THE FIGHT OF JEALOSY

MAYA

I looked up into Edward’s amber eyes, watching the raw, desperate plea burning inside them. My chest felt so tight I could barely draw air into my lungs.

I never knew he had this volume of love for me.

All this time, I thought his heart was split between a dead princess and a manipulative Luna. I thought my silence had ruined whatever fragile bond we had left. But looking at him now—seeing an Alpha lower his pride, practically begging me to give him any excuse just so he could hold me again—the sheer depth of his devotion completely shattered my resolve.

Now I had to tell him the truth. He deserved it. He was drowning in pain, and I held the only rope that could pull him out.

But what is the truth?

How could I possibly open my mouth and say, “Edward, I am Princess Philomena, the woman you buried years ago. I died, my soul was reborn in a maid’s body, and I spent five days bleeding over my old grave to break your spell”?

If I said those words out loud, he wouldn't just think I was lying; he would think I had gone completely insane. Or worse, the revelation would force an immediate, deadly war with Maria before I was ready to protect him from her mountain covens. Some truths are better not told. Some secrets are shields meant to keep the people you love alive.

My mind raced, searching for anything to give him peace without destroying our fragile reality.

"I went to my mother's grave to offer prayers," I lied.

The speed and ease with which the lie came up shocked even me. The words spilled off my tongue smoothly, delivered with a soft, tearful tremor that made them sound entirely real. I lowered my head, letting my shoulders drop in faux shame. "My mother died in poverty on the border, Edward. When you fell sick, I felt helpless. I went to her burial ground in the deep woods to fast, pray, and ask her spirit for guidance on how to save you. I was alone in the wild for five days. There were no boys. There was no betrayal. Only me, on my knees, praying for your life."

Edward froze. He stared down at me, his eyes wide as he processed my words. The oppressive, icy tension that had hung over his broad shoulders for weeks snapped in an instant. The blood-red glow completely faded from his eyes, leaving behind pure, unadulterated relief.

He took the lie and believed it without a single second of hesitation.

"Oh, Goddess, Maya..." Edward breathed, his voice cracking with emotion.

Before I could say another word, he stepped forward and pulled me fiercely into his arms. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply, his arms wrapping around my waist so tightly I could feel the thudding beat of his heart against my chest.

"I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly, kissing the side of my hair over and over again. "I'm so sorry I doubted you. I was so afraid I had lost you."

I held onto him, burying my face in his chest, feeling a mixture of immense relief and heavy guilt. The lie had saved us for now, but the storm was far from over.

Edward pulled back slightly, holding my face in his large, warm hands. He wiped away my tears with his thumbs, a fierce, protective light shining in his eyes. He turned toward the grand stairs leading to the ceremonial altar, keeping his hand firmly locked in mine.

"Walk with me," he commanded softly, leading me up the steps toward the sacred platform.

Below us, the entire courtyard erupted into gasps and furious whispers. The pack elders looked on in utter shock, their faces turning pale as Edward guided me to the center of the illuminated altar under the silver rays of the giant full moon.

Maria stood at the base of the platform, her jaw open, her face contorted in absolute humiliation and rage. She had spent the entire day preparing to take this spot, yet here I was, standing beside the Alpha as his chosen mate for the Full Moon Blessing.

Edward raised our joined hands high into the night air.

"Members of the Nightshade Pack!" Edward’s voice boomed across the territory, rich with Alpha authority. "Tonight, under the watchful gaze of the Moon Goddess, I stand beside my wife, Maya! She has proven her loyalty and devotion to this pack through sacrifice and love. Let the moonlight bless our union and clear all shadows from our home!"

A loud cheer slowly rose from the younger pack members, cascading through the courtyard, effectively silencing the murmurs of the elders. Edward turned to me, a soft smile gracing his handsome face, and pressed a long, meaningful kiss to my forehead right in front of everyone.

For a few fleeting moments, I felt safe. I felt cherished.

But as the ceremony concluded and the crowd began to disperse into the courtyard gardens for the evening feast, the air around the estate grew unnaturally cold.

Edward was called away by two pack commanders to inspect the western guard post before the moon reached its peak. "Stay near the main hall, Maya," he whispered gently, kissing my cheek before walking off into the dark corridor with his guards. "I will be back in ten minutes."

I nodded, stepping out onto the quiet edge of the courtyard garden near the stone fountain to wait for him. The moonlight washed over the dark red roses, casting long shadows across the cobblestones.

Suddenly, a low, menacing growl echoed from the dark treeline at the edge of the estate.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I spun around just in time to see a massive, ash-gray wolf leap out from the shadows. Its dark yellow eyes burned with demonic fury, its razor-sharp fangs bared, foam dripping from its jaws.

It was Maria.

Driven insane by jealousy and public humiliation, she had given in to her beast. Right after the blessings, Maria attacked me in her wolf form.

She didn't give a warning growl. She lunged straight for my throat, her massive paws slamming into my chest with bone-crushing force.

