Caius Salvatore

Eve's blood filled his mouth like nothing he'd ever tasted before and he lifted his eyes, meeting her gaze. She was staring at her, transfixed, as if she couldn't look away from what he was doing.

"Unstoppable?" she asked. 

"Yes," he said. "My strength is an advantage in this entire situation, don't you think? You were limited before because you had no power, that is the reason, Patro was a step ahead of you. But now…I've filled that gap." 

Her teeth bit into her bottom lip, and she held his gaze, lips curling in agreement. "So…are you going to mark me?" 

Malakai regarded her curiously. 

"Should I?" 

"Why not? The stronger our bond, the better for us, no?" 

"Of course, but—" His hand crawled up her neck to the mating gland close to the spot behind her ear. "—his mark is still on you. I can't imprint on you, just yet." 

"It'll fade in a few weeks," she said. "It won't last, not when I've sparked with you." 

Malakai nodded. "Did he mark against your will?" 

Eve cocked a brow. "What do you mean?" 

"I don't think you would allow a mate you were about to break away from to imprint on you. So, did he mark you against your will?" 

Her lashes flickered uncomfortably and she looked away from him, her body language changing immediately. She wouldn't answer him, but from the deep breath she took, he knew he was right. 

"What was the reason?" 

"Do you really have to know?" she questioned, a slight bite to her tone. 

Malakai shrugged. "You're my wife, Eve. Tell me the truth." 

Eve swallowed and rubbed the back of her neck. "At first, we were just going to get a divorce a month prior, but his family was making it hard for him. There were simply threats, but he'd never actually attempted to kill me. So a few days before the job that almost got me killed came in, he imprinted on me even if I didn't want it." 

"Why did he do it?" 

"So that I'd never be able to mate with another alpha." 

Malakai's brows screwed together. "Why would he care if you mated with another alpha? Didn't he reject you? Didn't he hate you?" 

Eve half smiled at him and shook her head. "Malakai, you don't know what kind of monster Patro is. He would do anything for his own pleasure and since he can't have me, and doesn't want to, he would destroy me so no one else could have what initially belonged to him. Patro is not a man who shares, never was. He'd rather destroy than give." 

He slowly nodded. 

"That's a shame." 

One of her brows cocked up. "What do you mea—" 

"Malakai!" the door swung open, and a man, dark haired that was starting to silver at the temples, waltzed in, coming short on his steps as his blue eyes like ice took Eve in. "Are you serious?" 

"What are you doing here, Caius?" 

The entire room froze before the man could respond to him and he turned to Eve who was free of my ability. She was gazing at Caius. 

"Your brother?" she asked. 

"How do you know?" 

"I can see the resemblance." 

"This animal doesn't look like me." Malakai grunted under his breath and undid the spell. 

Caius immediately narrowed his eyes on him. "Don't ever use your abilities on me, little brother or I'll break those fingers of yours. You think you scare me because you're a supreme alpha?" 

"Why are you here?" 

"Have you looked at the tabloids?" he asked. "Malakai Salvatore married the cheating wife of Patro Zolotov. Unbelievable! Hasn't Malakai Salvatore always been an upstanding man? How could he marry such a woman and ruin someone else's marriage?" Caius babbled as he took a seat. 

Malakai frowned at him. 

"What are you doing Malakai? The pack is talking about the Salvatore family, about you! You built yourself into this. This perfect reputation, this power and you're about to crush it, for what?" He looked at Eve. "For this omega? She's even beginning to reek of you—wait." He immediately rose from his seat. 

Malakai eyed him. "What?" 

"Two heartbeats," Ciaus mumbled. "She's with a pup. Don't tell me you got her pregnant!!" 

"Yes, I did." There was no use arguing. "The pup is mine."

"So, the tabloids are right? You did cheat with Patro's mate—" 

"Patro and I aren't mates." 

He shot Eve who'd spoken a look. 

"You!" He took a step toward her. "Are you trying to play my brother because—" 

"CAUIS!" 

Malakia bellowed his name enough that the man was startled.

"Malakai—"

"She is my wife, do not speak to her like that," he warned. "This is not just a simple marriage because she's with my child. I like her enough and we're also in a deal." 

"A deal?" Caius laughed. "Really?" 

"Yes. She will help, and Patro will get to suffer for killing Seraphine—" 

"Are you listening to yourself, Malakai?" Caius shot up from the seat. "Seraphine is a thing of the past. The case is buried. Do you realize we are up against the Zolotov family that has the very same influence we do? Patro and his family were and are not simple people that we could easily get rid of!"

"Yes, they are not. But things are different now." Malakai tossed his arms up at him. "I'll handle everything myself, so don't get involved." 

"Including our mother? You'll handle her too, because she is not going to be happy about this." 

"She'll be fine," Malakai dismissed. "She always wanted a grand child, which you could have given her if you just found a mate. I think I'm doing her a favor." 

"Oh, so now, it's my fault she's unhappy?" 

"Caius—" 

Eve got to her feet and began to hurriedly walk out of the room bare feet. 

"Eve, where are you—" 

"Did I forget to mention there are reporters in front of your gate?" Caius said. 

Malakai's face screwed into a frown and he stalked after Eve who hurried out of the foyer, pushing the door open to stop on the stairs that led to the concrete ground. 

Her gaze crossed to the black gates and just like Caius had said, there really were reporters. It was too early in the morning. What sort of madness was this? 

"I—" Eve blinked rapidly and turned on her phone, her fingers swiping rapidly as she read through the threads that were already written about her. Which some of them, she was sure Patro had paid for. 

She looked up to the reporters who would have burst inside if not for the gate, and moved on her bare feet, down the stairs. 

But Malakai grabbed her by the armpit, easily lifting her off the cold ground. Eve twisted her head to look at me. "Malakai, what are you doing?" 

He didn't respond to her, but instead, came off the leather slipper he wore to put her down, slipping her much smaller feet into them. 

Eve looked to the slippers and then at him. "What will you do about them?" 

"This." A snap of his finger and they all froze outside his gate, unblinking and unmoving. Then he turned to his bodyguards. "Take them away, far from my building. And make sure they do not return to my gate again." 

The blonde guard nodded and walked off first before his crew followed. Eve wouldn't take her eyes off Malakai, almost like none of this seemed real to her. 

Yes, she expected the headlines, but this fast…? No. Patro was insane. 

They walked back into the house to Caius who'd made himself a cup of tea. Malakai asked, "Why did you make tea in my house?" 

"Shut up." Caius glared at him and downed the entire cup only to pull a face like he could vomit everything. "What a terrible brand of tea." 

He stood to his feet and was suddenly in Eve's face, grasping her arm, his towering figure intimidating. 

Unlike Malakai, he was a standard alpha, but he was a powerful one. "I just realised you know my brother's secret, Ms Eve. What will you do now? Tweet about it, out us or blackmail—" 

"Take your hands off her!" Malakai was right next to Caius in the blink of an eye, grip on his wrist tight. "Let her go!" 

"Malakai, what do you think you're doing? You can't trust this omega—" 

"Eve is off limits!" he warned. "Let go and step away from her, Caius. NOW!"