Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 243: Whole Again

Chapter 243: Whole Again

Mai’s P.O.V.

The room had erupted into chaos, but I didn’t care.

I was still staring at Liam. My mate. My heart was pounding so loudly I could barely hear the voices overlapping in the background. My fingers clung to his shirt, my body unwilling to let go, unwilling to put even a breath of space between us.

"Mai!" My father’s sharp voice cut through the noise. "You care to explain how you came to this conclusion?"

I turned to face him, reluctantly pulling away from Liam, though I still kept a firm grip on his hand. My father’s arms were crossed, his expression guarded, but I knew him too well—he was analyzing everything, every little detail, he was carefully guarding his emotions.

"Frost told me," I said simply, voice steady.

Everyone kept looking at me.

Then, "What? Who’s that?" My mother’s voice sounded confused.

I smiled, feeling warmth bloom in my chest. "My wolf," I said, lifting my chin. "She’s finally free. Her name is Frost."

Gasps echoed around the room.

"That’s—" My father took a step closer, eyes narrowing. "Mai, the last time we checked, your wolf was locked away. Sealed. Because of Laevira."

At the mention of the witch’s name, a ripple of tension spread through the room. Ollie stiffened. Papa Adrian’s sharp eyes flickered, and Auntie Juliette clenched her jaw.

"Laevira was supposed to be removed by the goddess," my father continued, his voice lowering into something deadly. "So tell me, how is it that she’s gone?"

I felt a shiver crawl down my spine, but not from fear.

"She’s just... gone," I whispered, almost in disbelief myself. "One second she was there, and the next..." I exhaled. "She wasn’t."

Another sharp gasp filled the room.

I blinked, confused at their reactions, until my mother grabbed my face, her warm fingers pressing against my cheeks.

"Your eyes," she breathed. "They’re green."

My breath hitched.

"What?"

She turned my face toward a nearby mirror, and I nearly stumbled.

Gone were my eerie silver eyes. In their place, a striking emerald green burned back at me. Vibrant. Alive. Just like my dad’s just like Ollie’s.

Laevira’s corruption was truly gone.

Liam’s grip on my hand tightened. "I knew it," he murmured, voice rough.

Everyone turned to him.

"You knew?" Rylan asked, brows raised.

Liam exhaled, running a hand through his wavy blond hair. "When I was unconscious... I was with the Moon Goddess."

Another round of gasps.

I stiffened. "What?"

He nodded. "I saw her, Mai. She pulled Laevira from you. And she pulled Raivo from Eldur." His gaze flickered toward Eldur, who sat frozen on his bed, staring at Liam like he had just sprouted wings.

My heart thumped wildly. "She... she took them?"

Liam nodded. "She trapped them in an endless void." He swallowed. "She told me that as long as I—and my descendants—are in this world, Laevira and Raivo will never return."

For a moment, no one moved.

Then—

A collective cry of relief filled the room.

Liam was suddenly enveloped in a blur of movement as my parents rushed forward, embracing him like he was their own son.

"Thank you," my mother whispered against his shoulder.

"You protected our daughter," my father said, voice thick with emotion.

Papa Adrian and Auntie Juliette joined them, their normally reserved expressions melting into something soft, something warm. Auntie Juliette, fierce and feisty as ever, clapped Liam on the back with surprising gentleness. "You did good, kid."

I bristled.

What the hell?

I growled, stepping between them and Liam, my arms crossing over my chest. "That’s enough touching my mate," I snapped.

They all froze.

Then burst out laughing.

I scowled, feeling heat creep up my neck.

Liam, still recovering from the onslaught of hugs, glanced at me, his blue eyes amused. "Are you seriously growling at your own parents?"

I huffed. "You’re mine, and I don’t like people all over you."

"Alright, alright," my father chuckled, hands raised in surrender. "We’ll leave the pup alone."

Satisfied, I turned back to Liam and took his hand again, squeezing it tightly.

Just as I tightened my grip on Liam’s hand, my father suddenly yanked me away, crushing me into a fierce hug. Before I could even protest, my mother wrapped her arms around us too, their warmth engulfing me. Their voices were thick with gratitude as they murmured thanks to the Moon Goddess.

And then—Liam growled.

Low. Possessive. A warning.

I barely had time to register the shift before he pulled me right back into his chest, his arms locking around my waist like a shield.

"Okay," he grumbled, "if she gets mad about me getting hugged, then I get mad about her getting hugged too."

The room erupted into another round of laughter.

Ollie smirked. "This is gonna be fun to watch."

Rylan clapped my father on the back. "Looks like your daughter found someone just as possessive as you, Lucian."

My father groaned. "Great."

Despite his grumbling, I could see it—the quiet pride in his eyes.

Then, as if realizing something, the room shifted its attention to Eldur.

He had been oddly silent through it all, his silver eyes holding something I couldn’t read.

But when my mother and Auntie Juliette moved toward him, he immediately got off the bed and took a step back, his face twisting into something almost alarmed.

"No," he said flatly. "I don’t do hugs."

Auntie Juliette, of course, ignored him entirely and threw her arms around him.

He flinched, arms stiff at his sides. "I will set you on fire," he warned.

Auntie Juliette just laughed.

My father shook his head. "You wouldn’t. You love your mom too much."

Eldur scowled. "Tolerate. I tolerate her."

"Uh-huh," my mother smirked.

The others followed suit, much to Eldur’s horror.

"Back. Off," he growled, trying to pry them off one by one.

Papa Adrian chuckled, crossing his arms. "Now, now, Eldur. Let them show you love."

Eldur shot him a betrayed look. "You’re my father. Protect me!"

Papa Adrian smiled, slow and infuriatingly amused. "Oh, my dear boy. This is your punishment for being a little terror all these years."

