Mai’s P.O.V.
"Mai." My father’s voice was firm, steady—a command wrapped in quiet authority. "You must calm down."
I stood there, chest heaving, my nails biting into my palms as I clenched my fists. The whispers in my head slithered through my mind like venomous snakes, hissing, laughing, taunting. I wanted to scream, to tear at the earth beneath until I found Liam, until I had him back where he belonged—next to .
But then, I felt it—my father’s hand on my shoulder. It wasn’t soft or gentle; it was grounding. A reminder.
"Do not lose control," he said, his voice low but laced with a warning. "You know what happens when you do."
I swallowed hard, forcing down the rage that boiled in my veins, and nodded.
My father turned to the gathered werewolves, their faces a mixture of fear and curiosity. "Everyone, go ho," he ordered. "This is a very serious matter, and I will handle it with just as much seriousness."
Murmurs spread through the crowd, but no one dared challenge him. Not when he had that sharp, commanding look in his eyes—the kind that promised consequences.
"And rember," he continued, his voice carrying through the night, "be watchful. Be alert. If anything—anything—seems out of place, report it imdiately."
With that, the pack began to disperse. I stood motionless, watching them leave, their steps hesitant, their whispers still hanging in the air like a fog.
I felt my mother’s hand slide into mine. Warm. Comforting. But it wasn’t enough. Nothing was enough.
"Co inside, sweetheart," she murmured, pulling gently toward the house.
I let her guide , my limbs heavy as if I were dragging chains behind . I didn’t dare look at Liam’s parents, who stood frozen in the yard, grief etched into their tired faces.
My fathers approached them. I could hear Papa Adrian’s voice, raw with emotion. "We will not rest until we bring him ho to you."
Dad nodded solemnly. "I swear it."
Liam’s mother clutched at his father’s arm, her face twisted in agony. "He’s just a boy," she whispered. "He’s my boy."
"You need to rest," Dad pleaded. "You’ve been searching for days. You’re exhausted. Let us handle this."
There was a long silence before Liam’s father exhaled shakily and nodded. "Alright," he said, his voice clouded with held in tears. "Alright."
I couldn’t stand it. The pain in their voices. The guilt that clawed at my insides.
I turned away and hurried up the stairs, ignoring my na as it was called behind .
I didn’t deserve their concern.
This was all my fault.
I stord into my bedroom, slamming the door behind and locking it with a flick of my wrist. The lock clicked into place—a flimsy barrier between and the world outside, but at least it was sothing.
My legs moved on their own, carrying straight to the vanity mirror across the room. I dropped into the cushioned chair, my hands bracing against the cool wooden surface as I leaned in, my breath ghosting over the glass.
"Liam."
His na was a whisper, barely audible, but the mirror should have responded. It should have rippled, the surface shifting like water, revealing his face—wherever he was. That’s how it had always worked. Whether soone was across town or on the other side of the world, the mirror always showed them to .
But this ti...
Nothing.
The surface remained dark. Ominous. Empty.
A cold weight settled in my stomach.
No.
I lifted a trembling hand and traced my fingers along the fra, willing the magic to work.
Show , I pleaded silently.
But just like the past four days, the mirror remained black.
Not a flicker. Not even a blur of movent.
Just. Darkness.
The wrongness of it clawed at my skin, slithering down my spine like ice. The mirror had no range limits. No restrictions. So why?
Why wasn’t it working?
Then, the whispers returned.
They slithered into my mind like smoke, wrapping around my thoughts, sinking their claws into every doubt I had buried deep.
"There is no escape now."
"He’s gone."
"And it’s your fault."
A sickening wave of laughter followed, curling around my ears like a lover’s touch. It was cruel. Mocking.
I gritted my teeth, pressing my palms hard against my temples. "Shut up."
But they didn’t.
They never did.
The laughter only grew louder, spilling into every corner of my mind, drowning out rational thought, filling the silence with sothing dark and twisted.
And so, I did the only thing I could.
I kept working.
