Beneath the Alpha's Moon Chapter 199: Finding Liam

Mai’s P.O.V.

Liam was gone.

The cold realization slamd into like a physical force, stealing my breath. I bolted out of the water, my feet kicking up sand as I scrambled onto the shore, my soaked clothes clinging to my skin.

"Liam!" My voice cracked as I called out, my chest heaving.

He still didn’t answer.

I turned in frantic circles, eyes scanning the trees, the rocks, the lake’s edge. His bag was still there. His sketchbook, his pencils—all untouched.

But he wasn’t.

I spun toward Eldur, who had finally sauntered out of the water, dripping wet, his white hair gleaming under the afternoon sun. He stood lazily by my side, his arms crossed, looking as unconcerned as ever.

He flicked a drop of water off his wrist and sighed. "Relax, Mai. He probably just decided to go ho."

I whirled on him. "That’s not possible!" My voice was sharp, edged with sothing close to desperation. "Liam never leaves his bag or his sketchbook behind! He wouldn’t just walk off without them, without !"

Eldur raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Maybe he finally realized how suffocating you are and ran while he had the chance."

I shoved him hard in the chest, my hands trembling. "Shut. Up."

He let out an amused chuckle but didn’t retaliate. "Okay, fine. But screaming at isn’t going to make him magically appear."

I ignored him and dropped to my knees, gathering Liam’s things in my arms. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. I clutched his bag like it was a lifeline, my mind racing.

Where did he go?

Why would he leave?

Did soone take him?

A sickening fear slithered up my spine, and without another word, I shot off into the trees.

I ran.

I ran like my life depended on it.

"Liam!" I scread into the thick forest, my voice raw. "Liam, answer !"

Eldur, to his credit, kept up easily, though he made no move to actually help. He strolled beside , hands in his pockets, watching with that unbothered about the world expression of his.

"Mai, this is pointless," he said after a while, sounding bored. "If he doesn’t want to be found, you won’t find him."

I whirled on him, my vision blurring with angry tears. "Then leave!" My voice cracked. "I don’t need your stupid comnts, Eldur! Just go away!"

He tilted his head, studying like I was so sort of interesting puzzle. But he didn’t leave. He stayed right beside , silent now, as I tore through the forest like a madwoman.

I searched for what felt like hours, my lungs burning, my legs aching, but Liam was nowhere.

I had no choice. I had to go to his house.

By the ti I reached Liam’s front door, I was gasping for breath. I pounded on it hard, my fist slamming against the wood so violently I thought it might break.

Liam’s mother, Mrs. Rivers, answered almost imdiately, her smile instantly dropping at the sight of . "Mai?" she said, frowning at . "Did you—"

"Is Liam ho?!" I blurted out, cutting her off. "Did he co back?!"

Her face fell deeper, and a crease of confusion ford between her brows. "What are you talking about? He left hours ago. He told he was eting you at the lake."

My blood turned to ice.

"He was with ," I whispered. "But then he... he just—" My throat tightened, and I had to force the words out. "He disappeared."

Liam’s father, who had been sitting in the living room, shot up from his chair. "What do you an disappeared?"

I shook my head wildly, gripping Liam’s bag tighter. "I don’t know! One second he was there, and the next—he was gone! His bag, his sketchbook, everything was still there, but he—" My voice broke. "He just vanished."

The color drained from Mrs. Rivers’ face. Then, suddenly, her expression twisted into sothing dark.

"You." Her voice was a whisper at first, then it rose into sothing sharp and accusing. "You did sothing to him!"

I recoiled as if she had slapped . "What? No! I would never—"

She stord toward , her eyes blazing with fury. "You’ve always had this unnatural hold over him! You hurt him once before, and now—"

"That’s enough," Eldur’s voice cut through the air like a whip, loud and sharp. He stepped between us, his silver eyes narrowing dangerously. "Mai didn’t do anything to Liam. Mind your tongue."

Mrs. Rivers turned her wrath on him instead. "Oh, and you’re even worse than her! You’re a monster! Both of you! Where is my son?!"

