She was your typical teenager, yearning for independence and dreaming of a fairy-tale romance that would whisk her away to exotic places.
She was excited about finishing high school and heading off to college to study neuroscience.
She longed for self-sufficiency, but she knew she still needed her parents’ support. She wanted to be happy and to spread joy, because she believed that’s what everyone should strive for.
Eve was Nigerian-American. Her dad was Black, her mom was White. Her skin was a beautiful sienna color, and while others envied her natural tan, she often felt out of place in her predominantly White neighborhood.
Her hair was thick and curly, prone to tangling right after a shower if she didn’t brush it immediately. Her dark curls would frizz, much to her annoyance, even when the weather wasn’t humid or hot.
Her family always complimented her hair, but they didn’t get it.
They didn’t understand how isolating it was to walk into a store and only see products for hair that wasn’t like hers, or to be constantly asked if she’d “brushed through it today.”
Sometimes, in moments of self-doubt, she wished she looked more like her mom. But then her dad would draw her close and tell her stories of “brave and inspiring African leaders.”
Her mom was an office manager at a car dealership, and her dad was a businessman at Tex Industries. Her father was the kind of man who was rarely home but still provided financial stability.
Austin Ademusayo had worked hard to get where he was. He’d grown up in the slums of New York after his parents emigrated from Nigeria. He’d busted his ass to get to college after high school.
After completing his undergraduate studies at Wagner College, he went to Stanford University for his master’s.
Not long after graduating with degrees in telecommunications and business, he met Eve’s mother, Jessica Raine.
Jessica was raised in a middle-class family in suburban California. She had honey-colored eyes and light-brown hair, but it was her radiant smile that people always noticed. “Evangeline has my smile,” she’d say.
Jessica attended Pepperdine University for her bachelor’s degree and UCLA for her master’s in marketing. She met Austin during an internship at an engineering firm. A few years later, they got married and had Evangeline.
Her parents were generally happy, and Eve was grateful for that. She appreciated the lifestyle her parents worked so hard to provide, but she often felt their work commitments took them away from home.
She missed them.
When they both had less demanding jobs, they used to have game nights, movie nights, go to baseball games…she missed all of it. She missed being the center of someone’s world.
Eve walked into the living room, backpack slung over her shoulder. Her parents wouldn’t be home from work for a few more hours, so she sat down to do her homework.
She was serious about school, and her grades reflected that. She worked hard so she could play hard, but she didn’t really play that hard.
She preferred reading to partying. She liked being alone more than being in a crowd. She’d rather have one close friend than twenty casual ones.
Her peers thought she was strange for being so introverted, but to her, it felt normal—it felt safe.
When the front door opened, Eve looked up to see her mom walking in. She gave her a quick smile before returning to her work.
Jessica sighed as she dropped her purse on the kitchen table. This was their routine; Jessica would always share her day after coming home from work, and Eve would politely chime in now and then.
“You won’t believe what Christopher had the nerve to say to me today!
“I’m in the middle of this big sale, and he comes up to me and says, ‘It’s a nice-looking car, but it won’t look so nice when you see its mileage.’ ”
Jessica turned to Eve, hands on her hips, as she spoke. She sighed in frustration as she rummaged through her purse.
“Wow, that sucks,” Eve mumbled. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, she just wasn’t particularly interested.
“Is that all you have to say?” Jessica asked, taking out her car keys and hanging them on the wall.
Eve looked up and feigned outrage. “That jerk! How dare he!”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Jessica responded, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Jessica continued to share her day until, twenty minutes later, she turned and gestured to the door.
“Oh, remember, we have that ball on Sunday for Dad’s coworker. We’re flying out tomorrow. Is June sleeping over?”
Eve’s eyes widened; she had completely forgotten. She nodded as she picked up her phone.
June Lee was her best friend from boarding school. They’d gossip, watch TV, and spend most days together unless one of them needed some alone time.
June was the bad influence her parents had warned her about, but even they had fallen for June’s charm.
As the dial tone buzzed in her ear, Eve stood up and turned to her mother. “Is Dad coming home tonight?”
Jessica shook her head as she sorted through the mail.
Eve wasn’t surprised; her father was often away. She harbored some resentment and frustration toward her father, but at the end of the day, he paid for her school, car, food, and house.
He worked for his family; Eve just missed him dearly.
“June said she’d come, right?”
Eve nodded and set her pen down on her notebook. “Yeah, she said she can come. I asked her like a week ago. We’re wearing gowns, right?”
Jessica nodded and leaned over to kiss her daughter’s forehead. Jessica took pride in her appearance; she was always impeccably dressed, even if they were just spending the day at home.
Jessica was always dressed to the nines, her hair was never out of place, and her makeup was always flawless. Sometimes, Eve wondered why she couldn’t be as put-together as her mother.
