THE RULES

MAYA

I sat on the edge of my small wooden bed, staring at the old, leather-bound journal resting on my lap. The book. I had completely forgotten about the book.

I had locked it away in the bottom of my wooden chest weeks ago, thinking and even believing it was entirely useless to me now. When the strange, blind hermit at my graveyard site had handed it to me wrapped in tattered cloth, the pages had appeared completely blank,just empty, faded parchment covered in silent dust. At the time, I had assumed it was nothing more than an ancient, dead relic.

But tonight, with the palace dead quiet and the moonlight streaming through my window, something pulled my hand toward it.

I blew off the light layer of dust and gently opened the first page. The old man’s raspy voice echoed clearly in my mind from that foggy night at the grave: “Look into the book and believe you can read it.”

Back then, I had doubted him. I did not think about being able to read it; I had dismissed his words as the ramblings of a half-mad mystic. But now, as I looked down at the parchment, I let go of all my doubts. I simply looked, and to my absolute shock, it was easy to read.

The blank parchment seemed to absorb the silver moonlight, and dark, glowing ink began to seep up from within the fibers of the paper, forming elegant, ancient runes that instantly translated themselves in my mind.

I leaned closer, my breath hitching in my throat as I read the very first bold line carved across the top of the page:

“A REINCARNATED SOUL MUST NEVER BEAR A CHILD. REINCARNATED SOULS SHOULD NOT GET PREGNANT.”

My fingers trembled against the rough edges of the paper as my eyes rushed down the remaining lines of the passage:

“The spirit of a reborn soul exists between the physical realm and the ethereal plane. If a reincarnated soul conceives, the life force required to nurture the new soul creates a massive tear in the mate bond. Through this open rift, the father’s life force and spiritual armor will be drained to sustain the child, rendering the male Alpha completely vulnerable to dark magic, curses, and mortal harm.”

The book slipped from my numb fingers and landed on the floor with a soft thud.

I covered my mouth with both hands as hot, painful tears instantly spilled over my cheeks. I sank onto my knees beside the bed, my chest heaving as a wave of overwhelming guilt crashed over my soul.

Oh, Goddess... I wept silently in the dark room. That explains it. That explains everything.

 I had become pregnant with Edward’s child right before Maria launched her attack on the royal house. Back then, we had been so overjoyed, completely unaware of the spiritual laws governing the universe.

I remembered, Shortly after my pregnancy began, Edward—who was once the most powerful, unstoppable Alpha in the entire region—suddenly began to grow weak, sick, and strangely docile. His sharp instincts had dulled, allowing Maria to easily slip her poison into his tea and cast her blinding dark spell over his mind.

All these years, I had blamed Maria entirely for his blindness and downfall. I had hated her with every fiber of my being for turning my proud, mighty Alpha into a helpless puppet.

But the brutal, agonizing truth was now laid bare before me. I cried, and it hurt even harder knowing that I was part of the reason he became blind. My own pregnancy, my own reborn existence, had stripped away his spiritual armor and left him wide open for Maria’s dark magic to destroy him.

"I did this to you, Edward..." I sobbed into my hands, my body shaking violently. "I weakened you... I handed her the knife to blind you..."

I stayed on the floor for what felt like hours, drowning in my own tears, allowing the bitter pain to consume me. But as the dark night wore on, the tears gradually dried on my face, replaced by a cold, sharp, burning rage.

Maria had known. She was a practitioner of dark mountain magic. She had recognized Edward’s sudden vulnerability back then and used it to slaughter me, steal my title, and enslave my mate.

I stood up from the floor, wiping my face with the sleeve of my dress. My eyes burned with a dark, dangerous resolve.

I walked out of my room and marched down the dimly lit corridor toward Maria’s luxurious bedchamber at the end of the east wing. I walked into Maria's room with the intention to do something bad to her. The raw anger inside me wanted to unleash my telekinetic force, tear down her silk curtains, and choke the breath out of her lungs while she lay helpless in her bed.

