Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 186: True or False

Chapter 186: True or False

Liam’s P.O.V

I should have known better than to argue with Mai Blackwood.

"Go home, Mai."

"No."

I groaned for the tenth time that evening. "Mai, seriously. You don’t have to walk me home."

She rolled her eyes, the silver in them making her look extra wicked in the moonlight. "You act like I have anything better to do."

"You do. Like—" I gestured wildly. "Literally anything else. Go home. Sleep. Terrorize someone else for once."

Mai smirked, like she hadn’t heard a word I said. The sky was a deep shade of indigo, the crescent moon peeking from behind the clouds. Crickets chirped in the distance, and the occasional howl of pack members echoed through the trees.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I’m not a damsel in distress. I can walk home by myself."

Mai tilted her head, pretending to consider. "No, you’re right. You’re more like an abandoned kitten that bites when someone tries to pet it."

I stopped walking and turned to glare at her. "And you’re a feral wolf who doesn’t understand boundaries."

"Exactly. Which is why I’m still here." She grinned, clearly pleased with herself as she fell into step beside me. "You say that you don’t need me, but what if a rogue wolf jumps out of the bushes and drags you away? Then what?"

"Then good riddance."

She snorted. "Yeah, right. Ollie would be devastated. The pack might actually notice you’re gone, and I’d have to replace my favorite charity case."

I glared at her. "I am not your charity case."

"Sure," she said, her tone dripping with amusement. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

I exhaled sharply, giving up. There was no winning with Mai. She was as stubborn as she was insufferable. She kept up, undeterred. After a while, she hummed to herself before asking, "What’s your favorite food?"

I didn’t answer.

"Color?"

Silence..

"Okay, favorite band?"

Still Silent.

"Alright, what’s your favorite thing to do in your free time apart from drawing?"

I shot her a dry look. "Why do you need to know?"

She shrugged. "Just curious." Again, I didn’t answer.

"Come on, Liam," she said, nudging me with her elbow. "I spent the entire day helping you play nursemaid. The least you could do is answer a few questions."

I exhaled sharply. "You don’t need to know those things. Only people I consider my friends are entitled to know them." As if I had any friends. I almost laughed at my own words.

For a second—just a second—I saw something flicker in Mai’s expression. Something small and wounded. But as quickly as it came, it was gone. She masked it up with a scoff and a roll of her eyes.

"Fine," she said lightly. "I’ll just assume your favorite color is beige, your favorite food is plain oatmeal, and your hobby is staring at walls."

I sighed. "You sound ridiculous."

She grinned. "I sound right."

I couldn’t believe I was allowing this—allowing her—to walk beside me like we were two normal people having a normal conversation. This was Mai Blackwood. The girl who had burned half my face. The girl my parents warned me to stay clear of. The girl I had sworn to hate for the rest of my life.

So why wasn’t the hatred burning as hot as it used to?

I clenched my jaw, fingers unconsciously grazing the scar on my forehead. Whatever was happening to my feelings, I needed to crush it before it grew into something I couldn’t control.

When we finally reached my house, I stopped at the door. Mai shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. "Well, this was fun."

I narrowed my eyes. "For you, maybe."

She grinned. "Absolutely."

I watched her turn and walk away, her light brown curls bouncing with each step. Even after she disappeared into the night, I stood there for a moment, trying to make sense of everything.

I failed.

With a sigh, I stepped inside.

My mom was in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove, while my dad sat at the table, reading. They both looked up when I walked in.

"Where have you been?" my mother asked.

"Volunteering around the pack," I said, carefully leaving out the part about Mai. If they knew I had spent the entire day with her, they would call me the most foolish person they’d ever seen.

Upstairs, in my room, I sat on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

Did I have no sense of self-preservation?

********

The weekend was gone in a flash and Monday morning arrived too soon. Only the goddess knew how much I hated school, especially all the delinquents that crawled inside.

The school hallways buzzed with the usual noise, but like always, I walked through them unnoticed. The way people treated me had changed over the years. At first, they bullied me—threw paper, spilled water on my chair, shoved me in hallways. But now? Now they just acted like I didn’t exist.

