Liam’s P.O.V.
The mont the golden light faded, the space around us seed to crackle with an invisible force. My heartbeat slamd against my ribs as the two figures—Laevira and Raivo—remained eerily still before .
The Moon Goddess stood between us, her ethereal presence made the air feel heavier. Then, with the simplest flick of her wrist, their eyes snapped into focus.
A sharp inhale left my lips as Laevira’s deep violet gaze landed on , her irises swirling like a violent storm. She blinked once, her long white lashes sweeping down before her lips curled into a slow, knowing smirk.
"Well," she murmured, her voice like silk laced with venom, "this is unexpected."
Raivo, the red-haired, battle-worn nace beside her, cracked his neck with a low, predatory chuckle. His crimson eyes locked onto the Moon Goddess with a look that sent a chill down my spine.
"I must say," he mused, his voice deep and taunting, "it has been a while since I’ve been free from a cage."
They stood there—powerful, ancient, terrifying. And yet, the Moon Goddess remained unmoved.
"You have caused enough havoc in this world," she said, her voice quiet but carrying an undeniable weight. "Far too long have you tornted innocent souls, bending them to your will, poisoning their minds, destroying what was never yours to break."
A flicker of sothing crossed Laevira’s face—amusent? Annoyance? Whatever it was, it disappeared just as quickly as it had co. She crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly.
"Havoc?" she echoed, feigning innocence. "Oh, Moon Goddess, we rely gave the world what it needed—fire, chaos, a little... unpredictability."
Raivo let out a low, gravelly laugh, stepping forward.
"And if two little children suffered in the process?" He shrugged. "Well, isn’t that how the world works? The weak break. The strong survive."
My fists clenched. I barely knew these two—didn’t even fully understand what the hell was happening—but the sheer arrogance dripping from their words sent a hot surge of anger through my veins.
Mai and Eldur—two people who had suffered their entire lives, twisted into sothing unrecognizable because of these monsters—and they spoke about it like it was nothing.
"Mai and Eldur were children!" I snapped, my voice sharp enough to cut through the thick air. "You ruined them! You infested them with whatever darkness you carry, and you enjoyed it!"
Raivo turned to , his crimson gaze scrutinizing, calculating. Then, in one fluid motion, he let out a scoff.
"And who might you be, boy?" he mused, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
Laevira’s smirk widened, her gaze dragging over with an eerie sort of fascination.
"Ah," she purred, "so you’re the little spark that changed things."
I tensed.
The Moon Goddess exhaled softly before stepping closer, her presence radiating sothing ancient, unshakable.
"You will never harm anyone again," she stated simply. "You will be caged in the endless void for the rest of eternity."
For the first ti since waking, Laevira’s smirk faltered.
Raivo’s expression darkened. "You can’t keep us caged forever," he said, his voice dipping into sothing dangerous. "You know this as well as I do. We always find a way back."
Laevira nodded, her violet gaze glinting with sothing dark and knowing. "You’ve locked us away before," she murmured, "and yet, here we are. We always return, always find a way through the cracks. You cannot stop what is inevitable."
The Moon Goddess did not waver.
"You will not return," she said.
Raivo scoffed. "And why is that?"
Her gaze turned toward .
I stiffened as she lifted a hand, gesturing to like I was so grand secret she was unveiling.
"Because," she said simply, "as long as Liam Rivers and his descendants walk this earth, you will never see the light of this world again."
They both beca silent.
I blinked.
"Excuse ?"
Raivo and Laevira froze, their faces shifting from amusent to sothing sharp, sothing I couldn’t decipher. But one thing was clear, their arrogance cracked.
Laevira’s lips parted slightly. "That’s impossible."
Raivo’s jaw ticked, a muscle feathering in his cheek. "A boy? You dare tell that a boy—" His voice curled into sothing lethal. "—is our prison?"
The Moon Goddess didn’t so much as flinch.
"He is not just a boy," she said, her voice like a whispered prophecy. "He is a shield, a force you will never break. You cannot touch him. You cannot breathe near him. As long as he and his bloodline exist, you will remain nothing but shadows lost in an endless void."
Raivo turned to then, truly looked at , his crimson gaze burning with sothing fierce.
I swallowed hard.
Laevira tilted her head, examining like a puzzle she couldn’t quite solve.
"Him?" she said softly, almost to herself. "He doesn’t even know how to wield it."
My thoughts stuttered.
Wait—
Raivo’s lips curled into a snarl. "That ans nothing."
"It ans everything," the Goddess corrected.
I was still stuck on the part where I apparently had so shield power I didn’t even know about. How the hell was I supposed to use sothing I didn’t even understand?
I stared at the Moon Goddess, my mouth opening slightly before closing again. I was still processing.
The Moon Goddess lifted her hand once more.
Raivo took a sharp step forward, his entire body thrumming with raw, unchained fury.
"You think you’ve won?" he hissed. "You think locking us away will stop us forever?" His voice dropped into sothing cold, sothing full of ancient hatred. "We will find a way. We always do."
Laevira’s voice was softer but just as venomous. "We will rip through your precious shield the mont it weakens."
The Moon Goddess t their words with nothing but a serene, knowing smile.
