Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 183: Unwanted Help

Chapter 183: Unwanted Help

Mai’s P.O.V.

When I roped Dawson into pairing me with Liam for a semester-long project, it was all part of my plan to help Liam get over his fear of fire. What I didn’t expect? That it would be the toughest challenge I’d ever faced.

See, I was never one for kindness. Never cared about anyone. Never wanted to care. But something about Liam’s flinches, his wary stares, the way he refused to look at anything that looked like fire—it got under my skin. I did that to him. And I had no idea why, but I wanted to undo it.

And so, like the reckless idiot I was, I decided I’d help him. In my own way.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t go well.

I thought I was being clever. I thought it was a brilliant idea. But apparently, sneaking up behind Liam in the middle of the school hallway and lighting a tiny flame in my palm to show him fire wasn’t scary wasn’t the best approach.

He turned around, saw the fire, and froze. His face paled, and for a second, I swore he stopped breathing. Then—

He punched me.

Right in the shoulder.

Not hard, but enough to make me stumble back.

"Are you insane?!" Liam hissed, his voice low and sharp. He slapped my hand away, extinguishing the flame. "Are you actually out of your mind?"

I blinked at him. "Maybe."

"Maybe?! What the hell is wrong with you?" His breathing was ragged, eyes wide, chest rising and falling like he’d just run a marathon.

I shrugged. "I thought—"

"No, don’t. Don’t say you thought. You never think." He turned on his heel and stormed off, leaving me standing there with my shoulders aching and my pride bruised.

Fine. First attempt: failure.

Second attempt: also a failure.

I convinced him to meet at the school courtyard after class, saying we needed a "quiet place" to work on our project. He was already suspicious but didn’t protest.

Everything was fine. Until I pulled out a lighter.

His whole body tensed.

"What are you doing?" Liam’s voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.

"Relax," I said, forcing an easy grin. "Just watch, you’ll see it isn’t dangerous."

I flicked the lighter on.

Liam shot up from the bench so fast he nearly knocked over the table. His breathing hitched, and for a second, I saw that flicker again. That raw, barely-contained panic.

"Stop. Stop it, Mai."

"Liam—"

"You don’t get it!" His voice cracked, but not from anger. It was something else. Something deeper. "You think this is funny? You think this is some game?" His hands curled into fists. "I can’t just—just stop being scared of fire, okay? It’s not some stupid switch you can flip!"

I stared at him. And once again, I didn’t have a comeback.

"Stay away from me," he muttered, grabbing his things. "Just stay away."

And he left. Again.

So, naturally, the next logical step? Inviting myself to his house.

For the project, of course.

********

Liam’s house stood modest and neat on the edge of the pack’s residential area. It was nothing like the sprawling Blackwood mansion I grew up in, but it had a charm of its own. The garden out front was meticulously maintained, the sweet scent of blooming flowers making me wrinkle my nose. It was too... quaint.

I knocked on the door, not bothering to wait for an invitation before pushing it open. That’s the privilege of being the Alpha’s daughter, I supposed. But when I stepped in and saw Liam standing in the hallway, his bright blue eyes narrowing the moment they landed on me, I felt an unusual pang of guilt.

"What are you doing here, Mai?" he asked, his voice tight.

I grinned, though my heart wasn’t in it. "We have a project, remember? I figured we could work on it here."

"You figured wrong."

"Well," I said, letting myself drop unceremoniously onto the couch in the living room, "you’ll just have to deal with it, Rivers. I’m not going anywhere."

Liam let out a groan of frustration, running a hand through his blond hair. He looked like he wanted to throw me out physically but knew better. I wasn’t just anyone; I was Mai Blackwood.

His mother appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. The smile she wore faltered the second she saw me. "Mai," she greeted stiffly, her tone far from welcoming.

"Mrs. Rivers," I replied with a tight smile, keeping my voice polite.

"Liam," she said, turning to her son, "why don’t you bring Mai a drink while I have a word with her?"

