ログインMaya went entirely, peacefully limp.The corridor was silent.Lora stood frozen against the wall, her hand over her mouth.Raphael looked at the unconscious human woman in Damian's arms with an expression that mingled genuine concern with helpless amusement in roughly equal proportions.Damian looked at Raphael.Raphael looked at Damian."That," Raphael said carefully, "was probably our fault.""Probably?" Damian repeated flatly."Almost certainly," Raphael amended.Damian looked down at Maya, who appeared entirely comfortable in unconsciousness...her face relaxed, her breathing steady, looking like someone who had simply decided that a nap was the correct response to current circumstances."She was fine," Damian said, his voice carrying the particular quality of a man replaying events and identifying the exact moment things went wrong. "She was fine when it was just me. She held a conversation. She mentioned the towel rack.""The towel rack," Raphael repeated."Don't," Damian said."
Maya's face flooded with heat. She was a grown adult woman. She had navigated drunk clientele, aggressive bouncers, and three a.m. subway rides alone. She had once talked her way out of a parking ticket using nothing but confidence and the strategic deployment of eye contact.And she had just told a billionaire that he was really tall like it was a revelation."I meant..." She stopped. Regrouped. Tried again. "Good morning. The estate is beautiful. I was just....we were just...Lora was showing me around.""I hope you're finding everything comfortable," Damian said, and his voice was doing that thing again....that resonance that seemed to bypass her ears and go directly to some primitive part of her brain that was apparently very impressed by deep authoritative voices."Very comfortable," Maya managed. "The towel rack is heated."Why was she talking about the towel rack? Why was that the thing her mouth had decided to say?Damian's three percent amusement ticked up to approximately fou
Maya had decided that the Blackwood estate was either the most beautiful place she'd ever been or the most intimidating. Possibly both simultaneously.She'd woken up that morning in a guest bedroom that was larger than her entire apartment, in a bed so comfortable she'd genuinely considered never leaving it. The sheets were some kind of thread count that probably had its own zip code. The bathroom had a rainfall shower with approximately forty-seven settings, most of which she hadn't been able to identify. There was a heated towel rack.A heated towel rack.Maya came from a world of lukewarm radiators and bath towels that had been washed so many times they were essentially decorative. The heated towel rack alone had nearly reduced her to tears.After showering and getting dressed in her usual jeans and leather jacket....feeling slightly underdressed for a mansion but refusing to apologize for it....she'd found breakfast waiting in the small dining room adjacent to the guest wing. Fres
"Several of the females who were originally rejected are now extremely jealous," Damon added with a grin. "There was actually a petition circulating yesterday asking if they could volunteer for 'backup feeding duty' in case Elena needed a break.""A petition," Eve repeated faintly."Which we denied, obviously," Damian said. "Raphael made his choice clear. He wants Elena specifically, and we're respecting that preference.""How generous of you," Eve said dryly. "Respecting his preference while also using it to keep him away from me.""Multi-tasking," Damon said cheerfully. "We're very good at it."Eve shook her head, still processing all of this information. Her uncle....her father's brother, the man who'd protected her from the shadows for twenty-three years....was currently engaged in an intense sexual relationship with a pack omega that the entire estate could hear. And her mates had orchestrated the whole thing as a strategic maneuver to minimize his time around her.It was absurd.
Eve was about to stand, assuming the meeting was over, when Damon's voice stopped her."There's one more thing we should probably mention," he said, and something in his tone made Eve's eyes narrow suspiciously."What thing?"Damon looked at Damian, who suddenly seemed very interested in something on his desk."I'm listening," Eve said slowly. "What thing?"Damian cleared his throat. "It's about your uncle."Eve's suspicion deepened. "What about him?""Well," Damian started, then paused, clearly choosing his words carefully. "You know how incubi need to feed regularly. How they require sexual energy to maintain their strength and power.""Yes..." Eve drew out the word, not sure where this was going."And you know how your uncle used a significant amount of power traveling here, stabilizing you after the assassination attempt, and training with you yesterday," Silas added."Yes, I know all this," Eve said impatiently. "What's your point?""Our point," Damon said, a grin starting to for
Eve knocked on Damian's office door, her mind still buzzing with the joy of seeing Maya again. After four months of separation, having her best friend here felt like reclaiming a piece of herself she'd thought was lost forever."Come in," Damian's voice called from inside.Eve pushed open the door and found all three of her mates already assembled. Damian sat behind his massive desk, his expression unreadable but his posture tense. Damon stood near the window, arms crossed, his usual restless energy dialed up to an uncomfortable frequency. Silas occupied one of the chairs facing the desk, his dark eyes tracking her movement as she entered.The moment she stepped inside, the weight of their combined alpha presence hit her like a physical force. This wasn't the comfortable, protective energy she was used to. This was serious."Sit," Damian said, gesturing to the chair beside Silas.Eve sat, her earlier happiness dimming slightly. "What's wrong? Is this about Maya?""Yes," Damian confirm
Her apartment felt smaller and shabbier than ever after spending the night in luxury. Eve packed a larger bag this time...more clothes, toiletries, her laptop. If she was going to be staying at the estate multiple nights a week, she needed to be prepared.She also grabbed the framed photo of her mo
"I hope so," Eve said quietly. "But....what if the power changes me? What if having this much ability to influence people makes me....different? Corrupts me somehow?""Then we'll pull you back," Damian said firmly. "That's what mates do. We keep each other balanced. If your power starts corrupting
Eve found Damian in his study, sitting in his leather armchair, reading through pack reports by the firelight. He looked relaxed, almost peaceful...a rare sight given how intense everything had been lately."Hey," she said softly from the doorway.Damian looked up, his expression softening immediat
"What...." Damian started, then felt the blood on Eve's neck, felt the deep bite mark that was already beginning to scar. "Oh God. Kane....he surfaced. He marked you.""Yes," Eve confirmed, touching the mark gingerly. It was deep, would definitely scar, but singular. Just one perfect bite."Just on







