LOGINMAEVE“Why would you tell Damon about me without asking me first?”The words came out sharper than I intended, but the moment they left my mouth, I knew I couldn’t have said them any other way. The party outside had gone down, people were starting to leave, so I used that as an opportunity to pull Mum inside. I leaned against the counter, crossing my arms tight over my chest. Mom busied herself at the fridge, pulling out a pitcher of iced tea, but I could tell she was avoiding my eyes. The shock from meeting Damon was still buzzing in my veins. Alpha of the Crescent pack? And she told him about me? Like I was some prize on display.“Mum,” I called out to her, chiding.She set the pitcher down with a soft thud and turned to face me, her eyebrows raised in that way she did when she thought I was overreacting. "Oh come on, Maeve, you're being too dramatic," she said, pouring two glasses of tea. The ice cubes clinked against the glass, a slight sound that filled the quiet between us.
MAEVEThe garden behind the mansion looked straight out of a fairy tale, all twinkling lights strung between the trees and white-clothed tables scattered across the lush grass. Flowers bloomed everywhere, roses and lilies mixing with the fresh scent of cut lawns, and soft music floated from a string quartet in the corner. It was supposed to be intimate, just close pack members and family for Lucien and Scarlett's engagement party. Small, they said. But even small felt suffocating to me. I didn’t even want to come at all. The last place I needed to be was watching my stepbrother seal his future with the perfect woman. But mum wouldn't take no for an answer. “It’s family, Maeve. You can't skip this,” she'd insisted, her eyes pleading until I caved. So here I was, dressed in a simple black dress that hugged my curves a bit too tightly, feeling like an intruder in my own skin.My mood soured the second I stepped through the gate. Everyone buzzed with excitement, toasting and laughin
MAEVEThe last couple of days have been radio silence from Lucien. It honestly felt like he'd vanished into thin air after that morning at the mansion. I wasn't sure what I was expecting exactly, but after our moment that night, I figured things might shift between us. I thought that maybe he'd reach out, or show up with that intense look in his eyes, pulling me into whatever storm we were always brewing, especially since we clearly admitted we couldn’t stay away from each other.But nope. Nothing. And deep down, I knew why. The way breakfast went that day, the revelation that the elders wanted him to get married, the pressure from his father, and then the phone call. The way he bolted told me everything. It had to be Scarlett. I mean, who else could yank him away like that, make him drop everything and run?I made up my mind right there and then not to head back to the mansion. No way was I sticking around, waiting like some fool. If he really wanted to be near me, he always fou
LUCIENHer words settled into my chest like weight and warmth at the same time.I stared at her, my chest tight with a mix of emotions I couldn't quite sort out. Her hand still pressed over my heart, her fingers warm through my shirt, and in that moment, it hit me hard how much she had given up for me. Scarlett has always done this. Put me first. Again and again. And now, fresh from some nightmare in Asia that I should've prevented, she was offering even more. Her life, her future, all tied to mine. No demands, just pure, selfless love.I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing her in.This was real. This was depth. This was a sacrifice.Whatever had been happening with Maeve had been heat, hunger, impulse. Dangerous and intoxicating, yes, but shallow in comparison to this kind of devotion. I had let lust blur my judgment. Let it threaten something solid that I should have with Scarlett.I couldn’t afford that anymore.Maeve had to go. Ending it would tear me up inside, but I had to
LUCIENThe elevator doors slid open with a soft ding, and I stepped into the quiet hallway leading to Scarlett's apartment. My heart pounded hard in my chest, each beat echoing the worry that had gripped me since her call.She hadn't sounded right; her voice was shaky and weak, like she was fighting to keep it together. “Lucien, please come,” she'd whispered, and that was all it took for me to bolt from the house, leaving breakfast and all its awkward tension behind. Maeve's heartbroken eyes flashed in my mind, but I pushed them away. Scarlett needed me now.I pulled out the spare key she'd given me ages ago and let myself in. The place was dim, curtains drawn against the gray morning light filtering through the rain-streaked windows. The air smelled stale, like no one had opened a window in days.That alone made my heart stutter.“Scarlett?” I called as I stepped inside.A faint rustle came from the bedroom. I hurried down the short hall and pushed the door open. There she was, cu
MAEVEI was sleeping, my body heavy and relaxed at the same time from the night before, when a warm, insistent pleasure stirred between my legs. My pussy was still very tender and sore from Lucien's thick cock stretching me wide, and now it was throbbing with a gentle heat. I moaned softly in my dream, shifting my hips, thinking it was just my mind bringing in echoes and feelings of last night's pleasure, a fantasy where his mouth was on me again.But the sensation built, the pressure against my folds growing, a slick tongue lapping at my entrance with slow, deliberate strokes. My breath hitched, a low 'mmh' slipping from my lips as wetness gathered, my clit swelling under the teasing touch. Then, a hot mouth sealed over my pussy, sucking hard on my sensitive nub, pulling a sharp cry from my throat.“Ahh!” And that was all I needed to yank me awake, my eyes flying open.There, between my spread thighs, was Lucien's face, his dark eyes gleaming up at me, his lips shiny with my arou
MAEVEI couldn’t speak.My mind stalled, like everything inside me had short-circuited at once. Shock, disbelief, emotion, all crashing together until I felt rooted to the spot, staring down at him on one knee with a ring glittering between us.John looked up at me, hopeful and terrified all at onc
MAEVEI didn’t sleep.I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, rolling from one side to the other, my thoughts refusing to settle. Every time I closed my eyes, John’s voice came back to me. His explanations. His documents. The way he’d said my name like he was still entitled to saying it.I couldn’
MAEVEWhen Lucien told me I was his whenever and wherever he wanted, he meant it.And very literally at that.The next couple of weeks blurred by in a haze of endless fucking. He'd stayed true to his word; I was his for as long as he wanted, and he took full advantage. Mornings started with his ha
MAEVEBy the next morning, every time I moved, my body reminded me of everything that had happened the previous night.Lucien had fucked me… thoroughly. My thighs ached. My hips felt tender. My pussy still felt swollen, tender from Lucien's relentless pounding, and my legs wobbled just enough to m







