
The word ‘princess’ now felt less like a worship and more like a label. I lifted my chin, meeting his molten-gold stare. “I guess you’d have to find out.”
Something shifted in his gaze—a flicker of surprise, maybe even a shred of respect.
“She’s got nerve,” Maddox observed cheerfully. “It’s always more fun when they have nerves.”
“Nobody’s having fun with me,” I snapped.
“Then enlighten us, Miss Hart,” Ronan said, crushing his cigarette under his new leather sole. “What was the master plan? A quick thrill before curfew?”
“I planned to have a drink and maybe dance. It’s called a night out.”
“In a club famous for its back-room brawls? How adorably naive.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough.” Jaxon closed the distance until I had to crane my neck. “Daddy’s girl, Pampered, Protected and Probably never had to fight for a thing in your life.” His eyes dropped to my mouth. “And you’ve definitely never been kissed like you mean it.”
“That’s— I’ve been—” I sputtered, hating how he turned my brain stagnant.
“Have you, though?” Maddox appeared at my other shoulder, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. “Because what happened back there was… cute. But it wasn’t a real kiss.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “It was real enough.”
“Was it?” Jaxon’s hand came up, his thumb brushing my lower lip. His touch was startlingly gentle. “You tasted like a good girl playing at being bad.”
“I’m not a virgin,” I blurted out.
The moment the words left my mouth, I wanted to vanish into the pavement.
The atmosphere snapped taut. All three of them went perfectly still.
“No?” Ronan’s voice was dangerously soft. “How… interesting.”
“Maybe I’m tired of my glass cage.”
My words hung in the air, a reckless challenge. Maddox whistled softly. Jaxon’s eyes darkened.
“Be careful what you wish for,” he murmured. “You wouldn’t last a day in our world.”
“What if I want to try?”
“You have no idea what you’re asking,” Ronan said. “Our world is blood and bike grease. It’s choices that leave permanent stains.”
“Maybe I’d like the stains.”
Maddox barked a laugh. “I’m definitely keeping her.”
“This isn’t a joke,” Jaxon’s grip on my jaw firmed, but it wasn’t painful. “You can’t just sample the darkness and run back to your gilded cage when you’re bored.”
“Who says I’m going back?”
“They all do,” Ronan stated with cold finality. “Girls like you always run home.”
“You don’t know me well enough to make that call.”
“Don’t I?” He stepped forward, closing the circle. “You’ve never wanted, never bled, never had to choose between your soul and your survival.”
“You’re right. But maybe I’m tired of being safe. Maybe safety feels a lot like dying.”
Maddox leaned in from behind, his voice a low hum near my ear. “Safety is boring anyway. Where’s the fun in a guaranteed tomorrow?”
A shiver, not entirely unpleasant, danced down my spine.
“This is a terrible idea,” Jaxon growled, but his fingers tangled in my hair, possessive and conflicted.
“The worst,” Ronan agreed. “Her father will have our heads on platters.”
“He’s not going to find out.”
“Isn’t he?” Ronan raised a cool eyebrow. “Your security saw you leave. You think it will take them long to connect you to this place?”
A cold dread washed over me. “Oh, hell.”
“Don’t worry your pretty head about it,” Maddox said, waving a dismissive hand. “We’re experts at making inconvenient things… disappear.”
The way he said it made my stomach do a somersault. “Are you threatening me?”
“Or are we offering you a solution?” Ronan countered smoothly.
I looked from one to the other—Jaxon, a storm of conflict; Maddox, enjoying the show; and Ronan, the calm, calculating center of it all.
“What do you want from me?”
“That,” Ronan said, a slow smile playing on his lips, “is the right question.”
“Maybe we just want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes for a little princess,” Maddox teased.
“Or maybe,” Jaxon said, his voice dropping, “we want to see if the commissioner’s daughter tastes as good as she looks.”
A flush of heat pooled low in my stomach. “You’re trying to scare me off.”
“Is it working?” Ronan asked, genuinely curious.
I took a quick internal inventory. My heart was hammering against my ribs, a primal alarm bell. But underneath the fear was a thrilling, electric current of anticipation.
“Yes,” I admitted. “But I’m still standing here, aren’t I?”
“You shouldn’t be.”
“Probably not. But I’ve spent my whole life doing what I should do.”
“And what do you want to do, princess?” Maddox’s voice was pure, unadulterated temptation.
The logical answer was to walk away, find my friend, and never speak of this again.
The truth fell from my lips before I could stop it. “I want to see what happens next.”
A silent conversation passed between the three men—a whole argument fought with glances and slight tilts of the head. When their attention returned to me, the dynamic had shifted. The mockery was gone, replaced by a simmering, dangerous curiosity.
“What happens next,” Ronan stated, his tone leaving no room for argument, “is your choice. But know this—it’s a one-way door. No turning back.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” Jaxon’s thumb stroked my jawline. “We’re not the heroes in your story, princess. We’re the villains.”
I looked up at him, this beautiful, broken fighter—and felt a strange sense of calm.
“Maybe I’m bored of heroes.”
Something in his expression cracked. For a split second, the feral mask slipped, and I saw not a monster, but a man.
“You’re going to ruin us,” he whispered, almost to himself.
“Or you’ll ruin me.”
“Let’s be real,” Maddox interjected with a grin. “It’s probably going to be a mutual disaster.”
As three devastating smiles turned fully in my direction, I knew I’d stepped over an invisible line. There was no going back to the gilded cage.
But for the first time, the thought of falling didn't terrify me. It thrilled me.
- Writer
