WHO SPOKE?

MAYA

To say I was terrified was a lie—I was shaking.

My entire body trembled under the heavy cotton sheets long after the bone-chilling hum faded from the room. The four massive men were still weeping on the floor, their shattered legs twisted at grotesque, impossible angles, while Maria cowered against the doorframe like a cornered animal.

I have not forgotten who I am. Deep down, I knew I was Princess Philomena reincarnated into this fragile body. But I had no idea I had all of this power inside me—even powers that now act against me.

The realization hit me like a splash of ice water. The ancient, raw magic bound to my soul wasn't just a tool I could control at will anymore; it was a living, chaotic force. It was the same overwhelming power that generated the phantom wind at the gates, trapping me in this cursed estate when I tried to escape. I would love to leave, but the wind pulled me back. I was a prisoner not just to Maria’s schemes, but to the very power coursing through my own blood.

The agonizing groans of the crippled guards eventually brought the pack warriors running down the hallway. Within minutes, the entire Pack was thrown into absolute uproar. Torches flickered against the stone walls, footfalls thundered through the corridors, and word quickly reached Alpha Edward.

By morning, the grand hall was packed with elders, guards, and council members. The heavy, suffocating scent of tension filled the room as Edward sat on his dark timber throne, his amber eyes hollow yet sharp.

When Alpha Edward heard about the men that got crippled in my room, he called an emergency tribunal right then and there.

Maria stood in the center of the hall, her silk gown disheveled, her voice high-pitched and breathless as she tried to spin the narrative before anyone could question her motives.

"They were holy men, Alpha!" Maria cried out, gesturing wildly toward the front doors where the four broken guards lay on wooden litters outside. Maria had to lie about the main reason they came to the house. "I brought them in during the dead of night to perform a spiritual cleansing on the estate! We all know this house is haunted by unnatural dark energy! But the moment they stepped near the maid’s quarters, she attacked them! She used voodoo on them! Dark, evil witchcraft!"

Murmurs rippled through the gathered crowd. Elders whispered among themselves, shooting fearful, suspicious glances at me as I stood near the base of the dais, clutching my arms.

I did not defend myself. I just stood there in silence, my mind racing, trying to understand how my body had reacted without my permission.

However,  Diego, one of the most senior council elders sitting beside Edward’s throne, stroked his long gray beard and leaned forward, his sharp eyes locking onto mine.

"The accused must speak," Diego insisted, his deep voice cutting through the chatter. "Maya, answer the council. Did you unleash dark magic upon these men?"

I opened my mouth to explain that I hadn't moved a finger, but before I could utter a single syllable, the room erupted into confused chatter.

"She just spoke!" an elder near the front row gasped.

"Did you hear her?" another guard whispered, looking terrified. "She answered!"

I froze, my brow furrowing in deep confusion. Everyone in the house said I spoke, but I cannot remember uttering a word!

"Maya said the men came to take her out of her room and even out of the palace!" Edward said, his deep, resonant voice booming across the grand hall. He stared down at me from his throne, his brow furrowed as if he were trying to piece together a broken puzzle.

I stared back at him in utter horror. I didn't say that out loud, I thought frantically, my heart hammering against my ribs. Or did I?

The power was even working against me. My own reincarnated magic was throwing its voice, speaking truths through my mouth without my conscious mind even registering it! It was protecting my life, yes, but it was robbing me of my own control, making me look like an unhinged enchantress in front of the entire pack council.

Edward turned his cold, piercing gaze away from me and focused entirely on Maria.

"Is this true, Maria?" Edward demanded, his voice dropping an octave into a low, terrifying growl. "Did you send armed men into my wife's private quarters at midnight to abduct her?"

Maria’s face turned completely white. Under the intense pressure of Edward's suffocating Alpha aura and the watchful eyes of the entire council, her lie collapsed into dust. She knew she couldn't explain why four executioners with iron chains were needed for a simple "cleansing."

"I... I only wanted to protect the pack from her dark presence!" Maria stammered, stepping back, her confidence completely shattered. "She is a threat, Edward! She isn't fit to be—"

"Silence!" Edward roared, standing up from his throne. The sheer force of his voice made the high chandeliers rattle above us.

Maria accepted the accusation in silence, backing down as she realized there was no escape. And even though Edward did not mind she was the Luna, he was done allowing her to walk over his authority and torment his mate.

"You have crossed the line for the last time," Edward declared, his voice echoing off the vaulted stone ceilings with absolute, unyielding authority.

He subjected her to a heavy punishment—one designed to completely strip away her arrogant pride in front of the entire territory.

"You will clear the streets of the pack alone, with no help," Edward commanded, pointing a heavy finger at her trembling frame. "You will sweep every stone, haul every scrap of debris, and clean the main roads from the eastern border to the palace gates with your own hands."

Gasps of shock echoed through the hall. For a noblewoman who had spent her entire life barking orders at servants, manual labor in full view of the common pack members was a humiliation worse than death.

"Edward, no!" Maria shrieked, tears of utter humiliation springing to her eyes. "You cannot do this to me! I am a lady of noble blood!"

"That is what you get for daring to touch my Luna!" Edward growled, stepping down from the dais, his broad chest heaving with cold fury. "You wanted to treat her like a servant, Maria. Now you will learn what true labor feels like."

He turned his cold, uncompromising gaze toward the open double doors where the four crippled men were lying on wooden stretchers, groaning in agony.

"As for the men," Edward continued, his voice ringing out like a death sentence, "they should be thrown into the streets to beg for help! Their families are banned from associating with them or even taking them back home, as they are now cursed by the dark magic they sought to inflict on this house!"

The guards immediately moved forward, grabbing Maria by the arms and dragging her out of the hall as she screamed and pleaded for mercy. Outside, the four broken men were unceremoniously dumped onto the gravel roads beyond the palace gates, left to rot in the cold autumn wind as warnings to anyone else who dared lay a hand on me.

The crowd slowly filtered out of the grand hall, leaving only Edward and me standing in the vast, quiet space.

He turned to look at me, his amber eyes filled with a turbulent mix of relief, lingering grief, and deep, aching confusion. He took a slow step toward me, reaching out a hand as if to touch my shoulder.

"Maya..." he whispered softly.

I flinched back instinctively, taking a step away from him.

I was terrified—not of Edward, and not of Maria anymore—but of myself. The power inside me was a wild, roaring fire that I could neither command nor contain. It had crippled four men, trapped me behind invisible walls, and spoken words I didn't even remember thinking.

I turned without another word and hurried back toward my room, leaving my husband standing alone in the shadows of his own throne room.