Maya was looking between them with clear curiosity about what made the last twenty-four hours so eventful, but she didn't push. Just offered Eve a warm smile and said, "Listen to the lady. Rest. We'll catch up more later."
Eve watched them walk toward the house together....her human best friend and the omega who was feeding her uncle....and felt something settle in her chest. These were her people. Different worlds, different lives, different levels of knowledge about what was really happening. But her people nonetheless.
She lay back on the bench, let the afternoon sun warm her face, and felt the bond humming contentedly in the background of her awareness. Her mates were scattered across the estate....working, patrolling, managing the thousand details that kept a pack territory running....but present. Always present through the connection that now linked them permanently.
She could rest. She could trust. She could just...exist....for a moment without constant vigilance.
