Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 176: A Bitter Memory

Chapter 176: A Bitter Memory

Liam’s P.O.V.

The dream started the way it always did—bright and warm. The air smelled of fresh-cut grass and the faintest hint of wildflowers. I remember the warmth of the sun on my face, the soft giggles of children playing, and the way my tiny fingers curled around the delicate yellow flower I had just plucked from the ground. I was four years old.

I didn’t know much about the world back then, but I knew that flowers made people happy. My father always gave them to my mother, and she would smile in that way that made everything feel warm and safe. So, when I spotted the closest girl, I did what I thought would make her happy. I gave her the flower.

Mai Blackwood.

She had light brown, beautiful curly hair and icy silver eyes that looked right through me. I remember how she stared at the flower in my hand, then at me, her lips curling into something I now recognize as cruel amusement.

"I don’t like his hair," she said, turning to the boy beside her.

Eldur. I didn’t know his name back then, but I would never forget his white hair or the excitement in his face when she spoke.

"Burn it," Mai ordered, her voice as casual as if she were asking him to pass a toy.

Ollie, her twin, hesitated, his hands twitching at his sides. "Mai, don’t—"

But Eldur didn’t hesitate.

One second, I was standing there, confused, my small heart beating in childish uncertainty. The next, fire roared to life in front of me, crackling orange and red. My hair caught first. The heat was unbearable, scorching its way down my forehead before something—someone—intervened.

A woman, her voice urgent, smothering the flames before they could reach my scalp. But the damage was done. The pain was unlike anything I had ever known, searing, unrelenting. I screamed, and the world blurred into shadows and voices, apologies I didn’t understand, hands that tried to soothe, and the scent of burnt flesh that would never fully leave my mind.

I woke up gasping.

The sheets were damp with sweat, my fingers clenched so tightly into the fabric that my knuckles ached. My heart pounded as I forced myself to focus on the present—the dim glow of my bedside lamp, the familiar creaks of the house around me. I was safe. There was no fire.

It was just a memory.

But memories had a way of burning just as deep as the scars they left behind.

I sat up slowly, running a hand through my hair. My fingers brushed against the rough ridges of my scars, and I flinched. It had been thirteen years, and I still wasn’t used to the feeling.

A knock came at my door. Light. Hesitant.

"Liam?"

My mother’s voice came through. I exhaled and forced myself to speak. "I’m fine, Mom." I called out to her.

"Are you sure?" She asked me, I could hear the sound of her breathing from the other side of the door.

"Yes." I replied.

"Alright," she said.

She didn’t sound convinced, but she didn’t push. "Breakfast will be ready soon. Your father and I wanted to talk to you before we go see Alpha Blackwood."

I swallowed hard. Right. Today was the day we were returning to the Moonpeak Pack.

The home I had run from.

I remember how after that horrible incident with Mai and Eldur, Alpha, Lucian, and Luna Teresa came to my house, their faces heavy with regret. My parents stood beside me, silent, tense. They apologized, of course—talked about how Mai was just a child, how Eldur didn’t understand the consequences. How it was all just a "prank gone wrong."

Mai stood before me, her eyes gleaming with insincerity as she muttered, "Sorry, Liam." Eldur did the same, his voice dull and uninterested.

The Alpha took care of the hospital bills. That was supposed to make it better, I guess. But it didn’t.

For a while, things were quiet—until I entered high school. That’s when the whispers started.

"Freak."

"Monster."

"I can still smell the burnt hair."

The scars on my face became their favorite joke. Some days, they’d pull at my hoodie, just to see the marks. Some days, they’d shove me into lockers, laughing about how I should be "used to the heat" by now.

And Mai? She never let me forget.

She’d smirk whenever she passed me in the hallways. "Still ugly, Liam?" she’d say, tossing her perfect hair over her shoulder. Her friends would laugh.

My parents tried to help. They went to Alpha Blackwood again, and this time, he had a solution: "Maybe a change of environment will help. I’ll arrange for Liam to stay with one of our allied packs for a few years."

So we left.

New pack, new school, new faces. But nothing changed. The bullying followed me like a curse, no matter where I went.