“Sweetheart, you’re planning on wearing your prom dress, right? When’s she getting here? She should be here soon. We have an early flight tomorrow, so you both need some sleep.”
“I haven’t asked her about staying the night yet. I’m calling her now to see. I’ll let you know.”
Eve let out a sigh of frustration as her call went to voicemail. She dialed again, holding the phone up to her ear.
Eve gave her mom a quick peck on the cheek before heading upstairs to her room. As she climbed the stairs, June’s voice finally came through the speakers.
“Dude, it’s like nine. Way past my bedtime,” June groaned. Eve couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s naturally bubbly voice.
“Just so you know, no amount of sleep is going to fix that thing you call a face.”
“Wow, Eve, wow. You wound me. Do you even want me to come tomorrow?”
Eve laughed before changing the subject. “Do you want to stay the night? Our flight is super early tomorrow.”
June’s laughter echoed through the line as Eve flopped down on her bed.
“Yeah, sure. Give me twenty minutes. I just need to shower.”
“Okay, see you soon,” Eve said. She hung up and tossed her phone on the bed before sitting up and grabbing pajamas to change into after her shower.
Eve was glad June was coming over. June was the only friend she could tolerate for extended periods of time.
They were both a bit introverted, which meant they gave each other space without getting upset or judgmental.
When Eve returned to her room after her shower, June was already there, engrossed in her phone. She sat up and grinned at Eve. “Sup, loser,” she greeted.
“I’m the loser, huh?” Eve asked, walking in with a towel in her hand to dry her hair. “I’m the loser when you’re clearly watching anime on your phone.”
“It’s art!” June defended.
“It’s dorky art.” Eve laughed as June rolled her eyes and flopped back down. Eve’s house was practically June’s second home. She was always there, either doing homework or helping Eve with her studies.
After Eve dried her hair, she grabbed her phone and, like good friends do, they lay there enjoying each other’s company in silence—just the way they liked it.
They drifted off to sleep around midnight when both of their phones needed to be plugged in to charge.
He came home around five in the morning to take them to the airport.
Austin chuckled the next morning when he opened his daughter’s door and found her and June sharing a single pillow.
Austin was a businessman; he hadn’t lied about that. He preferred to think that he never lied; he just never told his daughter the whole truth.
Jessica knew about his connections with the wolves of Romanov. She knew that Austin was the go-between for lycanthropes and humans, but their daughter had no clue the wolf world even existed.
If they could have told her, they would have, but there were strict laws about humans knowing about the existence of lycanthropes.
If you were mated to a human, you could tell that one human. If you worked for the kingdom, you could tell your spouse. Other than that, no one was supposed to know that mythical creatures were walking among them.
“Are you okay?”
Hearing his wife’s voice, Austin turned around and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Yeah, I am,” he whispered back.
“So the king is really…”
“Yes, Jessica.”
It was no secret that the king of wolves was incredibly handsome. His dark hair and gentle personality were the stuff of girls’ deepest fantasies. It irked Austin that his wife also thought so.
The lycan king alpha was over three centuries old, but he’d stopped aging in his twenties. He had an old soul with a modern look.
Austin grimaced while Jessica grinned. She liked that he was still a bit possessive of her even after all these years. Jessica kissed her husband softly, wrapping a delicate hand around his neck.
“Don’t worry…I still find you incredibly sex—”
“Please, for the love of God, do not finish that sentence!”
Jessica and Austin blanched at their daughter’s voice. Their heads snapped back to Eve, who was sitting up on her purple comforter, rubbing her eyes.
“How much did you hear?” Austin asked.
“Too much about my mom finding my dad a word I never want to hear from my mom again! Really! At my door too! That was out of line, guys,” she joked, yawning.
“June, wake up. It’s time to go.” Eve gently nudged her friend’s side. June groaned and pulled the pillow over her head.
“Touch me again if you want to die. I’m sleeping!”
Eve rolled her eyes with a teasing smirk.
“Get up, you two. Time to go. We have to leave here in fifteen.”
Her parents walked away, whispering to each other like kids. Eve got up and brushed her teeth before packing her toothbrush in her bag.
She carried her bag downstairs and set it next to the door before heading back to her room. She was pleased to see June up and moving around.
“I want you to know I hate you so much right now,” June mumbled. Eve laughed and shook her head dismissively as she helped June carry her suitcase downstairs.
Within a few minutes, they both had bowls of cereal and were ready to go. A few hours later, they were on a plane headed to…
Eve tilted her head as she looked out the plane window. “Dad, where are we going?” Eve asked. She couldn’t believe she’d never thought to ask why they needed to be on a plane.
“Russia.”
