Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 225: Who Gets Where?

Chapter 225: Who Gets Where?

Liam’s P.O.V.

Elizabeth’s hands glowed as she stepped toward us, her ember eyes twinkling with mischief. "Alright, children, hold still. This will only hurt a lot if you resist."

I barely had time to process that before she lifted her hands, and a gust of wind blasted around us. A strange force wrapped around my chest, like invisible threads tightening around my ribs. The air shimmered, and I felt something—something ancient—seep into my skin, coiling around my bones.

Mai let out a sharp breath beside me, and Eldur cursed under his breath.

"Done," Elizabeth said cheerfully, lowering her hands. "From now on, if any of you tries to leave the others behind, you’ll feel pain. Not a gentle nudge, not an annoying headache—real pain."

Eldur crossed his arms, smirking. "And what if one of us needs to use the restroom? Are we supposed to hold hands through the door?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "You can use the restroom just fine. The spell only activates if you think about escaping each other’s company."

Mai groaned. "Great. So even my thoughts are a prison now."

Eldur smirked. "At least we’ll all suffer together."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "This is going to be hell."

From the corner of the room, Ollie snorted. "You know, with this spell, someone could mistake the three of you as triplets, not just Mai and me."

Elizabeth turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "Would you like me to bind you to them too? Make it official? Then you can all be quadruplets."

Ollie’s eyes widened, and he took a step back, laughing nervously. "Oh, absolutely not. I like my freedom, thank you very much."

Elizabeth smirked. "Watch it, or I might do it just for fun."

The room erupted in laughter, even Mai let out a small chuckle, though she rolled her eyes right after.

But just as the tension started to ease, Alpha Lucian’s voice cut through the laughter.

"Liam."

I stiffened.

He turned to me, his tone serious, his gaze sharp. "How did you end up missing from the pack and then appearing all beaten up the way you did?"

The room went silent.

My mother’s head snapped toward me, and my father stepped forward, his expression darkening.

"What is he talking about?" my father demanded.

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. "I—" I licked my lips, forcing myself to speak. "Mr. Dawson."

Alpha Lucian’s eyes narrowed. "Dawson?"

I nodded. "That night, by the lake, he found me. He said he could help me get Mai back."

Mai’s head whipped toward me, silver eyes flashing. "Liam please tell me you didn’t let that rat fool you?"

I ignored her, focusing on the Alpha. "Dawson had a book—witchcraft. He said all he needed was something that belonged to Mai. He’d use it for a locating spell."

Eldur scoffed. "Of course you believed him."

I clenched my fists. "He said he was worried about Mai too. He acted like he cared."

My mother placed a trembling hand over her mouth. "Liam..."

I looked away. "I brought him Mai’s shirt. And then—" My stomach twisted. "He did a blood spell. He used her shirt, and... my blood."

Elizabeth’s jaw tightened. "What did the spell do?"

I exhaled shakily. "I disappeared. One second, I was with him, and the next, I was in a room. No doors. No windows. Just walls."

A cold shiver ran down my spine at the memory.

"And then I saw them." My voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Three women. Dressed in black. Their faces hidden under veils."

Elizabeth sucked in a sharp breath. "The Witches of the Veil."

I looked at her, my stomach sinking at the way her hands curled into fists.

"They’re vile creatures," she said, her voice tight. "Anyone sent to them is sent as a sacrifice."

A heavy silence filled the room.

I nodded slowly. "They told me that I was a gift." My jaw clenched. "A gift from Eldur."

A sharp gasp echoed in the room.

Every single pair of eyes turned to Eldur, their gazes ranging from shock to anger to disappointment. The flickering firelight made his silver eyes gleam as he leaned back lazily against the couch, clearly unbothered.

"In my defense," Eldur said, stretching his arms with a slow smirk, "Dawson told me that if I helped him with the power to create portals, he would keep Liam out of Mai’s life forever."

A fresh wave of tension settled over the room. I felt my stomach churn, but I forced my voice to stay steady. "I really don’t know what’s wrong with you," I said, "how could you willingly trade me off like a defective item just to get rid of me? It’s not like the act is beneath you but come on!"

Eldur scoffed. "Oh, please. I didn’t know where he was going to take you or why he needed the portals. But he made a very appealing offer. You disappearing? That sounded like music to my ears."

Mai turned to Eldur, her eyes burning with fury. "You absolute idiot."

Eldur waved her off, though his jaw clenched. "I was scammed, okay? The little rat lied. Liam came back didn’t he?" His voice dripped with annoyance, as if my survival was some kind of inconvenience to him.

His father, Adrian, shot him a sharp look. "Watch your mouth, Eldur."

Eldur rolled his eyes but muttered, "Fine, whatever."

As if suddenly remembering something, Elizabeth’s face paled. She turned her piercing gaze to me, then to Mai and Eldur.

"Listen to me carefully," she said, her voice cold and firm. "If any of you try to harm each other in any way, the pain will boomerang back to you. That means if you so much as attempt to break a bone, yours will break first."

Eldur groaned. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

Mai groaned too, rubbing her temples. "Fantastic. Just what I needed."

