DONE IT BEFORE?

MAYA

I closed the ancient book slowly, my heart thudding against my ribs as the screams outside gradually faded into the quiet night air.

I sat on the edge of my narrow bed, staring down at the dark leather cover resting in my lap. I needed to read the book with no effect on both Grandmother and Maria. The effects it gave them made me want to read, it proved how powerful the grimoire truly was, but I couldn't afford to trigger those agonizing shrieks every single time I opened a page. Every outburst brought guards running, filled the hallway with chaos, and drew unwanted attention to the servant quarters.

There must be a way to read it without affecting them, because I needed to get more knowledge from the book. I had to learn how to break the dark spells binding Edward, how to counter Grandmother’s ancestral shields, and how to reclaim my rightful place without destroying everything around me in the process. But to study its secrets in peace, I needed to find a way to suppress its purging aura.

Locked in my room and thinking of what to do, I leaned my head against the cold stone wall, tracing the brass clasp of the grimoire with my thumb.

Suddenly, a soft, cautious knock came on my door.

I froze, my breath catching in my throat. I quickly slid the heavy book back under the loose wooden floorboard, kicking the edge into place before stepping toward the door. I unlatched the wooden bolt and pulled it open slowly.

Standing in the dim torchlight of the narrow hallway was Alpha Edward.

His dark hair was messy, his eyes bloodshot with exhaustion, and the heavy burden of war and betrayal rested on his broad shoulders. Without saying a word, he stepped into my small room, closed the door behind him, and looked at me with an expression so raw and broken it made my heart ache.

He told me he needed me in his room, but he couldn't even bring himself to move back toward the main corridor. Instead, he collapsed onto the edge of my small wooden chair, burying his face in his large, calloused hands.

"Clara..." he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. He shook his head bitterly before looking up into my eyes. "I love you, Maya. I love you so much... but some certain forces in this house keep keeping us apart."

He was lamenting, his chest heaving as years of buried pain spilled out of him like an overflowing river.

"Look at my life, Maya," Edward said, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. "I have gone blind in the past, I have gone sick, I lost a baby... Many years ago, I lost my true wife, Philomena. Just recently, I lost my stepbrother. And yet, till now, I am an Alpha with too many women around me, yet no one to succeed me when I am gone to be with my ancestors!"

He stood up, pacing the tiny floor of my maid's quarters, pulling at his hair in absolute torment.

"Sometimes I think that this pack is not even mine to rule," he confessed, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "The pack belongs to Maria and her family. I only became the Alpha via marriage to Maria after... after everything collapsed. I am a leader in name, but I am a prisoner in my own castle. I am not at peace, Maya. I haven't been at peace for years."

Listening to his desperate words, a sharp, suffocating guilt tightened around my throat. How do I tell him I am part of what he is going through? How could I explain to him that the dark energy haunting this palace, the mysterious forces spinning heads and shaking portraits, was connected to the very woman standing right in front of him? I was his dead wife returned from the grave, wielding ancient magic to tear down the fake Luna who had trapped him.

While lamenting, he walked over to me and placed his head on my shoulder.

His body was heavy, shaking with silent sobs, and I could hear his heartbeat—fast, erratic, and aching against my chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his neck, smelling the familiar rain and cedar scent that belonged only to my mate. I felt so sorry for him. Beneath his fierce Alpha title, he was just a man who had been broken, manipulated, and bled dry by the evil surrounding him.

"Ever since Philomena died, I have only had peace and felt love in your presence," Edward murmured against my neck, his hot breath tickling my skin. "Whenever I am near you, the noise in my head stops. But somehow, something keeps taking me away from you. Every time I try to reach for you, Maria, the pack duties, or some strange darkness pulls me back."

"I love you, Edward," was all I could say. My voice was thick with emotion, tears spilling over my lashes as I held him tighter. "I love you too."

He pulled back slightly, his dark amber eyes searching my face with overwhelming tenderness. Slowly, gently, he reached out and cupped my cheek, leaning down to kiss me on the lips.

The kiss began soft and desperate, filled with years of longing and pain, but as our lips met, a warm, golden spark ignited deep within my core. It was the undeniable pull of the mate bond, rising above the curses and the lies. He pulled me closer, his strong hands sliding around my waist as the passion between us burned away the cold lingering shadows of the room.

From the kissing, he gently placed me on the bed and made sweet, tender love to me.

Every touch was deliberate, every breath shared between us filled with a deep, emotional reverence. He treated me not as a servant, but as his sanctuary, holding me as if he feared I would disappear into thin air if he let go.

Afterward, as we lay tangled in the thin blankets under the soft moonlight, Edward held me close against his chest. He looked down at me, a subtle trace of confusion crossing his handsome face as he stroked my bare shoulder.

"You have had it before, right?" he asked softly, his voice filled with genuine curiosity.

I looked at him, my brow furrowing slightly at the question. Why is he asking me that?

I knew my own past. I have had countless sex with Alpha Edward in my previous life as Philomena, and in this life as Maya, I had even been molested and abused by his wicked wife, Maria. I was certainly not a virgin, this was not my first time lying in a bed. So why would he look at me with such wonder?

"Why do you ask?" I whispered softly.

Edward reached down, pulling back the edge of the sheet. My eyes followed his gaze, and I gasped softly.

Everywhere felt tight, and there was blood.

I saw the bright red stains on the sheet and on my skin. I stared at it in absolute disbelief, my mind spinning as I touched the warm blood with trembling fingers.

Then I realized the profound, miraculous truth.

Getting to Philomena’s tomb—laying in that sacred earth for five days, undergoing thirty-six days of spiritual restoration under Mr. Orlando’s care—had done far more than just heal my broken bones and restore my breath. The divine ancestral magic of the tomb had washed away every stain of corruption, every trace of Maria's cruelty, and every mark of past abuse.

It had made me completely whole, clean, and chaste once again. I had been reborn not just in spirit, but in body.

Edward smiled softly, kissing my forehead before nestling his face into my neck, his breathing gradually slowing as he finally fell into a deep, peaceful sleep beside me. I rested my hand against his warm chest, feeling his steady heart rhythm, and looked out the small window at the moonlit sky.

I was pure again. The sacred earth had restored what the monsters had taken from me, and no matter how many dark forces Grandmother or Maria brought into this house, I was going to fight until my husband and his pack were finally free.