It's been hours since the brothers left for their meetings, Eve stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom, studying her naked body in the morning light.
She should look destroyed.
Last night had been brutal beyond anything she'd ever imagined. They'd used her for hours rough, demanding, pushing her past limits she didn't know she had. Then this morning, they'd taken her again and again before even letting her fully wake up.
Her body should be wrecked. Should be covered in marks that would take weeks to heal.
But as she examined herself in the mirror, Eve's breath caught.
The bite marks on her shoulders from last night...deep imprints of teeth that had broken skin....were already fading. What should have been angry red wounds were now just faint pink marks. By tomorrow, they'd probably be gone completely.
The fingerprint bruises on her hips where they'd gripped her so hard....purple and black last night....were now yellowing at the edges, already in the final stages of healing.
Even the soreness between her legs, which should have been unbearable after the stretching they'd put her through, was a dull ache instead of the sharp pain she'd expected.
Eve pressed her fingers to one of the bite marks on her breast, half expecting it to hurt. It didn't. Just a slight tenderness, like a bruise that was days old instead of hours.
"This isn't normal," she whispered to her reflection.
Normal women didn't heal this fast. Normal women would be in bed recovering for days after what she'd endured. Not standing here examining themselves and feeling... energized. Alive.
Hungry.
God, she was so hungry.
Eve pulled on a robe and headed downstairs, following the smell of food. Mrs. Blackwood had left another spread in the dining room....fresh pastries, fruit, cheese, cold cuts, bread.
Eve sat down and started eating. And couldn't stop.
She consumed three croissants, a pile of fruit, half the cheese, four slices of bread with jam, and was reaching for more when she finally forced herself to pause.
She'd just eaten breakfast two hours ago. A huge breakfast. Where was this appetite coming from?
Eve looked down at her stomach, expecting to see it distended from the massive amount of food. Instead, it was flat. Toned, even, though she hadn't exercised in weeks.
Her entire body looked... better. Not just healed, but improved. Her skin had a glow to it that expensive skincare products couldn't replicate. Her hair was shinier, thicker. Even her nails looked stronger.
She was becoming more beautiful. And she had no idea why.
Your body is burning more energy, Damian had said. It needs more fuel to maintain itself.
Maintain what? What was her body doing that required this much fuel and this rapid healing?
Eve stood and caught sight of her reflection in the dining room's ornate mirror. The woman staring back at her looked like an enhanced version of herself. Like someone had taken her features and perfected them.
She looked otherworldly.
What's happening to me?
*******
DAMIAN'S OFFICE - BROTHER'S DISCUSSION
The three brothers sat in Damian's office, the door locked, supposed business documents spread across the desk that none of them were actually reading.
"We need to talk about last night," Silas said finally, breaking the tense silence.
"What about it?" Damian's voice was carefully neutral, but his fingers drummed against the desk.....a rare tell that he was agitated.
"You know what about it." Damon stood and paced to the window, staring out at the grounds. "She took everything we gave her. Everything. And she begged for more."
"She's responsive," Damian said. "We knew that from the beginning."
"Responsive?" Silas's laugh was sharp. "Brother, no human woman should be able to handle what we did to her last night. We were brutal. All three of us, for hours. She should be broken right now."
"But she's not," Damon said, turning from the window. "I saw her this morning before we left. She was walking normally. No limp. No signs of pain. The marks we left are already fading."
"I noticed that too," Silas admitted. "The bite on her shoulder that I gave her....the one that broke skin....it's already healing. It should take days, maybe a week. But it'll be gone by tomorrow."
Damian was quiet, his gray eyes distant. Finally: "Her appetite."
"What about it?" Damon asked.
"She's eating massive amounts of food. This morning alone, she consumed enough for three grown men. And she's not gaining weight....she's getting leaner. More toned." Damian leaned back in his chair. "Her body is burning through calories at an impossible rate."
"To fuel the healing," Silas said. "And probably more. Whatever is changing inside her requires enormous amounts of energy."
"Which brings us back to the question we've been avoiding," Damon said. "What is she?"
The three brothers looked at each other, the weight of that question hanging heavy between them.
"Not human," Silas said. "We all know that now. No human could take what we gave her and not only survive but thrive."
"The way she responds to us specifically," Damon added. "It's not just arousal. It's need. Desperation. Like her body recognizes ours on some fundamental level."
"Like a mate bond," Damian said quietly.