Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 202: Lost and Forsaken

Chapter 202: Lost and Forsaken

Mai’s P.O.V.

Two days passed.

Two long, excruciating days, and still—Eldur wouldn’t talk.

I knew he was just toying with us. My father and Papa Adrian locked him up, interrogated him daily, but I knew it was useless. Eldur could teleport out of that room whenever he wanted. He was playing a game, taunting us—taunting me.

And I hated him for it.

Every second without Liam felt like claws raking through my chest. I barely slept, barely ate. My thoughts were a relentless storm, and every whisper in my mind screamed one thing—Liam is gone and it’s your fault.

I couldn’t breathe without him.

I stood outside the dungeon, fists clenched at my sides. From inside, I heard Papa’s voice, low and filled with fury.

"Where is he, Eldur?" There was silence then Eldur’s smooth, infuriating voice came through.

"I already told you."

My stomach twisted.

"I don’t know."

Liar.

I shoved open the heavy door and stepped inside. The torches flickered, drawing long shadows against the damp stone walls. Papa and my father turned at the sound of my entrance, but my eyes locked onto Eldur.

He sat on the lone wooden chair, wrists shackled, though we all knew it was pointless. He looked up at me, silver eyes gleaming dully, a slow smirk tugging at his lips.

I hated that smirk.

"Mai," he murmured. "You look terrible."

Before I knew it, I moved. My hands grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him forward, forcing him to meet my eyes.

"Bring him back," I snarled.

He sighed. "I told you—"

I punched him.

His head snapped to the side.

My father didn’t stop me. Papa didn’t either.

Eldur let out a slow breath, then turned his face back to me, licking his split lip. "If only you were this passionate about me," he muttered.

I hit him again.

This time, he laughed.

Lunatic.

I was trembling. My vision blurred, my breath ragged. But before I could strike again, a firm hand gripped my wrist.

Papa.

"Mai." His voice was steady, but beneath it, I heard the warning. Not like this.

I jerked away, stepping back, swallowing down the burning in my throat.

Eldur tilted his head, watching me. "You miss him that much?"

I clenched my jaw.

His smirk widened. "Good."

I lunged at him again, but this time, my father pulled me back. "Enough," he ordered.

I tore my gaze away, my whole body shaking. I needed to get out of here. I turned on my heel and stormed out.

That same evening, after my meeting with Eldur, Ollie and I couldn’t stop glowing.

Literally.

The transformation had happened two days ago when I almost killed Eldur—our Fae forms emerging for the first time—and since then, we couldn’t control it. Elizabeth helped us with a cloaking spell but well, every time I felt too much, my skin shimmered, and my wings—wings I did not ask for—burst free. Ollie had the same issue.

Our Mom sighed in frustration as she stared at us. "Elizabeth, please cast the spell again, it’s seems Mai an Ollie haven’t been listening to instructions." she said.

Elizabeth strolled into the room, looking unimpressed. "So," she said, glancing at our still-glowing forms, "you two just had to go through puberty dramatically, huh?"

Ollie groaned. "We can’t control it."

"I can see that." Elizabeth crossed her arms. "You’re both a glowing hazard. How many times do I have to cloak you two?"

I glared at her. "Just fix it."

She smirked. "Say please."

I took a slow breath. "Elizabeth—"

"Please," Ollie interrupted before I lost it.

She gave him a satisfied nod. "Alright. I’ll cloak you. But"—her eyes narrowed—"please and please, do not get too emotional. The spell will break again if you do."

I didn’t care about that. "Just do it."

A few muttered words later, the glow faded, the wings disappeared. I let out a relieved breath.

Elizabeth smirked. "Try not to be so dramatic, Mai."

I flipped her off and she laughed.

*********

A week passed and everything got worse.

The pack kept blaming me.

Whispers followed me through the halls of our home, through the streets, through the school.

"If she hadn’t clung to Liam like a parasite, this wouldn’t have happened."

"She should’ve been with Eldur, they deserve each other."

"She ruined Liam."

Before Liam’s disappearance, they feared me. They needed me. Being the daughter of an Alpha and Luna had given me a level of untouchability. People wanted to stay close—out of fear, out of admiration.

Now?

They avoided me like the plague.

At school, they moved out of my way in the halls, averted their eyes. Even the ones who used to suck up to me now whispered from a distance.

I didn’t care about them. I never did.

But I did care about Liam, and now he was gone.

Ollie stayed close to me always, but even he couldn’t stop the pain from gnawing at me.

By the end of the week, I was barely holding myself together.

