Beneath the Alpha's Moon Chapter 207: A Constant Shadow

Liam’s P.O.V.

A loud knock jolted awake.

I shot up in bed, heart pounding against my ribs. My room was dark except for the faint light of the alarm clock. 2:56 AM. Another knock, weak and slow, echoed through the quiet house.

"Liam?" Becky’s groggy voice ca from the next room. A mont later, her door creaked open, and she appeared in the hallway, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Did you hear that?"

I swallowed hard, the unease tightening in my chest. "Yeah."

Neither of us moved for a second, listening. The wind howled outside, and rain pattered against the windows. Another knock.

Becky frowned. "Who the hell—"

She didn’t finish. We both knew no one sane would be knocking on our door at this hour.

Cautiously, we descended the stairs, each creak of the wooden steps making my nerves prickle. When we reached the door, Becky hesitated before unlocking it.

The mont the door swung open, cold air and rain blasted into the house. But I barely noticed.

Because there, slumped on the porch, was Mai.

She was soaked, her long curls plastered to her face. Blood seeped through her torn shirt, staining her pale skin. Her lips parted, and she whispered sothing, but the rain swallowed her words.

"Shit—" Becky gasped.

I didn’t think. I just moved.

Dropping to my knees, I scooped Mai into my arms. She was freezing. Her silver eyes fluttered open for a second, finding mine, but then they closed again. My throat tightened.

"We need to get her to the hospital," I said. My voice didn’t sound like mine.

Becky didn’t argue. She ran for her keys while I carried Mai to the car through the downpour. My clothes were soaked within seconds, but I didn’t care.

I slid into the backseat with Mai still in my arms, holding her against as Becky sped toward the hospital.

"Stay with , Mai," I whispered, pushing her damp hair out of her face. She didn’t respond, her body limp against .

Guilt clawed at my chest. She told she was in danger. She told soone was after us. And I didn’t listen.

This was my fault.

The hospital slled of antiseptic and bad coffee.

I paced outside Mai’s room, running a hand through my damp hair for the hundredth ti. Becky sat in one of the plastic chairs, chewing her thumbnail. We had been there for hours. The doctors had taken Mai in imdiately, working to stop the bleeding. I hadn’t been able to sit still since.

Finally, a nurse stepped out. "She’s stable."

Relief made my knees weak. Becky and I rushed inside.

Mai lay in the hospital bed, her face pale against the white sheets. Her stomach was wrapped in bandages, and an IV dripped into her right hand.

I exhaled shakily and sank into the chair beside her bed.

Becky crossed her arms. "What the hell happened to her, Liam?"

I hesitated, staring at Mai’s motionless form. "Last night... she told she was leaving. She was going back ho to find proof that we knew each other." I swallowed. "But before she left, she said we were in danger. That soone was after us."

Becky frowned. "And you didn’t think to tell that?!"

"I didn’t think it was real!" I snapped. "I thought she was ssing with like always!"

Becky sighed, rubbing her temples. "This is a ss."

I didn’t argue. It was.

A soft noise made turn. Mai stirred, her fingers twitching against the sheets. My breath caught.

Then her eyes fluttered open.

At first, she looked dazed, blinking slowly as if trying to make sense of where she was. Then, she sucked in a sharp breath and croaked, "Liam."

I shot up, gripping her hand. "I’m here." The na still felt foreign to , but Mai had insisted it was mine. And now? I had no reason to doubt her.

Becky hovered near the bed, arms crossed. "Mai, what the hell happened? Who did this to you?"

Mai’s silver eyes darted around the room, scanning the unfamiliar surroundings before landing back on . Fear flickered in them. "I don’t... I don’t rember."

I stiffened. Not this again. "Nothing? You don’t rember anything?"

She shook her head. But then, in a small, fragile voice, she added, "But I have to protect you from them."

A chill ran down my spine. My grip on her hand tightened. "Who, Mai? Who are they?"

She just squeezed my hand, her gaze unfocused, lost in sothing I couldn’t see.

Before I could press further, the door swung open, and a doctor walked in, clipboard in hand. She explained that Mai’s mory loss could be a result of trauma but that they would run a head scan to rule out any physical damage.

Then the police arrived.

Two officers—one older, with graying hair, the other younger and taking notes—stood at the foot of Mai’s bed.

The older cop cleared his throat. "Miss, we understand you’ve been attacked. Can you tell us what happened?"

Mai hesitated, her fingers tightening around the blanket. "...I don’t rember."