The tension in the room spiked as Liam hesitated, clearly reluctant to leave us alone. "Mom—"

"Go," she insisted, her voice soft but firm.

As soon as he disappeared into the kitchen, Mrs. Rivers turned to me, her bright blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Please, Mai," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Please leave my son alone."

Her plea hit me really hard, harder than I thought possible. "I’m not here to hurt him," I said quickly, my own voice unsteady. "I swear."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "You’ve hurt him, Mai." She swallowed hard. "More than you know. He’s trying so hard to heal, and you—you keep pushing."

"I’m not..." I trailed off, realizing she didn’t believe me. No matter what I said, her mind was set. "I’m just here to study with him. That’s all."

Her eyes searched mine, and I could see the doubt in them. She didn’t trust me. I couldn’t blame her.

When Liam returned with a glass of water, the awkwardness in the air was suffocating. I stayed long enough to go over the project outline before excusing myself, unable to bear the weight of Mrs. Rivers’ disapproving gaze any longer.

The moment I stepped out of the house, I ran. I could have teleported, but the burning in my chest demanded more than a quick escape. The rhythmic pounding of my feet against the pavement drowned out the thoughts swirling in my head. In times like this, I wished I had a wolf to help me out.

By the time I reached the mansion, my legs ached, and my chest heaved, but the turmoil inside me hadn’t lessened. I slowed as I approached the front door, peering through the windows to see my parents cuddling on the couch, their laughter filling the room.

They looked so... happy.

I felt a sharp pang of envy. Why couldn’t I have that? Why couldn’t I feel at peace like they did? Why couldn’t I be normal?

Not wanting to face their questions, I slipped around the side of the house and entered through the back. Once inside, I climbed the stairs to my room, shutting the door behind me with a soft click.

I threw myself onto the bed, the troubles of the day knocking me down completely. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I let them fall. For once, I didn’t try to fight them.

A knock at the door startled me out of my misery.

"Go away," I mumbled, my voice muffled by the pillow.

The door creaked open anyway, and I didn’t have to look to know who it was. "Ollie, I said go away."

"Yeah, and I decided not to listen," he replied, his voice light but laced with concern.

I turned my head to glare at him. "What do you want?"

He leaned against the doorframe, his green eyes—completely different from mine—studying me. "I was going to ask you the same thing. You’ve been off lately, and now you’re crying. That’s not like you."

"I’m fine," I lied, wiping at my face.

He raised an eyebrow. "Sure you are. Look, you can either tell me what’s going on, or I’ll dig around and find out myself. You know I will."

I sighed, knowing he wasn’t bluffing. "It’s Liam Rivers."

Ollie blinked, clearly not expecting that answer. "Liam Rivers? That Liam Rivers?"

I nodded, avoiding his gaze.

"What about him?"

"I..." My voice faltered. How could I explain it? "I don’t know how to make him stop hating me."

His jaw dropped, and for a moment, he looked genuinely speechless. Then, he burst out laughing.

"This isn’t funny!" I snapped, sitting up.

"It’s hilarious," he said, still chuckling. "The great Mai Blackwood cares about someone enough to want them to not hate her? What kind of witchcraft is this?"

I glared at him, my cheeks burning. "If you’re just going to make fun of me, you can leave."

"No, no," he said, sobering up. "I’m serious now. What did Liam do to you? Did he put some kind of spell on you?"

"Don’t be ridiculous."

"Then explain it to me. Why do you care so much?"

"I don’t know!" I threw my hands up in frustration. "I just... I want to see him smile. I want to fix what I broke."

Ollie stared at me for a long moment before sighing. "Alright, I’ll help you."

I blinked, surprised. "You will?"

"Of course," he said with a smirk. "But only because I’m dying to know what Liam Rivers did to make my stone-hearted sister grow a conscience."

"Very funny," I muttered, but a small smile tugged at my lips. After everything that happened today, I didn’t feel so alone.

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