Four

ZANE

Her scent still lingered in the air.

Sweet. Vibrant. Dangerously addictive.

Zane paced the clearing, muscles tight, his heart pounding too hard against his chest.

He had felt her.

Not just her physical presence, but something far greater—a dormant power erupting like thunder beneath Angela’s skin.

She’s ours, he thought, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

But it wasn’t that simple.

Not when Theo looked at her as if he could save her from everything.

And far less when Damian, with his hungry darkness, had already claimed her with crimson eyes and devastating presence.

A low growl rumbled in Zane’s chest, feral instincts boiling under his skin.

He saw her walking down the narrow path, hair tousled by the wind, eyes blazing with a new fire.

The power radiating from her was raw, untamed—and devastatingly beautiful.

When she drew closer, the world seemed to stop.

Zane stepped forward, ignoring the others.

“Angela,” he said, voice hoarse with desire and fear. “You feel it, don’t you?”

She lifted her gaze to him, and in that instant, Zane knew he was lost.

No matter the obstacles.

She would be his.

Even if it cost him his last breath.

---

THEO

Theo stood still, watching.

The wind stirred the trees above, moonlight silvering Angela’s skin, making her look ethereal. Sacred.

He felt the connection too—an invisible current pulling him toward her with an almost painful force.

But Theo was patient. He had always been.

Unlike Zane, impulsive as a storm, or Damian, who ruled through darkness, Theo knew the value of waiting.

The most precious things weren’t taken by force. They were earned.

And Angela…

Angela was a flickering flame in the middle of the dark. Fragile, yet brimming with power, waiting for the right moment to set the world on fire.

He saw the doubt in her eyes, the hesitation.

And he saw the courage too.

When Zane surged forward, Theo placed a steady hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

“Easy, fratello,” he murmured. “She’s still discovering who she is.”

Zane growled but stepped back half a pace.

Theo moved toward Angela with the calm strength of someone who understood the power of gentleness.

“We’re here for you, bellissima,” he said softly, his voice a promise. “Always.”

He held out his hand—open, patient, demanding nothing.

And for a heartbeat, Angela almost gave in.

But then the shadow moved.

And Damian stepped forward.

---

DAMIAN

He watched them from the darkness.

Always watching. Always waiting.

Damian knew he was different from the other two.

Zane wanted to claim her with fury. Theo wanted to shield her with devotion.

But Damian?

He wanted everything.

Her soul. Her fears. Her pain. Her joys. Her shadows.

Every piece of her—even those she didn’t know existed.

When he saw Angela hesitating toward Theo, something inside him twisted.

Not jealousy.

Raw, brutal need.

She belonged to all of them.

But above all, she belonged to him.

Because only Damian could teach Angela what true strength was.

Not light. Never light.

Strength came from darkness embraced without fear.

He moved before thought, crossing the clearing in a blink.

Angela turned, eyes wide—she sensed him before she saw him.

Damian stopped inches away.

Her scent, her raw new power—it was a banquet to a starving man.

He raised his hand, brushing his fingers against the inside of her wrist, where her pulse throbbed.

A touch so light, yet heavy with primal power.

Angela shivered.

And Damian smiled.

“Don’t fight it, piccola,” he whispered. “You were born for the darkness. And we are the darkness that will claim you.”

For an endless moment, they stood like that: three forces, three men, three ancient predators circling one woman who carried the power to change them all.

Angela drew a shaky breath, her gaze shifting from one to the other.

And in her eyes, Damian saw it—the spark of acceptance… and of defiance.

The game had only just begun.

And he intended to win. At any cost.

---

Angela felt the weight of the world pressing against her chest.

Zane. Theo. Damian.

Three forces of nature, circling her, pulling in opposite directions, each silently claiming what they believed was theirs by right.

She felt Zane’s hungry gaze burning her skin.

Theo’s protective touch, soft yet unyielding.

Damian’s dark presence wrapping around her like a thick, intoxicating fog.

Her heartbeat raced wildly.

Her body felt small against their immensity—and yet, something inside her grew, roaring to be unleashed.

Angela stepped back, the air around her vibrating.

It was too much.

Too much for any ordinary human.

But she was starting to realize… she had never been ordinary.

“I… I need space,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

None of them moved.

They only watched her—predator eyes, sharpened senses, waiting for her to act.

Fear tangled with desire in her veins, a slow combustion threatening to consume her whole.

Angela clenched her fists.

The ground trembled beneath her feet.

A whisper cut through her mind—a voice that was hers, yet not hers at all:

You are more than they think. Let it burn.

A sudden gust of wind tore through the clearing, bending the trees, whipping leaves in a furious dance around her.

Angela gasped.

She didn’t know what she was doing—she only felt it.

The energy under her skin boiling, desperate for release.

“Angela…” Theo began, but stopped when he saw the change in her.

Her vision blurred for a moment, then cleared—and the world was no longer the same.

She saw beyond normal colors: the fierce gold of Zane’s soul, the earthy green of Theo, the stormy crimson of Damian.

And around herself—an intense, pulsing blue, beating like a newborn heart.

Angela screamed. A sound of fear, of freedom, of raw existence.

The clearing exploded with energy.

The ground split beneath her feet, cracks spreading like veins.

The trees bent further, as if bowing to the storm she had become.

Zane lunged toward her—but was thrown back by an invisible wave of power.

Theo braced himself, feet digging into the soil as the force lashed against him, awe widening his eyes.

And Damian…

Damian smiled.

A smile drenched in dark adoration. Pride.

As though he had always known this moment would come.

Angela collapsed to her knees, body trembling, her energy slowly fading into the night air.

She shook—

Not from fear.

From release.

For the first time in years, she wasn’t the victim.

Not the broken woman running from monsters.

She was the monster now.

Breathless, she lifted her eyes to them.

“What… what’s happening to me?” she whispered.

Zane approached slowly, cautious, as if nearing a furious goddess.

He knelt before her, his hand trembling as he reached for her.