Chapter 4 - Liam's POV

The moment our eyes met, something inside me shifted. It wasn’t just looking at her,it was like the whole world froze around us. The noise, the crowd, even the sound of my own breathing seemed far away. The air between us grew thick, heavy enough that my chest tightened. My wolf stirred inside me, claws scratching, a low growl rumbling that only I could hear.

That pull… that strange heat flooding through me… there was no mistaking it.

She was my mate.

But… how?

I blinked, my throat suddenly dry. She looked so ordinary, so small compared to me, so fragile. Human. She looked human. Yet my wolf howled, calling her mine, demanding I reach out and claim her. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, louder than it had ever been even in battle. Every muscle in my body tensed, torn between reaching for her and running far away.

“This can’t be happening,” I whispered, so low my own voice sounded like a stranger’s. My hands curled into fists until my knuckles turned white.

Her scent hit me then, curling into me like smoke. Soft. Sweet. Different from anything I’d ever known. It wasn’t just a smell,it was a drug, wrapping itself around my lungs and pulling me closer with every breath.

I wanted to breathe her in forever.

But guilt hit me just as hard, crushing down on my chest until I thought I might break.

Lia.it felt like I was betraying her.

Her name burned in my mind like fire. Only last night I had sealed a bond with her. I had promised her something real. I had taken her to my bed, chosen her because I believed I had no true mate. Because the witch had told me,no she had sworn ,that my mate did not exist.

“You are cursed, Liam,” her voice echoed cold and sharp in my skull. “You will never have what you seek.”

I had believed her. I had buried that hope deep where it could never hurt me again. And now… fate itself laughed in my face.

The girl stood there, eyes wide with confusion, not knowing what she was doing to me. My wolf pushed harder, snarling, pacing, demanding I take what was mine. My palms itched to touch her. My arms ached to pull her close. I bit down on the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, trying to fight the madness.

I couldn’t.

Not when Lia waited for me at home. Not when I had already given myself to someone else. Not when the pack’s eyes would see me as nothing but a traitor.

“How are you here?” I whispered, the words raw, slipping out before I could stop them. My eyes locked on hers, searching, begging for an answer.

She only looked back at me, brows drawn, lips parting like she wanted to ask me why I was staring at her. She didn’t know. She couldn’t know. Her eyes… gods, her eyes. They were like an ocean, endless and deep, pulling me under with every second. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life, and for one dangerous moment, I forgot how to breathe.

The bond pulled tighter, wrapping around my chest like chains. My body wanted to move to her, but my mind screamed to stop. I forced myself to tear my gaze away, to clench my jaw until it hurt, and I turned my back on her.

Each step felt heavier than the last, like I was dragging myself through fire. My wolf clawed at me, howling, demanding I return. But I didn’t. I kept walking.

By the time I reached the park house, my face was stone. I had shoved the storm inside me deep enough that no one would see.

Mom’s voice floated through the open door, warm and soft as she moved around the kitchen. The smell of roasting meat and herbs filled the air, wrapping around me with memories of home. She was making dinner to celebrate our wins. It should have been a good night.

Lily had found her mate. My little sister, the one who had been dreaming about this day for years. I had seen her smile earlier, eyes bright, cheeks flushed with joy. For a moment, despite everything, her happiness had made me happy too. She deserved it.

But not all was perfect. My thoughts kept circling back to Zack and Fiona.

Zack wasn’t just my cousin,he was more like my brother. We had grown up together under this roof, trained together, fought side by side. He was part of the hockey team too, one of our strongest. I trusted him with my life.

Then, during one of our trips for a game, fate struck him too. Fiona. His mate. None of us had seen it coming. The bond between them had been undeniable, burning in his eyes the moment he laid them on her.

But Fiona was a rogue. An outcast. Dangerous.Someone the pack should never have accepted.

Zack didn’t care. I could still hear his voice from that day, steady and fierce as he stood tall in front of everyone. “She’s mine. No one will take her from me.”

And he had brought her back here. She had lived with us since. It hadn’t been easy. Whispers followed her everywhere, suspicion clung to her like a shadow. Even I hadn’t been sure what to make of her at first. But she stayed. She fought to prove herself, step by step. Slowly, people started to see her as more than just a rogue.

Still, I worried. About Zack. About the pack. About what fate was planning.

And as I sat at the table that night, with my family laughing and smiling around me, I couldn’t stop my mind from drifting back to her. The girl with the ocean eyes. The mate I wasn’t supposed to have.