EvaThe sound of Jace calling me interrupted my train of thoughts. I looked over my shoulder and saw him running toward me, holding something. It appeared to me like his toy superhero was broken again, and he sounded like he was going to cry. “Mommy, look!”I took the toy from him and offered him a gentle smile. “When Daddy comes home, he’s going to fix it, okay? I don’t know how to.”My son looked at his toes and made a disheartened noise in the back of his throat. I knelt in front of him, grabbed him by the arms, and said, “Hell be back soon. He just went to get something.”He huffed an, “Okay.”“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll bring you something to drink,” I said. “What do you want? Some juice? Soda?”“Juice!”Just like that, he was cheerful again, the broken toy completely forgotten. I lured him some juice and snacks, and then he sat down and amused himself with eating. I watched him from the kitchen, happy beyond reasoning. The last few years weren’t easy for any of us—but the
Eva When Head Priestess Bathsheba banged on the door to wake us up in the middle of the night, I could hardly keep my eyes open long enough to look at the closed door. My eyelids were glued together with sleep. It was only when she knocked a second time that my roommate Danna and I opened our eyes. “Girls, wake up! Alpha Cyrus is here!”We both sat up at the same time, looking at each other in confusion. Head Priestess Bathsheba must have grown impatient with us because she opened the door and didn’t ask for permission to do it first, like she usually did. “Didn’t you hear what I said!?” she asked desperately. She was dressed in her full attire, and even had the veil over her head. “What’s he doing here?” Danna asked, sleep lacing her voice. “It hardly matters!” she exclaimed. “I need two juniors with me right this instant. We must accept the Alpha of our beloved pack with the greatest respect. Dress up as quickly as you can, and meet me downstairs!”She closed the door, leaving
Cyrus My mate. I could hardly believe that I was looking at her. After years of looking expectantly and failing to find her, who would have guessed that I’d find her here, in a Convent of all places? When I became of age, I never stopped looking, until I eventually stopped some years later, coming to terms with the fact that perhaps I didn’t have one. That the goddess or whoever was up there took that privilege away from me because of the things I’d done. The crimes I’d committed. The lives I’d ruined. It was ironic how I managed to find her in the place I avoided my whole life—I’d never been a religious man, and it was never my intention to become one. I came here tonight because I’d lost a bet with my fucking ungrateful Beta, and as a dare, had to confess my sins to a Priestess.Of course, I’d never tell her my true sins. I’d only make a few of them up. Telling her the extent of my sins would probably make them tie me to a stake and burn me to the damn ground. I was the comp
Eva Nausea rolled in my stomach, and the feeling was so intense that I couldn’t sleep a wink the whole night. Goddess Luna. Give me strength. Finding out that I had a mate was…shocking, to say the least. It was perhaps the worst experience of my life. I was deeply ashamed of everything that had happened, even though none of it was my fault. That horrid man stormed in here and disregarded all our rules, and neither of us could stop him, both because we were defenseless and because he was the Alpha of our pack. Our leader.We owed him respect, and perhaps that was why he felt the liberty to treat us the way he did. I couldn’t forget the words he’d said to me as he walked away, so arrogant and pretentious. I said ‘pretentious’ because he acted all mighty and high and untouchable, but he had no faith or religion, and so that made him a lesser man. But the truth was that even if he was a religious man, I still couldn’t be with him. I made a promise to worship the goddess until the res
Cyrus When my Gammas put Eva's belongings in the back of the trunk, I felt a lot more relieved. All the priestesses, big and small, were standing in front of their sacred convent with looks of despair and disappointment. Eva stood beside the Head Priestess, wearing that veil over her face. She was doing it to challenge me, but I'd won one battle today. I'd finish the rest later. For now, she could have her veil. For now. "Ladies," I said with forced politeness. "I do hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me for this minor inconvenience."I was offered no reply, and took it as my cue to remove my checkbook from my pocket. I wrote a fairly large sum on it—certainly more than this dump cost—and ripped out the check before handing it to the Head Priestess. She accepted it readily. "For your troubles," I pointed out. It was time to leave, and I was glad. I gestured at the car, and Eva seemed to hesitate before taking a step forward. Her face was downcast so I couldn't get a
Eva Once I was settled in my room, I didn’t dare to venture downstairs. This Daxen family were insane, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to cope in this environment. Already I was missing the quietude of the Convent, and how each day was as predictable as the last. We had routine, and most importantly, religion binding us all together. These people didn’t seem like they were religious to me. I sat on the edge of the bed dressed in my full attire. I didn’t dare to remove my veil, mostly because I didn’t know if the Alpha would venture into my bedroom whenever he pleased. There wasn’t a key in the lock, so locking my door to enhance my sense of privacy was out of the question. What was I going to do now? Going back was not possible, not only because he’d just go back and burn the rest of the Convent, but because the other priestesses probably wouldn’t want me there anymore. I was trouble, and I got the chapel burned down. Someone could get hurt because of me, so returning would be
CyrusWe were all seated around the table, yet for some reason, Eva wasn’t down here with us. I wondered why that was, especially because I’d already ordered one of the maids to inform her that dinner was ready. After our conversation earlier, I believed that there would be no such misunderstandings between us. I was wrong, it seemed. Vivian sighed heavily and asked, “Why should we wait for her again?”“Because she’s family,” I answered. “And we don’t start eating when someone is expected. It’s rude, Vivian, and our parents taught you better than that.”My sister made a face before staring at her empty plate with her arms crossed. I glanced at Brock, and he arched a brow at me. It was a question. Is she coming? I didn’t have the answer to that question. I believed she was, but it had been twenty minutes now, and she still wasn’t here. “Maybe she’s asleep?” Vivian suggested after a while. “What we’re doing is ridiculous, you know?”I sighed heavily before sitting back in my chair.
EvaNo key. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to lock the door was slowly driving me insane. I prayed to the goddess for strength regarding this, but my faith must have been failing me because I never felt calm. Mine. That was what he called me. The audacity of that man. The longer I remained in his presence, the better I felt about my decision to be a priestess. Were all men like him? If so, then I was ready to swear my fealty to the goddess and swear them off for good. Perhaps it wasn’t a choice that would be easily made by others, but for me, it was the perfect one. I hated being in Alpha Cyrus’ presence. The thought of him getting anywhere near me made my skin crawl, and not in a good way! I hated him more than I did anyone else in this entire world. In fact, I hated him more than I hated the Devil, who made good people turn away from the light of Luna, our wonderful goddess, and made them forget their werewolf tradition. I was hoping that Marcia would return with the key, meaning