Her fingers snapped.
A violent crack split the air.
Raivo and Laevira scread.
A force unlike anything I’d ever felt surged through the space, coiling around them like unseen chains dragging them backward. They thrashed, fought, but it was useless.
"No!" Laevira shrieked. "You cannot—!"
Raivo’s face twisted with rage, his red eyes burning with fury as he was pulled further and further away.
And then—
They were gone.
Silence slamd down like a gavel.
My heart pounded wildly in my chest. My breath ca in sharp, uneven bursts.
I stared at the empty space where they had been.
Then, slowly, I turned to the Moon Goddess.
"...What the hell just happened?"
Her gaze softened as she turned toward .
"It is finished," she murmured.
I swallowed, my throat tight. "So that’s it? They’re gone?"
She nodded.
A strange sensation—one I couldn’t quite na—settled over .
"Really? That’s it?" My voice ca out hoarse, my throat tight with disbelief. "That’s all it took?"
For so long, Mai, Eldur, and I had been shackled by sothing we never fully understood. The weight of it had pressed against us for years, a suffocating force that turned every breath into a battle. And now... it was gone? Just like that?
The Moon Goddess smiled, a serene warmth radiating from her. "Yes, Liam. It is over."
I shook my head. "No. No, it can’t be that simple. You’re telling all the pain, all the suffering we endured—it just ends like that?"
Her eyes held mine, soft yet unwavering. "Yes, because of you."
My heart pounded against my ribs. "But I didn’t do anything!" I blurted. "I just stood there! I was—" I swallowed. "I didn’t fight. I didn’t wield so great power. I didn’t even know what was happening half the ti!"
The Moon Goddess chuckled, a sound like the rustling of leaves in the wind. "Oh, Liam," she murmured. "You did everything."
I blinked. "What?"
"You were the anchor," she said simply. "The shield. Without you, Mai and Eldur would have been lost to the darkness forever. It is because of you that they are free."
I opened my mouth to argue, but her hand lifted, pressing gently against my forehead.
"It is ti to wake up now," she whispered. "Take care of Mai and Eldur for ."
I frowned. "Wait—"
But before I could say another word, the world around fractured. Light shattered into a million pieces, swallowing whole.
And then—
I gasped awake.
My body jerked violently as if I’d been pulled from deep waters. My lungs burned. My head spun.
The scent of herbs, firewood, and sothing faintly floral filled my nose. My vision was blurry at first, but as I blinked rapidly, the room ca into focus.
There were people.
A lot of people.
Alpha Lucian.
Luna Teresa.
Elizabeth.
Ollie.
Master Adrian.
Gamma Juliette.
Beta Rylan.
All gathered around.
The tension in the air snapped the mont I stirred. A chorus of gasps filled the room. Soone let out a choked sob.
"Liam!" Luna Teresa was the first to move, her hands flying to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.
Alpha Lucian, usually composed, looked like he’d been punched in the gut.
"Well, I’ll be damned," Beta Rylan muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.
"Liam, can you hear us?" Master Adrian’s cool, asured voice cut through the noise, but I barely processed it.
Because that’s when I slled her.
Mai.
Everything in froze.
My senses sharpened, every inch of my body going taut as I turned my head towards the second bed in the room.
She was lying there.
Peaceful. Still. Her long, curly light brown hair spilled over the pillows, her lashes resting against her cheeks.
But she slled different.
She slled like wild flowers and apples. She slled like ho.
Like sothing that belonged to .
A low, guttural growl rumbled in my chest before I even realized it.
"Mate."
North stirred to life in my head, his voice raw with absolute certainty.
"She’s ours. She’s finally ours."
A sharp inhale echoed through the room.
"Liam?" Gamma Juliette’s voice was cautious now.
I barely heard her.
I swung my legs off the bed, my body moving on instinct.
"Liam, wait—"
A hand reached out, but Alpha Lucian’s voice sliced through the room.
"Let him be."
The command was absolute.
No one dared move.
I stepped forward, drawn by an invisible force, my feet carrying to Mai’s bedside.
I could hear my own heartbeat—thundering, wild, erratic.
I could hear hers, too.
Soft. Steady. Familiar.
Mine.
The possessiveness hit like waves, raw and untad.
I reached out. My fingers brushed against her hand.
Sparks.
A bolt of warmth shot up my arm, spreading like wildfire through my veins.
Gasps rang out around .
"Mine," I said, the word falling from my lips like a vow.
Mai stirred.
Her lashes fluttered. Her breathing hitched.
My grip tightened around her hand.
She belonged to .
She was mine.
My mate.
The realization crashed over , suffocating and exhilarating all at once.
A small, delicate sound escaped her lips as her eyes finally opened. They weren’t silver anymore, they were green. Forest green, just like that of Ollie and Alpha Lucian’s. They were beautiful.
They locked onto mine.
For a mont, the world ceased to exist.
Only her.
Only us.
"Liam?" Her voice was groggy, confused.
Without thinking, I bent down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
She shivered beneath my touch.
Sothing flickered in her gaze—recognition, understanding, sothing deep and primal.
And then—
Her lips parted.
"...Mate?"
The room exploded into chaos.
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