Beneath the Alpha's Moon

Mai’s P.O.V.

Liam and I stood at the tree line, staring at the Alpha’s residence. My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my throat. This was it. I had run through this conversation in my head a hundred times, twisted and rewritten it in different ways, but none of that mattered now. Because this time, I wasn’t alone. He was here with me. That changed everything.

This was it. No more running. No more hiding.

I slid off Liam’s back, my fingers brushing against his thick fur before he shifted back into his human form. The change was quick, fluid. Within seconds, he was standing beside me, bare-chested, his blond hair ruffled by the wind, those bright blue eyes searching my face for any sign of hesitation.

"Are you ready?" His voice was soft, careful, like he was afraid that if he spoke too loudly, I’d bolt.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I should be." But I wasn’t.

Liam smiled, that small, hesitant smile of his, the one that made me hate myself for ever hurting him. How had I ever thought of him as weak? If he was, he wouldn’t still be standing by my side after everything.

"Are you okay?" His voice was soft, but it carried.

I let out a slow breath, trying to steady myself. "I don’t think I can just walk in through the front door," I admitted, glancing around as if expecting someone to already be watching us. "I don’t want anyone to see me just yet."

Liam studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. So how do you want to do this?"

I hesitated, then said, "First, get dressed, second, I’ll teleport us inside. Straight to my room."