Chapter 23: Chapter 22: ’’Read Aloud! OH GOD!’’

TWO DAYS LATER - TUESDAY AFTERNOON

Eve sat curled in one of the massive leather chairs in the Blackwood library, a book on werewolf pack dynamics open in her lap. She’d been reading about mate bonds, trying to understand the pull she felt toward the brothers.

The past two days had been a blur of constant sex and brief moments of rest. The brothers couldn’t seem to get enough of her, and her body responded with equal desperation. She’d stopped trying to count how many times they took her each day. Ten? Fifteen? More?

All she knew was that when they weren’t inside her, she felt incomplete. Wrong. Like part of her was missing.

And it was getting worse.

This morning, when Damian had left for a meeting in another part of the estate—gone for maybe thirty minutes—Eve had felt actual physical pain. Her chest had tightened, her skin had felt too hot, and she’d found herself pacing restlessly until he returned.

That wasn’t normal. Couldn’t be normal.

The library door opened and Silas entered, his dark eyes immediately finding her. "There you are. I’ve been looking for you."

"I needed a break," Eve said, though even saying the words felt like a lie. She didn’t want a break. Her body was already heating up just from his presence. "Just for an hour. To clear my head."

"Clear your head by reading about mate bonds?" Silas crossed to her, reading the book’s spine. "Interesting choice."

Eve’s face heated. "I’m just... trying to understand. This pull I feel toward you—toward all of you. It’s getting stronger. More intense. I can’t even be in a different room from you without feeling wrong."

"And what does the book say about that?" Silas asked, settling into the chair across from her.

"It says mate bonds create an intense physical and emotional connection. That bonded pairs can’t be separated for long periods without experiencing distress. That the bond affects both parties equally." Eve looked up at him. "But that’s between werewolves and their mates. I’m human. I shouldn’t be able to feel a mate bond."

"No," Silas agreed quietly. "A human shouldn’t."

The implication hung in the air.

"Are you saying I’m not human?" Eve asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Silas was quiet for a long moment, clearly weighing how much to tell her. "I’m saying that your body is doing things no human body can do. The healing. The stamina. The way you respond to us. The way you glow during sex."

"You’ve noticed that?" Eve’s eyes widened. "The glowing?"

"Every time you come, your skin lights up. Golden, like there’s fire under your skin. It started as just a flash, barely noticeable. Now it lasts for several seconds and gets brighter each time."

Eve’s hands trembled as she set the book aside. "What’s happening to me?"

"We don’t know for certain," Silas admitted. "But we’re investigating. Researching. We will find answers, Eve. I promise."

"When? How long do I have to just... not know what I’m becoming?"

Silas moved to kneel in front of her chair, taking her hands in his. "I know you’re scared. I know this is overwhelming. But we’re here. We’re not going anywhere. Whatever you’re becoming, we’re going to help you through it."

"What if I become something you don’t want?" Eve asked, voicing her deepest fear. "What if this transformation changes me into someone—something—you can’t accept?"

"Impossible," Silas said firmly. "You’re ours, Eve. Whatever form that takes, whoever you become, you’re ours. That won’t change."

"You sound so certain."

"I am certain." His dark eyes held hers. "The bond between us—it’s not just physical. It’s not just the incredible sex or the way your body responds to ours. It’s deeper than that. Fundamental. And it’s getting stronger every day."

"The mate bond," Eve whispered.

"Maybe," Silas said carefully. "We don’t want to label it until we understand what you are. What’s happening to you. But yes, what we feel for you—what you feel for us—it resembles a mate bond in intensity."

Eve’s eyes filled with tears. "I’m scared, Silas. My body is changing and I don’t understand why. I can’t be away from you for more than a few hours without feeling like I’m suffocating. I’m eating constantly but losing weight. I’m healing from injuries overnight. And I glow during sex like some kind of supernatural creature, but I don’t know what kind." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"I know," Silas said gently, wiping away a tear that escaped. "But getting worked up about it won’t help. The answers will come when they come."

"And in the meantime?"

"In the meantime, we do what we’ve been doing. We claim you. We keep you grounded. We remind your body who it belongs to so it doesn’t try to fight the changes happening inside it."

His hand slid from her face down to her throat—not squeezing, just resting there possessively. "And right now, you need grounding. I can smell your anxiety. Taste your fear."

"I’m fine—"

"You’re not fine. You’re spiraling." His thumb brushed across her pulse point. "So I’m going to help you stop thinking. Stop worrying. Stop trying to figure everything out."

"How?" Eve asked, though her body already knew the answer. Was already responding to his proximity, to the dominance in his voice.

"Sit back," he commanded softly. "And pick up your book."

Eve obeyed, settling back into the leather chair. Silas moved behind her, his hands settling on her shoulders.

"Read aloud," he said. "The page you were on. Start reading."

"Silas, what—"

"Read." His hands slid down to cup her breasts through her thin dress. "And don’t stop. No matter what I do to you."

