Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 210: A Drastic Decision

Chapter 210: A Drastic Decision

Mai’s P.O.V.

The room felt smaller. Tighter. Like the walls had started creeping inward the second those words left the officer’s lips.

"We’ve found your family."

For a long, terrifying moment, the world was silent and then—

"What?" Becky’s voice shattered the stillness, and before I could react, she was already in front of the officer. "Are you serious? Like, really serious? Because if this is some kind of mistake, I swear I’ll—"

The officer’s expression remained flat. "We’ve already contacted them. They’re on their way as we speak. We need Mai and Liam to come with us to the station."

I could hear Becky’s sharp inhale. I could see the pure joy blooming across her face. "Oh my god. Oh my god." She turned to Liam, then to me, her hands gripping my arms. "Do you hear that? They found them. Your parents. Liam’s parents. They’re coming."

Her excitement was suffocating. It pressed against me, thick and inescapable, while my own chest felt like it was caving in.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Not yet.

I wasn’t ready.

Becky was still rambling to the officers, promising that we’d be right behind them. "Just—give them a few minutes, okay? We’ll get dressed and follow you."

The officer nodded. "Don’t take too long." Then he left, and the second the door shut behind him, Becky spun back to us, practically vibrating with happiness.

"This is it! You guys are finally going to be with your families again! I told you to keep your faith, didn’t I? This is real. This is happening."

I swallowed, hard. My hands felt clammy. My stomach twisted itself into impossible knots.

Liam said nothing. He was just standing there, his face blank, his fingers twitching at his sides like he didn’t know what to do with them.

He was afraid.

I was, too.

Because I knew what this meant.

Once my parents were here, they’d take me back. And Liam... Liam’s parents would do everything they could to make sure he stayed far, far away from me.

I could feel the world tilting beneath me, my breath coming out too fast, too shallow. No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Not yet. I wasn’t ready.

"Uh—I need a second," I muttered, stepping back. "I need the restroom."

I didn’t wait for a response. I turned and walked briskly away, my movements sharp and deliberate. My hands trembled as I shoved the restroom door open and slammed it shut behind me. The lock clicked into place.

Silence followed.

Except it wasn’t silent.

Not really.

I gripped the edge of the sink, my fingers pressing into the cold porcelain, trying to ground myself. My reflection stared back at me in the mirror, silver eyes wide with something close to panic.

Liam’s family was coming. My family was coming.

I was about to lose him.

I could already hear my father’s booming voice, his anger a force of nature. Mai, what the hell were you thinking? My mother’s sharp disappointment, more painful than any wound. You abandoned us. You abandoned your pack. Ollie would be heartbroken.

And Liam...

His parents had always despised me. The accident when we were four had sealed my fate in their eyes. A monster. A bad influence. A danger.

If his family had him back, they’d never let him stay with me. They’d never let him choose me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart hammering against my ribs. No. I wouldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let that happen.

Then the idea hit me. A whisper, dark and tempting.

What if you didn’t remember them?

I jerked my head up, staring at myself in the mirror. The thought settled, slow and heavy, curling in my mind like smoke. If I forgot them, they’d be strangers. Just like Liam. And strangers wouldn’t take me away from him. Strangers wouldn’t force me to leave.

I swallowed hard. I had magic. I could do this. My memories would be gone Just for a few days. Four days, maybe five. Just enough time.

A slow, cold sensation crawled up my spine.

"You’re making a mistake."

The voice slithered through my mind, sending chills through me. I stiffened.

Not now. Not again.

The whispers. The same ones that had haunted me for years. The ones that had disappeared the moment Liam became my anchor.

But now, with my decision, they had returned.

"This isn’t love, Mai, another voice cooed, soft, almost pitying. It’s obsession."

"Shut up," I hissed, my nails digging into my palms.

"You think erasing your memories will keep him with you?" the whisper continued, more insidious now. "You think this won’t have consequences?"

