Chapter 248
248
248
Carmen hardly hesitated before readily agreeing.
+5 Free Coins
Jace Hale handed over the helmet, and Carmen took it steadily, securing it on her head with practiced ease. Then, without fuss, she climbed onto the bike behind him, her hands naturally wrapping around his
waist.
Jace lowered his gaze, catching sight of the firm grip at his hips. A slow, involuntary smile curved his lips, and his eyes gleamed with an unrestrained joy.
“Carmen, you’re holding on tight,” he teased softly.
With a subtle twist of the throttle, the bike growled-a deep, powerful rumble like a beast awakening from slumber-propelling them fast toward the eastern outskirts.
The roads near Mooncrest’s Eastside were mostly empty, thanks to the new development project underway. The wide, smooth pavement stretched like a racetrack designed for speed and dominance.
By the time Jace and Carmen arrived at the starting line, a crowd had already gathered-almost entirely male, save for one woman who stood out sharply.
She was young, barely out of her twenties, dressed in a flowing white dress that contrasted sharply with the throng of rough wolf men. Her long black hair fell straight and glossy over her shoulders, and her face bore the faintest touch of makeup that highlighted her pure, untouched beauty-like a white lotus blooming amidst thorny brambles.
Carmen’s heart clenched with a deep loathing the moment she saw her.
Not for any surface reason, but because the woman’s look and aura mirrored Scarlett perfectly. The innocent facade masking a heart of venom-capable of poisoning everything in her path, including Carmen herself.
Scarlett’s shadow had darkened Carmen’s past, and she bore no affection for any woman who shared that poisonous charm.
As Carmen stepped off the bike, two men quickly jogged up to her.
“Carmen.”
“Carmen’s here.”
She recognized them faintly-Jace’s packmates, the same two who had once tried to corner her in a bar’s dark bathroom, only to end up with bloody wounds after Carmen fought back with a knife and a broken bottle. Names she didn’t know, but faces she never forgot,
Carmen responded with a brief hum, her face an unreadable mask of cool detachment.
Her icy demeanor immediately drew attention from another group standing nearby,
They scrutinized her from head to toe-simple white shirt, jeans, and white sneakers-like a naive college
1/3
3:16 pm
248
+5 Free Coins
girl just out of Halston Academy.
One of the men smirked and threw out a taunt, “Hey! Is this Jace Hale’s new girlfriend? Still in school, huh?”
Another joined in with a sneer, “Girl, don’t let that serious face fool you. Jace isn’t exactly a saint.”
Laughter erupted around them.
The woman in white-the lotus among wolves-stared at Carmen without blinking.
Carmen saw the hostility burning in her eyes but remained unmoved, refusing to acknowledge the provocation.
Her indifferent silence only irritated the men further.
“Hey beautiful, how about you introduce yourself?”
Mortimer who spoke popped a piece of gum, pulling the white-dressed woman closer into his embrace, his gaze daring Jace.
Jace’s jaw tightened, a flash of fury sparking in his dark eyes.
Selene-always Selene-had dumped him, only to throw herself into the arms of his fiercest rival.
Jace stepped forward, placing himself protectively in front of Carmen.
“If it’s a race you want, then race. Cut the crap.”
The challengers’ eyes glinted with predatory amusement, as if they had just spotted fresh prey.
“Sure, a race it is. But we’re changing the rules this time.”
Jace frowned, wary. “What kind of rules?”
Mortimer smirked wickedly, fixing his gaze on Carmen with a hint of malice.
“This time, each rider carries a woman. If I lose, I hand over my woman to you. If you lose, you hand over yours to me. What do you say?”
Jace’s face went pale with rage, ready to refuse outright, but a sudden tug on his arm stopped him.
Carmen’s lips curled into a cryptic smile-half amusement, half challenge-as she looked directly at the
man.
“Fine.”
If they wanted to play dirty, she would gladly oblige.
“Carmen,” Jace said with concern, “the speeds will be fast. You might not be used to it.”
2/3
248
+5 Free Coins
“I’m fine.”
She climbed back onto the bike.
Across from them, Selene settled coquettishly on her rider’s bike, her gaze sharp and mocking as if to say, “You’re going to lose.”
But winning or losing wasn’t Carmen’s goal tonight—she was waiting for the right moment to strike.
Both sides readied themselves.
With a sharp command, “Go!”
Two bikes tore forward like wolves unleashed-fast, fierce, and hungry for the hunt.