I stood at my locker, pretending not to notice the glances being thrown my way. My fingers tightened around my books, knuckles white.

Then, a voice sneered, "How does it feel, Blackwood?"

I turned slowly.

It was Jason—a low-rank wolf who never had the guts to speak to me like this before.

He smirked. "Being the reason your precious Liam disappeared?"

A sharp, hot fury surged through me. My skin prickled. No. Not here.

I exhaled, trying to stay calm. "Walk away, Jason."

He laughed. "You’re not that scary if you needed someone like Liam by your side always. Tell me Mai, what was Liam doing for you that you relied on him so much?"

Ollie appeared at my side. "Back off," he warned.

Jason ignored him. "Maybe Eldur was right," he taunted. "Maybe you should’ve just—"

I slammed him against the lockers so fast the metal dented under his weight.

A gasp rippled through the hallway.

Jason’s eyes widened in fear.

I leaned in close. "Say one more word," I whispered, my voice deadly calm, "and you won’t have a tongue to speak with."

The hallway went silent.

Jason swallowed hard then I let him go.

He stumbled away, terror in his gaze.

The crowd quickly dispersed, avoiding my eyes.

Ollie sighed. "Mai..."

I clenched my fists. "Don’t."

Because I didn’t regret it. I turned and walked away

********

My father had place strong security around Eldur’s cell and amongst them was Elizabeth. And she was good. I’d give her that.

Every time I tried to get close to Eldur’s cell, she was there, waiting. Watching. Blocking my every move with that irritatingly calm face of hers. She acted like she knew me better than I knew myself, like she could predict my every step before I even took it.

I wasn’t stupid—I knew my parents had ordered her to keep me away. They didn’t trust me. They thought I’d lose control, do something reckless. As if keeping Eldur alive was the smart choice.

I almost had him last night.

Almost.

The guards never saw me coming. One moment they were standing stiffly in front of Eldur’s cell, the next, they crumpled to the ground, fast asleep. I was so close I could hear Eldur breathing, that slow, infuriating inhale and exhale.

Then he laughed.

The sound slithered into my ears, cold and sharp like a ice, sending shivers down my spine.

"Look at you," Eldur drawled from the darkness, his voice thick with amusement. "So desperate to get rid of me. How touching and I thought you loved me."

I clenched my fists. "Mark my words, Eldur. One day, I’m going to get you, and when that day comes, it’ll be your last."

His silver eyes, just a shade duller than mine, gleamed through the bars. "You’re fighting me over an insignificant insect like Liam? That’s beneath you, Mai. I thought you were smarter than that. I thought I meant more to you than that."

I saw red.

I lunged at the cell, ready to rip him apart with my bare hands, but before I could even reach him, Elizabeth appeared out of nowhere, her grip like steel around my arm.

"Stop."

I struggled, but she was stronger. With a snap of her fingers, the air around us twisted and bent. The next thing I knew, I was standing in my bedroom, the cold walls mocking me as Eldur’s laughter still echoed in my head.

I let out a guttural scream, punching the nearest thing—my bedside table. It splintered on impact, sending shards flying.

They all tried to calm me.

My parents. Ollie. The pack.

"We’re doing everything we can to find Liam," my father said, his voice firm but careful, as if he were speaking to a wild animal.

"We won’t stop until we bring him home," my mother added, placing a hand on my shoulder.

But it wasn’t enough.

It was never enough.

They didn’t understand what it was like. The emptiness. The aching silence that came when Liam wasn’t around. How the whispers in my head grew louder, stronger, until they drowned out everything else.

At night, they came for me.

Voices, insidious and taunting, slipping through the cracks of my mind.

Kill.

Hurt.

Spill blood.

I pressed my hands over my ears, curling into a ball beneath my blankets, but it didn’t help.

They wouldn’t stop.

They never stopped.

The only time they had ever quieted was when Liam was by my side. And now he was gone.

I couldn’t stay here anymore.I couldn’t sit idly by while they searched at a snail’s pace.

My birthday would be coming up in two months time; I was supposed to stay and meet the moon goddess like my parents told me, but I couldn’t do; I couldn’t stay when Liam was in danger somewhere. I had to do something. I had to find him.

The moon was high in the sky when I moved.

Silent. Quick. Efficient.

I packed only what I needed—extra clothes, water, some money. My heart hammered in my chest as I zipped up the bag, my hands shaking slightly.

I glanced around my room one last time.

Then I teleported.

The night air was cool against my skin as I reappeared at the edge of the pack’s land. I stood there for a moment, breathing it in.

Then, with a final promise to myself, I took the first step forward.

I would find Liam.

At all costs.

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