Eldur groaned.

I leaned into Liam, feeling lighter than I had in years.

Everything had changed.

Laevira was gone.

Frost was free.

And Liam—

Liam was mine.

My father’s deep voice cut through the warmth of our laughter. "Now that everything is settled," he announced, his sharp green eyes sweeping across the room, "we will be holding a banquet to celebrate Mai’s and Eldur’s recovery."

I blinked, caught off guard. A banquet?

My mother, standing beside him, smiled warmly. "It’s time to celebrate, sweetheart. You’re free now."

I knew what she meant, but before I could fully process it, Elizabeth stepped forward, her long red hair gleaming under the light of the room. There was something different in her expression—something heavy with purpose.

"Not quite," she said gently. "Not yet."

The room went still.

I felt Liam’s fingers tighten around mine.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

Elizabeth took a slow breath, her warm ember eyes locking onto mine, then shifting to Eldur, and finally to Liam. "The binding spell. It’s still in place. You, Liam, and Eldur... you’re still bound by it."

I had totally forgotten about that.

"I need to lift it," Elizabeth continued, voice steady, unwavering. "Completely."

Liam nodded. Eldur remained silent, but his jaw clenched.

My father’s face darkened. "Will it hurt them?"

Elizabeth hesitated. "It will feel... intense, just like when I put it on them. But it won’t be painful."

I exhaled, bracing myself. "Do it."

Elizabeth nodded and stepped forward, lifting her hands. A golden light shimmered between her fingertips, curling like smoke. The air shifted, thick with power. I felt it immediately—a force coiling inside my very bones.

"Mai Blackwood, Liam Rivers, Eldur Daegon," Elizabeth murmured, her voice carrying an ancient cadence, old magic twisting in her words. "By my blood, by my power, by the will of the Moon and the Stars... I release you."

The moment she spoke the final word, agony—no, something deeper than agony—rushed through me.

It was like my very soul was unraveling, threads of something unseen being torn apart and rewoven. I gasped, my knees buckling as heat surged through my veins, and then—

Light.

Blinding. Burning. All-consuming.

And then it was gone.

I collapsed forward, but Liam caught me, his arms strong and steady around me.

"Mai?" His voice was soft, but I heard the urgency beneath it.

I blinked up at him, breathless, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs. And then I saw it—reflected in his wide blue eyes.

My own reflection.

My eyes.

They shimmered with something deeper, something ancient.

Something free.

Eldur let out a shaky breath beside me. His hands flexed at his sides as if testing his body without Raivo.

Liam closed his eyes for a moment, his entire body shuddering.

And then Elizabeth smiled. "It’s done."

I sucked in a breath, my body trembling. The air felt lighter. My wolf—she was there, truly there, no longer buried beneath layers of restraint. I could feel her energy humming beneath my skin, no longer caged.

I was free.

We all were.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then my father cleared his throat. "We should—"

"Wait," I interrupted, my voice hoarse. "Can we have a moment? Just us."

The room fell silent.

My mother studied me for a long moment before nodding. "Of course."

My father hesitated, but then, with a sigh, he motioned for the others to follow.

Everyone filed out—except Ollie.

I turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "You’re staying?"

Ollie grinned. "Like hell I’m leaving."

I huffed a laugh despite myself. Typical Ollie.

The door clicked shut, leaving just the four of us—me, Liam, Eldur, and my twin.

Silence stretched between us.

Then, to my shock, Eldur turned toward Liam. His eyes were fix, his expression taut. "You helped me," he said, voice low. "I didn’t want it, but you did it anyway."

Liam didn’t flinch under his gaze. "Yeah."

Eldur exhaled sharply. "Thank you."

I frowned. Something about the way he said it—it felt... forced. No, not forced. Guarded.

I studied him carefully, my instincts prickling. "Eldur," I said slowly. "What’s wrong?"

His gaze flickered to me. "Nothing."

Liar.

Before I could press him, he turned, running a hand through his white hair. "So, the banquet," he muttered, changing the subject. "That’s gonna be a nightmare."

Typical.

I clenched my teeth but let it go. For now.

Before I could say anything else, Ollie suddenly lunged forward, nearly knocking the breath out of me as he wrapped his arms around me.

Tightly.

I stiffened, caught off guard.

Ollie always hugged me but he never hugged me like this.

His voice was muffled against my shoulder, but I heard it clearly. "You’re really free," he whispered. "You have your wolf. Your real wolf."

Something in my chest cracked.

I lifted my arms, wrapping them around him, and suddenly I was clutching him just as tightly.

"Ollie—"

"You look exactly like me now," he mumbled, voice thick. "Our eyes match. We’re really twins again."

I let out a strangled laugh. "We were always twins, dumbass."

He sniffed. "Still."

His grip tightened. "I thought... I thought something would go wrong," he admitted. "That you’d get hurt again."

Tears burned at the edges of my vision.

I closed my eyes, burying my face in my twin’s shoulder.

I had never, ever, seen him like this.

"You idiot," I whispered. "I’m here. I’m fine."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Ollie pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes, his own brimming with unshed tears.

"Then you have to promise me something else," he said, clearing his throat. "Now that you’ve got your wolf... we’re racing. Wolf form. You and me."

I blinked.

Then I laughed.

A real laugh, one that felt light and free.

"You’re on, Ollie."

His face split into a grin. "Hell yeah."

I reached for him again, and this time, I hugged him like I never had before.

And Ollie—Ollie held on like he never wanted to let go.

Liam stood beside me, watching quietly, a small, soft smile on his face.

And even Eldur—who usually had nothing but sarcasm and irritation to spare—remained still as he watched us.

I was free.

I was whole.

And I had my family.