*CHAPTER 1*

“You're thinking about him, aren't you?” Isaac asked as he came inside and sat on the sofa beside me.

I nodded with glossy eyes. “It has been four years, Isaac, Liam had never done something like this before. He vanished without any traces. He promised me he was goimg to be back.” A tear dropped from my eyes. “What if he never comes back?" My voice cracked as I completed the sentence. His mark on my neck was already fading and I didn't even feel the bond anymore.

“Don't think like that, Sof, He will come back eventually. Don't lose hope." He tried to console me, but we both knew what the fading of the mark meant. There was a very good possibility that Liam was dead. And the fact that I couldn't feel the mate bond anymore just seemed to prove it.

“I pray so, Isaac. I miss him so much.” Since our young age, the three of us had never been apart. It was so hard to digest the fact that I may never see him again.

“Enough of the thinking, Luna, do you know what today is?" He nudged my shoulder in an attempt to lighten my mood.

“What?” I furrowed my eyebrows confused.

“Don't tell me you don't remember?” 

“I don't.”

His eyes widened. “Today is the Grand Moon festival. Remember you were always excited to attend the festival.” 

Oh. Right.

 I had totally forgotten about it. And honestly, I couldn't blame myself. I had always been excited to go with Liam. But now that he was not here with me, I couldn't care less. “I'm not attending." 

“Are you kidding me right now?" Isaac exclaimed. “You've always loved the festival. And I can remember you constantly nagging Liam every time about it.”

“Exactly, Liam was around then.” I mumbled. The festival won't feel the same without him.

Sighing, Isaac took both of my hands in his.“I know how difficult things have been for you, Sof, and I know how much you've been hanging on. But you can't shut yourself out of everything. Besides, you need to attend the festival if not for yourself, then attend for him. You know almost all the Alphas and their Lunas will attend. What do you think they would say if the Alpha and the Luna of the Sunlight Pack did not attend?”

He was right. I needed to attend for Liam. It won't sound good for our pack that neither the Alpha nor the Luna attended. “Alright then, I would go.” Isaac smiled, satisfied by my answer.

**************

“We are here, Sof,” Isaac announced as we arrived at the place. 

“Almost everyone is present.” Isaac remarked as we entered the hall. I nodded, looking around. It still gave the same feeling, the only missing part was Liam not being here. This was my first time attending without him.

“Move around and talk with people for a while. I'll be around.” Isaac whispered in my ears. 

“What? No, don't leave me alone. I don't feel like talking to anyone.” I whispered back at him holding his hand. 

“Listen, Sof, you coming here isn't only because of Liam. The real reason I insisted you come was because I wanted you to loosen up a little and talk around with people.”

“But I don't want to–”

“Hey, Sofia” Rebecca, the Luna of the Aries pack and also a very close friend of mine waved at me from the crowd and started walking towards us.

“Talk to people and loosen up a bit.” He whispered in my ear and left.

Rebecca was already at my front now. “Sofia, it's been so long since I last saw you.” She hugged. “How have you been? And Liam, is he back?" 

“No” I shook my head. 

“Oh, Sof," she pulled me into her arms again. “He will come back, don't worry.” 

Everybody kept saying that. What if he never comes back? What if he's dead, and after all this waiting, I never get to see him again?” I breathed out in frustration. Tears streamed down my face.

“Sofia, don't say that.” She wiped the tears away with her hand. “You can't be so sure about that?" 

“What if I am?" 

“What do you mean?” She raised her eyebrows in confusion.

I dragged down the collar of my gown and showed the left side of my neck where my mark was. She gasped. “It's fading.” she whispered, her face filled with disbelief, realization and then pitiness.

“Oh, Sof, don't dwell much on it. Don't let it make you think of the worst case.” She consoled me, hugging me again for the third time. We stood there for a while. “You know what,” She suddenly stepped back and grabbed my hand. “Let's walk around, go see different places. It would lighten up your mood. What do you think?” She looked at me expectantly.

“I really appreciate you trying to help me, but–”

“No buts. I wasn't giving you a choice.” Rebecca cut me off, dragging me with her.

We walked around, talked to different people. Rebecca took me to meet the new packs. I had always seemed to forget how enormous that hall was. No matter how far we walked, we didn't get to the end of the hall. The last few hours had been uplifting. 

I needed to thank Isaac when we got home.

“Won't Valerian be worried by now?” I asked Rebecca. “It's been hours now.” I added.

