53. Even Gods would be envious of him.

Both women rushed back to the forest cabin. Luna held Eve's hand, dragging her behind like a sack of potatoes. Eve tried to keep up with her, but it was nearly impossible. Ages ago, she had said that she could never keep up with a shifter, and today, Eve proved how right her words were. After a while, both reached the cabin, surprised by the masses of small puma children, teenagers, and a couple of cubs, held on their mother's arms- all waiting for someone. Everyone gasped and started whispering after noticing Luna, eyeing the woman suspiciously, waiting for a human to show herself.

"Good day, Luna, we came to meet your guest. The leader said it's human, may we see her, please?" One of the women spoke up, bowing her head, showing respect. It wasn't the type of action that made Luna feel superior, quite the opposite- all she felt was true, deep respect towards herself.

"Good day, everyone. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the right time for everyone to meet Eve," Luna did the unexpected- she mimicked the woman's previous action. If only Xavier would see her now- she might as well die from his hand.

"We are truly sorry for arriving without announcing the precise time, or giving you a heads up, yet I'm sure that I would be speaking on everyone's behalf when I'd ask why that is? The leader promised us we would see the human, and some cubs might even approach her. We do not want to bother or scare humans, all we ask for is a minute of her time," the woman kept insisting, in the politest way possible.

"The human, hiding behind my back, is my son's mate. Even though I know that none of you would ever try to harm her, my first and foremost responsibility is to make sure that she's safe at all costs. Also, as much as I don't like admitting this, I took her with me without telling my son. Both of them ended up in a pretty messed up argument, and I tried to ease her mind by giving Eve some time away from him. If you stay here, you might be in great danger on your own territory- Eros is out to get her," Luna sighed deeply, letting go of Eve's hand, and massaging her temples.

"I'd like to meet them, just for a moment. Then we can leave, meet Eros in the halfway, he won't reach the cabin, and the pumas will be safe," Eve spoke up, and stood next to Luna, feeling a bit braver than before. In their human forms, there was a crowd of pumas looking at her, all eyes wide open, and even some jaws hanging low. A little girl giggled and ran straight at Eve, opening her arms, jumping at the fragile-looking human. Eve didn't hesitate to open her arms wide and catch the tiny puma girl, her smile as wide as never.

"Oh my gosh, you're so cute," Eve gasped, admiring the child's innocent beauty. She lifted the girl, and spun around, enjoying the sound of giggles invading her ears.

"I'm not cute, lady, I'm dangerous," the little girl replied, barely holding in her laughter.
Eve placed the kid back on the ground and stepped a couple of steps back. She faked being scared, and half hid her body behind Luna's.

"Oh no, you're so dangerous looking, are you going to hurt me?" Eve whined, playing along with the child. Everyone around them laughed. The teen pumas looked more than happy to observe the little game between the girl and human, the other kids, which were around little girl's age, ran to her, joining their game in an instant. The mothers looked at their cubs and the human with exceptional pride in their eyes.

"She has a good heart. Kelly would never approach a stranger like that," one of the women said. Luna turned around, and her eyes traveled over Eve's happy face, the human smiled at the puma child, her face lit up in happiness, and so were the children. None of them cared about time passing, or Eros possibly being way too near to their location; at this point, all that mattered was children and their happiness.

"I'm going to get some stuff I need to bring back home, in the meantime, you can spend a little more time with the children. That is, if you don't want me to stay around," Luna brought Eve's attention to her, a slight smile on her lips.

"Don't worry, Luna, we won't hurt your son's mate, none of us are so crazy to try something," another puma spoke up, making Luna feel at ease.

"Oh, I nearly forgot to introduce myself, how rude. My name is Eve," she extended her hand towards the kids and smiled, encouraging them to step closer. All kids piled around her like crazy, admiring how stunning the young human girl was.

"My name is Katana, I am the leader's mate, and most of these children are mine. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Eve," the woman, who promised Luna to keep Eve safe, approached her. She bowed in front of the human, making Eve feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, no, don't. If one bowed, that would be me. I'm not superior and this is your land, not mine," Eve rushed next to the woman, grabbing onto her hand and shaking it.

"You have no idea, do you?" The woman smirked, flames in her eyes burned more intensively.

"Idea about what? I'm sorry, I'm still new to the whole shifter thing, and you're confusing me a bit now," she tried her best to keep their conversation on a rather polite note, avoiding asking too many questions. Eve didn't want to come out as rude, or too noisy; it wouldn't be her.