However, the moment I pushed open her heavy oak door, I stopped dead in my tracks.

The room was in absolute chaos. Maria’s personal maids were huddled near the fireplace, trembling in fear, while Maria lay thrashing violently in the middle of her massive four-poster bed. Her bandages were torn, blood was seeping through her wrappings, and her face was contorted in sheer, unadulterated terror as she screamed at the top of her lungs at the empty air.

"Get her away from me!" Maria shrieked, her hands clawing wildly at her blanket, her eyes wild and bloodshot. "She’s standing on the canopy! Look at her red hair! She's bleeding over my bed! Philomena, stop looking at me!"

"My Lady! Please, calm down!" one of the young maids whimpered, attempting to hold Maria’s shoulders down, but Maria slapped the girl’s hand away in a frenzy, weeping hysterically until her breath caught in her throat and her body went completely limp against the pillows.

She had passed out from sheer panic.

I stood near the entrance, watching the maids hurriedly cover her with a blanket. I stepped closer, keeping my voice low and neutral. "What happened here?"

The lead maid turned to me, her face pale as snow, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Oh, Maya... it was awful. She was just sitting up to drink her herbal tea, and suddenly she started thrashing and screaming out loud that Philomena is in this house. She kept pointing at the empty corner until she just passed out from exhaustion."

I looked down at Maria’s unconscious, pale face. The arrogant, ruthless woman who had murdered me was now a terrified, broken shell, losing her mind to her own guilty conscience.

I smiled. A quiet, terrifying satisfaction bloomed deep inside my chest.

"Finish cleaning her up," I instructed the maid softly. "Call for me if she wakes."

I turned around and returned to my room, closing the door firmly behind me. I lit a single candle on my small wooden desk, sat down, and brought out the book again.

I opened the ancient pages, running my fingers over the glowing, dark runes. The ancient text began to detail the ancestral spells of the royal bloodline, spells designed to purge dark spirits, expose black magic, and amplify spiritual presence within a sanctified home. As I focused my mind on the words, reading through the silent incantations, the air in my small bedroom grew heavy and thick with invisible energy. The candle flame flickered rapidly, turning a soft, ethereal shade of blue.

Not even two minutes had passed when a hurried, desperate knocking sounded at my door.

"Maya! Maya, open up!" a maid cried out from the hallway.

I closed the book halfway, keeping my hand flat over the glowing pages, and called out, "Come in."

The maid burst into the room, her chest heaving as she held onto the doorframe for support, her eyes wide with fresh panic. "Maya! It’s the Luna again! Maria woke up out of nowhere and started screaming 'Ghost in the house!' all over again! She claims the room turned ice-cold and the shadows on her wall started speaking in Princess Philomena’s voice!"

I looked at the maid, then slowly looked down at the old journal resting beneath my hands.

Now I know. Reading the book affects her.

The ancient magic bound to the royal journal was directly tied to the palace's spiritual foundation. Every time I opened those pages and read the ancestral words, the royal energy pulsed through the entire estate, completely shattering Maria’s dark illusions and forcing her guilty mind to witness the spectral wrath of the princess she had killed. I didn't even need to touch her. The simple act of reading my ancestors' book was literally tearing her sanity apart piece by piece.

I looked back up at the terrified maid, letting a small, serene expression wash over my face.

"Go back and stay by her side," I said softly, my voice calm and reassuring. "Tell her I am preparing a special calming tea and I will be there shortly."

"Yes, Maya... please hurry!" the maid gasped before turning and running back down the hallway.

When the sound of her footsteps faded into the distance, I sat back in my chair.

I smiled—a slow, ruthless, beautiful smile that reached my eyes for the first time in years.

Maria thought she had won by taking my life, my title, and my mate. She thought a few dark spells and a stolen crown would keep her safe on the throne forever. But she had no idea that the very ground she walked on was coming alive to destroy her.

I gently smoothed my hand over the dark, ancient pages of the journal, feeling the powerful, humming warmth of my bloodline vibrating beneath my fingertips.

The mission has just begun.