HE CAN SEE

MAYA

"You went to be with the pack boys!" Maria yelled at me the exact moment I stepped into the house.

Her voice echoed violently off the high marble walls of the foyer, sharp enough to cut through the quiet air of the mansion. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face twisted in a ugly mask of rage as she stomped toward me, her heels clicking loudly against the polished floor.

I stood my ground near the entrance, holding my cloak around my shoulders. I was exhausted, but deep inside my chest, the newly awakened magic hummed like a quiet, dangerous storm. I looked past Maria's angry face, letting my eyes sweep across the long hallway.

Something was missing.

My gaze landed on the main wall above the grand fireplace. The large, elegant oil painting of Princess Philomena—the picture that had hung in this house for decades, staring down at everyone—was completely gone. In its place was a blank, pale square on the wallpaper.

"Where is her picture?" I asked, cutting right through her screaming. My voice was calm, almost cold, as I pointed toward the empty wall. "Where is Philomena's portrait?"

Maria stopped in her tracks, her lips curling into a sneer. "You are a maid here, Maya! You have no business whatsoever with whatever decorations or pictures are placed around this house! You do not ask me questions in my own home!"

I didn't care to argue with her over a painting. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, feeling the heavy exhaustion dragging at my muscles. All I wanted was to go back to my room, bathe, and figure out my next move.

"I'm going to my room," I said quietly, turning my back on her to head toward the servants' corridor.

"Don't you dare move!" she screamed, lunging forward and grabbing my arm with a grip like cold iron. Her fingernails dug painfully into my skin through my sleeve. "You do not walk away from me! You are going to stand right here and tell me where you have been all these days! Five whole days!"

"Five whole days!" she repeated, her voice rising to a sharp screech.

Listening to her scream, a dark, hysterical laughter nearly bubbled up in my throat. Yeah, I got it. I understood exactly why she was this furious. Five whole days without me around. Five days without a helpless girl to dominate, use, and force to lick and suck her vagina every night. She was suffering from severe withdrawal, not because she cared about my safety, but because her favorite living toy had vanished without her permission.

"Let go of my arm, Maria," I said softly, my voice dropping an octave as my telekinesis flared beneath my skin. The air between us grew faintly colder.

Before she could slap me or scream another insult, the heavy double doors of the inner council chambers swung open at the end of the grand hallway.

A group of senior pack elders began walking out, dressed in their formal council robes. They were speaking in low, serious tones, their faces grave and stern. They usually only met in those private chambers when major pack decisions or emergencies were being discussed with the Alpha.

Maria let go of my arm with a sudden, vicious shove, adjusting her silk dress and putting on a fake, haughty posture. She turned her head toward the elders, then looked back at me with a triumphant, evil smirk plastered across her face.

"There was a meeting today, Maya," Maria whispered leaning in close so her breath fanned against my cheek. "Yes, an emergency meeting. And do you want to know what it was about? It was about you. We discussed how you will be thrown out of this palace and returned straight to the dirty street where you belong!"

My heart gave a sudden, painful thud against my ribs. "What?"

"You left without permission," Maria boasted, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked down her nose at me. "I told the council you ran off to spend five days sleeping around with your boys in the territory. You are a loose, untrustworthy street girl. I have officially stripped you of your place here."

Panicked thoughts raced through my head. Edward was blind and paralyzed. If Maria threw me out onto the street, who was going to protect him? Who was going to feed him, wipe his brow, and shield him from her slow, deadly poisons?

"You can't throw me out!" I spat, my voice shaking with raw emotion. "Edward is blind! He needs me! Who will take care of him if I am gone?!"

Maria threw her head back and let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Those taking care of him for the past five days you left, of course! You think you are irreplaceable, little girl? You are nothing!"

Just as the words left her mouth, another footsteps echoed from the doorway of the inner chambers.

I turned my head toward the sound, and the breath was instantly knocked right out of my lungs.

Edward stepped out from the council chambers.

He wasn't in his bed. He wasn't slumped in a wheelchair. He was standing completely upright on his own two feet, dressed in a sharp, tailored black suit that made his broad shoulders look imposing and regal. His posture was commanding, his step firm and confident as he walked alongside the chief elder.

"Thank you for your counsel today, Elders," Edward said, his deep, rich voice carrying clearly across the quiet hall. He stopped near the threshold, smiling warmly as he reached out his hand, shaking the Chief Elder's hand with a firm, strong grip. "Safe travels back to your estates. We will review the border reports tomorrow morning."

"Good health to you, Alpha," the elders bowed respectfully before heading toward the main doors.

I stood there, completely rooted to the floor, my mouth hanging open in absolute, speechless shock.

Edward was hale and hearty. His skin, which had been pale and sickly for months, was glowing with vibrant life and male energy. And his eyes—those beautiful, deep amber eyes that had been milky, blank, and completely unseeing for so long—were clear, bright, and focused.

He was no longer blind.

Mr. Orlando's strange words from the cemetery suddenly blasted through my mind like a thunderclap: "His soul was touched the moment you embraced your true identity... He is already healed."

It wasn't a riddle. It wasn't a lie. The moment my ancient soul fully woke up and claimed its ancestral magic, the dark curse holding Edward in physical darkness had shattered completely.

My heart hammered wildly against my chest as a tidal wave of emotions—overwhelming relief, joy, love, and utter confusion—crashed over me all at once. Tears prickled behind my eyes. He was cured. My Alpha could see again.

As the elders walked past us out the front doors, Edward turned his head slowly toward the foyer. His sharp, clear amber eyes swept across the room, past the fallen painting's empty space, past Maria's shocked face, until his gaze landed squarely, directly on me.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Edward looked straight into my eyes—and actually saw me.