Liam’s POV
Hours had passed since my conversation with Dahlia’s father-Lia, as I had quickly learned was the nickname everyone used for her. Yet, despite the time, my thoughts remained tangled, my mind a chaotic storm I couldn’t quiet. I paced restlessly across the Sterlings’ backyard, wearing a path through a patch of wildflowers that lined the forest’s edge. The weight of everything Oberon had told me sat heavily on my chest, making the walls feel like they were closing in. I had needed air, but even now, I couldn’t find relief.
Ghost wasn’t helping.
My wolf had locked onto Lia’s scent, tethering himself to her in an unshakable certainty that she belonged to us. He was impatient, insistent that she would want him just as much as he wanted her. But the human side of me knew better. This wasn’t as simple as instincts and bonds. Reality was far messier than that, and I had come to realize just how complicated it could be.
Oberon reappeared, handing me a glass of whiskey before settling into the chair across from me. He seemed ready to speak, only to suddenly freeze mid-breath. A look of horror flickered across his face.
“What is it? What’s wrong? Is Dahlia okay?” My voice was tight, panic rising swiftly.
“No, no, she’s fine,” he assured me quickly before his brows furrowed in a deep, troubled scowl. “I just remembered something… You have an identical twin, don’t you?”
I exhaled slowly, bracing myself. “Yes, sir. His name is Logan.” The way Oberon’s expression darkened sent a ripple of unease through me. “Judging by that look, I’m guessing you don’t think that’s good news. Is there a problem?”
A dozen possibilities ran through my head, none of them comforting. Logan could be unpredictable at times. Had he done something to make a bad impression? Something that would make Lia’s father judge me before I even had a chance?
Oberon shook his head. “It’s not a problem for me, son. But it might be one for you.” He leaned back in his chair, eyes sharp. “I remember a conversation I had with your father years ago. He was worried about the possibility of you and Logan sharing a mate, given that you’re identical twins.”
The air left my lungs.
“Something about how you started as one fertilized egg before splitting into two-meaning you share the same DNA, the same soul. If that’s true, your mate bond may not just be between you and Dahlia. It could be between the three of you.” He sighed heavily. “And let me tell you now-my Lia does not handle complicated very well.”
I dropped my head into my hands and groaned.
I had known this was a possibility, but I’d been hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with it just yet. That I’d have time to build something with Lia first. Time to ease her into the idea before Logan came into the picture.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “It’s possible Logan is her mate too. But we won’t know for sure until they meet. I was hoping to establish my own connection with her before bringing that up.”
Oberon’s gaze held mine, serious. “She’s your mate, and I respect that this is yours to handle. But as her father, I know her better than you do. And I’m telling you-if you blindside her with this later, she’ll see it as a betrayal.” His expression softened slightly. “Let me explain why.”
And then he told me everything.
About Lia’s past. About the wounds she carried and why she resented the mate bond. How losing her mother had devastated her, and how Oberon’s own grief had only deepened her pain. I thought of my own parents and how I would have felt, watching one of them crumble under the weight of loss. I could see, so clearly now, why she might fear what fate had in store for her.
But that wasn’t all.
Oberon told me about the man she had loved for four years. The man she had given her heart to-only to have him walk away the moment he found his fated mate. And that man?
Alpha Finnian Blackwell.
I clenched my fists, bile rising in my throat at the cruel irony. I had spent months working alongside Finnian, building a partnership, never once realizing that he was the reason my mate’s heart had been shattered.
Jealousy burned through me, sharp and all-consuming. The thought of her loving someone else-of his hands on her, his lips against hers-had my wolf snarling in rage. Ghost and I wanted to claim every part of her, to be her first and only. The thought that Finnian had already taken those moments made me see red.
But more than that, my heart ached for her.
I hated that I hadn’t been the one there for her, the one to hold her through her pain. If it had been me, I would never have left her. I would have fought for her, given her every reason to trust in our bond.
The anger flared again before flickering out, leaving behind only frustration. Because the past couldn’t be changed. I hadn’t known her then. And no amount of rage could erase the pain she had endured.
But I could give her a future.
I had always believed the Moon Goddess had a plan, some grand design that led mates to where they belonged. I had to trust in that now. That no matter how complicated this became, Lia and I-maybe even Logan-were meant to find our way to each other.
And I would do everything in my power to make that happen.
Meeting Her
Determination settled in my bones. If I wanted to win her over, it had to start with a conversation. I turned and made my way back inside, settling in the same room as before. Oberon was still seated, calm as ever, sipping tea and reading the paper. The contrast between his serenity and my restlessness was maddening.
I had barely picked up a book when I heard it-footsteps above us.
Lia’s room.
Ghost surged forward, his excitement flooding through me. Without hesitation, I bolted from my seat and sprinted upstairs. Oberon’s footsteps followed, but I didn’t care. This time, nothing would stop me.
I burst into her room without knocking-and immediately regretted it.
Lia was bent over the side of her bed, reaching for a blanket. The sight of her in nothing but tiny boy shorts and a cropped tank top had my breath hitching, heat coiling low in my stomach.
Fuck.
I should have knocked.
But regret was a fleeting thing when my eyes traced the curve of her body-her toned legs, the smooth expanse of her stomach, the perfect swell of her-
She straightened, freezing when she registered my presence. I knew the moment my scent hit her because her breath caught, her fingers trembling slightly at her sides. And then she turned.
My world stopped spinning.
I had already known she was beautiful. But standing here, staring into those wide cornflower-blue eyes, she was breathtaking.
“Mine,” Ghost and I growled in unison, stepping forward.
But I never reached her.
Oberon yanked me backward into the hall, his voice gruff. “Dahlia, get dressed. We’ll wait out here.”
Frustration clawed at me, but I forced myself to pace instead of kicking the door down. Minutes felt like hours, but at last, the door creaked open. Lia stepped out, dressed, her gaze wary.
I strode toward her, heart pounding. “Hi, Dahlia. I’m Liam Ashford, your mate.”
I reached for her, eager to finally hold her. But before I could, she raised her hands, stopping me in my tracks.
Her voice was barely a whisper. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
Then she turned and ran, taking my heart with her.