A FIRST SMILE

MAYA

I swallowed the lump of panic in my throat and stepped toward Alpha Edward.

The cold night air nipped at my bare skin as I dropped to my knees before him. He sat back in the wooden chair, his massive frame towering over me in the shadows, his heavy, erect penis resting against his thigh. My hands trembled as I reached out, taking his dick into my palm. It was hot, thick, and pulsing with an intense heat that sent a familiar shiver down my spine.

I took him into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the broad tip before taking more of him in.

"Go up and down," Edward ordered, his deep, gravelly voice commanding and heavy in the quiet room.

I obeyed instantly, setting a slow, steady rhythm as I took him deeper into my throat. "I'm sorry, sir," I mumbled softly between thrusts, keeping my voice timid and submissive. "This is my first time doing this."

A rare, faint smile touched Edward’s lips, his dark eyes darkening as he looked down at me.

"That was why we chose you," Maria interrupted from the doorway, her sharp, cold voice cutting through the heavy air. She leaned against the doorframe, watching us like a cold businesswoman inspecting a transaction. "Innocent, untouched, and utterly disposable."

I ignored her poison, focusing entirely on the man sitting in front of me. I shifted my weight, using my lips and tongue to play with the broad head of his dick before dropping lower to suck on his heavy balls. Edward let out a low, guttural groan that vibrated through my chest. He reached down, his large, calloused hand sliding beneath my simple cotton nightgown, parting my thighs with forceful ease. His long fingers found my wet core, sliding straight inside my tight, innocent vagina.

At that point, it was no longer forced.

A sudden, fierce heat exploded in my belly. My body betrayed every vow of cold vengeance I had made to myself as a wave of intense, intoxicating pleasure washed through my veins. I leaned into his hand, arching my back, and I could feel that Edward was enjoying every single second of it too. The dark, cold atmosphere of the room vanished, replaced by an overwhelming wave of familiar passion. It was as if we were two star-crossed lovers rekindling a flame that had been extinguished eighteen years ago.

Edward pulled me up from my knees, hauling my body into his lap. He captured my lips with a wild, starving hunger, kissing me deeply while trailing his mouth down my jaw, my collarbone, and the crook of my neck.

It's the same, my mind whispered in shock.

The heat of his skin, the scent of cedar and rain, the exact pressure of his lips against my throat—it was identical to the night he took my virginity in my past life. My soul recognized him completely, and my body responded with a helpless, desperate yearning.

He lifted me easily and laid me down on the narrow bed. Shifting his heavy body over mine, he parted my legs and guided his thick dick to my entrance. With one smooth, firm push, he slid deep inside my core.

A sharp gasp left my throat. A mix of intense pain and overwhelming pleasure surged through my body. Blood trickled down my thigh as he broke through my new body's virginity, claiming me completely. I arched into him, a soft moan escaping my lips as he began to move inside me with deep, agonizingly perfect strokes.

When the pleasure reached its absolute peak, Edward lowered his head, his fangs extending as he bit down forcefully into the junction of my neck and shoulder.

A wave of sweet, burning heat rushed through my veins as the mark snapped into place once again. He disvirgined me and marked me in a single night—just like he had done eighteen years ago.

This encounter was supposed to be a quick, thirty-minute business affair under Maria’s watchful eye. But as Edward buried his face in my neck, his heavy body tangled with mine in the sheets, both of us completely forgot that Maria was even in the room.

Lost in the intoxication of our reconnected bond, we fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, wrapped in each other's arms until the morning light bled through the small window.

"Edward!"

A sharp, hysterical shriek shattered the silence of the morning, ripping us violently out of sleep.

I sat up abruptly, my head swimming as I blinked through the gray light. Maria stood in the center of the small room, her face twisted into a mask of pure, unbridled fury, her chest heaving violently.

"You were supposed to be in here for thirty minutes!" Maria screamed, her hands clenched into tight fists. "It was just a transaction! Why did you spend the entire night sleeping in her arms?!"

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, not bothering to reach for a sheet to cover my nakedness. Fresh blood and slick dried against my inner thighs, but I stood tall, unbothered by my bare skin.

Edward swung his legs off the bed as well, standing up completely nude. His massive frame was broad and imposing in the morning light, his heavy dick and balls swinging between his thighs as he reached for his trousers.

Watching him stand there so raw, powerful, and thick, a sudden, traitorous surge of heat flushed through my core. Part of me shamelessly wanted him to push me back onto the mattress and take me again right in front of her. But I kept my mouth shut, hiding the dangerous desire behind a meek, lowered gaze.

Edward pulled his trousers up, zipping them with cold, methodical efficiency. He didn't look at Maria as he pulled on his shirt, his posture stiff and distant.

He walked toward the open door, but just before stepping into the hallway, he stopped and turned his head slightly, casting a cold side-eye toward his furious wife.

"It was entirely your decision," Edward said, his voice flat and unfeeling before he walked out, his heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor.

I stood in the quiet room, my mind racing. His decision? Her decision? Why on earth would Maria arrange for me to sleep with her husband, considering the sheer depth of hatred she held for me? What game was she playing?

Before I could process the thought, a sharp, violent pain exploded at the crown of my head.

Maria lunged forward, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking my head back with brutal force. I gasped, stumbling backward as she dragged my completely naked body across the floor.

"Listen to me, you worthless street rat," Maria sneered, her toxic breath hot against my cheek as she pulled my hair tighter, forcing me to look up at her venomous eyes. "I could strip you down and force you to walk through the main courtyard right now! I could let every guard and low-ranking servant satisfy their filthiest lusts with your naked body, and no one would stop me!"

Pain shot through my scalp, but I forced my expression to remain blank, letting my body go limp in her grip.

"I won't do it," Maria hissed, her eyes glittering with a cold, terrifying greed. "But I will do it if you think you can play with my husband's balls and fail to deliver! You have a job to do. A few more nights with him, and four weeks from now, you will announce your pregnancy to the pack!"

She shoved my head forward, throwing me onto the bed.

"You give us the heir," Maria spat, smoothing down her silk robe with shaking hands. "And the moment that child is cut from your womb, you move out of this territory forever with five million dollars in your pocket. Do not get comfortable, maid. You are nothing but a paid vessel."

Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heel, leaving the heavy wooden door swinging wide open as she marched down the hall.

Silence descended over the small attic quarter.

I lay on the narrow bed, completely naked, my small pink vagina exposed to the empty doorway as I stared up at the wooden ceiling beams. The room still smelled faintly of Edward’s cedar scent and the metallic tang of my own virgin blood.

Five million dollars. An Alpha's heir in my womb. The keys to the kingdom handed to me on a silver platter by the very woman who had smashed my head open eighteen years ago.

My chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm as a cold, dark realization washed over me. Maria thought she was using me to secure her position and buy a child. She had no idea she was paying five million dollars to fund her own execution.

I closed my eyes, letting a slow, ruthless smile spread across my lips in the quiet room, pondering whether to play their game to the very end—or burn their world down even sooner.