Beneath the Alpha's Moon

Liam’s P.O.V.

Mai sat stiffly on the rock beside me, her eyes locked onto the lake’s surface, but I could tell she wasn’t really seeing it. Her fingers twitched against her knees, her whole body coiled tight like a bowstring.

She was scared.

That alone made my stomach turn. Mai Blackwood didn’t get scared. She laughed in the face of danger, met threats with sharp smirks and sharper claws. Seeing her like this—haunted, small—unnerved me more than I cared to admit.

I forced my voice to stay light. "You know, worrying about something you don’t even remember doing sounds like a waste of energy."

She scoffed but didn’t turn her head. "Easy for you to say. You don’t have a monster living inside your head."

I swallowed, suddenly realizing I hated it when she talked about herself like that. I didn’t know much about the whispers in her head—she had just brushed over the topic when she told me, and I never pushed—but I knew they scared her more than anything else.

So, I did the only thing I could think of. I lied.

"You’re not a monster," I said, my voice steady even though my chest felt tight.

Mai’s silver gaze flicked to me, sharp. She had a look in them that I couldn’t decipher. She didn’t blink, didn’t move—just stared, like she was trying to peel back my words and see what was underneath.

I held her stare, refusing to look away.