She laughed. “No, he would not. He knows I like wandering around at the festival.”

That she does. I remembered the first time here, we got lost in this Grand Hall. Valerian was able to find us through their bond alongside Liam. "Even though, let's go back to where we were.” I insisted. “ We don't want to get lost again.”

“Alright, fine.” She rolled her eyes. “Let's go back then. I'm sure Valerian would be happy to see you.”

 I smiled. It's been a while since I saw him. I shut everyone out since Liam's sudden disappearance.

Just as we turned around to head back, suddenly, I felt what I hadn't feel in four years.

The mate bond.

Liam is back.

I turned around sharply, eyes searching. The pull of the bond was so powerful and overwhelming this time. I jerked my hand away from Rebecca's grasp, “What the matter, Sof,” Rebecca asked, sensing the change in me. But I couldn't answer. I walked back into the crowd, following the feeling of the bond direction. 

“Sof!, Sof!” Rebecca called after me, but I didn't wait. I just kept walking. He was close by and I could feel it. The more I walked, the stronger I felt it. 

I stopped, turning around in a circle, my eyes searching through the crowd until it landed on the person beside Valerian. It was his back facing me, but I knew it was him.

I walked towards them, taking small steps. “Sofia” Rebecca finally caught up with me, breathing heavily. “What the hell, Sofia! Why were you walking so fast?" 

I didn't reply to her. I just kept walking to him. 

As if also sensing my presence, he turned around sharply, eyes locked on me.

I stopped walking. Everything around me seemed to stop at that moment. I felt my whole body froze immediately.

 This is impossible. T-This person is not Liam. 

There was absolutely no way this was possible. I must be imagining it. But the way he was staring at me proved otherwise.

 He recognizes me. 

“What wrong, Sof? Why do you stop suddenly?” She asked me, looking baffled. Then she followed the direction of my eyes. “Oh, there he is. Come on, let's meet him." She took my hand and dragged towards them.

My heart was beating so loudly, it felt like it would jump right out of my chest. I didn't take my eyes off him and neither did he.

“Where the hell have you been?" Valerian muttered to Rebecca. “Sofia,” he cheered when he noticed me. “How have you been? And how are you holding up?” He speed him arm out.

“Fine” I nodded before going to hug Valerian.

I felt his stare, so I turned to look at him.

“Um, Aiden, this is Sofia, Luna of the Sunlight Pack and a very close friend of mine.” Valerian introduced me. 

Aiden. I've heard that name before. 

I tried to recall but couldn't seem to get anything. “And, Sofia, this is Aiden, the Alpha of the Midnight pack and a very good friend of mine.”

That's it. The Alpha of the Midnight Pack. I've heard a lot about him from Liam. His pack is one of the strongest and he is Liam's biggest rival.

He extended his hand towards me, looking at me intently. I was hesitant to take his hand, but still took it nonetheless. Immediately I took his hand, we both felt it.

 I jerked my hand away. This is not possible. How could this be happening? Liam is my mate. Why am I feeling the mate bond with someone else.

“Are you okay, Sofia?” Valerian and Rebecca asked in unison.

“Yes, I'm fine.” I lied.

“Are you sure? You've gone pale.” Rebecca said, a look of worry in her eyes. 

“I need to go home.” 

“Why? what the matter, Sofia” 

“Nothing.” I blurted out. “I'm fine. I just need to go home and rest. I'm feeling tired, that's all.” 

“Alright. Take care of yourself. Okay? And don't think too much.” Rebecca hugged me.

“I won't.” I assured her, even though I knew it was a lie. I wasn't in anyway okay at all.

I turned around hastily to go look for Isaac. I felt him still staring at me.

I found Issac talking to some people. “Isaac, Issac.” I rushed towards him, calling out his name. “Isaac, let's go home.” I grabbed his hand. 

He turned around. “Damn, Sofia, are you okay?” His forehead creased in worry.

“I'm fine. Let's just go home.” 

“No, you're not ,Sofia. You look like you've just seen a ghost. Plus, you're sweating.” He exclaimed. 

Seeing a ghost would be far better than what I saw. 

 “Are you going to tell me what happened?” Isaac asked on our way home.

How can I? Where do I start from?

How do I tell him that after four years I felt the bond again, but this time it wasn't for his brother. It was for an Alpha of another pack. Our rival pack. 

My head started spinning. I heard Isaac calling out my name before I fell unconscious.