They exchanged heated, angry glares. It would have been amusing if I wasn’t still trying to process the fact that Eldur had essentially sold me out.

My mother and father turned to Alpha Lucian, their eyes blazing with fury.

"We want Dawson to pay," my father said, his voice tight with anger. "He tried to kill our son."

"You don’t even have to ask," Alpha Lucian said, his tone cold and final. "A man like Dawson will regret ever being alive."

A shiver ran down my spine. When an Alpha spoke like that, it wasn’t just a promise—it was a death sentence.

*******

The tension from the meeting hadn’t even fully settled before Alpha Lucian dropped another bomb.

"You’ll all be resuming school."

Groans erupted from the three of us.

"Why do I have to go?" Eldur grumbled. "I’m not a member of this pack and besides, I already know everything."

Ollie laughed, pointing at us. "You three even groaned like triplets."

Mai turned to him, eyes glinting mischievously. "Once all this is over, I’m personally killing you, Ollie."

Ollie grinned. "Duly noted."

Mai turned back to her father, arms crossed, her eyes filled with defiance. "I’m not going back to that school. The teachers are either power-tripping tyrants or desperate suck-ups, and the cafeteria? They serve actual poison and call it food."

Silence fell over the room like a thick fog.

Luna Teresa’s breath hitched. "Mai... what did you just say?"

Alpha Lucian’s gaze sharpened. "You... remember?"

Mai blinked, as if the weight of her own words had just hit her. Then, with a slow exhale, she nodded. "Yeah. I remember everything. The goddess helped."

For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then, all at once, the room erupted into motion. The Alpha, the Luna, Ollie, Adrian, Juliette, and Elizabeth surged forward, pulling her into a crushing embrace.

Mai stiffened. "Okay—wait—guys—" She gasped. "You’re squeezing the life out of me!"

"You’ll survive," Juliette teased, tightening her grip.

"Not if you break my ribs first!" Mai grumbled, but there was a hint of laughter in her voice.

Ollie, grinning like a menace, leaned in close. "I was really hoping you wouldn’t remember," he mused. "I had a whole plan to rewrite our childhood memories. You were gonna believe I was the superior sibling."

Mai narrowed her eyes. "You little—"

Before she could finish, her hand snapped out, landing a solid smack on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Ollie yelped, stumbling forward before recovering with a cackle. He stuck his tongue out at her like an overgrown child and, before she could land another hit, spun on his heel and bolted out of the room, laughing the entire way.

Mai sighed, rubbing her temples. "I forgot how insufferable he is."

Alpha Lucian chuckled. "Welcome back, princess."

One by one, everyone started to leave.

But my problems weren’t over yet.

********

To my absolute horror, the Alpha and Luna had decided that the best way to keep an eye on us before my birthday was to have us stay in a large, well-furnished apartment on the far end of the mansion. For one month.

Ollie, of course, was beyond thrilled about this.

The apartment had two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. A reasonable setup, except for one tiny detail.

"Wait," Mai said, crossing her arms. "Who gets which room?"

Eldur immediately pointed to one of the rooms. "That one would be yours."

That left me and Eldur staring at each other.

Oh, hell no.

"You’re not sleeping in the same room as me," I said flatly.

Eldur sneered. "Trust me, I’m not thrilled about it either, Rivers."

Ollie, who had made himself comfortable on our couch just to watch us struggle, snickered. "Oh, this is gold. Keep going."

Ollie turned to Mai with amusement in his voice. "You could always share with Eldur."

She looked at him like he had just asked her to bathe in acid. "I’d rather die."

"Then I guess we have no choice," I muttered through gritted teeth, glaring at Eldur.

Before either of us could agree on who got which side of the room, Mai suddenly frowned.

"I can’t sleep alone," she said.

We all turned to her in confusion.

Mai crossed her arms. "I always sleep with Liam."

Silence.

Damn Mai, she just had to say that now.

Ollie and Eldur slowly turned their heads toward me.

"What?" Eldur said, voice flat.

Ollie choked on his laughter. "Wait—WAIT—what did you just say?!"

Mai shrugged like it was nothing. "I sleep with Liam. It helps with the whispers."

I rubbed my temples. "Mai, please word that differently before they get the wrong idea."

"What? It’s true." Mai said defensively.

Eldur looked absolutely furious. "You mean to tell me you’ve been crawling into bed with Rivers all this time?!"

Ollie, still laughing, gasped for breath. "Oh, Eldur, you poor, poor thing."

"Shut up, Ollie," Eldur snapped.

I sighed, sitting on the couch. "It’s not a big deal."

Eldur scoffed. "It’s a huge deal. I want Liam as far away from Mai as possible."

"Well, too bad," Mai said. "I need him. So unless you want to spend the night with both of us instead—"

"Absolutely not," Eldur said immediately.

"Then shut up and let me have my Liam," Mai huffed, crossing her arms.

Ollie burst into laughter again, wiping tears from his eyes. "This is the best thing I’ve ever witnessed."

And just like that, our first night as a trio had officially descended into chaos.

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