Eve stood in front of the full-length mirror, smoothing down the dress the brothers had chosen for her.

It was stunning....a deep emerald green that hugged every curve, with a neckline that showed just enough cleavage to be enticing without being inappropriate. The fabric shimmered when she moved, catching the light. Combined with her now-luminous skin and the way her body had transformed over the past four weeks, she looked... otherworldly.

"You look perfect," Silas said from the doorway, his dark eyes roaming over her appreciatively. "Like a queen."

"I look like someone’s expensive mistress," Eve corrected, though without heat. After four weeks, she’d accepted what she was to them. Whatever labels applied.

"You look like ours," Silas corrected, crossing to her. His hands settled on her hips possessively. "And tonight, everyone needs to know that."

"Why?" Eve asked. "What’s different about tonight?"

"Alpha Konstantin is visiting," Silas explained, his jaw tightening. "From the Eastern territories. He’s... difficult. Aggressive. And he has a reputation for being interested in beautiful women regardless of whether they’re claimed."

Eve’s stomach tightened. "And I’m supposed to be there while you negotiate with him?"

"You’re supposed to be by our side," Silas corrected. "Showing him and every other alpha present that you’re ours. That you’re protected. That any interest in you would be an insult we won’t tolerate."

"That sounds dangerous."

"It is," Silas admitted. "Which is why we need you to stay close to us at all times. Don’t wander off. Don’t accept drinks from anyone else. And if Konstantin tries to engage you in conversation, be polite but brief. We’ll handle the rest."

Eve nodded, nerves making her hands shake slightly. This wasn’t like the other pack gatherings she’d attended. This felt more serious. More dangerous.

"Come," Silas said, offering his arm. "Let’s show them what they can’t have."

*****

The Blackwood estate’s great hall was packed with wolves.

Pack members filled the massive space, along with visiting wolves from allied territories. The air was thick with dominance and testosterone, alphas sizing each other up, betas navigating social hierarchies, everyone on their best behavior but ready for violence at a moment’s notice.

Eve entered on Silas’s arm, and the room went quiet. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Every eye turned to her. Every nose flared, scenting her. And Eve felt the weight of their attention like a physical thing, pressing down on her.

She looked different now.....everyone could see it. The glow to her skin, the otherworldly beauty, the power that hummed beneath her surface. She didn’t look entirely human anymore, and every wolf in the room could sense it.

"Who is she?" someone whispered.

"The Blackwood brothers’ companion," someone else answered. "But there’s something different about her. Something... more."

Damian and Damon appeared immediately, flanking her on either side. The message was clear...she was protected. Guarded. Claimed.

They moved through the crowd together, and wolves parted to let them pass. Some nodded respectfully. Others stared with barely concealed curiosity. A few females looked at Eve with obvious jealousy.

"Alpha Konstantin," Damian said, and Eve’s attention snapped to the man approaching them.

He was massive....easily six and a half feet tall, built like a tank, with ice-blue eyes and platinum blonde hair pulled back in a braid. His face was all sharp angles and harsh beauty, and the dominance radiating from him was palpable.

"Damian," Konstantin said, his accent thick....Russian, Eve thought. "It’s been too long." His eyes shifted to Eve, and something predatory gleamed in their depths. "And who is this exquisite creature?"

"This is Eve," Damian said, his voice carefully neutral but his body tense. "Our companion."

"Companion," Konstantin repeated, moving closer. Too close. "Such a sterile word for such a... vibrant woman." His eyes roamed over Eve’s body without shame. "You are even more beautiful than the rumors suggested."

Eve felt all three brothers tense around her. The air crackled with barely suppressed violence.

"Thank you," Eve said carefully, taking a small step back.

But Konstantin moved with her, closing the distance again. "Tell me, Eve. How does one become ’companion’ to three alphas? That must be... exhausting work."

The innuendo was blatant. Insulting. Several nearby wolves sucked in sharp breaths.

"Konstantin," Damon’s voice was deadly quiet. "You’re being rude to our guest."

"Am I?" Konstantin’s smile was all teeth. "I merely express appreciation for beauty when I see it. Surely that’s not offensive?"

"The way you’re looking at her is offensive," Silas said coldly.

"Perhaps." Konstantin’s eyes never left Eve. "But can you blame me? She is extraordinary. And she smells..." He inhaled deeply. "Unusual. Not quite human. Not quite wolf. Something... in between. Something rare."

His hand reached out, as if to touch Eve’s face.

Three different growls erupted simultaneously.

Damian caught Konstantin’s wrist mid-reach, his grip bruising. "Touch her, and you die. Here. Tonight. In front of everyone."

The entire hall went silent. Deadly silent.

Konstantin’s eyes narrowed. "That’s quite a reaction to a simple compliment."

"That wasn’t a compliment," Damon said, moving to Konstantin’s other side. "That was a challenge. And we don’t tolerate challenges to what’s ours."

"So possessive," Konstantin mused, but he pulled his hand back. "One might think she’s more than just a companion. One might think she’s...."

"Careful," Silas warned. "Choose your next words very carefully."

Konstantin studied all three brothers, then looked at Eve again. His smile was knowing. "I see. The rumors are true then. The Blackwood brothers who swore never to mate have found someone who makes them break their own rules."

"We’re not discussing this," Damian said firmly. "Eve is under our protection. That’s all you need to know."

"For now," Konstantin agreed, but his eyes lingered on Eve with interest that made her skin crawl. "But protection can be... negotiable. If the lady ever tires of sharing three, I would be more than happy to offer her an alternative arrangement."

The violence that erupted was immediate.

Damian’s fist connected with Konstantin’s jaw before Eve could even process what was happening. The Russian alpha staggered back, surprised but not hurt, his own dominance flaring in response.

"You dare...." Konstantin started.

