Chapter 195
Chapter 195
Alice’s Pov
The air was finally still. I stood on the small balcony near the back of the Pack House, watching the black cars of the Council drive away.
I looked at my hands. They were a little bit rough now. They had dirt under the fingernails from playing with the kids at the orphanage and soap smells from scrubbing the floors. For years, I wanted to be a queen. I wanted to wear gold and sit on a throne next to Astor. I thought that was the only way to be happy.
I was so wrong. Being with those kids, helping my sister Faith, and actually being useful, that
was what made me feel whole.
“They’re finally gone,” a voice said behind me.
I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. I knew that voice. It was deep, steady, and it always made the hair on my arms stand up. It was Liam.
As he stepped closer, something strange happened. It was like a lightning bolt hit me, but it didn’t hurt. It was a warm, golden heat that started in my chest and moved to my toes. My heart started to beat fast, like a drum and I smelled him. He smelled like something spicy
and cinnamon. It was the most beautiful smell in the world.
And then, it hit me. It hit me so hard I had to grab the balcony railing to stay standing.
The bond. The mate bond.
It wasn’t a tiny pull anymore. It was a roar. My wolf, who had been quiet and sad for years, suddenly sat up and howled with joy. Mate! Mate! she screamed in my head.
I turned around slowly, my eyes wide. Liam was standing there, looking at the horizon. He looked tired, but he looked handsome in the moonlight. I looked at him really looked at him and I saw the truth. All those years I spent chasing Astor, I was walking past the man who was literally made for my soul.
“Liam?” I whispered. My voice was shaking.
He turned to look at me. His blue eyes were soft, but they were also a little bit sad. He didn’t look surprised. He looked like he had been waiting for this moment for a thousand years.
“You finally felt it,” he said. It wasn’t a question. He knew.
“You” I stepped toward him, my heart breaking and mending at the same time. “Liam, why
1/4
< Chapter 195
didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you say something? How long have you known?”
+25–Points
Liam let out a long breath. He leaned against the stone wall. “Since the first day I saw you, Alice. I knew the moment our eyes met years ago. I knew you were mine.”
“Years?” I cried. Tears started to run down my face. “You knew for years? And you never said a word? You watched me make a fool of myself? You watched me try to steal my sister’s mate?”
“What was I supposed to say, Alice?” Liam asked. His voice was gritty and full of pain. “You were obsessed with Astor. You didn’t even see me. Every time I tried to talk to you, you were looking at him. Every time I stood near you, you moved away to be closer to him. You didn’t want a mate. You wanted a crown.”
I sank down onto the floor and I felt so stupid. I felt like the biggest fool in history.
“I didn’t feel it,” I whispered, burying my face in my hands. “I never felt the pull. I pr – felt the spark. Why?”
“Because you didn’t want to feel it,” Liam said. He walked over and stood in front of me, but he didn’t touch me. “The mate bond is strong, but it’s not magic that can force you to see. You were so full of infatuation for Astor that there was no room for anything else. You made yourself blind, Alice. You were so busy loving a man who didn’t want you that you ignored the man who was literally dying for you.”
“I was so stupid,” I sobbed. “I was so, so stupid. I thought that feeling for Astor was love. But it wasn’t. It was just… greed. It was a sickness.”
I looked up at him. I wanted him to hold me. I wanted to feel his arms around me and know that I wasn’t alone. “I don’t feel anything for Astor anymore, Liam. I swear. I don’t feel jealous. I feel happy for them. It took me a long time, but I finally realized that he was never mine to have.”
Liam didn’t move. He kept his arms crossed. “That’s good, Alice. Truly. I’m glad you’ve found peace. But it doesn’t change the fact that you spent years trying to destroy the woman I respect most in this world.”
“I know,” I said. I stood up and reached out, but I stopped myself before I touched his arm. “I know I did terrible things. I know I was the villain. But I’ve changed, Liam. Please, look at me. Look at what I’m doing now. I care about this pack. I care about Faith.”
“Do you?” Liam asked. His eyes were hard. “Because I love Faith. Not like a mate, but like a sister. She is the best person I know. I would die for her. And I promised myself a long time ago that I would never be with a woman who would endanger her. I would never be a ‘second choice‘ or someone who was only wanted because the Alpha said no.”
2/4
< Chapter 195
+25 Points
The words hurt. They were like knives. But I knew I deserved them. I had been a bad person for a long time.
“I’m not asking you to forget what I did,” I said. My voice was more steady now. “I’m asking for a chance to make it right. I’m asking you to see the real Alice. Not the jealous girl, but the woman who wants to be better.”
I took a deep breath.
“I acknowledge Faith as my sister now,” I told him. “Truly. I love her. I want her to be happy. I would never hurt her again. I spent my whole life being jealous of what she had, but now I realize I have my own path. And I want that path to be with you.”
Liam looked at me for a long time. The silence was heavy. I could hear the wind blowing through the trees and the distant sound of a wolf howling. My whole future was hanging on what he was going to say next.
“I wanted to hate you,” Liam admitted. His voice was rough. “I tried to tell my moon made a mistake. I tried to find another woman. But I couldn’t. It was alv. when you were being cruel, it was always you.”
the
-you. Even
He reached out and finally, finally, he touched my cheek. His hand was warm and rough. The moment his skin touched mine, a shock of pure electricity went through my body. I let out a soft gasp and leaned into his hand.
“I missed you,” I whispered, even though we had never been together.
“I’ve been right here,” he said.
“Please, Liam,” I begged. “Give me a chance. Give us a chance. I don’t want a crown anymore. I just want you. I want to be the woman you deserve.”
Liam looked into my eyes. I saw the struggle there. I saw the loyalty to Faith and the pain of the past. But then, I saw the love. The deep, unbreakable love of a mate.
“It won’t be easy, Alice,” he warned. “I won’t let you slip back into your old ways. Faith, or if you hurt this pack, I will leave. I won’t choose you over them.”
If
you hurt
“I don’t want you to,” I said. “I want to be part of the team. I want to be someone you’re proud to stand next to.”
Liam let out a long sigh. The tension in his shoulders finally dropped. He reached out with his other hand and pulled me toward him. He wrapped his strong arms around me, holding me so tight I could feel his heartbeat against my chest.
I buried my face in his neck and cried. They weren’t sad tears anymore. They were tears of
3/4
< Chapter 195
+25 Points
relief. I was home. I didn’t have to fight for a place that wasn’t mine. I had a place right here, in the arms of my mate.
“Okay,” Liam whispered into my hair. “We can give this a chance. We can see where this goes.”
I pulled back just enough to look at him. “Thank you, Liam. I promise I won’t make you regret it.”
He looked at my lips, and then he looked back at my eyes. “You’ve already started to make it right, Alice. Just keep going.”
He leaned down and kissed me. It wasn’t like the kisses I imagined with Astor. Those were always about power and pride. This kiss was about soul. It was deep, gritty, and full of promise. It felt like every broken piece of my life was finally being glued back together.
When we broke apart, the moon was even higher in the sky. The world felt different I wasn’t Alice the villain anymore. I wasn’t Alice the jealous sister.
And for the first time in my life, that was more than enough.
cphakathi28
”
#vote#
Comments
