ANMELDEN"So," Eve agreed faintly.They looked at each other across the kitchen island."He's your uncle," Elena said, and it wasn't quite a question."He is," Eve confirmed."Is this conversation very strange for you?""Extraordinarily," Eve said.Elena nodded. "I imagine so. I'm sorry.""Don't be," Eve said, and meant it. "I asked. I wanted to know. The succubus part of me genuinely needed to know, for completely legitimate developmental reasons...." She heard herself and laughed. "And also I was just curious.""Understandable," Elena said, and the smile she gave Eve was warm and genuine and oddly conspiratorial. "For what it's worth, he talks about you. During the....during our time together. Not constantly, and not inappropriately, but—he's proud of you. Talks about your training with real pride. Says you remind him of your father."Eve felt a warmth bloom in her chest that had nothing to do with her succubus nature. "He says that?""Frequently," Elena confirmed. "And he worries. About the
"What is it like?" Eve asked. "Being fed on. By someone like him. Someone that old, that powerful."Elena was quiet for a moment, clearly considering how much to share, how to explain so the Eve would understand how she feels about having the best sex of her life, about her experience with her uncle. Then she seemed to make a decision."You know how when you feed from the Alphas...." She paused. "You do feed from them, don't you Luna? I've heard some of the pack talk about it. About how the Luna needs to feed.""I do," Eve confirmed."And when you do....when they give you their energy....how does it feel? To receive it?"Eve thought about it. "Like being filled. Like something that was empty becoming full. But it's more than just physical....it's emotional too. It feels warm and safe. And at the same time, i feel connected."Elena nodded slowly. "It's similar from this side. When Lord Raphael feeds....when he draws energy during...." She cleared her throat delicately. "....during the
The other two pack members straightened when they saw Eve, their expressions respectful. Elena turned at their reaction and went still when she saw who had entered."Luna," she said, and the word came out slightly breathless. Her hands stilled over the herb bundles, and Eve could feel the nervousness spike in her energy. "I...good afternoon. Can I get you something? Are you hungry? We have...""I'm not hungry, thank you," Eve said, keeping her voice easy and non-threatening. She could see Elena's anxiety clearly....the slight tension in her shoulders, the way her eyes cut briefly to the other women in the kitchen like she was calculating whether to make this a witnessed conversation or a private one.Eve made the decision for her. She looked at the other two pack members with a smile. "Would you mind giving us a few minutes?"They didn't mind. They left with a speed that suggested they were either very obedient or very aware of what Elena's recent duties had been and wanted no part of
The drive back from the hospital was quieter than the drive there.Not uncomfortably so....just the natural quiet of people processing significant things. Margaret's improvement had been remarkable enough that even the hospital nurses had done double-takes at her vitals during their afternoon check. The attending physician had been called in, had reviewed her charts with barely concealed bewilderment, and had used words like unexpected stabilization and remarkable response with the careful caution of someone whose medical training had not prepared them for miracles.Raphael had sat through the doctor's assessment with perfect composure, contributing nothing to the conversation except a politely interested expression that revealed absolutely nothing.Eve had sat beside Margaret's bed and held her hand and tried not to let the relief overwhelm her completely. She mostly succeeded.Maya had cried openly and without apology, which Margaret had accepted with the particular grace of someone
"Good friends are rare," Margaret continued. "Don't let this one go," she said to Eve, who nodded wordlessly. "Whatever changes come, whatever new world she's living in now....don't let distance or circumstances or different lives pull you apart. Promise me.""I promise," both women said simultaneously, then looked at each other and managed watery smiles.Margaret nodded with satisfaction. Then she turned to Damian, who straightened slightly under her gaze. Despite being an alpha werewolf with decades of pack authority, he looked, Eve thought, slightly like a man being assessed by a strict teacher."You," Margaret said to him. "I've met you before. You came to the hospital with Eve.""I did," Damian confirmed."You love her," Margaret said, and it wasn't a question.Damian met her gaze steadily. "More than anything.""All three of you do," Margaret continued, and only someone who knew her well would have caught the slight wonder in her voice. "She told me it was a contract. A business
Raphael smiled.....a genuine, surprised smile that transformed his face. "I see where Eve gets her stubbornness.""Learned it from me," Margaret confirmed. "Now stop stalling and do what you came to do."Raphael placed both hands on Margaret's chest.....one over her heart, one slightly lower, over the primary tumor site that the doctors had been unable to surgically address. He closed his eyes, and almost immediately, Eve felt the air in the room change.It was the same quality of power she'd felt when Raphael had stabilized her after killing that assassin, ancient, deliberate, precise. But where that had been urgent and reactive, this was different. Careful. Painstaking. Like watching a master craftsman work with materials so delicate that the slightest error would shatter them.Gold light began to emanate from his palms, spreading across Margaret's chest in intricate patterns that reminded Eve of circuits or nerve endings.....branching, connecting, finding pathways through damaged t
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
Eve woke to the familiar pull of hunger....but this time, she didn't hesitate.She reached for the bracelet on her wrist, checking the gem. Yellow. Time to feed."I'm hungry," she said immediately, not waiting, not trying to be considerate. The brothers, already awake and watching her, moved immedi
Eve's cry echoed off the tile as he took her roughly from behind, his reflection in the mirror showing that usual intense focus. Making her watch herself being fucked, seeing her own face contort with pleasure."Eyes on the mirror," he commanded when she tried to look away. "Watch what we do to you
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







