Liam’s POV

By the time I made it back to the pack house, the sun was a bleeding smear on the horizon, sinking behind the trees like it was trying to hide from the mess of my life. I was covered in sweat and dirt, my muscles sore, my bones tired—but none of it compared to the ache crawling through my chest.

Rage was still pacing beneath my skin, restless, agitated. The wolf was on edge. Hungry for our mate. But I was done fighting for tonight. I just wanted a damn moment to breathe without Macy’s face haunting me.

I pushed open the front door, and before I could even take a step inside, I heard Mom’s voice.

“Liam! Thank the Goddess—are you alright?” Her eyes scanned me as she stepped forward, her arms halfway open like she wasn’t sure whether to embrace me or brace for something worse. “You scared us. You just disappeared.”

“I’m alright, Mom,” I said, brushing past her. “I’ll be in my room.”

There was no softness in my tone, and I didn’t stop to explain. I couldn’t. Not now.

As I walked away, her voice dropped into a whisper—low, but not low enough to miss.

“Something is wrong with my son, Ken. I can feel it. He’s not himself. He looks like he’s in pain.”

“I know,” Dad murmured behind her. “Why don’t you go talk to him? He might open up to you—you’re his mother, after all.”

“You’re right,” she said after a pause. “I’ll go now.”

My bedroom door creaked open minutes later.

“Liam?” Mom’s voice was soft, hesitant. “Liam, son, where are you? I just want to talk.”

I didn’t respond right away. I didn’t move from where I sat—back against the wall, knees drawn up, eyes staring at nothing in particular. Only the moonlight painted across the floor like spilled silver let her see me in the corner.

“Go away, Mom,” I muttered, my voice hoarse. “I don’t want to talk to anyone.”

She didn’t leave.

Instead, I heard her steps as she crossed the room, slow and cautious, like I was a wounded animal that might lash out.

“Liam… you don’t look well. Your eyes… your energy. You’re hurting,” she said gently.

“I’m fine. Please, just leave.”

“No, I can’t do that. Not when my son looks like the world is crumbling around him.” Her voice wavered. “You don’t have to carry it alone, Liam.”

“You can’t help me, Mom. No one can.”

“Don’t say that. I’m your mother. There’s nothing you could tell me that would make me leave.”

I dragged in a shaky breath, covering my face with my hands. “I said, please, just leave me alone.”

But she didn’t move. She sat at the edge of my bed and folded her hands in her lap, her presence calm, unshakable.

“Then I’ll stay here until you’re ready to talk,” she said softly. “Because I know you, Liam. And I know when something’s broken.”

I let the silence hang between us, thick and heavy. Then I whispered, bitter and broken, “The Moon Goddess… she ruined everything.”

Her breath caught. “Son, don’t say that. The Goddess doesn’t ruin. She gives us what we need.”

“She gave me pain,” I snapped. “You want to help, Mom? Then tell me why she would give me a mate who already belongs to someone else.”

Her lips parted in shock. “Wait… you found your mate?”

Rage surged up in my chest, and I couldn’t stop the growl that tore out of me: “Mate!”

She gasped. “Oh, Liam! That’s incredible! Who is she? Where is she? Why didn’t you bring her home? Is she part of our pack? Another Alpha’s daughter?”

“No.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “She’s in love with someone else. I was too late.”

“What? That’s not possible. You’re her mate. The bond—”

“She’s not from any pack, Mom.”

Her brow furrowed. “Then… is she a rogue?”

“No. She’s human.”

That silenced her.

For a long, heavy moment, she just looked at me—eyes wide, lips parted in disbelief. “She’s… human?”

I nodded. “It doesn’t matter, right? That’s what everyone always says. That humans can be Lunas too. But this one… this one already loves someone else.”

Her voice softened, trembling. “That doesn’t mean it’s over. You still have the bond. That pull… it’s not something she can resist forever.”

“I’m not afraid of rejection, Mom. I’m afraid of hurting him,”

She tilted her head. “Hurting who?”

I looked up and met her eyes. “Macy, Mom. Macy’s my mate.”

She went still.

“Macy… Derick’s Macy?” she whispered, as if saying it too loudly might break the world.

“Yes.”

“Oh Goddess.” She sank into herself, her face pale. “When did you find out?”

“At the party. The moment I walked in, Rage smelled her. It was like being struck by lightning. Every time I looked at her… it hurt. And she was his. Laughing with him. Kissing him. Loving him.”

Mom rose to her feet and crossed the room, pulling me into her arms. I didn’t fight it.

“My poor boy,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could take this pain from you.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I breathed. “I can’t just… let her go. But I can’t hurt Derick either.”

“You were always the stronger one,” she murmured into my hair. “Even when you were small. You’ve carried so much. But this… this isn’t something you can shoulder alone. We’ll figure it out. I promise you.”

“I just… I wish it were someone else. Anyone else but her.”

She held me tighter. “The Moon Goddess must have a reason, Liam. And one day, it’ll make sense. Even if right now, it feels like your heart is being ripped in half.”

---

Kendrick’s POV

I paced the living room like a man on the edge.

“I can’t believe the Moon Goddess would be so cruel,” I said, dragging a hand down my face. “My boys… both of them.”

Grace sat on the couch, her hands folded tightly in her lap, her eyes red. “Liam’s not doing well, Ken. You didn’t see him. The weight in his eyes—it scared me. Rage isn’t stable either. He’s holding himself together by threads.”

“We need to tread carefully,” I said. “Liam’s the Alpha. The bond matters more to him than it ever could to Derick. A fated Luna isn’t just love—it’s strength, future heirs, balance for the Alpha’s wolf.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But Derick loves Macy. He’s in deep, Ken. He told me once he thought she was his mate. That he didn’t care if she wasn’t.”

“And now she is someone’s mate,” I muttered. “But not his. Not where it counts.”

“We can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

“I agree,” I said. “But if we act too soon, we risk turning our sons against each other. That’s a war this house won’t survive.”

She looked up at me, her voice suddenly sharp. “We have a bigger problem. Macy doesn’t even know about us. She has no idea what we are, or that she’s mated to an Alpha.”

My chest tightened. “Derick hasn’t told her?”

“No. He’s keeping it from her. Probably because he knows what it means.”

Before I could respond, the front door opened with a soft click.

Derick walked in, tossing his keys onto the table, a lightness in his step. “Hey, what’s going on in here? You both look like someone died.”

Grace and I exchanged a look, then turned to him with forced smiles.

“Nothing,” we said in unison.

Derick frowned. “Are you sure? You both look tense.”

“We’re fine,” Grace replied quickly. “Did you drop Macy off?”

“Yeah. Helped her finish a project for work, then we grabbed lunch. Sorry I’m late.”

“That’s good, son,” Grace said, a little too fast.

Derick’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Alright… well, I’m gonna check on Liam. See how he’s doing.”

He started toward the stairs.

“No!” Grace and I shouted at once, startling him mid-step.

He turned slowly, confusion painted across his face. “Why?”