SHE STAYS

MARIA

I watched Maya take care of her blind Alpha every single day.

She bathed him, she fed him, and whenever the pack council called for an emergency session, she held his hand gently, guiding his blind steps into the grand hall so he could sit before the elders. I had to admit it, even if it pained my pride—she is a beautiful soul. The pure, unselfish dedication she showed to a husband who could no longer see her was almost poetic.

Her wild ego and all that loud "I am the Luna" arrogance had completely dropped. She wasn't strutting around the palace like a queen anymore. Reality had humbled her, and to make things even harder, she was now heavily pregnant. Her belly had swollen into a large, round bump that made her walk slowly, her hand always resting over the child growing inside her.

During one of the afternoon council meetings, the elders finally reached their breaking point. They called Maya's attention in front of the entire assembly, their aged faces twisted in severe disgust.

"You are cursed!" Elder Thomas shouted, pointing his carved wooden staff directly at her face. "You brought calamity to this royal throne from the very second you stepped foot inside this palace! First, young Lucas dies under mysterious circumstances, and now our Alpha wakes up blind! We have made our decision, Maya. Once you give birth to that child, you must pack your things and leave this palace forever!"

Maya stood there with her head bowed, her lips trembling, tears welling up in her soft eyes as she clutched her pregnant belly.

Before the elders could bang their gavels to seal the judgment, I stepped forward from the shadows, wrapping my silk cloak around my shoulders.

"Maya stays," I insisted, my voice echoing sharply off the high stone walls.

The entire council gasped. Even Edward turned his blank, blind eyes toward the sound of my voice in total shock.

"Luna Maria, what are you saying?!" Elder Thomas demanded, his jaw dropping. "She took your place! She ruined your husband!"

I shoved their arguments off completely. They didn't understand the real reason, of course. They thought I was being a merciful senior wife, but the truth was far simpler—I still needed her to satisfy me sexually. I couldn't let them banish the only woman whose mouth, fingers, and body could drive me insane with pleasure every time I visited her bed.

"Even in his current state, Alpha Edward is still the Alpha!" I declared coldly, stepping beside Edward's chair. "He still holds the supreme power to decide what happens in this pack, not this council! And he will not banish the mother of his unborn heir!"

Edward reached out, taking my hand with a rare look of gratitude on his pale face. "Maria is right," he rumbled softly. "Maya stays by my side."

The elders grumbled bitterly, shaking their heads in defeat, realizing they couldn't overrule the Alpha's bloodline authority.

"Fine!" Elder Thomas hissed, standing up from his chair. "Maya stays for now. But we will keep a very close eye on her every move! We warn you, girl—do not cause any more calamity in this territory! The sudden death of Lucas and the blindness of the Alpha are already more than this pack can bear!"

As the meeting dispersed, a small, dark smile crept onto my lips. I looked at Maya, who was staring at the floor with tears streaming down her cheeks, carrying the heavy weight of everyone's hatred. I felt a rush of sweet satisfaction in my chest.

I knew she was completely innocent of all the terrible things she was being accused of. She didn't murder Lucas, and she certainly didn't blind Edward. But that is what you get when you try to fight me, Maria Edward! You take my crown, and I will make the whole world see you as a monster.

By late afternoon, I decided it was time to clean house once and for all.

Now it was time to take down the picture of Philomena on the wall. For months, those haunting eyes of the dead princess had disturbed my peace, staring down at me from every corridor like a ghost waiting to drag me into hell. I wasn't going to live in her shadow any longer.

"You two!" I barked, pointing at two kitchen maids who were scrubbing the stone floor nearby. "Bring down all of Philomena's portraits in this house immediately! Burn them in the courtyard!"

"Yes, Luna Maria!" the maids squeaked, quickly scrambling to grab a wooden ladder.

They set up the ladder under the massive, gold-framed portrait of Philomena hanging in the main hallway and began unhooking the heavy chains.

Just as they lifted the top corner, Maya came walking out of the master bedroom, her hand supporting her lower back. She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide as she saw what the maids were doing.

"Stop!" Maya called out, her voice loud and firm. "Leave those pictures where they are!"

The maids froze on the ladder, looking down in pure panic. "Luna Maya... this was an order directly from Luna Maria," one of them stammered nervously.

"I don't care whose order it was," Maya insisted, stepping closer, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Do not touch those paintings. Leave them on the wall!"

Now, the maids were completely trapped between respecting me or Maya. They stood frozen on the steps, looking back and forth between the two of us, trembling with fear.

A wave of pure, hot fury rushed straight to my head. How dare this maid countermand my direct orders in my own palace?!

"I SAID TAKE THE PICTURES DOWN RIGHT NOW!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, stepping toward the ladder with my fists clenched tightly. "THIS IS MY HOUSE!"

The words had barely left my mouth when a sudden, violent pain shot straight through the center of my brain.

It wasn't a normal headache—it felt as if an invisible iron stake had been driven straight through my temples. My head began to spin out of control. The grand hallway tilted sideways, the walls blurring into a sickening swirl of colors.

"Aaagh!" I screamed, dropping to my knees as a loud, deafening ringing echoed inside my ears.

The pain was so unbearable, so excruciatingly intense, that I lost all control over my own body. I grabbed my head with both hands and began hitting my forehead against the hard stone wall—bang, bang, bang! I couldn't stop myself! It felt like someone else was controlling my limbs, smashing my skull against the cold rock to shatter the dark voices screaming inside my mind.

I hit my head against the wall so long, over and over, until blood trickled down my nose and darkness completely consumed my sight.

That violent, terrifying sensation was all I could remember.

When my eyelids finally fluttered open, the harsh glare of the afternoon sun was streaming through the heavy curtains. The pounding in my head had subsided into a dull, throbbing ache, and my forehead felt tightly wrapped in fresh white bandages.

I shifted uncomfortably on the soft mattress, letting out a weak groan.

"Shh... stay still, Maria," a soft, velvety voice whispered right beside my ear.

I turned my head slowly and saw Maya lying on the bed right next to me. She was propped up on one elbow, her large, pregnant belly resting against my hip. She wasn't wearing her royal cloak—just a thin, translucent nightgown that revealed the soft curves of her body.

Before I could even process where I was, I felt her warm, delicate hand sliding smoothly inside my open robe.

Maya was fondling my bare breast, her long, slender fingers gently squeezing my soft flesh, her thumb lightly rolling over my sensitive nipple with a slow, hypnotic rhythm that instantly sent a shiver of warmth rushing straight down to my core.

"Maya..." I gasped out, my voice raspy and weak. "What... what happened to me?"

Maya leaned down, her soft lips brushing lightly against my earlobe as she continued to stroke my breast.

"You had a very bad spell, Maria," she murmured seductively, her warm breath tickling my skin. "You've been completely unconscious for two whole days."