Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 213: Erased Memories

Chapter 213: Erased Memories

Liam’s P.O.V.

I woke up to a hollow space beside me. The bed was cold where Mai should have been.

At first, I thought she had just shifted in her sleep, maybe gotten up for a drink of water or she had gone to the bathroom. But then the silence pressed in—thick, heavy, unnatural. The air felt stiff, charged with something I couldn’t name. And then, I heard it.

A voice. Soft, low, almost a whisper.

Mai was talking to someone.

Sleep fled instantly as a prickle of unease crawled down my spine. No one else should be in the room but us.

I swung my legs over the bed, moving on instinct, barefoot steps soundless on the wooden floor. The faint glow of the bathroom light spilled from the crack beneath the door. My pulse quickened.

"Mai?" I knocked, voice steady despite the unease creeping in. "Who are you talking to?"

No response. Just silence, thick as fog.

A tight knot formed in my stomach. I gritted my teeth. "Mai." Sharper now. "Are you okay?"

Still nothing.

The air turned ice cold.

A sharp, unnatural chill that seeped into my bones, curling around my spine like unseen fingers.

Something was wrong.

I twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

And froze.

Mai stood before the mirror, her eyes distant and unfocused. Her lips were slightly parted, like she had started to say something but never got the chance to finish. She was utterly still—too still. Like something had frozen her in the moment before a scream.

But that wasn’t what made my stomach drop.

It was the reflection.

Because the thing staring back at me from the glass wasn’t just Mai.

A figure stood within the mirror’s fractured light, his presence so solid it made the hair on my arms rise. White hair. Silver eyes, dull and soulless. A slow, creeping smirk that belonged to someone who had never known warmth.

The moment our eyes met, agony ripped through my skull.

Blinding. Unrelenting. It was like something had cracked my mind open and was tearing through it, forcing memories into place that had been stolen from me. A flood of whispers and shadows clawed their way to the surface, voices I had forgotten screaming my name—

No. Not forgotten.

Erased.

I stumbled back, gasping, gripping the edge of the doorway as my vision swam. My head felt like it was splitting in two.

And then I heard a voice.

Not aloud. Not in the room.

But in my head.

"Poor, pathetic Liam."

The voice was smooth, almost amused, curling around my thoughts like smoke. I knew that voice.

"Did you really think you could keep her? That you even deserve her?"

I gritted my teeth, pushing back against the pain, forcing myself to focus.

"What—what the hell do you want?"

The boy in the mirror smirk widened. His voice was silk and ice, pouring directly into my mind.

"I want what was always meant to be mine. Mai."

I clenched my fists. "She doesn’t belong to you."

"Doesn’t she?" The boy’s silver eyes glowed faintly. "She’s strong. Fierce. Unbreakable. And yet, she wastes her time on you. But don’t worry, Liam—I’m going to fix that."

A cold dread slithered down my spine. "Fix?"

"I’m going to take you away from her."

The words were soft, almost gentle, but they struck like a blade to the chest.

"I’ll erase you completely. Not just from her life, but from existence itself. There will be no memories, no trace of you left. And once you’re gone, she’ll be mine. Just as she was always meant to be."

A sickening pressure coiled around my skull, tightening like a vice. The air around me grew suffocating. The boy’s voice slithered through my mind, whispering my own name over and over, like he was already erasing me piece by piece.

No.

No.

I refused.

I didn’t think—I just moved.

With a roar, I swung my fist forward, slamming it into the mirror with everything I had.

The glass shattered instantly.

Jagged shards rained down in a cascade of silver, catching the dim light as they scattered across the floor. A sharp sting bit into my knuckles, warm blood dripping onto the porcelain sink.

And just like that, he was gone.

Mai gasped as though yanked from the depths of a nightmare. She blinked rapidly, eyes clearing, chest heaving like she had surfaced from drowning.

"Liam?" Her voice was a mix of panic and confusion. "What the hell just happened?!"

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. My brain felt like it had been ripped open and left raw, exposed to memories I had no control over.

