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“Why would you cook?” he asks.

“Because I’m the maiden,” I say, furrowing my eyebrows. “Are you new to this?”

“Lilith, you have one job as a maiden, and that is to come when we fuck you. You are also our mate, so you do not cook, and you do not clean. You get to just sit there and look pretty while we fuck you,” Daemon says with a sultry tone that makes my insides melt. He stops walking when he gets within a few inches of me. “Think you can manage that, witch?”

“Yes, sir,” I breathe. Fuck, why does he have to look at me like that? Sex has never been anything more than a job to me; it’s just something that I do. Sometimes, I enjoy it, and other times I’m bored out of my mind while some sweaty man grunts in my ear telling me how my pussy is the best fox pussy they’ve ever had. If they knew it was just because I’m a witch, they’d choke my ass out on the spot. After they finished, of course. They always get theirs, come hell or high water.

“What do you want to eat, Lilith?” Daemon asks again. His face is inches from mine, and I can’t breathe.

“I’m not hungry,” I whisper.

Right as he opens his mouth to say something, my stomach betrays me and growls loudly, begging for sustenance. Daemon narrows his eyes, and a smile creeps onto my face.

“What. Do. You. Want? If I have to ask you one more time, I’m going to take you into that kitchen and feed you something myself. What do you want for dinner, Lilith?”

“You don’t have to go all the way to the kitchen to do that, Daemon,” I say with a sweet smile, and Callum laughs.

“Gods, you’re going to be a handful,” Daemon says with a sigh as he rubs his forehead.

“I’ve had the same meal three times a day for five years, Daemon. I don’t know,” I say softly. “I can cook anything you want, but I don’t remember what anything tastes like.”

“What?” Kael says, frowning.

“Not torturous enough for you?” I ask with an attitude.

“What did you eat then?” Daemon asks.

“Uhm. It’s almost like oatmeal, but no flavor,” I say. “I learned how to make it into something like a granola bar so I could eat and clean.”

“Maidens aren’t required to clean,” Callum says.

“It was that or get passed around the pack like an offering plate at church, so I opted to clean. I could handle Zypher letting the pack do all that to me once a month, but daily would be something from a nightmare. If I wasn’t cleaning or hiding, he was fucking me,” I say.

“Hiding?” Daemon asks.

“Well. I was notreallyhiding. My magia is nature-oriented. Sitting in the sun helps me feel closer to nature,” I say. “Look, it’s not a big deal. Zypher was intense, but I handled him just fine.”

“How about this?” Callum says as he walks up to us. “Go sit on the side patio, and we will make dinner. That’s the last place the house gets sunlight, so go be with nature, or whatever, and we will be out there after a while.”

“Okay,” I smile. “How do I get out there? This house is massive, so I will get lost if you don’t give me directions.”

“You’re a witch. Can’t you just get directions?” Kael asks sarcastically.

“What do I look like to you… MapQuest? That’s not how magic works, Kael,” I say. Daemon and Callum chuckle and shake their heads at me.

“I’ll show you,” Callum says, motioning for me to walk with him. I trail behind him happily, and he leads me into the kitchen. We step out of a sliding glass door onto the patio, and he points for me to sit.

“Thank you,” I say.

“You’re welcome,” he says. “Don’t leave this patio, okay?”

“I won’t,” I say.

“The grounds are expansive, and if you don’t know where you are going, you’ll get lost,” he says.

“I’ve got it. Don’t run away,” I say as I sit down.

“It’s not about if you run away,” he says. “I’d rather you not get mauled by anactualbear out there.”