Chapter 4

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 good look at it as she walked past me and slid into the car, but I reminded myself that I'd have time to convince her that this was in fact the right decision for her.

Why should a beauty like her rot away in the middle of nowhere under the guise of being religious? Convents were places for women with no prospects. She could be religious anywhere; she didn't have to swear off men because the mateless and unwanted women had no opportunity to enter mateships.

Eva wasn't like them.

She was different.

She was mine.

I got in next to her, not bothering to say goodbye. She seemed to cave into herself in order to put more distance between us, but I didn't mind. The car sped off, leaving the Holy Lunar Convent behind. I was glad to be rid of it, and suddenly came to the realization that I could never be a religious person.

I was too vain and selfish.

Too materialistic.

Eva didn't say a word, or move an inch. I couldn't even see her face. I was fighting the urge to say something cheeky. There was no reason why I should make her more distressed than she already was. Time was one of the things I had in abundance, thanks to my title, so she and I would have more than enough time to get to know each other.

The whole one-hour drive was spent in silence. I stared out the window and counted the seconds until I could get home and forget all about the Convent.

I kind of felt bad for my new mate, though, but not enough to stop me from taking her to the my house. She was in for a surprise, and I supposed she'd have a harder time adjusting because she was coming from a place of peace and quiet, whereas I didn't even know what those two words meant.

They weren't in my vocabulary, and they certainly weren't in the vocabularies of the people I lived with.

We drove past the wrought iron gates, and into the driveway which was lined with hedges that had been freshly-trimmed (I left instructions this morning) and rosebushes. My driver drove all the way around the grand marble fountain right at the center of the driveway, and in front of the house.

The first impression was a good one, but the polished exterior wouldn't be able to conceal what dwelled inside those walls.

That was a problem for later, though.

I glanced at Eva and was mildly disappointed by the fact that she never looked up. It was like she wasn't curious at all about the place that would be her new home.

The driver parked the car right in front of the house. I'd asked them all to be out here once we arrived, but they clearly forgot about it, or were deliberately angering me. I said to her, "I'll be back soon. You wait here for me," before exiting the vehicle and trying not to slam the door.

I charged up the stairs until I reached the front door, which I then opened and stepped inside. The parlor was vacant, and as I continued up to the living area, I saw that nobody was around.

Where were these people?

Marcia, the housekeeper, appeared from the kitchen. I glared at her and asked, "Where the hell is everyone? I left clear instructions, Marcia!"

"Right here," I heard my uncle say from the top of the stairs. He was just buttoning his suit as he made his way down the stairs. "No need to get your panties in a twist."

"Where's Cameron? And Vivian? I asked you guys to be out front!"

My uncle, Brock, ran a hand through his wet hair and flashed me a smile that made me want to punch him in the face. He wasn't that much older than me—courtesy of my grandparents being a little too busy in their old age—and we didn't get along most of the time.

"You want to know the truth, Cyrus?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. "We didn't think that you'd actually succeed in bringing her. And you know what else? We didn't even think that you were telling the truth."

I clenched my jaw. "You fucking assholes."

"Hey, don't blame us. You are known for your practical jokes, after all," he said to my back.

I started walking away from him and looking for my cousin, that worthless Beta of mine, and my sister. They were outside, right by the pool. He was shaking his hair dry, and she was flicking through the pages of a magazine.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" I demanded. "I told you to be ready!"

Vivian arched a brow at me. "What, you actually brought that alleged priestess here?"

A muscle in my cheek twitched. "Does anyone listen to me around here?"

"You were being serious about your mate being a priestess?" Cameron asked, his eyes widening. "Stop fooling around, Cyrus."

"Why wouldn't I be fucking serious?" I asked in disbelief. "Why would I even joke about that? I don't have the time that you guys do."

My sister muttered under her breath, "Actually, you do."

"Where is she?" he asked, concerned. "You know, I dared you to go there and pray for your wretched soul, not grab a priestess to pass as your mate."

"She's my actual mate."

"I don't believe it," Vivian stated, standing up. "There's no way the goddess would give you a mate that's so different from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, offended.

"For starters, she's supposed to be a slut," she pointed out. "And a liar. And a thief. And a horrible person."

"Maybe she's all that," Cameron joked.

I lost my patience with them, so I walked back into the house. It seemed my family couldn't stop being dysfunctional, even for a second. They had the sense to follow me, though. If they didn't, I was going to give them hell for that later.

Brock was standing at the door and trying to steal glances at the car. The windows were smoked, though, so he couldn't see her. When they were all lined up in front of the house—my uncle, with his wolfish grin, my cousin Cameron who was also my Beta looking like a damned idiot, and my sister in nothing but a bikini—I finally decided that it was time I introduced Eva to them all.

Someone was missing, though.

"Where's Andy?" I asked through my teeth. He was my little brother.

"The kid's probably hanging off a branch with a banana in his mouth," Brock said jokingly. "What does it matter? Just bring the priestess here already. I have places to be."

"Yeah? Like where?"

"Inside your mother, for starters."

I shot him a look before walking toward the car. I opened the door on her side, and saw that she was still staring at her lap with her lips pressed together.

"We're here, in case you didn't notice," I told her.

She offered no reply.

"You have to get out of the car," I told her. "My family is waiting to meet you."

Eva didn't move, and I exhaled sharply through my nose. I didn't dare to glance over my shoulder because I knew what I'd see. They were probably already discussing this.

"Look, if you don't want me to touch you, just get out of the car," I warned her. "Because you're getting out, and you're going inside, even if I have to throw you over my shoulder to get you there."

Finally, Eva looked up, and in her eyes, I saw pure hatred. I stepped back to give her the space she needed, and she started shimmying out of the car. When she stepped outside, in her humongous dress and the veil covering her entire face, I began understanding the trouble I was getting myself into.

But again, that didn't bother me.

I loved a challenge.

My relatives looked like they didn't know what to make of the situation. They appeared more shocked than the priestesses were yesterday. They looked at Eva like she was a freak; I doubted that any of them had ever seen a priestess before.

She walked up the steps, her hands clasped together and her eyes low. I stopped in front of them, and said, "Everyone, this is Eva, and she's—"

A loud thud followed by a shriek made us all turn our heads. My brother, Andy, was lying on the ground, his leg twisted at an angle.

Eva gasped, horrified, but I only said to the driver, "Take him to the hospital."

"It hurts!" Andy yelled.

"Well, you shouldn't jump off your window, then!" Vivian yelled, going down the stairs to scold him even more. "It's the third time this month!"

Brock chuckled, and then looked at Eva and said, "Welcome to the Daxen family, priestess."