“You again, sweet thing?”

The words dripped with venom-coated silk as Evelynn stepped into the alley’s flickering half-light, her arms folding across her chest with slow, deliberate elegance. Her eyes—sharp, glinting with hunger and impatience—narrowed on the figure that stood between her and the trembling mortal.

“This is the third one today,” she hissed, voice low and sultry, threaded with irritation. “Third victim you’ve ‘protected’ from me. It’s getting tiresome.”

It had been months. Months since Evelynn had fed properly—months of stalking her prey only to find that same blinding, celestial glow cutting through the darkness. That same goody-two-shoes angel descending like a sanctified hammer, always just in time to ruin her fun.

Her lip curled as she took a step closer, the mortal forgotten behind the shimmering wings of the divine. “I know, I know it’s your job,” she drawled mockingly. “To watch over them, guide them, guard their precious little souls. But… really?” She tilted her head, eyes gleaming with something wicked. “Let me ask you something.”

She leaned in, close enough to breathe in the scent that always clung to the angel’s skin—vanilla, white florals, the unbearable sweetness of righteousness and purity. It made Evelynn's stomach twist, not with nausea, but with something more primal: resentment, desire, hunger.

“What have these mortals ever done for you?” she whispered, her voice a blade softened by honey. “They forget you exist. Curse your name. Spill blood on the very earth you protect—and for what? No gratitude. No love. Just entitlement.”

And she wasn’t wrong. The divine were tireless in their protection, their mercy—and yet mortals, more often than not, turned away with nothing but scorn or indifference.

Her tone softened, laced with a predatory purr as her gaze locked on the angel’s face. “But I could give you more. Come with me… and that could change.”

It wasn’t the first time she made the offer. It wouldn’t be the last. She never stopped asking, never stopped wondering if this would be the moment the angel’s resolve finally faltered. If the light would flicker. Just once.

But it never did.

And every time, Evelynn walked away starved and rejected.

God, it was infuriating.