Chapter 185: Chapter 184: Maya Found Out The Truth
The estate was quiet when they returned.
Word had spread somehow....pack communication networks being what they were, Catherine had probably been informed, and from there the news rippled outward. Margaret’s death. Luna’s loss.
Pack members who were usually casual and comfortable around Eve now gave her space, their eyes lowered respectfully, their voices hushed when she passed. It wasn’t fear or awkwardness....it was respect. The particular respect pack members showed grief.
Elena met them at the entrance, her expression stricken with sympathy. "Eve, I’m so sorry. I just heard. Is there anything....anything at all...that I can do?"
"Could you make sure Maya has everything she needs?" Eve asked, her voice flat and mechanical. "She’s staying close to me tonight. Guest room near mine, if possible."
"Of course," Elena said immediately. "I’ll take care of it."
Maya followed Elena toward the guest wing, but not before catching Eve’s hand and squeezing it. "I’m here," she said simply. "When you’re ready to talk. No rush. Just...I’m here."
Eve nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.
The brothers guided her toward the master bedroom with gentle, insistent hands. Silas ran a bath while Damian pulled out comfortable clothes and Damon simply stayed close, his presence a steady reminder that she wasn’t alone.
Eve moved through the motions mechanically....undressing, sinking into the hot water, letting Silas wash her hair with gentle hands that asked nothing of her, required nothing from her.
She didn’t cry. The tears had stopped somewhere during the drive home, replaced by that vast numbness that felt like being underwater, everything muffled and distant and somehow unreal.
After the bath, she dressed in soft clothes that felt like comfort even though nothing actually felt comfortable. Her mates brought food that she picked at without tasting. Tried to get her to rest but she couldn’t....every time she closed her eyes she saw her mother’s face, heard her final words, felt the moment her hand had gone slack.
"I should have been there sooner," Eve said suddenly, the first words she’d spoken in over an hour. "I should have visited more. I should have..."
"You were there when it mattered," Damian interrupted gently. "She wasn’t alone. She got to say goodbye. Many people don’t get that gift."
"She deserved more time," Eve said, and her voice finally cracked. "Raphael’s healing gave her more time, but it wasn’t enough. It’s never enough."
Silas sat beside her on the bed and pulled her against his chest, his arms secure around her. "No amount of time would have been enough," he said quietly. "Because you loved her. Because she was your mother in every way that mattered. There’s no amount of time that makes losing that hurt less."
The tears came then....finally, fully, the dam breaking. Eve sobbed against Silas’s chest while Damian’s hand stroked her back and Damon sat close enough that she could feel his warmth, his presence.
She cried until she was empty, until her throat was raw and her eyes burned and the tears simply wouldn’t come anymore.
"Maya knows," she said eventually, her voice hoarse. "She saw my power. Heard Raphael talk about healing. She’s putting it together."
"I know," Damian said.
"I promised her the truth," Eve continued. "All of it. Tonight."
"Are you sure you’re up for that conversation right now?" Silas asked carefully.
"No," Eve admitted. "But I promised. And she deserves it. She stayed. Through everything, she stayed." She pulled back enough to look at her mates. "Will you be there? When I tell her? I don’t....I don’t want to do it alone."
"Of course," Damon said immediately. "Whatever you need."
They gathered in the private sitting room attached to the master bedroom....intimate enough for difficult conversation, comfortable enough to feel safe rather than formal.
Maya sat in one of the armchairs, her posture tense, her eyes red from crying but clear and focused. Eve sat on the sofa with Silas beside her, his hand holding hers. Damian and Damon flanked them, protective presences that somehow managed to be comforting rather than intimidating.
Raphael stood near the window, present but giving the primary conversation space to Eve.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Maya broke the silence. "I saw your hands glow green in the hospital. I saw you try to do something...something that looked like magic, like you were trying to heal Margaret." She looked at Eve directly. "I need you to tell me I didn’t imagine that. That I’m not losing my mind."
"You didn’t imagine it," Eve said quietly. "You saw exactly what you think you saw."
Maya exhaled slowly. "Okay. So magic is real."
"Yes."
"And you can do it."
"Yes."
"What else can you do?" Maya asked, and despite everything, there was curiosity in her voice alongside the fear and confusion. "What are you?"
Eve took a breath. This was it...the moment of revelation, of truth, of fundamentally changing her best friend’s understanding of reality.
"I’m a succubus," she said simply. "A supernatural being who feeds on sexual energy. My birth parents were King Azrael and Queen Lilith of the Seraphim Court...a supernatural governing body that oversees a whole world of beings that exist alongside humanity without humans knowing."
Maya stared at her. "A succubus. Like....like the mythology?"
"Similar," Eve confirmed. "Not exactly the way myths describe it, but yes. I feed on energy that humans and other supernatural beings produce during sexual activity. It’s how I survive, how I power my abilities."
"The brothers," Maya said slowly. "That’s why you’re with all three of them. It’s not just...it’s feeding. You need them."
"It started that way," Eve admitted. "The contract I signed was real...six months, providing energy they needed in exchange for payment. But it became more than that. They’re...." She paused, searching for words. "....they’re my mates. The supernatural equivalent of soulmates. Our bond is permanent and complete."
She pulled down her collar slightly, showing Maya the glowing mark over her heart. "This appeared when the bond was fully formed. It’s proof of the claiming. Of what we are to each other."
Maya leaned forward, studying the mark with wide eyes. "It’s beautiful," she said softly. Then, looking at the brothers, "And you’re....what? You’re not human either."
"Werewolves," Damon said, with a slightly feral grin. "Alpha werewolves, specifically. We run the pack that controls this territory."
"Pack," Maya repeated faintly. "Like....like an actual pack. Of wolves. Who are also people."
"Shapeshifters," Damian clarified. "We can take wolf form or human form. Most pack members can. It’s part of our nature."
Maya looked at Raphael. "And you?"
"Incubus," Raphael said. "The male equivalent of what Eve is. And her uncle....her father’s brother. I’ve been protecting her since her parents were killed when she was an infant."
"Killed," Maya said. "Not died. Killed."
"In a coup," Eve confirmed. "Twenty-three years ago. My uncle Malachai....my father’s cousin...led a rebellion that resulted in my parents’ deaths. I was hidden in the human world to keep me safe. Margaret.....my mother" Her voice caught. "....she took me in. Raised me. Protected me without even knowing what she was protecting me from."
"And now?" Maya asked.
"Now I’m reclaiming my throne," Eve said. "The heritage that’s mine by right. Which is why Court representatives have been arriving. Why there’s been strange energy and heightened security. They’re assessing whether I’m strong enough to challenge for leadership."
Maya sat back in her chair, processing. Her hands were shaking slightly, but her expression was focused, determined to understand rather than react.
"The power surge three nights ago," she said. "That wasn’t training."
"No," Eve confirmed. "That was the final stage of the mate bond completing. All three wolves claiming me permanently. The energy release was....significant."
"I felt it," Maya said. "Everyone felt it. Like every cell in my body suddenly knew something huge had happened." She looked at Eve with new understanding. "You’re not just powerful. You’re really powerful, aren’t you?"
"I’m learning to be," Eve said honestly. "My uncle has been training me. Teaching me to control my abilities, to navigate Court politics, to be ready for what’s coming."
"Which is what, exactly?"
"Negotiations with various Court factions," Raphael answered. "Potentially combat trials to prove her capability. Eventually, a formal journey to the Seraphim Court to claim her throne. All of it dangerous. All of it complicated by the fact that some factions want her to succeed and others want her dead."
