The air in the Viper's Nest was thick with tension, the usual haze of cigar smoke doing little to mask the underlying unease. I stood at the head of the table, my fingers drumming a silent rhythm on the worn mahogany surface. My lieutenants watched me expectantly, their faces etched with concern.

"We have a problem," I began, my voice low and measured. "The Serpents are getting bolder. Their territory is creeping closer to ours, and their influence is spreading like a disease."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the room. I could feel their anger, their thirst for retribution. But I held up a hand, silencing them.

"We will not act rashly," I continued. "We will strike when the time is right, and we will strike with precision. But first, we need to understand their motives. Why now? What are they after?"

Just then, the door to the meeting room creaked open. All eyes turned to the figure silhouetted in the doorway. A woman, her face shrouded in shadow, but her silhouette unmistakable.

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A Serpent.

In our territory.

My blood ran cold, and a flicker of anger ignited in my gut. But as she stepped into the light, revealing her defiant eyes, a different kind of heat coursed through my veins. It was a dangerous heat, a forbidden allure that threatened to consume me whole.