Because I remembered now.

The lake.

I had been there, sitting on the grass, sketchbook in hand. Watching Mai and Eldur in the water, laughing, playing.

And then he turned. Caught my gaze.

That smirk. That same cruel, knowing smirk.

And just like that—he snapped his fingers.

Darkness.

Pain.

Nothingness.

I was never the same after that.

"Liam!"

Mai’s hands were on me now, shaking me, her voice cutting through the fog. My chest heaved. The room spun, the sharp scent of blood mixing with the faint, lingering electricity of whatever had just happened.

"What’s wrong?" she demanded, eyes darting between my bloodied knuckles and my face. "Talk to me."

My pulse thundered against my ribs. My breath came fast and ragged.

Eldur.

He had done this. He had reached into my life, twisted it, stolen it, left me adrift in a world I no longer recognized. He had erased everything—

My family.

My pack.

Mai.

I had been lost—ripped away from myself, drowning in the fog of my own mind. But even in the darkness, even when I had given up, Mai had never stopped fighting for me.

Even when I pushed her away.

Even when I told her I wanted nothing to do with her.

She stayed.

She had been the one holding on, the one refusing to let go. And now, standing here, watching the pure worry in her eyes, I realized something that hit me like a bus.

All this time, she had been fighting for me. But now...

Now, it was my turn to fight for her.

I wasn’t going to lose her.

Not to Eldur.

Not to anyone.

Mai started to get up. "I’m getting help—"

"No."

I caught her wrist and pulled her into me, holding her close before she could protest. I felt her body tense, then hesitate, before finally sinking into my arms.

"I’m okay," I whispered against her hair, my voice rough with emotion. "I don’t need help. Just—stay."

She let out a shaky breath, nodding against my chest.

Carefully, she helped me up, guiding me to the sink. Blood dripped from my knuckles, staining the white porcelain. She turned on the faucet, her touch impossibly gentle as she cleaned the wounds, her fingers ghosting over my skin like I was something fragile.

"You’re reckless," she muttered, her usual sharpness softened by concern.

"You love it," I murmured back.

She didn’t reply, but I caught the faintest flicker of a smirk at the corner of her lips.

The wounds on my hands sealed quickly, the evidence of my outburst disappearing as if it had never happened. But the fire in my chest—the need to hold on to her—only burned hotter.

Mai dried my hands and led me back to the bedroom. She didn’t speak until I was sitting on the edge of the bed, her arms crossed, eyes sharp.

"Now," she said, tilting her head, "what the hell was that?"

I met her gaze.

I could tell her everything. That I remembered now. That Eldur had stolen months of my life, our life. That while I had been trapped in the dark, she had been my only light. That if I lost her now, I would rather burn in hell than live in a world without her.

But I didn’t say any of that.

Instead, I did something even more reckless than shattering a mirror with my fists.

"I love you."

Mai blinked.

Then frowned.

"...What?"

A slow, undeniable certainty settled in my chest. Something that had always been there, waiting for me to finally see it.

"I love you, Mai."

She stared at me like I had just lost my damn mind. "I love you too, Liam, but—what’s with the sudden confession?"

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t want to explain.

I didn’t want to talk about Eldur, or the memories he had stolen, or the months we had lost. Right now, I didn’t want to think about anything except her.

So instead, I reached for her—

And kissed her.

Mai let out a startled sound against my lips, her whole body stiffening. I was probably insane. Probably making a mistake. But I didn’t care. My fingers tangled in her wild curls, pulling her closer, kissing her with everything I had—like a man starved, desperate for something only she could give.

For a moment, she resisted.

Then, she melted.

Her hands fisted in my shirt, her lips moving against mine in a way that sent heat crashing through my veins.

And in that moment, I made a vow.

I wasn’t letting her go.

Not now. Not ever.

Even if Eldur was stronger than me, even if I had to fight until my last breath, I would never lose her.

I would find a way to win this fight.

Even if it meant selling my soul to the devil himself.

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