Alpha Liam

Alpha Liam's POV 

I woke before the sun did. Even before the birds started singing. Before anyone in the castle stirs awake. 

The room was still as I turned to the person beside me. Last night's event flooded my mind like a wave. My heart ache started, I dragged myself to Jane's room, I kissed her and slept beside her. 

Despite the storm in my mind, the room was too quiet. If not for the sound of her soft breathing beside me, I wouldn't have believed that last night happened. 

She was curled beside me, her head resting near my chest, her hand lightly over my shirt, as if it belonged there. And the most unsettling part was that it felt like it did. 

My heart, the most traitorous thing, beat more steadily than it had in months. The ache that usually clawed at my ribs during the night was gone. It was silenced all because she had touched and held me.

I can't believe that I crawled back to her after doing everything in my power to stay away. I don't know why things just end up the way I don't want it. I want to stay away from her but I find myself crawling back to her at any chance I get. 

Maybe because she’d seen me, not as an alpha… not as a cursed man… but as something more human than I had allowed myself to be in years.

And now… here I was lying beside a girl who should’ve meant nothing. A girl without her wolf and origin. A maid who has no one to call her family. 

Despite all those filthy titles, something was clear. Something I couldn’t deny anymore. She was pulling something out of me, something I should have buried before now. Something dangerous for her and myself. 

I turned away from her slowly, careful not to wake her. Her lips were parted, hair splayed over the pillow, her expression peaceful in a way I didn’t deserve to witness. 

I felt shame crawling up my throat. Not because of what had happened, but because I wanted more of it. I wanted to watch her sleep in my arms all night. I want to be the one she wakes up to every morning even when I know it is impossible. 

I slipped out of the bed and left her room. As I got to my room, I couldn't sleep after that.

I stood by the window, staring at the silver horizon as dawn crept over the land. The thoughts of her swirled through my mind, tangled with questions I couldn’t untangle.

What's so special about her? And why did she appear now?

The way the book reacted to her. The way my body feels relaxed by her presence. The way my dreams had shifted since she arrived. I saw her in the forest. It was as if she was there eighteen years ago. 

She didn’t remember her past but I was beginning to, and that alone terrified me. Because if what I feared was true, if the curse, the missing books and Jane were all linked, then I was no longer dealing with a simple twist of fate. 

I was standing at the edge of something ancient, something divine from the past. And I couldn’t run from it anymore. I couldn’t keep guessing. I had to know the truth. 

The Moon Goddess is the only option I have left. I've been trying to figure it out on my own but with Jane's presence, this is beyond me. 

I grabbed my cloak, pulled the hidden drawer from my shelf, and retrieved the talisman etched with the moon goddess mark. The talisman glowed faintly in my palm, warm and warning at the same time. 

With determination, I stepped out without letting anyone know. 

The forest was breathless and quiet that morning. Not a single creature stirred as I made my way through the sacred path, the talisman clutched tightly in my hand as I went deeper.

Finally, I reached The Moon Shrine.

The shrine was carved into the cliffside, hidden from mortal eyes. A marble statue of the Moon Goddess stood tall in the center, her face veiled, her arms outstretched like she was inviting you for a hug. Candles flickered around her feet, their flames had no source, and no wind could extinguish them.

I stepped forward and dropped to one knee, bowing my head in reverence. The talisman pulsed in my palm, then dissolved into dust. The offering was accepted.

“Alpha Liam,” her voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. “You return to me at last.”

I kept my head low. “I need answers.”

“I know.”

“I need to know why the curse still clings to me. Why is it burning worse now? Why she…”

“You speak of the girl.”

I looked up.

A soft silver glow appeared before the statue. Her presence shimmered like water touched by moonlight. No eyes, no face, yet I felt her gaze pierce into every part of me.

“She is not like the others,” I said, quietly. “And I don’t know why. But I feel… something. I remember… things.”

“You are bound,” the Moon Goddess said. “But you knew that.”

“I didn’t know it was her.”

“She has always been part of your path, Liam. Even before your curse. Her soul and yours have been connected.”

My throat went dry. “Then why don’t I remember? Why doesn’t she?”

“Because it is beyond your deeds,” she said.

I clenched my fists. “And the curse?”

“You parents sought power beyond what was meant for them. And I warned them, yet they chose their ambition.”

“That was them, not me,” I growled.

“But you were also there.”

I stood, my heart pounding. “What do you mean I was there?”

She paused.

Then, “Find the truth about what happened eighteen years ago.”

“I’ve tried. You know I've tried. I searched everywhere for the five powerful books of life.”

“You have been searching wrongly,” the goddess replied. “Don’t search too far, Liam. Those books are closer than you think.”

“Who are they with?”

“I don't have answers to that. But look again, Liam,” she whispered. “Not with your eyes… but with your soul. What you seek is already near.”

“You know why I don't come to you? It's because you don't give me straight answers. You speak in parables and make everything confusing for me “

“Your heart is too blind for you to know what help is called. Go Alpha Liam, help yourself.”

And just like that, the shrine fell silent, the fire dimmed and the moonlight faded. She must have been really pissed. Now that I've provoked the moon goddess, where else can I get answers?