As if even breathing the same air as me would curse them. And this was all thanks to Mai.

I entered my classroom and made my way to my seat. Peter, my seatmate, wasn’t there yet. Not surprising. He was always running late.

I pulled out my sketchbook, letting my pencil move aimlessly across the page, when the door suddenly opened.

The room fell silent.

I glanced up, expecting to see a teacher.

Instead, I saw them.

Mai and Ollie Blackwood.

Whispers spread like wildfire.

"They’re so perfect."

"Look at them."

"She’s gorgeous."

"He’s even hotter in person."

I rolled my eyes. Typical. They all acted like they didn’t see the Blackwood twins every fricken day.

I turned back to my sketchbook, ignoring the spectacle—until Mai started walking in my direction.

I froze.

The murmurs grew louder.

Please go away! Please go away! I chanted repeatedly in my mind but the goddess wasn’t on my like always.

My heart sank as she stopped at my desk, pulled out the chair beside me, and sat down.

The room went dead silent. Exactly what I feared would happen.

I turned to her, my voice low. "What are you doing?"

Mai leaned back casually. "Sitting."

"You can’t sit here."

"Why not?" She smirked. "This seat is mine now."

"I have a seatmate," I said and she ignored me.

As if on cue, Peter walked into the room. He stopped mid-step, his eyes darting between me and Mai.

"Uh..." he stammered.

Mai glanced at him once. "Get lost."

Peter didn’t hesitate. He turned and scurried away like a scared rabbit.

I sighed, shaking my head. "You’re unbelievable."

"Thanks," she said, grinning.

A few hours later of boring lessons, the bell rang for lunch break. If I thought the classroom incident was bad, lunch was worse.

I had barely taken a bite of my food when Mai plopped down across from me.

I glared at her. "You’re causing people to stare."

Mai just smiled, completely unfazed. "I’m a queen, so let them stare."

I groaned. "Go sit somewhere else."

As if that wasn’t enough, a familiar voice said, "I’ve decided to join, too."

I looked up to see Ollie setting his tray down beside Mai.

I blinked. "Are you kidding me?"

Mai groaned, shoving at her brother. "You can not sit here."

"Why not?" Ollie grinned. "I need to spend quality time with the boy my sister is obsessed with."

Mai choked on her drink. "I am not obsessed with him!"

Ollie wiggled his eyebrows. "Sure, sure."

I slammed my fork down. "Both of you need to leave."

They exchanged a glance—then laughed.

I sighed in defeat. There was no escaping them.

After lunch, I made a beeline for gym class even though I totally hated the subject but I needed space from the crazy twins who thought following me around was considered as fun.

In the locker room, I was halfway through changing when Arthur—the guy who once asked to be my friend and then ghosted me—walked up.

I arched an eyebrow. "Oh, look who it is. What are you doing here? Decided to be my friend again?"

Arthur shifted awkwardly. "Liam... I need to tell you something."

I folded my arms. "This should be good."

He hesitated, then glanced around the locker room before leaning in as if he was about to tell me a top secret. "I was warned to stay away from you."

I frowned. "By who?"

Arthur hesitated, then sighed. "Mai."

I blinked. "What?"

He nodded. "She told me to stay away from you. Said she wanted to cut you off from everyone."

I stared at him, my brain scrambling to process his words. "That makes no sense Arthur, try again."

Arthur sighed. "Look, I overheard her and Ollie talking at the training grounds. She’s planning something big, Liam. A whole bully scheme to humiliate you. And her brother’s helping."

I shook my head. "No. That’s not—"

"I swear, I’m telling the truth," Arthur insisted. "I just... I don’t want you to get hurt."

I swallowed hard, my mind spinning.

Mai and Ollie... planning to hurt me?

Everything they did—Mai sitting with me, helping me with chores around the pack, following me home, making small talk—was that all just a trap?

None of this made sense. If it was just Mai, I’d probably believe it, but Ollie too?

I didn’t know what to believe anymore.