03: Priority

Evren didn't let go of her right away.

They stood longer than they should, water still dripping off him. Eira pressed her forehead into his chest again, right over his heart and he tightened his arm around her.

"You smell like you were ready to kill someone," she said quietly.

He huffed. "I was."

"Anyone I know?"

"No."

She hummed, satisfied. She didn't need to ask more, she fit in, fit him without effort.

"C'mon," he said, starting to pull her along and she poured planting her feet on the ground.

He turned to her to arch a brow and she shrugged. "I have work, I need to wash clothes and clean Alpha's office."

Evren snorted reaching down to rub the back of her neck in slow affection. The female crooned, enjoying the attention.

"Your third in command needs his room cleaned."

"And what will I tell the head maid?" She cocked her head and Evren rolled his eyes.

"That your third in command requires your service."

She simply laughed as they walked back to his quarters, his hand settling firmly on her backside, squeezing from time to time.

Inside his quarters, the door barely closed before he pulled her back to him. Harder this time. He lifted her easily and pinned her against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist without thinking.

Evren's mouth found her neck, breath hot, teeth grazing skin as he grind against her. She laughed softly against his ear, warm fingers sliding under his damp shirt to his skin.

"You're soaked," she murmured.

"You did that."

She smiled like she was proud of it. "Put me down."

He didn't.

Instead, he shifted his hips, slow and deliberate, hard on against growing wetness, making her suck in a breath.

"But this feels so good," he muttered against her throat.

"Is this the work third in command wants from me?" She teased him, voice light but her grip tightened, nails digging into his shoulders.

He only chuckled before carrying her to the edge of the bed.

The rest happened without words.

Her undergarments were moved, removed carelessly. The maid gown stayed, bunched and wrinkled around her hips, a reminder of the world she belonged outside this room.

Hands that had learned each other moved, greedy and familiar. The room filled breath and quiet sounds pressed into skin and swallowed between mouths.

Whatever anger Evren had been carrying leaked out of him there, into her, into the only place left for him.

Evren spread her legs apart and bent over her, folding her until the soles of her feet rested near her head, her body open to him without fear.

She watched him with trusting eyes as he freed himself, hands unsteady despite how many times they had done this.

Eira shook in anticipation and pleasure subconsciously tightening around him.

When he slipped inside her, she gasped, body trembling as it took him.

Her hands fisted in the sheets, then in his hair, as her body tightened around him on instinct.

He pushed in fully before he drew back, then drove into her again, harder this time, breath leaving him in a rough sound he didn't bother to swallow.

Eira's back arched, her spine coiled, pleasure winding through her.

He didn't wait for her to adjust to his length and momentum. Eira grabbed his head and pulled him down into a kiss as Evren split her on his cock.

She moaned into his mouth, and he swallowed it, hands gripping her thighs, as he fucked into her properly, albeit a bit restrained.

The small female could do nothing but stay pinned and take it, the squelching sounds filling the room with proof of how badly they wanted each other.

Evren broke away just long enough to look at her properly. Her eyes were glassy, skin flushed, lips parted like she was already reaching for him again. "Your heat is coming," he rasped.

She nodded, quick and breathless before pulling him back for another kiss like she couldn't bear the distance even for a second.

In that moment, Evren had certainly forgotten all about a certain uncle Eric. All that mattered to him now was the woman under him, holding him together without even trying.

When they were done, her dress went over a chair and his shirt hit the floor.

They ended up tangled in bed sideways, her legs draped over his, his finger tracing absent shapes on her spine.

They spoke in low voices, about nothing and everything.

Words gentle, comforting and loving.

For a while, neither spoke.

It was Eira who finally shifted, lifting her head slightly. Her fingers traced his collarbone, then the line of his throat, soft and absent.

“Who came today?” she asked quietly.

Evren’s jaw tightened. Just a little. Enough that she felt it under her cheek.

“My uncle. Or whatever he wants to call himself.”

She hummed, not surprised. She had known something was off the moment he found her earlier. The anger had been there, sharp under his skin.

“What did he want?” she asked.

“Nothing good,” Evren replied. “Condolences. Smiling too much. Looking at me like I was something he could measure.”

Her fingers slowed.

“And you?” she asked. “What do you want?”

He didn’t answer right away. His hand slid up her back, pressing her closer until her body fit into him fully.

“I don’t want anything from them,” he said eventually. “I don’t want him. I don’t want where he came from. I don’t want answers that only show up when there’s something to gain.”

Eira went quiet at that.

After a moment, she shifted again, sitting up just enough to look at his face. His eyes were closed, lashes dark against his skin, expression pulled tight like he was bracing for something.

“I miss her,” Eira said softly.

His eyes opened.

“My mom?” he asked.

She nodded. “She used to sneak me extra bread when she could,” she said. “And complain about your training schedule like it was her own back that hurt.”

That earned a small breath of a laugh from him. Short.

“She worried about you,” Eira went on. “All the time. Even when she was sick, she talked about you like you were already bigger than the world.”

Evren swallowed. His hand tightened at her waist.

“She talked to you more than she talked to me,” he said quietly.

Eira smiled a little. “She said you carried enough already.”

There was a pause. Then, carefully, she added, “She told me things too.”

Evren’s brow furrowed. “What kind of things?”

Eira hesitated, just a second.

“About your father,” she said.

His body stilled beside her.

“She said he was an Alpha,” Eira continued, watching his face closely. “That you weren’t just anything. That your blood mattered, whether you wanted it to or not.”

Evren let out a slow breath through his nose.

“So that’s what he came for,” he said. “To see if the blood showed.”

Eira touched his cheek, grounding him. “Would you ever go looking for him?” she asked.

He answered immediately. “Never.”

“He chose to disappear,” Evren said. “I won’t chase a ghost that left my mother on the floor.”

Eira studied him, then smiled, soft and teasing despite the weight in her eyes.

“Funny,” she said. “You don’t know anything about him.”

He opened one eye. “I don’t.”

She laughed then, light and genuine. “You don’t. But your mom told me everything she knew.”

He groaned quietly and pulled her closer into him. “Of course she did.”

“She liked me,” Eira said smugly, settling against his chest again.

“Don't make me jealous,” he muttered and Eira laughed falling quiet.

After a while, she spoke again.

"Promise me something," she said, fingers brushing his chest.

"Hmm?" He hummed staring at her lips.

"Promise me that if anything ever happens, if all of this ever comes knocking,” she said slowly, “titles, blood, power, people who suddenly remember you exist. If it comes down to choosing me, us, you will choose us."

His arm tightened around her.

"Even if it's ugly." She added.

"Especially if it's ugly," he looked at her.

She exhaled, relieved and he pulled her closer until her face was tucked under his chin.

“I already chose you,” he added, voice low and certain. “Before any of them remembered my name.”