"I didn't know you had a taste for low-class Omegas, Alpha Adriana," Sienna said, her tone laced with curiosity.
The words landed heavy on Maria, drawing glances from the surrounding Alphas, Betas, and Omegas.
She could not admit the truth that her senses kept pointing to the girl as her Omega. Angela's rank was officially between Beta and Omega, low-class. For Maria, a Queen rank Alpha , to claim such a match would sound absurd. Unbelievable.
And yet, in her previous life, Angela had been her stepsister; the one who hated her to the core, the one who had destroyed her without mercy.
Even Maria herself could hardly believe this fate. The thought made her feel unsteady, almost drunk.
So she chose the only excuse that would pass without suspicion.
"I just don't like seeing Omegas pushed around...no matter their rank."
Being this close was dangerous. Every second near Angela made Maria's pulse pound harder, the pull of the bond gnawing at her. The instinct to claim, to mark, throbbed in her chest until it was almost painful.
Vex stirred against her skin, coils shifting, the faint rasp of scales brushing the back of her neck. It was as if the serpent could taste the Omega's presence, urging her to close the distance, to take what was hers.
She turned to Rhea and Sienna.
"I'm leaving early today," she said.
Rhea tilted her head. "You're leaving before midnight?"
"I have something important to attend to," Maria replied evenly.
Her gaze found Philip steady, trusted Phillip. In Adriana's original life, he had served the family since she was barely a teenager, a quiet constant in a shifting world. She knew she could trust him without question.
"You know what to do," she told him quietly.
"You'll find me in the car."
Rhea's brows lifted slightly, but she didn't press.
Sienna's sharp gaze lingered on Maria's a beat longer, curiosity flickering in her eyes before she looked away.
Around them, a few nearby Alphas and Omegas exchanged glances. Leaving before midnight was rare especially for Alpha Adriana.
Murmurs began to stir in low voices, the kind that carried just far enough to be felt.
Maria ignored them.
Her focus brushed past every staring face, pulled inevitably back to Angela.
The girl stood a few steps away, still unsure why the air around her seemed so charged. She caught Maria's gaze only briefly and for a moment, it felt like the entire hall had stilled.
Without another word, Maria turned, Vex shifting against her skin as if satisfied for now. Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she made for the exist, the weight of her presence trailing behind her. Angela watched her go, something unspoken pressing at the edges of her thoughts. She didn't know why...but she couldn't look away.
...
Phillip laid the bundle of cash on the table far more than the agreed price.
Twenty times more.
The men froze. One gave a short, nervous laugh, as if to say this can't be real.
The other just stared at the bundles, as if afraid to touch them.
Even the head of selection faltered, glancing toward the exit where Maria had gone. A few Betas and Omegas who had gathered to watch murmured among themselves, astonished. No one had ever seen such a payout for a low class Omega.
Phillip's tone was clipped and final. "Count it if you want. It's all there.
The men didn't need telling twice.
Then; Phillip pulled out his phone and made a short, business call, ending it with a curt nod.
He motioned for Angela to follow him.
...
Outside, the cool night air met them. The bass and chatter from the club softened behind them.
The black sedan waited at the curb, engine low and steady. The driver stepped forward, holding the rear door open.
Before Angela could get in, Phillip stopped her. He pulled a neat stack of cash inside his coat and pressed it into her hands.
"This is for you. It will help. Keep it safe."
Angela blinked at him, speechless.
Phillip's voice was steady, certain. "The driver will take you home. You can trust him."
Angela gave a small nod, glancing once toward the tinted back window. She couldn't see inside but somehow she knew.
Maria was there. Watching.
...
Phillip slid into the driver's seat of the Bugatti, closing the door with a soft click.
"It's sorted," he said without turning.
His eyes swept over the dashboard, then instinctively flicked to the rearview mirror-habit, nothing more.
And there she was.
Maria sat in the back, her posture deceptively calm. But the serpent Vex was coiled high around her shoulders, its scales shifting restlessly against her skin.
A fine sheen of sweat traced her temples, and her eyes held the kind of heat he had only seen when an Alpha was battling the instinct to claim an unbound Omega.
He didn't need an explanation. He knew exactly what this was.
From the glove compartment, he retrieved a small case, shook two capsules into his palm and passed them back with a bottle of cold water.
"Vexabane," he murmured.
Maria took them wordlessly, swallowing both before chasing them with the water.
Vex stirred once, a reluctant shiver running along its coils, then began to ease its grip as the suppressant took hold.
The Bugatti slid onto the road, its engine a low hum against the quiet night.
Maria leaned back, the city lights flickering across her face. Adriana's life-the life she now wore like a second skin-came with chains of its own.
Every public step had been tracked before she'd even set foot in it.
Who she dined with. Who she argued with. Who she touched.
Even a casual glance could be spun into a headline.
She'd read Adriana's scandals in the news before she ever transmigrated: rumored affairs, betrayals, supposed feuds; the kind of life where one wrong move could turn into a storm overnight.
And now, tonight's scene...the men, Angela, the payout it would be front page bait if anyone caught wind.
Her gaze sharpened toward the front. "Phillip," she said, quiet but firm. "Make sure nothing from tonight gets out. No paparazzi. No press."
He caught her eyes in the rearview, his expression steady. "Understood."
Her warning to Phillip about the press still lingered in the air, but another, heavier thought pressed into her mind.
If Adriana's parents, now her parents, ever learned she'd met her fated Omega...the next step would be inevitable.
The bond.
The marriage contract.
The public announcement.
Her chest tightened. Of all the people fate could have tangled her with, it had to be this one. A face from a life she thought she'd left behind. A presence that carried more history than she cared to unpack.
The irony made goosebumps rise along her arms. Her instincts screamed to claim, but the memory of who Angela had been and what she'd meant was a constant, jarring reminder that she couldn't.
Her gaze cut toward the front seat. "Phillip...don't tell my parents about her. Not a word.
Phillip didn't question. "Understood, Alpha Adriana."
Her parents were one thing.
But the bigger question pressed against her mind like a shadow that wouldn't lift.
When I died...what happened to that family?
Why was Angela here?
She couldn't ask her not with her blood still humming from the fight to keep her Alpha instincts in check. But the questions kept circling like a snake with no tail to bite.
When did Angela start coming here?
When did she begin stepping into places like this?
Why this private club?
Who brought her into this world that smelled too much of danger?
Her eyes narrowed faintly. "Phillip," she said at last, her voice a low command.
"Find out everything. When she started coming here, who she comes with, and why she's here at all. Every detail."
Phillip gave a single nod, no question asked.
She leaned back into the leather seat, gaze fixed on the dark stretch of road ahead. The urge to claim still simmered beneath her skin, but she shoved it down, let it coil cold in her chest.
I'm not curious, she told herself.
I don't care.
Just the kind of thing you keep in a file...when you're building the downfall of an enemy.