when Liam’s wake
1278 Words
The night was quiet—too quiet for my liking.
I stood on the balcony of my office, staring across the dark stretch of forest that separated my territory from Red Moon’s. A cold wind brushed against my skin, carrying the distant howl of wolves. My wolves… their wolves… the wolves who wanted my kingdom burned to ashes.
But instead of focusing on war, my mind kept circling back to one thing.
Liam.
A stranger.
A wounded outsider.
And yet my mate.
I had never felt so unbalanced in my life.
“Alpha?” a voice interrupted softly.
Beta Aria stood at the doorway.
“There’s movement,” she said. “The injured wolf—Liam—he’s waking up.”
My chest tightened. Damn fate. Damn timing.
“I’m coming,” I said.
As I walked through the hall toward the medical wing, the air grew thicker, heavier… warmer. It was the bond. Even when I tried to shut it out, it wrapped around me with invisible fingers, pulling me closer.
Too close.
I hated how strong it already was.
The guards stepped back as I approached the infirmary room. I pushed the door open silently.
Inside, the dim lantern lights cast a golden glow over the space. Liam sat up slowly on the bed, his back against the headboard, breathing uneven. Sweat clung to his forehead. His eyes—storm-grey, striking and intense—lifted toward me the moment I entered, like he had sensed me coming.
He looked at me like I was the only thing in the room worth noticing.
My heartbeat stumbled.
No. Control yourself, Selene.
“You’re awake,” I said, my voice steady despite the chaos inside me.
He swallowed, wincing slightly. “I… think so. Everything hurts.”
“You were badly injured,” I replied, stepping nearer. “Our healers treated you. You’re safe now.”
His gaze softened, lingering on my face. “You’re Alpha Selene.”
“Correct.”
His lips parted again as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated. Fear flickered in his eyes—fear of me. Of where he was. Of what would happen to him next.
He was smart to be afraid.
“Tell me what you remember,” I commanded.
His fingers gripped the blanket, knuckles turning white. “I was running. Red Moon caught me near the river. They recognized me.”
“Recognized you how?” I asked sharply.
He tensed.
“I… I don’t know.”
Liar.
His heartbeat kicked up.
He wasn’t telling the whole truth.
But then he looked up at me again, and the bond surged. I felt his fear, his confusion… and something else.
Relief.
Comfort.
Like my presence meant safety to him.
It was infuriatingly disarming.
I moved closer, and he drew in a sharp breath. My scent must’ve hit him fully—the scent of his Alpha… and his mate.
His pulse reacted immediately.
He looked away, embarrassed. “I… I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
I did.
The mate bond was waking fully.
“Look at me,” I said.
Slowly, he lifted his eyes.
When our gazes locked, the air crackled. His wolf stirred—weak, injured, but reaching for mine instinctively.
The connection snapped tight, sending a heatwave through my chest. My wolf roared with recognition.
Mate. Claim. Protect. Mine.
I shoved her back with force.
This couldn’t cloud my judgment—not now.
“You crossed my border wounded and hunted,” I said. “You owe me the truth.”
Liam’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I… I don’t know everything. But Red Moon—they’re hunting anyone who tries to leave their pack territories. They’re preparing for war. They said an Alpha stands in their way. You.”
“I’m aware of the war,” I answered sharply. “I want to know why you were running.”
He shut his eyes.
Silence.
Pain flickered across his features—emotional pain, not physical.
“I don’t belong anywhere,” he whispered finally. “I’m not from a pack. I don’t have family. I’ve been running for months.”
His voice cracked. Genuine cracks, not lies.
“Every pack I enter… someone tries to kill me.”
“Why?” I pressed.
“I don’t know,” he said quietly. “I’m not… important.”
But the way he said it told me otherwise.
He believed he wasn’t important.
But someone wanted him dead badly enough to hunt him across territories.
That wasn’t normal.
“Do you shift?” I asked.
His hesitation was instant.
“Yes. But not… normally.”
My brows rose. “Not normally?”
“My wolf is…” he paused, struggling. “Different.”
Different how? Stronger? Cursed? Rare?
Before I could ask, his breathing grew uneven again. His eyes darkened as his gaze fixed on me.
He whispered, “Why do I feel like this when you’re near?”
My heart skipped.
He felt it too.
The bond.
I stepped back slightly. “You’re experiencing the effects of being near an Alpha,” I lied.
He blinked. “No. That’s not it.”
Liam lifted his hand slowly, like he didn’t fully control it. His fingers trembled as they moved toward me—toward my scent, my presence, the pull between us.
“I feel like I’ve known you,” he whispered. “Like I was waiting for you.”
My chest tightened painfully. Damn him. Damn fate.
I caught his wrist before he touched me.
His breath hitched at the contact.
The bond snapped again, harder this time. A wave of warmth shot up my arm, through my chest, settling deep inside my ribcage.
He felt it too. His eyes widened.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“But—”
“I’m your Alpha. That’s all you need to understand.”
He stared at me, clearly confused, clearly feeling more than he could comprehend.
But then he winced and grabbed his side.
“You’re still healing,” I said, tone softening despite myself. “Lie back.”
He obeyed immediately. Not out of fear.
Out of trust.
It almost made me curse.
I turned to leave before he clouded my mind any further.
But just as I reached the door, his voice came again—small, vulnerable, too honest.
“Selene?”
I froze.
“I’m not lying,” he said. “I truly don’t know who I am supposed to be… but when I look at you… I feel like I belong somewhere for the first time.”
My throat tightened.
I didn’t want to hear that.
I didn’t want to feel anything about it.
“Rest,” I said without looking back. “You’ll need your strength.”
He exhaled shakily. “Will… you come back?”
My heart flipped traitorously.
I kept my voice firm. “I will check on you later as your Alpha.”
I stepped out and shut the door gently.
But I made it only two steps before I had to stop—my breathing too sharp, my chest too heavy, my wolf too loud.
He is ours.
No.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
War was coming.
Red Moon was preparing.
Millions of lives were at stake.
And fate, in its twisted timing, had dropped my mate into the center of it.
A wounded stranger with a hidden past.
A wolf hunted by the enemy.
A man who wasn’t afraid of me—
but afraid of himself.
The moon had chosen him.
But I hadn’t chosen anything yet.
- Writer
