I never thought I'd be breaking into Liam's apartment, but here I am, desperation driving me to extremes. His scent hits me as soon as I step inside - pine and musk, familiar yet different. It makes my heart skip a beat, and I hate myself for it. Focus, Skye.
The lock was easy enough to deal with, but what I find inside stops me cold. Another heartbeat, rapid and light. A child's.
My mind races. Liam's odd behavior, the strange scents, his tension whenever family came up in conversation... it all clicks into place. He has a kid. My ex-mate has a child I knew nothing about.
I follow the sound to a small bedroom, my hand shaking as I push open the door. There she is - a little girl, maybe five years old, curled up on a twin bed. Dark hair, just like Liam's. Even asleep, the resemblance is uncanny.
"Oh, hell," I mutter, my world tilting on its axis.
The girl stirs, eyes fluttering open. We lock gazes for a moment before fear floods her face. I move without thinking, gently covering her mouth before she can scream.
"Hey, it's okay," I whisper, trying to sound calmer than I feel. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm... a friend of your dad's."
She relaxes a bit, and I pull my hand away. "You smell like Daddy," she says, curiosity replacing fear.
I force a smile. "Yeah, I guess I do. What's your name, sweetie?"
"Luna," she replies, sitting up. "Are you a werewolf too?"
I blink, thrown off guard. "You know about werewolves?"
Luna nods solemnly. "Daddy says I'm half werewolf, but I can't change yet. It's a secret."
My head spins. Half-werewolf? But that would mean... "Luna, who's your mom?"
A crash from the living room cuts off any reply. Luna yelps, and I instinctively pull her close, claws extending as I face the door.
"Get away from her!" Liam's voice roars. He bursts in, eyes blazing gold, half-shifted.
I push Luna behind me. "Back off," I growl, my Alpha voice slipping out. "I'm not here to hurt anyone."
Liam falters, taking in the scene. "Skye? What the hell?"
"Daddy?" Luna peeks out from behind me. "Is everything okay?"
The fight drains out of Liam, leaving him looking exhausted. He runs a hand through his hair - a gesture so familiar it hurts. "Yeah, moonbeam. Everything's fine. Go play in your room for a bit while I talk to... my friend, okay?"
Luna nods and scampers off. As soon as the door closes, Liam rounds on me.
"Explain. Now."
I cross my arms, meeting his glare. "Funny, I was about to say the same thing. A kid, Liam? Were you ever going to tell me?"
He flinches. "It's complicated, Skye."
"Then uncomplicate it," I snap. "Because from where I'm standing, you hid a child – your child – from me and the pack. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"
Liam's eyes flash. "Dangerous? You want to talk about dangerous? How about rejecting your mate and throwing the entire supernatural world into chaos?"
I step back, stung. "What are you talking about?"
He laughs bitterly. "You didn't know? Of course you didn't. Too busy playing Alpha to notice the fallout."
"Liam," I growl, "explain. Now."
He sighs, deflating. "When you rejected our bond, it didn't just affect us. It created a ripple effect. Werewolves everywhere started having trouble shifting. Some lost their abilities completely. And humans... they started noticing things they shouldn't."
My mind races, connecting dots I'd missed. The surge in hunter activity, whispers of exposure, my own shifting troubles... "Are you saying this is all because of me?"
Liam's expression softens slightly. "Not on purpose. But yeah, our broken bond is at the heart of it."
I sink onto the couch, legs suddenly weak. "God. I had no idea."
"No, you didn't," Liam says, sounding tired. "You were so focused on being the perfect Alpha, you missed the bigger picture."
A thought hits me. "Is that why you came back? To fix this?"
He nods. "Partly. But also..." He glances towards Luna's room. "I needed to protect her. As things got worse, it wasn't safe for a half-werewolf kid out there."
"Her mother?"
Liam's face darkens. "Human. She... didn't handle the werewolf revelation well. Dumped Luna with me and vanished."
My heart aches for the little girl. "I'm sorry, Liam. I had no clue you were dealing with all this."
He shrugs. "Not like I made it easy. I was angry, hurt. Thought keeping Luna a secret would keep her safe."
"And now?"
"Now?" He runs a hand through his hair again. "Now I don't know. Everything's falling apart, Skye. Hunters getting bolder, werewolves losing their abilities, and there's something big coming. I can feel it."
I stand, moving closer. "Then we face it together. For Luna, for the pack, for all werewolves."
Liam really looks at me for the first time since he's been back. "Together? After everything?"
I take a deep breath. "I screwed up, Liam. Big time. But if what you're saying is true, we need to fix this. All of it."
He nods slowly. "Okay. Together. But Skye, there's something else you need to know. About Luna..."
A piercing scream cuts him off. Luna.
We sprint to her room, Liam reaching the door first. What we see stops us cold.
Luna stands in the center of the room, convulsing. But it's not a normal seizure. Her skin ripples, fur sprouting and receding in waves. Her face elongates into a muzzle, then snaps back to human. She's shifting, but it's all wrong - violent, uncontrolled.
"No, no, no," Liam mutters, rushing to her. "It's too soon. She's too young."
I join him, helpless. "What's happening to her?"
Liam looks at me, eyes full of fear and guilt. "This is what I was trying to tell you. Luna isn't just half-werewolf. She's..."
Luna's eyes snap open, glowing not gold like a werewolf, not even blue or red. They blaze with an impossible, swirling silver.
"She's our daughter," Liam whispers.
As the words leave his mouth, Luna lets out another scream. But this time, it's not human or wolf. It's the piercing shriek of a bird of prey. And before our eyes, Luna's arms begin to sprout feathers.