Chapter 33

• Jake***
• The room was suffocating, thick with the scent of sweat and fear. Shadows curled around the edges, swallowing the dim light that flickered weakly from the lone overhead bulb. The figures emerging from the darkness carried an aura of quiet menace, their movements precise, deliberate—like wolves closing in on wounded prey. My pulse thundered in my ears, a war drum counting down to the inevitable bloodshed. My muscles coiled, taut and ready, though the odds were stacked against me.
• Victor’s smirk deepened, his dark eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction. “Take them,” he ordered, his voice smooth but laced with venom.