POWER SHIFT

MAYA

The afternoon bled seamlessly into the quiet evening, and Alpha Edward refused to leave my small attic room. He remained by my side, entirely consumed by the fierce, possessive need that had taken over him.

We had sex after sex. We moved across the small room—on the edge of the narrow bed, against the stone wall, and on the soft rug in the center of the floor. He explored different positions with me, taking his time to guide my body with surprising gentleness despite his massive strength.

"This is good for a pregnant woman," he would murmur softly, shifting my hips, supporting my weight so there was no pressure on my lower abdomen.

At one point, as he lay above me, his heavy hands squeezed my chest a bit too tightly. I winced, pushing lightly against his shoulders. "Edward, stop... my breasts hurt when you fondle them so hard."

He paused instantly, a sheepish, soft smile breaking across his harsh features. "I’m sorry, Maya," he whispered, leaning down to press a warm, delicate kiss against my collarbone. "I’ll go easy. I promise."

Later, while he lay flat on his back resting, I shifted down his body. I sucked and played with his erected penis, enjoying the way his breathing hitched whenever my tongue swept over the tip. But funny enough, I realized I actually loved playing with his penis when it was not erected. The softness of it when it was flaccid, resting gently against his warm skin, felt oddly peaceful to touch. I stroked it lazily with my fingers, feeling the heavy muscle relax completely under my touch.

Edward looked down at me, his fingers tangling into my long dark hair, a thoughtful expression softening his amber eyes.

"I always feel Philomena is happy whenever we are together," he said softly, his voice echoing in the quiet room. "It’s strange, Maya... but I feel like she supports our union."

I paused my hand, looking up at him through my lashes, forcing a bitter, guarded expression onto my face.

"But this is not yet a union, Edward," I replied quietly, my voice carrying a sharp edge of reality. "I am just a breeder for the Alpha and his true wife... his Luna."

Edward’s jaw instantly clenched. His amber eyes flared with sudden, intense anger, the relaxed mood in the room evaporating in a split second.

"Do not say that," he growled, sitting up straight and grabbing both of my shoulders, holding me firmly in place. "I must make you my Luna, Maya. I am going to make you my wife."

"And how do you intend to do that?" I challenged, staring him dead in the eye without flinching. "I still have to prove that Lucas tried to kill the baby in my womb before the elders will allow the wedding to hold."

"I will talk with Lucas tonight," Edward stated fiercely, his voice dropping into a deep, authoritative register that vibrated right through the floorboards. "And remember, Maya... I am the Alpha, not Maria. I can change and make laws in this pack."

He sounded so harsh, so incredibly bold, and for the very first time since I had returned to this estate, it felt like he was truly in charge and not Maria. The timid, hesitant man who let his wife dictate the household had vanished.

"I only let Maria have her way all these years because I made a solemn promise to her dying father," Edward continued, speaking with a lethal intensity as if he were reading every doubt hidden in my mind. "I swore I would respect her family's name. But if she tries to block or stop this marriage... if she tries to harm you or my heir... I might be forced to use my powers the way I never wanted to."

Just while we were speaking and having sex at intervals, recovering our breath in the fading light, a sharp knock came on the heavy wooden door.

We froze. Edward pulled a blanket over our bare legs while I straightened my nightgown.

"Enter," Edward commanded, his voice cold and hard.

A young housemaid opened the door, her eyes widening in immediate shock when she saw the Alpha sitting on the bed beside me, his shirt off and his aura heavy in the room. She quickly bowed her head, trembling.

"Alpha... Luna Maria demands to see Maya in her master suite immediately," the maid stammered, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

Edward didn't hesitate. He stood up, pulled his trousers back on, and buckled his belt. "I am coming with you," he told me flatly.

He took my hand, his large fingers locking securely with mine, and led me out of the attic room. We walked down the grand corridor together, side by side, his boots making heavy, decisive echoes against the stone.

When we entered the Luna’s master suite, the sight before us was unbelievable.

Maria was an absolute mess of herself. Her expensive silk gown was wrinkled and torn at the hem. Her dark hair was wildly unkempt, sticking out in tangled knots around her pale, sunken face. Her eyes were bloodshot, surrounded by dark purple circles of pure exhaustion and hysterical terror. Empty tea cups and scattered paper littered the floor around her vanity.

She looked like a woman who had been dragged through a nightmare and barely survived.

The moment the double doors opened, Maria spun around. But when her frantic eyes landed on Edward holding my hand tightly in front of her, her jaw dropped in sheer disbelief.

"Edward..." she gasped, her voice raspy and hoarse. "Why are you holding her hand like that?"

Edward didn't answer. He just stood there, tall and imposing, keeping his grip on my fingers firm and unyielding.

Maria ignored him, scrambling across the rug toward me, her hands shaking violently. "Maya! You need to pack your things right now!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with wild desperation. "I want you to leave this palace today! Leave and never return again!"

I stood my ground, my posture straight and composed beside the Alpha.

"I will pay you all the money we promised!" Maria went on, her words tumbling out in a frantic, messy rush, tears springing to her bloodshot eyes. "I will double it! I will give you a chest of gold, a house in the lower territory, whatever you want! Just take your things and leave this territory forever!"

She was terrified. The moving picture, the shaking walls that had nearly brought the manor down, and the seer going completely dumb while pointing at me had finally broken her mind. She realized that as long as I stayed in this house, the ghost of Philomena was going to tear her life apart.

Maria stepped closer, reaching out to grab my arm to shove me toward the door, but Edward instantly stepped in front of me, blocking her path with his broad chest.

"She is not going anywhere, Maria," Edward said, his voice terrifyingly calm, carrying the absolute finality of an Alpha's decree.

Maria stared up at her husband, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Edward... she is a cursed maid! The house is falling apart because of her! She is accusing your brother—"

"I will handle Lucas tonight," Edward cut her off coldly, looking down at her frantic, disheveled face with utter detachment. "Maya stays. The baby stays. And the wedding will take place."

I looked at Edward, and then I looked at Maria, who looked like she was about to collapse onto the floor once again.

Edward and I stared at each other for a long, quiet second, a silent understanding passing between us in the dim light of the room. We both knew the truth now. The shift in power had finally happened.

Luna Maria was no longer in charge of this house.