"Yes," Damian interrupted coldly. "I dare. You insult what’s mine, you disrespect my mate, you suggest taking her from us....yes, I fucking dare."

Mate. He’d said it. Out loud. In front of everyone.

The room erupted into chaos. Wolves shouting, taking sides, alphas posturing. Violence simmering just below the surface.

But Konstantin laughed. Actually laughed. "There it is. The truth finally spoken." He wiped blood from his split lip. "She is your mate. All three of you, bound to one woman. How... unprecedented."

"Get out," Damon said. "Before this becomes a real fight."

"Oh, I don’t think so," Konstantin said, his smile fading into something dangerous. "You can’t just assault a visiting alpha and then demand he leave. That’s not how this works."

"You challenged our mate," Silas said. "That makes you an enemy. Enemies don’t get the courtesy of safe passage."

The standoff lasted for a long, tense moment. Then an older wolf...one of the pack elders...stepped forward.

"Enough," he said, his voice carrying authority despite his age. "Alpha Konstantin, you deliberately provoked our alphas by showing inappropriate interest in their mate. You knew what you were doing. Leave now, while you still can."

Konstantin looked around the room, reading the support for the brothers in every face. Finally, he inclined his head. "Very well. I’ll leave. But this insult won’t be forgotten."

"Neither will yours," Damian said coldly.

Konstantin left, taking his small entourage with him. The moment he was gone, the tension in the room decreased slightly, though it didn’t disappear completely.

Damian turned to Eve, his hands cupping her face. "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine," Eve managed, though she was shaking. "He didn’t touch me."

"He tried," Damon said, his voice still hard with rage. "He fucking tried, and if you hadn’t stopped him, brother, I would have ripped his throat out right there."

"We need to leave," Silas said quietly. "Now. Before we lose control completely."

They escorted Eve out of the great hall, leaving the pack elders to manage the remaining guests. The moment they reached their private quarters, the careful control they’d maintained shattered.

******

Damian pressed Eve against the door the moment it closed, his mouth crashing against hers in a kiss that was more violence than passion.

"Mine," he growled against her lips. "You’re mine. Ours. Not his. Never his."

"I know...." Eve started, but Damon’s hand fisted in her hair, pulling her head back.

"Do you?" he demanded. "Because he looked at you like you were available. Like you were something he could take. And the thought of his hands on you...." His grip tightened. "I wanted to kill him. Right there. In front of everyone."

"You called me your mate," Eve said, looking at Damian. "In front of everyone. You said...."

"I know what I said," Damian interrupted.

"How?" Eve asked.

"We’ll explain later Eve not now, We are still trying to understand the situation".Damian replied her.

"This has become more than a contract," she said, meeting their eyes in the mirror. "Hasn’t it?"

"It stopped being about the contract weeks ago," Silas admitted. "Probably stopped being about the contract the moment we saw you."

"So what happens in two and a half months?" Eve asked. "When the six months are up? When the contract ends?"

"Nothing," Damian said firmly. "The contract ends, but you don’t leave. You stay here. With us. Forever."

"And if I want to leave?"

All three brothers’ expressions hardened.

"You won’t," Damon said with certainty. "Because you feel it too. The bond. The pull. You need us as much as we need you."

He was right. Eve knew he was right. The thought of leaving them in two and a half months made her chest constrict with panic. Made something inside her scream in protest.

Whether she’d planned for it or not.

********

Later that night, The brothers sat in their office to talk about what had happend during the event.

"We called her our mate," Silas said. "In front of the entire pack. In front of a visiting alpha. We can’t take that back."

"I don’t want to take it back," Damian said, pouring three glasses of whiskey. "She is our mate. The bond is real. We all feel it."

"But something’s wrong," Damon said, accepting his glass. "Something doesn’t add up."

"What do you mean?" Silas asked.

"Our wolves," Damon said. "They should have surfaced. When we found our mate, our wolves should have forced the claiming immediately. Should have been clawing to get out, to mark her, to bond with her properly. But they haven’t. Not once in four weeks has my wolf tried to surface around her."

Silence fell as they all processed that.

He was right. Their wolves should have been going crazy around their mate. Should have been impossible to control, demanding the claiming, the bonding, the permanent mark.

But instead, their wolves had been... quiet. Almost passive. Present but not pushing. Not demanding.

"Mine hasn’t either," Silas admitted. "I thought it was just me. That something was wrong with my wolf."

"Mine neither," Damian said grimly. "And that doesn’t make sense. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Damon demanded.

"Unless she’s not entirely compatible with wolf mates," Damian finished. "Unless whatever she’s becoming....whatever supernatural creature is locked inside her....it’s not meant to bond with wolves in the traditional way."

"But we feel the bond," Silas protested. "We all feel it. It’s real."

"I’m not saying the bond isn’t real," Damian clarified. "I’m saying it might not be a traditional wolf mate bond. It might be something else. Something we don’t understand."

"Then who would understand?" Damon asked.

The brothers looked at each other.

"Elder Markov," they said simultaneously.

Elder Markov was the oldest wolf in their pack....nearly three hundred years old, keeper of ancient knowledge, advisor to their father and grandfather before them. If anyone understood unusual mate bonds, it would be him.

"Tomorrow," Damian decided. "We’ll speak with him tomorrow. Get his insight on what’s happening with our wolves. With Eve. With this bond."

"And if he doesn’t have answers?" Silas asked.

"Then we wait for Dr. Thorne," Damian said. "She arrives next week. Between her and Elder Markov, we’ll figure out what Eve is. What she’s becoming. And why our wolves aren’t claiming her the way they should."

The brothers fell silent, each lost in thoughts of the woman sleeping in their bed.

Tomorrow they’d seek answers.

And pray that whatever she was becoming wouldn’t tear them apart in the process.