46. This is not what it looks like.

**Eve**

Eve squeezed her eyes shut and screamed from the top of her lungs. A moment later, Eros was standing in front of her, grabbing onto her shoulders, shaking her body, and repeatedly calling her name.

"Eve? Eve, baby, what's wrong? Eve?" his voice was full of concern; she opened her eyes when she felt only his hands. Whoever grabbed her earlier was not Eros, and that thing didn't seem to be friendly either.

"I swear to God, someone just grabbed me," her whole body was trembling. Speaking hurt, her throat was dry because of her intense screaming.

"What are you talking about, kitten? It's just me and you here, I would feel it, if something would be off with the apartment." Eros took a deep breath, trying to catch any foreign scent in their home. "I can't feel anything unusual, there's only mine and your scent in here. I can assure you that we're alone," he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Eve's heart kept beating rapidly, for a second, making Eros doubt his ability to pick up scents. She was scared by something; she couldn't fake it.

"I swear, Eros, there was something. It grabbed me and whispered, 'there you are' in my ear just before I screamed." Eve kept pushing him. It's okay if he won't believe her words, but she won’t take them back. She felt something- someone cold and creepy, grabbing her. Taking in everything that had happened, it was only natural for her to be scared, yet she was not one to get scared by imaginary things or personas.

"I do not doubt your words; it's just that... It's a little strange. I can feel how terrified you are, but can't feel a reason for your fear," Eros scanned the room, looking for anything out of its place. His eyes widened as they fell upon his chest of drawers.

"Baby, did you take the photo from the chest of drawers?" He looked down at her, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Which photo?"

"Your photo. I had your portrait there, and now it's missing," Eros noticed the confusion on Eve's face. She hadn't even seen anything in here, let alone a photo of her.

"No? I didn't know that you had one." Despite the oddly tense atmosphere in their bedroom, Eve smiled. The fact that he had her photo in the most private room in the whole building made Eve feel special.

"That can only mean one thing," Eros whispered, talking more to himself than Eve.

"What?"
Out of nowhere, the doorbell rang, making Eve flinch.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath, letting go of her waist. Eros stepped back, increasing the distance between them.

"Are you expecting someone?" Eve tried to ignore the uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. Eros started acting weird, for a moment staring at her as if she was a ghost. He simply shook his head and scratched the back of his neck.

"I'll get that. Take a shower; you must be tired. I'll cook something, and then we will talk about what happened, and this incident, okay?" He didn't wait for her response. Eros asked her a question but acted more like he had given her a command. Eve did her best to ignore his sudden change of mood and strode into the bathroom. She still locked the door out of habit and took her off clothes. She let the water run, waiting for it to get warmer and observed herself in the mirror. For years, Eve had battled with her self-esteem, dragging herself down for everything she hated. Being with Eros changed her gradually. When he told her that she was beautiful- Eve believed his words. When Eros praised the curves of her body- she started to notice delicate beauty in herself rather than pointing out all the imperfections she could find. Next to Eros, a completely different Eve was awakened in her. She took a quick shower and wrapped herself in a towel, a devilish idea playing at the back of her mind. She could approach him and drop the towel, ending the evening on a fantastic note. Eve rushed out of the bathroom before she managed to change her mind and, yet again, grow self-conscious.

"Eros?" she called out; a bit surprised by the fact that he was not in the bedroom. Eve remembered that someone was at the door and ran back into the bathroom, getting dressed faster than lightning. The curiosity grew and she tiptoed towards the kitchen. Eros stood in the middle of it with a woman wrapped around his body. Eve's eyes widened, she tried to hold herself back, but the one thing she couldn't hold back was the loud gasp, escaping her parted lips. Eros dropped the female, turning around and extending his hand for Eve.

"Kitten, this is not what it looks like. Please don't make any rushed decisions and listen to me," he tried to approach her, with every step he took closer, Eve took one back.

"Not what it looks like? I didn't know that having a woman wrapped around your torso isn't what it looks like. Holy mother of God, how stupid was I to trust you in the first place," Eve slapped a palm over her mouth, holding the tears back. No matter what was happening there, she felt a pang of pain in her chest. Maybe this was what heartbreak feels like. Eve's eyes travelled to the woman. She was taller than Eve, her skin a light shade of ivory and eyes destined to fall in love with.

"So, this is your mate? This is what you call an upgrade? Boy, let me be sincere, this thing, right there, is a fucking downgrade," the woman laughed, unbuttoning her blouse.