I stopped telling my parents after a while. They had already done so much, and I couldn’t stand the look in their eyes—the helplessness, the worry. I didn’t want to be a burden. So, I bore it in silence.

Until 11th grade. A week ago.

That was the day I learned true fear.

Some guy, Ethan in my class, figured out my biggest weakness. He saw the way my hands shook when I got too close to an open flame in the chemistry lab and how I’d turned pale at the sight of the bonfire during the full moon celebration two weeks ago.

And he thought it was funny.

So he and his friends waited for the right moment.

"Hey, Liam, come here for a sec."

I should have known better. I should have walked away.

But I didn’t. I was desperate for friends, any friend really.

They shoved me into one of the outdoor toilets and slammed the door shut. I heard the lock click. Then, the unmistakable whoosh of fire.

Smoke curled under the door almost instantly. My heart stopped. My chest tightened.

"No. No, no, no—"

I slammed my fists against the door, my breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps. The flames licked at the edges of the structure, the heat pressing in on me from all sides. The air grew suffocating with smoke.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

All I could hear was their laughter.

"Have fun in there, Fire Boy!"

They thought it was a joke. A harmless prank.

I thought I was going to die.

Then—the door burst open.

I barely registered the strong hands pulling me out before I collapsed onto the cold ground, coughing and gasping for air. Someone shouted, voices overlapping in panic, but I could only hear the crackling fire behind me, still too close, still too real.

I was lucky.

As for Ethan? He wasn’t.

The Alpha of the pack made sure of that. Severe punishment. A public warning. An example made. But by then, I didn’t care. I was already too numb.

My parents, though—they cared. And for them, this was the final sign.

"We’re going back home, Liam," my mother whispered that night, her voice shaking. "Back to Moonpeak. Back where we belong."

I didn’t argue.

Because deep down, I knew the truth.

It didn’t matter where we went. The scars followed me everywhere.

*********

The Present

Breakfast was quiet. Too quiet. My parents kept looking at me like I was about to break, like I was still that fragile four-year-old boy with bandages wrapped around his head.

Dad was the first to speak. "We know this is hard for you."

I stabbed my fork into my eggs. "It doesn’t matter."

Mom’s eyes softened. "Of course, it matters, sweetheart. We just... we think this is the right choice. It’s been years. Mai isn’t the same girl she was back then."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. "You don’t know that."

"She’s older now," Dad added. "More mature. She’s the future Luna of Moonpeak. She wouldn’t—"

"Wouldn’t what?" I cut in. "Wouldn’t still be the same person who spent years making my life miserable? Wouldn’t still see me as the Omega freak with the scars?"

Mom’s shoulders tensed. "Liam, please."

I sighed, pushing my plate away. "Look, I get it. You think this is the best thing for me. A fresh start. Again. But we tried that, remember?"

They didn’t need reminding. They knew.

I clenched my hand under the table. This pack was supposed to be my escape, my chance to heal but it did nothing to help me.

Mom reached for my hand, her touch gentle. "You don’t have to be afraid anymore."

I gave her a small, tired smile. "I’m not afraid."

I was just exhausted.

********

Back to the Moonpeak Pack

The pack looked the same. Familiar houses, familiar paths, familiar eyes that flickered toward me before darting away. Whispers followed me like ghosts, but I ignored them.

My parents were busy talking to Alpha Blackwood, so I kept my head down and made my way through the village, my hands stuffed into my pockets.

Then, I heard her voice.

I didn’t mean to stop walking, but my body went rigid on instinct. I turned, slowly, and there she was.

Mai Blackwood.

She stood with a group of people, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, her silver eyes still sharp. But something was different. The moment she saw me, her expression shifted—not to amusement or cruelty, but something else.

Something I couldn’t quite place.

I barely had time to react before she was walking toward me.

"Well, well." Her lips curled into a smirk. "Liam Rivers."

I didn’t respond. I just stared, my pulse drumming in my ears.

She tilted her head. "Didn’t think I’d see you again."

"Same," I muttered.

Mai studied me, her gaze flickering to my scars before returning to my eyes. There was no guilt. No apology. Just... curiosity.

Then she smiled.

It wasn’t a friendly smile.

Everything had changed. The pack. The people. Even Mai.

But not in the way my parents had hoped.

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