Moon Child

7. Alphas

My breathing labored as consciousness returned. It felt like I'd just finished running ten miles, and I wasn't athletic at all. It was a moment before my eyes adjusted to the moonlit room and I remembered what happened. The previous visions hit me all my once, causing my head to pound again. I groaned as I turned on my side, facing the open window. It was nighttime. My grandparents were probably freaking out right now. I didn't recognize the room, but it smelled like pine and mint leaves. It was Liam's smell. This must have been his room. I touched under my nose to find it dry now. No sign that it had even bled.

Throwing the covers off, I stood on unstable legs and made my way to the door. I felt so weak. My knees wobbled and shook as I braced myself against anything I could find. I opened the door to a hallway. I used the wall to support me as I went to the end of the hallway and found the stairs. I took it one step at a time and by the time I hit the bottom, I was panting again. I rested a hand on my knee and the other on the railing.

"Daniella?" Liam asked before I felt his hand on my back. Pine and mint leaves. His smell was intoxicating. His touch gave me goosebumps as a chill ran down my spine. I liked it way too much. I slowly moved away from him and turned to look at him.

"One, its Dani. And two, don't touch me," I said hoarsely.

"You can barely walk, let me help you," he practically begged. I didn't want him to touch me, but he was right. I swallowed my pride and eventually let him. I was careful not to touch his skin. My body reacted on its own and purred at his touch. I tried to ignore it. He took me to the living room where his two sisters were watching TV. Isabel was 16 years old and Lily was 6 years old.

Isabel had chocolate brown hair with natural highlights. Her eyes shined a gorgeous ocean blue. Her skin looked like sun-kissed porcelain. She was tall... taller than me for sure, and gorgeous. She preferred to be called Bella, I remembered from Liam's memories.

Lily's looks were more innocent with honey-colored curls and blue, doe-like eyes. Both of them looked like their mother with high cheekbones, full lips, and thick eyelashes. Isabel's eyebrows were perfectly manicured and arched. Even though I'd never met them in person before, I knew everything about them through Liam's mind.

I was tempted to greet them, but instead, I stayed quiet as Liam sat me on the couch next to Lily. They both looked at me curiously, trying to figure out who I was, and who I was to Liam. Lily's intentions were pure curiosity. She'd never seen a new face in town before. Bella was more protective. She wanted to know what I wanted with her brother and why I was here.

"Lily, Bella, this is Dani. She just moved here," Liam introduced me. I could sense the sentence he wanted to use hanging in the air.

She's my mate.

He didn't say it though. He kept it to himself. He didn't want anyone to know. He tried to prop me up on a pillow, but I stopped him with a simple glare. He sighed before giving Bella a warning look.

"I'm going to grab something from the kitchen... behave," he said before he left me to the piranhas. They had no intention of leaving me be. Bella was the first to turn her cautious glance at me.

"Who are you?" she spat rudely.

"The retired beta's granddaughter," I answered, knowing she was asking about my status and not the name she already knew.

"Why haven't I seen you before?" she followed on. I relaxed against the couch and rubbed my forehead to alleviate some of the leftover pain.

"My father and I left when I was an infant. I just came back yesterday. I don't know why," I answered, predicting her next question.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked. I had nothing to hide, but I knew Liam didn't want anyone knowing what I was to him. I kept to the semi-truth.

"That would be a question for your brother. I didn't know anything about werewolves until today. He told me during school and I passed out. I really don't know what happened after that. Then I woke up here," I explained, keeping out the part where I saw Liam's whole life like it was a movie. I didn't even know how to really explain that. Bella had it on her mind to tell Sophia as soon as possible. Apparently, they were close. I was correct of course, as I watched her pull out her phone and start typing away.

"Do you know how to play house?" Lily asked, her innocence leaking through her words. I nodded with a smile and moved to the floor carefully to sit near her dollhouse that was set in the middle of the living room floor. She handed me a Barbie and I played along. Bella's hatred towards me lessened slightly at seeing me play with her little sister, but I really didn't care what she thought. It was a few minutes before Liam came back with water, aspirin, and crackers. He stopped just inside the living room and smiled gently at us. I could feel his adoration for the two of us and it was doing weird things to me.

"Stop that," I said to him. He looked at me confused. "Stop thinking what you're thinking," I clarified.

"Don't act like you know my brother. You don't even know what he's thinking," Bella said in her brother's defense.

"I'm really good at reading faces," I lied easily. Liam sat next to me and handed me the medicine and water. I took it before he offered me the crackers.

"This is just a little something to hold you over until dinner," he offered. I looked at him in confusion.

"You must be high. I'm not staying for dinner," I said defiantly at the same time Bella protested as well. Liam growled protectively at Bella in my defense. I could tell that the growl took him by surprise as he stopped and blinked at himself.

"What's high?" Lily asked in pure curiosity.

"Nothing," Liam dismissed his little sister. He turned his attention back to me as he tried to shake it off. "You're staying for dinner, and then you're spending the night. You can't even walk by yourself. You're staying close until you're better. I've already cleared it with your grandparents and Nora dropped off a bag for you while you were sleeping," he explained. I was furiously. I couldn't believe my grandparents were okay with this. It felt like a betrayal.

"You can't make me stay here!" I yelled as I stood quickly. The sudden movement made me sway as I blacked out for a moment. Liam's hands steadied me as he sat me back down on the couch.

"My point exactly. You're not well, and you're not leaving my sight until you feel better. No matter how long it takes," he said. I knew why he was doing this. It was mostly his wolf. He was worried about me. Regardless, he was pulled to take care of me.

"My father wants to see you," Liam said flatly as he scooped me into a cradle. I knew it would be pointless to protest being carried so I settled for huffing out a breath and crossing my arms.

"This is kidnapping, you know. You can't keep me here against my will," I pouted. He only sighed and held me close as he navigated through his house. I hated that I loved the way his touch made me feel. He knocked on a door before pushing it open and closing it with his foot behind us. He set me down carefully on my feet as I glared at him briefly.

"Daniella; it's nice to finally meet you," Liam's father, Alpha Connor greeted me, pulling my attention away from Liam. He stood in front of his desk and reached his hand out to shake mine. I looked at it hesitantly. I didn't want to be rude, but the last time was too much.

"Dad," Liam said protectively as he sat me in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Alpha Connor dropped his hand quickly.

"Right, the thing. Sorry, I forgot," he replied before he sat in the edge of his desk. So Liam already told him about me and my "thing"... great. Alpha Connor stared at me, or more specifically, my eyes. He looked like an older version of Liam with his good looks. Liam growled lowly at his father after he had been staring too long for his liking. Alpha Connor chuckled lightheartedly.

"Protective, are we?" the Alpha said to his son. I stared at Liam out of the corner of my eye, daring him to say something.

"She doesn't feel well," he said. That was all he said. I kept my eyes on Alpha Connor. I couldn't look at Liam anymore. It just made me want to strangle him.