"Shut the fuck up, Zoey," Eros growled, his eyes still fixed on Eve’s pained expression. It killed him inside to see her like that. For some odd reason, Eros felt like he had seen Eve's heart shatter in front of his eyes.

"What? I'm not allowed to tell the truth now?" Zoey mocked him.

"Who is she, Eros?" Eve finally gained the courage to ask the question she was most interested in receiving an answer for.

"She's nobody, kitten," he tried to get closer again, doing nothing but encouraging her to distance herself even more.

"Yeah, let me correct that, she has to know," Zoey spoke again, a sinister smirk grew on her lips. "Sweetie, let me tell you something. I will not repeat myself. Before you arrived, Eros was my man. Each year during the heat, someone gets extra horny, and sometimes, we just have to take what we get. As I was saying before you arrived... You're informed about the mating games and the heat," the woman nibbled on her fake nails, avoiding glancing at Eve.

"That doesn't explain anything. I still don't know why you are here, and why you tried to dry hump my fiancée," Eve rolled her eyes. Eros never promised to marry her, yet here she was stating lies to a stranger, in an attempt to keep Eros for herself.

"Fiancée?" The woman's eyes widened in shock. How was this possible?

"Okay, sweetie. I dated this man for six years and not once, did he speak about marriage. I wanted a family and children, now, guess who won't have it all? That's right, it's me. I don't see a problem with my arrival, though. Eros and I have been paired for the heat season for years. It'll start soon, so I'm back to take my rightful place. If you didn't get the memo, I'm talking about his bed. You're free to leave now," Zoey even waved her hand, encouraging Eve to leave the apartment she already called her home.

"Zoey, I warn you. Eve is my mate, keep pushing her buttons, and I'll choke you," Eros growled.

"Yes, please," Zoey whined, pushing her thighs tighter together.

"I'm not playing or joking, Zoey. I mean it. Not in sexual kind of choking, no, definitely not that. I will choke you, and this time I'll finish the job. I will fucking kill you," Eros argued with her, forgetting Eve's presence. He wanted his ex-heat partner to get out of his life for good. Especially now, when he had found his true mate. Their relationship was already pretty rocky; he didn't need it to go down even more.

"I need some fresh air," Eve mumbled and left the apartment. She knew that Eros might try to follow her, so Eve decided to run downstairs. Instead of his loud, heavy footsteps echoing in the hall, Eve heard the sound of shattering glass, objects breaking, and snarling of wolves back in the apartment. That made her run even faster. The day and evening had been too much for her; this was beyond any limits she could take. She wasn't so naive as everyone thought. Eve knew it's natural that a grown wolf had someone in his bed before she ended up there. The thought of him, sharing his bed with anyone but her made her shiver in disgust. Scenes of him on top of Zoey popped in her mind, making Eve feel dirty and sick. The feeling of jealousy was entirely foreign for her, yet it didn't make her feel any less disgusted. What if they're having sex right now? What if he asked her to come around? What if all those stories about his loyalty and Eve being the only one for him were fake? She couldn't get rid of the questions, as much as Eve wanted them to be answered- she couldn't look back again. Instead of heading home, and trying to face whatever might happen there, Eve kept wandering around the city aimlessly. She came back to her senses only after noticing the dim light of sunrise around the horizon. Eve didn't have her phone or belongings with her; all she could do was guess what time it was. Eros still didn't try to find her, or maybe tried without any success. That didn't make her feel any better either. Eve sat on the town halls steps and watched the sun slowly rise, thinking about what tomorrow holds. Maybe, she was just a useless human, but it didn't mean that she had no emotions or feelings. And now, Eros was hurting her more than anyone else. She shivered, thinking of the view she had seen in the kitchen earlier.

"This is not what it seems, my ass," Eve whispered in anger.

If someone would see her now, they'd think she was going crazy, but it didn't matter anymore. What did matter was the fear of facing him after she ran off and left him with that woman. The town seemed oddly peaceful; Eve wondered why she never took late-night walks around here before. Then, out of nowhere, the thoughts of assaults invaded her mind, making her question both her sanity and safety. Why did she run out without thinking? Why did she have to be so careless? What if she didn’t find the way back home without being attacked yet again? Eve closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down.

"What on Earth are you doing here at this hour, alone?" Someone said from behind, startling her. Eve jumped on her feet and turned around, gasping loudly.

"You?!"