MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

32. LUCAS: ASHES

Eva's soft curse made my eyes snap open.

I'd been awake for hours, listening to their soft breathing. Eva had gotten up about half an hour ago to use the bathroom and then she'd drank some water. I knew she hadn't gone back to sleep but I had no clue what she'd been doing.

Ariana was still fast asleep on my chest with her face against the crook of my neck and her warm breath tickling my skin.

Raising my head, I stared at Eva with a frown.

She was kneeling in front of the door, wiggling something around in the keyhole. A frustrated growl fell from her lips when the door didn't unlock.

My lips curled up into a smirk.

I carefully rolled onto my side and lowered Ariana to the bed. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up. I stared down at the face for a few seconds before I got up.

My steps were silent, making Eva completely unaware of me walking over to her. Stopping behind her, I bent forward and asked her the question that was bugging me.

"What are you doing?"

With a gasp, Eva spun around. Her fist connected with the bridge of my nose sending me falling backwards on my ass and then my back. I reached up to cradle my nose as pain shot through me.

"Fuck," I breathed.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"

Hands pushed mine aside as soft fingers brushed over my nose and cheekbone.

I blinked away the tears in my eyes and stared up at Eva who was hovering over me. For a moment my eyes dropped but they immediately shot up again.

The shirt she wore was too big for her and gaping at the front which gave me a great view of her breasts and puckered pink nipples. Why the hell wasn't she wearing a bra?

"It's not broken," she muttered. "You'll have a nasty bruise for a few days."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Wipe that smile off your face."

Reaching down, I gripped her hips and pushed her off me.

"What were you trying to do?" I asked once I was on my feet.

Eva growled and crawled back to the door on her hands and knees. My eyes unwillingly dropped to her ass. Her ass was a lot fleshier than Ariana's.

"I'm not going to stay here until—"

"You will," I interrupted her. "You will do as I tell you."

"Or what?" Eva dropped onto her ass and glared up at me. "Are you going to punish me for disobeying your orders?"

I smirked at her but didn't answer.

Unlike Ariana, Eva liked to test the limits. She was a rule breaker and a daredevil with a backbone and very bad manners. But I wasn't going to let that stop me from doing what I had to in order to make sure that Ariana stayed safe.

Eva was going to dig her own grave and I was going to enjoy watching from the sidelines.

In order for that to happen I needed to get rid of Oliver first.

The thoughts running through my mind made me pause. Oliver was set out for revenge just like me. All I had to do was stand back and allow him to do all the work.

But Ariana will suffer.

They were supposed to fucking suffer! All of them, but Silas had to suffer the most. If Oliver killed Ariana then it would definitely mean the end of Silas. He had a deeper bond with Ariana than he had with Eva. Maybe it had something to do with Ariana looking so much like her mother or maybe it was because Ariana was so fragile and needed protection.