The moon hangs low, watching silently as I wrestle with my thoughts. I'm perched at the edge of the cliff, overlooking our territory. The wind carries the scent of pine and far-off prey, but hunting's the last thing on my mind tonight.
Liam's back. After five years, he's returned as our new enforcer, and it's stirred up a hurricane of feelings I thought I'd buried for good.
I close my eyes, and the memories come flooding back.
Five years ago, we stood in the sacred grove. The same place where Alphas have sealed their mate bonds for generations. But not us. Not that day.
"Skye, please," Liam had begged, his voice breaking. "We belong together. You know it."
I couldn't look at him. "I can't, Liam. I won't let this bond define me. I need to lead the pack my way."
"Define you?" The hurt in his voice was like a knife to my gut. "Is that what you think our love would do?"
I'd snapped then, fear and anger getting the better of me. "Love? We're just kids, Liam! This pull between us, it's just biology. It's not real."
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I'd crossed a line. Liam looked like I'd slapped him.
"Not real?" he whispered. "Everything we've been through... that's not real to you?"
I steeled myself, knowing what I had to do. For the pack. For my future as Alpha. "I'm sorry, Liam. I can't be what you want. I reject the mate bond. I reject... us."
Something in Liam broke then. His eyes went cold, distant. "If that's your choice," he said, his voice icy, "then I don't belong here anymore. Goodbye, Skye."
Before I could say anything, he shifted and ran off into the forest, leaving me alone with my choice.
Back in the present, I open my eyes. The memory fades, but the feelings are just as raw. I had no idea then what my decision would mean – not just for us, but for everyone.
"You can't change the past, you know."
I spin around, dropping into a defensive crouch. Liam's standing there, backlit by the moon. How long has he been watching?
"What are you doing here?" I demand, straightening up but staying on guard.
Liam steps closer. "Jake mentioned you come here to think. I thought we should talk."
I let out a humorless laugh. "Now you want to talk? After five years of radio silence?"
His eyes flash with anger and something else – regret, maybe? "You made it pretty clear you didn't want anything to do with me, Skye. What was I supposed to do?"
"You weren't supposed to leave!" The words burst out before I can stop them. "You were supposed to fight for us, for the pack!"
Liam's face softens, and for a second, I see the boy I used to know. "Would it have made a difference if I had?"
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Would it have? Or would I have just pushed him away harder?
"It doesn't matter now," I finally say, turning back to the valley. "We need to focus on protecting the pack."
I hear Liam move closer, his scent washing over me – pine, earth, and something uniquely him. "The pack, right. Always the pack. But what about you, Skye? What do you need?"
I close my eyes, fighting the pull I feel towards him. It would be so easy to give in. But I can't. I'm the Alpha. I have responsibilities.
"What I need," I say tightly, "is for my enforcer to do his job. To help me protect our people from whatever's coming."
Liam's quiet for a long moment. When he speaks again, his voice is low and intense. "And if I told you I knew what those threats were? If I told you that rejecting our bond set something in motion that threatens not just our pack, but all werewolves?"
I spin to face him, my heart racing. "What are you talking about?"
His eyes meet mine, full of fear, determination, and something I can't quite name. "The time I was away, Skye... I wasn't just running from my pain. I was learning, getting stronger. And I found out things – terrible things – about what happens when mate bonds break."
A chill runs down my spine. "What kind of things?"
Liam takes a deep breath. "The kind that can tear our world apart. The kind that–"
A blood-curdling howl cuts him off. We both turn towards the sound, hearing the pain and terror in the cry.
"That's coming from the eastern border," I say, already moving. "Near the old witch's cabin."
Liam nods, tensing up. "I'll get a team and meet you there."
As he turns to go, I grab his arm. The contact sends a jolt through both of us. "Liam, wait. What you were saying about the consequences–"
He meets my gaze, his eyes serious. "It'll have to wait. But Skye, whatever we find out there... be ready. Everything's about to change."
With that ominous warning, he shifts and bounds away into the forest. I take a moment to center myself. Whatever's happening, whatever Liam knows, I need to be prepared.
I reach for my wolf, feeling the familiar surge of power as my bones begin to shift. But something's wrong. The change feels... different. Painful in a way it never has before.
I gasp as my body changes, but not into my usual wolf form. Feathers burst from my skin, my arms stretching into wings. What the hell is going on?
As I struggle with this impossible transformation, another howl cuts through the night – closer now, and even more agonized than the first.
Whatever's out there, whatever Liam knows, whatever's happening to me – it all has to wait. My pack needs me.
With a cry that's half-human, half-bird, I launch myself off the cliff, wings I don't understand carrying me towards a danger I can't comprehend.
The hunt is on, and the past is about to crash headlong into a future none of us saw coming.