The phone's sharp vibration rattled against the nightstand.
Maria stirred, groggy and disoriented, before swiping to answer.
"You're late," the voice on the other end said; smooth, low, with the kind of confidence that came from knowing you'd be listened to. "Don't tell me you forgot tonight."
Maria rubbed her eyes. "Tonight?"
A chuckle slid through the speaker, laced with amusement. "Don't play innocent. They've been asking for you all evening; who else, huh?
Said they want their Alpha to show up before the drinks run dry."
She stilled. They?
Something about the way it was said...too familiar, too intimate.
The voice continued, teasing. "You've been spoiling them for weeks. If you're not here soon, they might start thinking you've lost your touch."
Maria sat upright, pulse ticking in her ears. She didn't know these people. She didn't even know this voice.
Then her gaze caught the mirror across the room.
The face staring back wasn't hers.
Her reflection was taller, sharper at least a head higher than Maria had been before with a jawline that could cut glass and dark hair spilling loose over bare shoulders. Broad shoulders, long legs, and an air of command that clung to her even in silence.
Maria's breath caught. The woman in the mirror wasn't her.
She glanced around. The room wasn't hers either.
Velvet curtains draped over floor to ceiling windows. City lights glittered far below, throwing faint gold into a space that reeked of wealth-leather armchairs, a marble desk, and a row of wine bottles on a sideboard.
"This...isn't my apartment," she whispered.
The voice on the phone laughed softly.
"Apartment? Adriana, you've been gone too long. Are you still in bed? You're going to keep them waiting all night?"
Adriana.
Maria's fingers went cold. She knew that name. Everyone knew that name-the infamous only daughter of Kestrel Corporation's CEO. A female Alpha with a taste for trouble and women who should know better.
She opened the closet door, almost afraid of what she'd find. Silk shirts, tailored suits, sky-high heels. The scent of expensive perfume curled around her-a mix of sandalwood and something sharper, predatory.
Her gaze fell to a glossy magazine lying open on the dresser. There she was or rather, the body she was in tall, smirking, her arm wrapped casually around two women in glittering dresses. The headline screamed:
ALPHA HEIRESS DUMPS LOVER-SPOTTED WITH NEW FLAMES HOURS LATER.
Another magazine lay beneath it, the cover showing Adriana leaning against a car, her hand resting possessively on a different woman's waist. The caption read:
Kestrel Heiress Breaks Hearts Faster Than She Buys Champagne.
Maria's heart thudded.
She wasn't in her own life anymore.
She was Adriana Kestrel.
And apparently...Adriana had a reputation that made even Alphas notorious.
Maria stared at the magazines on the dresser, still trying to piece together what was happening.
"You're still there?" the caller teased in her ear.
"Come on, Adriana. The girls have been waiting for too long."
Maria hesitated, then asked, "Where are you?"
A faint laugh. "The velvet Room. VIP lounge. You know where it is-don't tell me you've forgotten.
Velvet Room...she didn't know it at all, but the name rolled off the tongue like it belonged to someone who lived in the shadows of high society.
"I'll come," she heard herself say.
"That's my girl," the voice purred. "Hurry. We'll keep the champagne cold."
The line went dead.
Maria turned back toward the closet. Without thinking, her hand went straight to a sleek black suit. Saturday night. Something about the tailored cut and dark fabric made her look like she owned the city. She slipped it on, feeling the strange height and strength of this body as she crossed to the door.
Halfway down the sweeping staircase, a voice, smooth but edged with disapproval, floated up to meet her.
"Baby."
she stopped.
At the base of the stairs stood a tall, poised woman in a navy dress-Adriana's mother. Her hair was coiled in a perfect twist, her gaze sharp despite the pet name.
"So you're going out again," she said, each word deliberate. "The ink's barely dry on the last one, and you're already looking for more trouble."
Her eyes flicked toward the stack of magazines upstairs.
Maria said nothing, but the woman's gaze sharpened. "You have one month, Adriana. One. If you haven't bonded with your fated Omega by then, your father will give the company to your cousin Lucas Veyra."
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "And it's not just the company at stake. Look at yourself; pale, restless, those dizzy spells you keep ignoring. You've been without your bond for too long. it's wearing you down."
Maria's pulse thudded.
Her mother's lips curved faintly. "If you push it much longer, it won't matter what you inherit. There won't be enough left of you to enjoy it."
She turned away, her heels clicking against the marble floor. "Lucas is just waiting for you to drop. Don't give him the satisfaction.
...
Maria adjusted the lapel of her black suit as she crossed the wide marble hallway. Her mother's warning still clung to her; one month, Bond or lose everything.
