"SHE'S A SUCCUBUS."
Shock rippled through her as the weight of the words sank in, leaving her momentarily breathless.
She stared at Grayson's profile as he continued to watch the empty driveway, his jaw set in hard lines that spoke of old pain and carefully buried regret.
"A succubus," Mailah repeated slowly, trying to process this revelation. "But I thought... didn't you say you deliberately chose human wives? For your abstinence from feeding?"
Grayson's laugh was bitter, devoid of any humor. "That was the plan. For centuries, it worked perfectly. Materialistic human women who wanted nothing more than financial security and social status. Marriages of pure convenience that allowed me to maintain distance, to avoid any emotional entanglement."
