WHERE WERE YOU?

MAYA

"We visit the grave tomorrow," Maria said that same night, her voice heavy with dark satisfaction as she lay back against the silk pillows.

I was kneeling between her thighs, doing the usual to her. I pushed every ounce of my disgust and anger down into the deepest, darkest corner of my soul, using my tongue and fingers to trace her warm skin, tingling her clitoris, fingering her tightly, and sucking the slick juices until her entire body shuddered against the mattress. She moaned loudly, her long nails digging into my shoulders as she arched her back in pure bliss.

After I was done satisfying her, I laid back on the soft sheets, exhausted and numb. Maria turned toward me, a slow, predatory smile curling on her lips. Without asking, she reached down between my thighs, her fingers moving with a practiced, wicked skill.

She gave me the exact same sexual satisfaction in return. As much as I despised her soul, Maria was undeniably good in bed. Her fingers moved in rhythm, teasing and pushing until electric waves of unwanted pleasure coursed straight through my body.

"Baby, are you enjoying it?" she whispered in my ear, her hot breath sending a shiver down my neck. "Tell me you like it."

I hated that she called me baby. Every time that word left her mouth, it felt like poison dripping into my ear. But as my body trembled beneath her touch and a breathy gasp escaped my lips, I could not deny the intense physical satisfaction she brought to my flesh, even while my mind screamed in protest.

Once the storm of physical sensation cleared, we got dressed in heavy dark cloaks. But before we stepped out into the crisp morning air, I had to go attend to my Edward.

I walked quietly into our bedroom. Edward was lying on the bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling, completely motionless and silent. I knelt beside him, brushing his soft hair away from his forehead. I patted him gently on the head and leaned down, pressing a long, deep, and desperate kiss onto his cold lips.

My heart broke into a thousand pieces right there against his mouth. Yes, I may be cheating on him with his other wife, engaging in this sick, twisted game every single night... but what else could I do? I had no choice. I was doing all of this to stay close to him, to keep him alive, and to shield him from Maria's deadly schemes.

Just hold on, my love, I promised silently, staring into his unseeing eyes. One day soon, I will crush Maria into dust. I will make her pay dearly for every single thing she has done to us, both in this life and in our past.

We set out for Philomena's grave shortly after dawn. The morning sky was gray and heavy with fog as we walked past the outer borders of the pack territory toward the ancient cemetery where former royals were buried.

The moment we crossed the rusty iron archway into the graveyard, an old, weathered graveyard attendant stepped out from his small wooden hut. He squinted his clouded eyes at us, stopping dead in his tracks the second his gaze landed squarely on my face.

The old man blocked my path, ignoring Maria completely as he stared at me in total shock.

"Why did you leave for so long?" the attendant asked, his voice raspy and trembling as he reached out a shaky hand toward me. "Where have you been, Philomena? You left this place years ago and have not returned until today..."