She slowed as she passed the sitting room. On the far wall, lit by soft golden light, a tall glass enclosure gleamed. Inside, a viper lay draped across a curved branch.
Her breath caught.
"Oh..." she exhales softly, almost to herself.
Its scales shimmered an iridescent white kissed with pale gold, like living moonlight. Every sloe breath made the light shift over its body in hypnotic waves.
She stepped closer, fingertips brushing the cool glass. "It's... beautiful," she whispered, eyes tracing the perfect symmetry of its coils.
Unlatching the enclosure, she reached in slowly. The viper lifted its head, black eyes watching her; patient, knowing but its body stayed tense, as if unsure.
Maria smiled, her voice a low murmur. "Easy...I'm not going to hurt you."
She stroked along its side, the smooth scales cool beneath her touch. The viper hesitated, then eased forward, winding up her arm in deliberate, languid movement until it coiled across her shoulders.
Maria's smile deepened. She titled her head slightly toward it.
"Wow...seems I've got company," she said softly.
The pale coils shimmered against her black suit, a striking contrast living jewelry for a dangerous night ahead.
...
The black Bugatti purred to a stop at the curb, engine low and smooth.
Her driver tall, broad shouldered, and sharp in a tailored coat stepped out, his movements precise. An earpiece curled discreetly along his jawline as he rounded the car.
He opened the rear door, bowing his head slightly.
Maria stepped out, tall and unhurried, the night catching on the sharp lines of her black suit. The silver-white viper draped over her shoulders stirred, coils shifting as if tasting the change of air.
Its head lifted, tongue once toward the velvet-lit entrance ahead.
Without a word, the driver-bodyguard fell into step behind her.
...
The heavy door opened, spilling warm, perfumed air into the night.
Maria stepped inside, the low bass of the music threading through her pulse. Shadows and golden light played across the room, catching on sequined dresses and crystal glasses.
Two Betas drifted toward her from the dance floor, smiles bright.
"We've missed you, babe!" one said, reaching out to touch her sleeve.
Then their eyes landed on the pale coils draped across her shoulders.
The viper lifted its head, silver white scales catching the light, tongue flicking once.
Both Betas froze, their smiles faltering. With a quick glance at each other, they stepped back not laughing now, but wide-eyed, wary of the snake.
Maria's lips curved into the faintest smile as she kept walking.
From the far side of the lounge, near a private alcove draped in velvet, two Alphas leaned forward. One lifted a manicured hand, beckoning her with a slow grin.
"There you are," she called, voice carrying easily over the music.
As Maria approached, one of them smirked.
"You're late."
She gave a small nod in greetings, sliding into the seat.
The Alpha's gaze locked on the snake. "Okay...weird. You always hated Vexa, and now you walk in with her like it's nothing. Mood change?"
Maria's reply was cool, almost automatic. "People change."
Across from her, the taller one smirked. "Still dodging straight answers, Adriana."
The other laughed softly. "Ignore her, Sienna. You know Adriana always turns up when she's ready."
So...Sienna, Maria thought, quietly filing the name away. And the other one...Rhea. Adriana's friends, at least in this life.
The music shifted to a slower, heavier beat, and a group of Omegas drifted toward their table all perfume, soft curves, and practiced smiles. One leaned in to murmur something in Rhea's ear, another let her fingers ghost over Maria's sleeve, testing the reaction. A third bent low enough for her breath to warm Maria's jaw.
They laughed softly, teasing, lingering, trying to coax her attention. But even as they closed in, something else cut through the air-sharper, hotter, impossible to ignore.
The pull was instant. Her breath caught, and the light touch of the Omegas faded into background noise. Her gaze tracked toward the source like a drawn blade.
Across the room, near the edge of the dance floor, a girl stood tense under the too close presence of two men. One had a hand clamped on her arm, leaning in with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. The other blocked her path.
Something ancient woke inside. Maria's pupils narrowed into sharp, red slits, a molten heat rushing through her veins. Her forked tongue flicked against the air, tasting the omega's presence like forbidden fruit. A faint shimmer, almost like scales, ghosted along her jaw, and the viper coiled around her neck tightened in silent recognition. Her heart pounded once, hard and the primal urge to claim burned so fiercely it drowned out every human thought.
She didn't need to wonder why she knew this pull. She'd read about it long before she ever walked in this world.
An Alpha could always sense their fated Omega.
And hers was right there.
But something felt strange...the flickering of her tongue, the faint glint like jewels in her eyes things she had never read about before. A ripple of confusion stirred inside her.
I'm supposed to be an Alpha, right? Then what else am I?