For three days, I locked myself in my room.
No eating. No sleeping. Just trying—desperately—to reach him.
My family tried everything to get out. First, the knocking. Soft at first, hesitant. Then urgent.
"Mai, sweetheart, please co out," my father’s voice drifted through the door, tight with worry.
I ignored it.
Then the begging. Ollie. Elizabeth. Uncle Rylan. Even Eldur.
"Mai, just for a second," Elizabeth tried. "You don’t have to talk. Just... let us see you."
I kept working.
Then the threats.
Even Auntie Juliette—who never let anything faze her—sounded on the edge of losing it. "Mai, I swear to the Moon, if you don’t open this damn door—"
Still, I didn’t move.
Until my mother ca.
Her voice was calm. Too calm.
"I am done playing, Mai," she said through the door. "If you do not open this door right now, I will tear it off its hinges."
A flicker of sothing sharp cut through my haze.
Luna Teresa Blackwood didn’t make empty threats.
The whispers in my head purred in amusent.
Still, I didn’t move.
And then, the air changed.
The entire house seed to breathe as power swelled just beyond my door.
The wood groaned. A deep, shuddering crack splintered through the silence.
The door shook violently. Another crack. Then another.
I clenched my jaw and turned my focus back to the mirror, pouring every ounce of magic I had left into it.
Work, damn it.
Then it happened
BOOM.
The door exploded.
Shards of wood shot in all directions, embedding themselves into the walls and furniture. Dust filled the air in thick, swirling clouds.
And standing in the center of it all—power rolling off her in waves, golden eyes burning with barely contained fury—was my mother.
She stord in, gaze sweeping over the wreckage before landing on . Her expression shifted from anger to panic in a heartbeat.
"Mai."
Her voice wasn’t cold anymore. It cracked at the edges, sothing raw seeping through.
Before I could react, she crossed the room in three long strides and grabbed .
Her hands, warm and firm, cupped my face.
"Why?" she demanded. "Why would you lock yourself in here like this? Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been?"
Before I could form a response, more footsteps thundered into the room.
My Dad. Papa. Ollie. Auntie Juliette. Elizabeth. Eldur. Uncle Ryan.
They all stood there, staring at with varying degrees of worry, frustration, and relief.
But I wasn’t looking at them anymore.
Because the whispers were back.
And they were laughing.
My breath hitched. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the laughter didn’t stop.
"Open your eyes."
I stiffened.
No.
I refused to listen.
"Open your eyes, Mai."
I dug my nails into my palms, trying to drown them out.
"Open. Your eyes."
And against my better judgnt, I did.
My eyes opened and looked at everybody. My family.
And then the whispers said, "Look at him, Eldur."
He stood off to the side, watching everything with an unimpressed expression.
And the whispers howled in delight.
"Why do you think the mirrors aren’t working?"
My pulse stopped.
A single breath of silence.
Then, the realization crashed into like a tidal wave.
The lake. Liam. Eldur.
He couldn’t have just disappeared. Not that fast. Even if soone had taken him, there would have been sothing. A scent. A struggle. A sign.
But there was nothing.
And Eldur. He never tried to find Liam.
He never wanted to look for him.
Every ti I tried, he stopped . Distracted .
The laughter in my head grew deafening.
"He took Liam."
My body went rigid.
"Kill him."
I turned to face Eldur fully now, my breath coming in sharp, ragged bursts.
And then, my voice—raw and trembling with fury—ripped through the room.
"You!"
Everyone flinched.
But I didn’t care. I took a step forward, my entire body trembling. "You did this," I snarled. "You took Liam away from !"
There was silence. The air was so thick, so heavy, it felt like the whole world was holding its breath.
And then, Eldur smirked. A slow, calculated smirk.
"I was starting to think you’d never figure it out," he said, his voice dripping with amusent.
A collective gasp rippled through the room.
Soone cursed under their breath.
My mother’s grip on tightened.
But I barely noticed.
Because all I could see was red.
"Kill him!"
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