Before I could say anything, before I could even breathe, I broke.

I turned and ran.

I heard Liam’s father call my na, heard Eldur curse under his breath before following, but I didn’t stop.

I ran all the way ho.

I burst into my house, my entire body shaking. "Dad!" My voice cracked as I sobbed, collapsing onto my knees. "Dad, please!"

In an instant, my father was there. He knelt beside , gripping my shoulders, his sharp, powerful eyes scanning my face. "Mai. What happened?"

My other father, Adrian, was right behind him, and my mother rushed down the stairs, her face pale with worry. Within seconds, the entire house was filled with my family—Ollie, Elizabeth, Juliette, Rylan, even Alex. The maids hovered nervously by the door.

I sobbed as I clung to my father’s shirt. "Liam’s missing."

A heavy silence filled the room.

My father’s jaw tightened. "Are you sure?"

I nodded frantically, tears blurring my vision. "He just vanished, Dad! We searched everywhere!"

Before anyone could respond, Liam’s parents burst into the house, their faces streaked with tears. "Alpha," Mr. Rivers choked out. "Please. Find our son."

My father rose to his full height, his expression hardening into sothing fierce and unyielding. "The entire pack will search," he declared. "We will not stop until we find him."

He turned to Rylan. "Get the enforcers. Fan out. Search every inch of the territory. Check the borders. If there was a breach, I want to know imdiately."

The search lasted four agonizing days.

And there was nothing.

No scent. No trace. No sign of struggle.

On the fifth day, the entire pack gathered in front of our house as the elders made the announcent:

"Liam Rivers is not on pack land."

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

"He wasn’t caught on any surveillance caras. No guards saw him leave. It’s as if he vanished into thin air."

Silence fell over the gathered crowd. And then—

Every single eye turned to .

I felt it before I even saw it—the shift in the air, the weight of their stares pressing down on like a crushing tide. The silent accusations. The whispered suspicions curling in the corners of their mouths like smoke.

My heart pounded against my ribs. I shook my head violently, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps. "No! I didn’t do anything to him!" My voice cracked, raw with desperation. "I would never—never—hurt Liam!"

But doubt had already settled into their faces, poisoning the air between us.

I turned to my fathers, gripping their arms as if holding onto them could stop the world from spinning out of control. "Dad, Papa, please! You have to keep searching! He’s out there sowhere! I know he is!"

My mother pulled into a tight embrace, her arms strong and grounding. "Shh, sweetheart," she murmured into my hair. "We’ll find him. I promise."

Ollie was beside in an instant, his hand rubbing small, soothing circles on my back. "We will find him, Mai. I swear." His voice was steady, but I could hear the concern bleeding through.

Across the room, my father turned to the enforcers, his face set in a mask of cold authority. "Seal off the pack. No one goes in or out until we have answers. This could be a kidnapping."

But it wasn’t enough.

It wasn’t enough.

My body vibrated with an emotion so deep and consuming that it burned in my chest like fire. It clawed at my throat, curled around my ribs like a beast ready to break free.

"If you won’t find him," I scread, ripping myself out of my mother’s grasp, "then I will! I will uproot every tree, turn over every stone—I will drag him back from the depths of the Earth myself!"

And then, the ground trembled beneath my feet.

A deep, guttural rumble vibrated through the earth, splitting the silence. Cracks spiderwebbed through the dirt, creeping outward like veins of molten rage. Houses groaned, their wooden beams straining against the unseen force. Trees wrenched free from their roots, their leaves whipping wildly as if caught in an invisible storm.

Gasps rang out. Soone scread.

I barely registered any of it.

My chest rose and fell in heaving breaths, my hands clenched into trembling fists. The world was tilting, spiraling, breaking—

And then, as suddenly as it had started—

Everything stilled.

Dust settled. Trees hovered for a breathless mont before crashing back down, the earth swallowing the cracks as if nothing had ever happened.

I stood there, panting, my entire body shaking.

Liam was still gone.

And I was losing my mind.