Eve’s breath caught as his fingers found her nipples, teasing them through the fabric. She picked up the book with trembling hands and found her place.

"The fae courts are divided into two primary factions," she read, her voice already unsteady. "The Seelie Court, associated with summer and light, and the Unseelie Court, associated with winter and darkness—"

Silas’s hands slid under her dress, pulling it up to bunch around her waist. His fingers found her panties—already damp—and pulled them aside.

"Keep reading," he said.

"Both courts possess immense magical power," Eve continued, struggling to focus as his fingers slid through her folds. "And have been known to interfere in mortal affairs when—oh God—"

His fingers entered her, two at once, curling to hit that spot inside that made her vision blur.

"Don’t stop reading," Silas commanded. "If you stop, I stop."

Eve forced her eyes back to the page. "When it serves their—their interests. The fae are bound by ancient laws regarding—" She gasped as his thumb found her clit. "Regarding deals and bargains. They cannot lie but are masters of—of misdirection—"

Silas’s fingers worked her expertly, building her pleasure with devastating precision. Eve’s hands shook so badly the book nearly fell.

"Hold it steady," he ordered. "Keep reading."

"The fae also possess the ability to—to manipulate time and space within their territories—" Her voice broke as he added a third finger, stretching her. "Creating pocket dimensions where—where time moves differently—"

She heard the sound of his zipper, felt him positioning himself behind the chair. Then his hands gripped her hips, pulling her forward to the edge of the seat.

"Spread your legs," he said. "Feet on the armrests."

Eve obeyed, the position leaving her completely exposed and vulnerable. The leather chair was large enough that she could brace her feet on the padded armrests, spreading herself obscenely wide.

"Keep reading," Silas said, and thrust inside her.

Eve cried out, the book tumbling from her hands. Silas immediately stilled.

"I said keep reading," he reminded her. "You drop the book, I stop."

"That’s not fair," Eve gasped.

"Life isn’t fair." His hands reached around to play with her breasts. "Pick it up. Find your place. Read."

Eve retrieved the book with shaking hands and found the page again. "The fae courts have been at war for—for centuries—" She moaned as he began to move, slow and deep. "With brief periods of peace brokered by—by neutral parties—"

"Good girl," Silas praised, his pace increasing. "Keep going."

"The most recent peace treaty was signed—oh fuck—signed three hundred years ago and—and has held despite numerous—" She lost her place as he hit particularly deep. "Despite numerous provocations from both sides—"

His fingers found her clit again, circling with maddening precision while his cock drove into her from behind. The leather chair creaked with their movements, the sound obscene in the quiet library.

"Fae reproduction is rare and highly valued," Eve read, her voice breaking. "As most fae are effectively immortal unless killed by—by violence or iron—"

"That’s it," Silas murmured. "Show me how well you can focus even while I’m inside you. Such a good girl, reading for me while taking my cock."

The praise made Eve clench around him, made her body respond even more eagerly. She struggled through another paragraph, her voice becoming increasingly breathless.

"The offspring of fae and mortals are—are called changelings and possess—" She gasped as his pace became punishing. "Possess varying degrees of—of fae abilities depending on—on the strength of the bloodline—"

"Can’t even read straight anymore, can you?" Silas’s voice was dark with satisfaction. "Your mind is fragmenting. All you can think about is my cock inside you."

He wasn’t wrong. Eve’s eyes kept losing focus on the page, her brain struggling to process words when every nerve ending was screaming with pleasure.

"Finish the paragraph," Silas commanded. "Then you can come."

Eve forced her eyes back to the book. "Changelings are often—often caught between worlds, belonging fully to neither—neither the mortal realm nor the fae courts—" Her voice rose to a near scream. "They frequently exhibit unusual abilities that manifest during—during adolescence or periods of extreme—extreme stress—"

"Come," Silas commanded. "Now."

Eve shattered, the book finally falling from her hands as the orgasm consumed her. Her body clenched around Silas’s cock, her back arching against the leather chair, her vision going completely golden.

Silas followed her over the edge with a low groan, his hands gripping her hips hard enough to leave marks as he emptied himself inside her.

For a long moment, they stayed locked together—Eve sprawled in the chair, Silas behind her, both breathing hard.

"You made it further than I expected," Silas finally said, pulling out carefully. "Most people can’t read more than a few sentences while being fucked."

"I’m very focused," Eve managed weakly.

"You are." He helped her stand on shaky legs and adjusted her dress. "And now you’ve stopped spiraling. Stopped thinking too hard. Which was the point."

He was right. The anxiety about Dr. Thorne’s delay, about the unanswered questions, about what she was becoming—all of it had faded into the background. All Eve could think about now was the pleasant ache between her legs and the satisfaction humming through her body.

"Better?" Silas asked.

"Better," Eve admitted.

"Good." He kissed her deeply, possessively. "Now come. Dinner should be ready, and after that..." His dark eyes gleamed. "After that, all three of us are going to remind you exactly who you belong to."