Stacking The Deck นิยาย & เรื่องราว

he retorted as the girls continued to giggle at how uncomfortable us guys were. Josh dealt the hand and I looked down at... nothing. I had absolutely nothing. Everyone else around the circle seemed to be taking the game more seriously, the girls who had won no longer able to just bet frivolously. I discarded three cards, keeping the king of diamonds and jack of clubs, and got back nothing. "God damn it," I said, tossing my cards into the center of the blanket. "Well I guess Austin is stripping," Ricki laughed.

My wolf surged forward, eyes blazing in my mind, instincts screaming blood and power. Reshuffle the deck meant chaos. It meant tearing down the carefully stacked lies, exposing everyone who thought themselves untouchable. It was about damn time that happened.

“But I’m not holding back this time. No mercy. Prepare to be humbled.” “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, starting to shuffle the deck with practiced precision. “Just don’t cry when I drop a +4 on your smug ass.” “Bring it, princess,” he shot back, eyes locked on hers with that fire starting to flicker again between them. The game started off light—laughs, casual jabs, the rustle of cards snapping against the table. Aria dealt with a devilish grin, her movements smooth, confident. Kade watched her hands, narrowing his eyes, already suspicious she was stacking the deck.

"The cards are on the wood. Start." "Must your beast stay so clingy over a simple deck of cards, Alpha Vale?" Eustace sneers, his fingers twitching as he signals the dealer-wolf. "Are you terrified your arms won't be able to hold her white pelt if your hand drops? Let me warn your ears early... our packs are only running one single hand tonight." Any wolf who runs the Hold'em trail knows each hunter gets two hidden cards before five community cards hit the center wood over three sun-stages. In the end, the beast who builds the strongest pack of five, blending their hidden skin with three from the center, claims the mountain.

Bradon replied. As if to signal that the show had started, Jake began shuffling the cards faster and faster. I watched as if captivated by the movements of his hands before he suddenly stopped shuffling and placed the pile of cards onto the table with a loud thump. He definitely had my attention as he made it look like he was about to pick up the pile of cards with one hand. However, instead of picking up the entire deck off the table like I had expected that he would, he picked up a portion of the deck and somehow managed to let the cards flow down back onto the deck so smoothly as if he was pouring water from a vase.

He unlaced his heavy combat boots and kicked them aside, sitting back down in his socks and t-shirt. He looked smaller now. Less like a king and more like a thug. I was winning. I could feel the adrenaline singing in my veins, replacing the fear. I was actually going to do this. Then, the third card slid across the wood. Brick didn't even look at me. He slammed his card down. Ace of Diamonds. The highest card in the deck. The air left my lungs. There was no beating an Ace unless I drew the Ace of Spades, and the odds were astronomical.

The table now has a seven of cups, a three of swords, a king, and the ace of coins — the most valuable card in the deck. Matteo wore a smug smirk as he dropped the seven of coins like he already owned the trick, ready to scoop everything. And I wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off his lips. Which I was about to do anyway. I laid down the quiet five of coins and the table suddenly fell silent. So far in this game, I've learnt that the five let's you "declare" a scopa if you pick the exact matching card later. Nobody declares early, unless they're suicidal... Or the already knows the future.

“I’m up for a challenge.” Sandra found four decks of new cards still in the wrappers in a drawer beneath the table, and a rack of colorful chips. She placed them on the wooden surface of the table, then sat down in a chair between Irena and Creighton. She slipped her thumbnail beneath the wrapper of one deck of cards and opened the box, shuffling them with dealer-perfect fingers.

Her manipulating me to win. I remember how she took the card when playing with Vandiver and look back up at her. Realization dawning in. It appears every single time my eyes were locked on her body, and got a little bit distracted, a card got switched. A total gets manipulated. That's the only explanation "Five to two," She announces triumphantly, stacking the chips with a massive, satisfied grin. A low, gravelly chuckle slips from me.

And takes her father’s hand in the chair next to her, “I know, Gods do I know. But we have advantages here, we’re on our home territory, we have an entire pack at our back and we believe that there is only one player left on their board. He still has one card to play yet, but we know what that card is because we’ve been counting the deck.” He smirks. “Please don’t do anything stupid.” She leans back into George, who wraps an arm around her and kisses her temple. Her father nods,