"Hello, my name is Kali. I am the leader's oldest daughter," a teenage girl stood next to Katana, extending her hand for Eve. With a smile on her face, Eve slid her hand into the girls and shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry for being so straightforward, but you're beautiful. I've never seen eyes as unique as yours," Eve couldn't stop babbling about the teenage puma's features. She was unsure, would she, or would she not, make a fool of herself?

"Did you read it?" Katana whispered to her daughter, loud enough for everyone, including Eve, to hear.

"Yes. And for the next question, the answer will be the same, Mother. She's the one."

"I would lie if I said that I'm not pleased. Strong-willed, beautiful, respectful, and polite. She might be the one we kept praying for," they both spoke in riddles, making Eve tilt her head, and giving them the most confused look she could.

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about? I understand that it is none of my business, but if the main topic is about me, I'd like to know," Eve switched her weight from one leg to another. A weird, unexplainable feeling crept over her. She felt as if everyone around were judging her. Not only that- but their reactions were also so different, it was hard to follow. Some stood there, looking at her with admiration, some seemed to be shocked, some just stared. What on Earth was going on? As Eve was about to question them, Kali closed her eyes and hummed loudly.

"He's near, get ready," Kali whispered.

"Who's near? Get ready for what? Are little pumas in danger? Do we have time to hide them, or will we fight to protect the babies?" Eve's voice grew frantic, her eyes scanned her surroundings, nothing out of the usual, yet she believed something might be off.

"Told you- she's perfect," Katana sighed, looking down at Eve with the dreamiest facial expression ever.

"Hello? I asked a question- are little pumas in danger?" Eve kept trying to get through to them, visibly shaken up.

"Again, not a bit worried about herself, yet ready to protect our kind. So selfless." If only one of the women would give her an answer. If only Eve had weird, heightened senses to feel what was about to happen.

"The King, he's coming after his Queen."
Eve nearly fainted when Kali's eyes fell on her. They looked nothing like before-looking as if her soul had left the mortal body.

"He took the throne," Luna stepped out of the cabin, dropping on her knees. Now, Eve was not the only one who seemed to be in shock. The only difference was that Luna knew what was happening, and the human didn't.

"Excuse me, but could someone please explain to me what is going on? Children, get into the cabin, if there's danger near, we will hold it back until the leader will arrive with backup," Eve shouted out. She wanted to know what was going on, but her desire to protect the innocent was stronger than pure curiosity. Nobody moved a muscle; all pumas stood their ground, looking up at the sky. Everyone was in a trance-like state. After a moment, when their eyes fell on Eve, it made her feel like their gazes burned holes in her body- all of them fell on their knees. She flinched, almost sure she heard her name being called out in the distance, yet instead of giving it any importance- she tried to deal with pumas first.

"No, no, get up, we must hide the baby's, what are you even doing? Stop, please, we must hurry!" Eve tried to get Kali and Katana on their feet, one unsuccessful attempt after another.

"What on earth are you doing?" she nearly yelled at them, fear taking over her body. Whatever was coming, made her heart squeeze tighter in her chest.

"They are praising their Queen. Accepting one, actually," out of nowhere spoke a male. Eve scanned the forest area and couldn't see anyone, so she took the voice as her mind played tricks. No matter how much she tried, the pumas would stay on their knees, humming the same melody which Kali hummed just minutes ago. A twig snapped to Eves right, making her jerk her head towards the noise. Nothing. She kept focusing on that one spot until she noticed something moving. Eve decided to get closer; she had to know why the pumas were suddenly acting so different. When she got closer, Eve gasped, seeing a nude male’s torso. She wanted to squeeze her eyes, at first, yet noticing that one particular scar, Eve instantly knew who it was. After all, how could she forget his body- one, even God's would be envious of.

"Eros," she breathed out, a smile crept on her lips. No matter what happened, no matter how much she knew, Eve missed him with her whole being. She ran to where he stood, without thinking twice, she jumped up and clung on his body tightly. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her tiny frame, his face, as usual, hidden in the crook of her neck.

"I was so fucking worried about you. Don't you ever fucking dare to leave me!" he growled against her skin in anger. Cold shivers travelled over her spine, making Eve feel oddly hot.

"Eros," unexpectedly, her voice came out as a hoarse moan.

"Fuck, your scent changed. Eve, you smell so damn delightful," his lips barely touched her skin, making Eve feel more flushed, hotter.

"Ew, I must be sweating, it's so hot here," she closed her eyes, enjoying the intimate closeness they had.

"You must have a fever, it isn't even warm outside," he announced, pressing his lips against her forehead. As he did, Eros took in her scent again.

"Holy fucking mother of Goddess, you're in heat."