Page 46 of Caelum

She shivered, and I reveled in her response to me. It was only natural considering who we were to each other, but I knew it put her on edge.

In so many ways, Eve was sensual. Just like all creatures inherently were. But her nurturing fucked with that and made her second guess herself all the time.

Part of me wondered if she’d be on edge until I put a ring on her finger. If that was the case, it was an easy solution, but it was a tie to the past she didn’t need.

Creatures required no ridiculous ceremony, no formal occasions, and no signatures on documents to inherently know they belonged to one another.

“I have some studying to do,” she replied after a few seconds.

“You’re always studying. It’s Saturday.”

She wiggled in my hold. “I?—”

“I know, I know. You worked on Saturdays at the compound, but you’re not on the compound now. Plus, don’t you want to meet my friend?”

“Well, yes, of course, but don’t you want to just hang around him?”

My lips twitched. “Out, Eve. Hangoutwith him.”

She nodded eagerly, sensing an out. Literally. “Yes. That.”

“Of course, but I want you to hang out with all of us at the same time. How’s he going to get to know you if you’re in the library?”

For a second, she remained tense in my arms, and then she relaxed. “You want me to know him?”

I frowned. “Why wouldn’t I?” Rather than let her reply, I turned her around, and keeping my hand on her waist, began to haul her back to the sofa we’d claimed as ours years before.

As I did, I saw Frazer, Reed, and Samuel watching us, their eyes narrowed as we passed.

My top lip curved in a sneer as we headed back to the sofa, but I saw the intensity on their faces as they looked at my hold on Eve…

Nestor, Dre, Eren, and I were firm believers in keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. That was why we used this room over the others. Before we’d staked our claim on the tan hide sofa on the east wall, those three dicks had claimed the cream leather sofa on the west.

It meant we could keep an eye on each other and know where theywere hanging out in their free time to some extent. It wasn’t foolproof, but it was something.

Shoving them to the back of my mind, I hooked my arm over my girl’s shoulder and stated, “Dre, meet Eve. She’s new to Caelum.”

Dre cocked a brow. “She must be. How long was I out?”

Eren laughed. “She arrived the day you were knocked out.”

“Two months after induction?” He cocked a brow. “How unusual.”

“Very unusual,” I replied with a small chuckle. “Eve is pretty unique, aren’t you, babe?”

She wriggled in my embrace. “Well, I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would,” Nestor retorted. Of course, Eve didn’t know all the reasonswhyshe was unique, and we weren’t about to tell her.

She’d already tried to walk out once today. The last thing I needed was her running screaming from the room to get away from me because, for whatever reason, I’d been marked as her mate.

“What’s so special about her, then?” Dre asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

We’d all had a teasing tone, but Dre’s? It wasn’t. It was his asshole voice. It came out every now and then until we smacked it into submission.

Our Packs weren’t like a wolf’s. There was no Alpha. No natural leader. Dre forgot that sometimes, forgothimself. Being a few months older than us didn’t mean shit.

If anything, if there was going to be a leader among us, it would be me. No Pack could form without their being either a Sin Eater or an Incubus or Succubus within their ranks. Why? Because they were the only ones who could kill Ghouls.

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