"I don’t care."

"You should."

I clenched my jaw. "Shut up. Shut up and stay the hell out of my life."

Laughter. Cold. Twisting.

"Oh, Mai. You never learn."

My hands trembled, but I lifted them anyway, pressing my fingertips to my temples. I sucked in a deep breath. Focused. Began the incantation.

The whispers snarled. They screamed.

And then there was silence.

A freezing sensation swept through me, something deep, something unnatural, crawling into every corner of my mind. My pulse slowed. My breath evened out. My body felt lighter.

I opened my eyes.

The reflection in the mirror was the same. Same silver eyes, same long, curly brown hair. But something felt different.

Like something had been taken.

Like something had been lost.

I frowned, tilting my head.

What was I just thinking about?

I reached for a memory—a thread of something important—but there was nothing.

A void.

The only thing left was the present. The only thing I knew was Liam, Becky, and the past few months. And a vague, distant knowledge that before that... there was something.

Something I didn’t remember.

I breathed out, steady. That was the point. That was what I needed.

I turned away from the mirror and walked out of the restroom.

Becky and Liam were standing where I left them, but Becky was now pacing, hands clasped together, practically buzzing with energy. She turned the second she saw me.

"Oh, thank god," she breathed. "Are you okay?"

I blinked. "Yeah. Why?"

She frowned. "You were in there for a while. I thought maybe you fainted or something."

Liam just stared at me, eyes narrowed. His gaze had a way of peeling back layers, seeing through things people weren’t meant to see. I ignored the way it made my stomach tighten.

"The officers left," Becky continued, barely pausing to breathe. "They said your families will be here soon. Like, soon-soon. We should get to the station before they arrive."

I forced a smile. "Right. Of course."

Liam was still watching me.

Still staring.

I nudged his arm. "Come on, scar, let’s go."

His lips twitched, almost like he wanted to smile, but the tension in his shoulders didn’t ease. He didn’t say anything, just shoved his hands in his pockets and followed as Becky dragged us outside.

The police station was cold.

Too bright. Too stiff. The kind of place that made you feel like you were in trouble, even if you weren’t.

We sat in silence. Ten minutes passed.

Then the door burst open.

A man stormed in first. Tall, dark-haired, his green eyes scanning the room with the kind of intensity that felt like a painful punch.

A woman followed—a beautiful woman, golden brown skin glowing even under the harsh lights, long curly hair bouncing as she rushed forward.

Then there was a boy.

He looked around my age and he had... my face.

But his eyes were wrong. They were green. Just like the man.

And the moment they saw me—saw us—they ran.

"MAI!"

"LIAM!"

I flinched.

The woman reached me first, her arms locking around me, pulling me against her as if she could fold me into herself. The scent of something warm, something familiar, filled my lungs.

But it wasn’t familiar.

I didn’t know this woman.

The man had his hands on my shoulders now, shaking, staring at me like he couldn’t believe I was real. The boy—who looked so much like me—stood there frozen, his lips slightly parted, his breath shaky.

Liam was stiff beside me, barely moving as another pair of arms wrapped around him.

Then I heard his breath hitch.

My stomach twisted.

I didn’t move.

Didn’t return the embrace.

And the moment they pulled back, the second they saw my face, the happiness in their eyes shattered.

Like glass breaking.

Like the world splitting apart.

The man, the woman, the boy—they all stared at me, their expressions shifting from relief to confusion to something that looked like pain.

Then, finally, the woman whispered, "Mai?"

I blinked at her. "Who are you?"

There was sudden silence.

Thick. Heavy.

Like the second before a storm.

Becky stepped forward quickly. "Um, so... small thing. Mai and Liam might have some memory issues."

More silence followed.

Then the man—my father?—staggered back a step. Like he’d just been punched.

And I just stood there, empty, blank.

Because to me...

He was nothing but a stranger.

And the only thing that felt real—

Was Liam.

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