The younger cop scribbled sothing. "Nothing at all? Do you recall where you were before the attack?"

Mai’s eyes flickered to . "I was with Liam."

The older cop glanced at . "And you are?"

I t his gaze evenly. "Her...friend."

He nodded. "Alright. And you last saw her... when?"

"last night when she ca to tell she was going back ho," I said. "It was late when she left; and she had ntioned sothing about so people who were after both of us."

Mai flinched slightly.

The younger officer looked between us. "What people?" he asked, and I told him I didn’t know.

"Do you rember where your family lives or how to contact them?" The older cop asked Mai but she said no and he jotted sothing into his note.

The younger cop wrote sothing in his book as well and then asked Mai, "So you don’t rember anything about the attacker? No faces? Voices?"

Mai swallowed. "I—" She hesitated, then shook her head. "No."

The officers exchanged a glance.

"Miss, if you rember anything—even the smallest detail—it could help us," the older cop said.

Mai lowered her gaze. "I’m sorry."

They asked a few more questions, but without Mai’s mory, there wasn’t much to go on. Eventually, they promised to investigate but didn’t sound hopeful. I wasn’t holding my breath.

After all the tests and scans, Mai was discharged the next day.

She had nowhere to go.

Becky, despite her usual tough exterior, refused to let her fend for herself. "She’s coming with us," she declared, leaving no room for argunt. It was the sa thing she had done for , and I had no doubt she’d do it again if needed.

But Mai didn’t just move in—she latched onto .

If I left the room, she followed.

If I ran an errand, she insisted on coming along.

If I so much as shifted on the couch, her gaze snapped to , like she was afraid I’d disappear.

It was suffocating.

But more than that... it was terrifying.

Because whatever she couldn’t rember?

It was still haunting her.

At first, I couldn’t stop asking about her family, but every ti, she just shook her head and said, "I don’t rember."

The guilt clung to like a second skin. If I had only listened to her that night or the other tis she tried to get to listen to her—maybe, just maybe—things would’ve turned out differently. She wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

But there was sothing else, sothing that felt familiar but wasn’t right. Apparently, Mai didn’t like being alone in her room, so she started sneaking into mine every single night.

The first ti she did it? I nearly had a heart attack.

I woke up to the feeling of soone next to . I turned to see her lying in my bed, looking completely at ease.

I freaked out. "Mai! What the hell are you doing?"

She blinked at , wide-eyed, like I was the weirdo who was out of place.

"Mai, get out!"

She did as I asked without arguing, but when I woke up the next morning, there she was again, curled up on my bed. This ti, her face was buried in my chest, her body nestled against mine.

I groaned, rubbing my face. "You’ve got to be kidding ."

I had no idea when she’d snuck in again. It was like she had a secret entrance to my room that I couldn’t even detect or maybe she did that her appearing and disappearing act she should before losing her mories.

And she didn’t stop. No matter what I said, no matter how many tis I told her to stay in her own bed, Mai always ended up back in mine. Eventually, I just gave in. I figured it was probably so kind of trauma response and let it slide. Besides, North seed to like her well enough. He even joked that she was growing on him like a stubborn parasite.

To keep her occupied, Becky put Mai to work at the coffee shop.

At first? Yeah, it was a total disaster.

She spilled drinks. Forgot orders. Nearly broke the espresso machine.

But, sohow, the custors adored her. It was like she had this way of looking at people, like they were the only ones in the room. The regulars even started asking for her by na.

"See?" Becky smirked one afternoon. "She’s got charm."

I rolled my eyes. "She’s got sothing, alright."

One day, I decided to take Mai into the woods.

Before the stabbing, she’d hinted that she knew about North. So, I thought maybe, just maybe, letting him out would help jog her mory.

Under the thick trees, I let the change take over. My bones cracked, my vision sharpened, and within monts, I was standing on four legs, gray fur rippling in the breeze.

Mai gasped, then, to my surprise, grinned.

"That... is so cool," she said.

I blinked, not expecting that reaction at all.

She circled , her eyes wide with fascination. Then, hands on her hips, she gave a sly grin. "So... can I get a ride?"

I huffed, but lowered my body anyway, letting her climb onto my back. As I sprinted through the trees, her laughter danced through the air, filling the silence of the forest.

But when it was all over, she still didn’t rember.

A month passed.

Sowhere along the way, I stopped questioning it.

Mai was just there. A constant. My shadow. My pain in the ass.

And, weirdly enough, I didn’t mind it.

Maybe—just maybe—I liked having her around.