"Ah!" I screamed as we both went crashing down onto the hard cobblestones.

I barely managed to throw my arms up in time to catch her snapping jaws. Her hot, metallic breath fanned over my face as her sharp teeth snapped inches from my eyes. She weighed twice as much as my human frame, her heavy claws tearing through the fabric of my navy blue dress, digging painfully into my shoulders.

Blood trickled down my skin. I struggled beneath her, pushing against her heavy snout with all my strength, but she was pressed down by raw, feral fury. There was a violent physical fight right there beside the stone fountain.

"Maria, stop!" I gasped out, struggling to breathe under her heavy weight.

She let out a vicious snarl, snapping her jaws down toward my exposed neck again. I didn't want to fight her. I didn't want to reveal my hidden strength in the middle of the open courtyard where someone might see. I tried to hold her back using pure physical muscle, but she was an experienced fighter, and the sheer fury of her wolf was giving her an unnatural advantage.

She slammed her heavy paw onto my chest, pinning me completely to the stone floor. Her jaws snapped shut on my upper arm, her sharp teeth biting deep into my flesh.

Pain exploded through my shoulder like liquid fire. Tears of agony sprang to my eyes as she shook her head violently, trying to rip the muscle right off my bone. She was almost winning. She was genuinely going to kill me right here on the garden stones.

No! my inner voice screamed. You did not survive death once just to be slaughtered in the dirt by a monster!

As my life began to flash before my eyes, the deep, ancient well of power I had awakened at my grave burst wide open inside my soul.

Oh, bless the Goddess, I didn't know I had that kind of power.

A blinding surge of golden aura erupted from my chest like a physical explosion. The shockwave slammed into Maria's wolf, blasting her off my body and sending her flying twenty feet back across the courtyard. She crashed hard into the stone fountain, shattering the marble base into pieces before rolling into the dirt.

I scrambled up from the ground, breathing heavily, my torn arm bleeding onto my torn dress. The air around me began to hum with violently vibrating magic. My eyes glowed with a terrifying, ethereal light.

Maria let out a furious roar, scrambling back onto her feet. She lowered her head and charged at me again, her claws tearing up the dirt as she sprinted at full speed.

This time, I didn't shrink back.

As she leaped into the air to crush me, I flicked my wrist upward using my telekinesis. An invisible wall of raw kinetic force slammed directly into her ribcage mid-air, freezing her in place.

Maria whimpered as she hung suspended in the air, completely paralyzed by my power.

I raised my other hand and made a tight fist. The invisible force slammed her hard down onto the stone floor with a sickening CRACK. Before she could scramble away, I stepped forward, channeling my ancestral magic down through my arms.

I raised my foot and slammed a magic-infused kick straight into her side, sending her sliding across the sharp stones. She tried to snap at my leg, but I was faster. I grabbed her massive wolf by the scruff of her neck, my hands glowing with golden light, and smashed her snout down against the stone floor.

I beat Maria like she was a kid.

Every time she tried to raise her claws, my magic pinned her down. I hit her with telekinetic force, threw her into the stone pillars, and delivered sharp, punishing blows that cracked her ribs and shattered her pride. She whimpered, her dark yellow eyes dilating in sheer terror as she realized she was completely helpless against me. The great, terrifying Luna was reduced to a crying, bleeding pup beneath my feet.

With one final, powerful blast of invisible force, I threw her heavy body against the wall of the main hall. She crumpled into a broken heap on the ground, letting out a pitiful, whining cry before her gray wolf form dissolved, forcing her back into her human body.

Maria lay in the dirt, covered in bruises and blood, weeping softly, completely broken.

I stood over her, my chest heaving up and down as I tried to catch my breath. Sweat and blood ran down my face. My heart was hammering like a drum, and the sheer volume of magic surging through my veins was so intense it felt like my skin was burning from the inside out.

Suddenly, a strange, overwhelming warmth washed over my body.

The silver light of the peak full moon directly above us beamed straight down on me, reacting violently with the ancestral magic floating in my blood. A bright, blinding flash of white light enveloped my entire figure, lifting me an inch off the ground.

My bones cracked and realigned. My spine straightened. The physical scars on my skin dissolved into pure light, and my dark, coarse maid's hair began to ripple, transforming into long, cascading waves of vibrant, golden-red silk. My features shifted, softening into noble, breathtaking lines that I hadn't seen in a mirror for years.

When the light finally dissolved and my feet touched the cold stone floor, the magic settled around me like a royal cape.

I looked down at my hands. They were pale, smooth, and unblemished.

I looked at my reflection in a pool of water spilling from the shattered fountain. Staring back at me wasn't Maya the maid. It was the striking, flawless face of Princess Philomena.

After the fight, I transformed into Philomena and not Maya.

A sharp gasp echoed from the dark doorway of the corridor.

I snapped my head around. Edward was standing at the edge of the courtyard, his jaw slack, his amber eyes wide with absolute, frozen disbelief as he stared straight at my face.