CHAPTER FOUR — EVIDENCE
LIORA
Hunger brings me back before consciousness does.
It's a dull throb at first, pounding behind my ribs… then it explodes into a full ache that coils around my throat like barbed wire.
I gasp and sit straight up. Pain slices through my spine. My muscles feel torn, my skin feels wrong, and every breath tastes like leftover bloodlust.
I'm in my room.
How?
My head pulses as flashes hit me like broken lightning.
The trees
The riverbank
The creature's screech
Liam's voice cutting through the woods
My alpha form losing control
The snap of crossbow fire
The moon burning across my skin
Running
Running
Running—
I press a shaking hand to my face.
I almost killed someone.
I almost let Liam see what I am.
My fingers brush the Heartseal Talisman lying against my chest.
It's faint… not warm, not bright… just trembling weakly like a flame fighting to stay alive.
"Damn it," I whisper.
I shouldn't have shifted. Not this early in the moon cycle. Not with hunters so close.
I climb out of bed and my knees nearly drop. My limbs ache with the aftershocks of the transformation. Half-vampire strength doesn't heal as quickly as full-bloods. And the alpha side? That's another nightmare.
But then I notice something worse.
My wrist.
Bare.
My bracelet—mother's bracelet, the charm with the engraved sun—
Gone.
"No. No, no—please no."
I check under the bed, under the pillow, the windowsill, the floorboards.
Nothing.
Cold dread spills down my spine.
I didn't lose it here.
I lost it last night. Out there, in the woods. While Liam chased me. While I shifted.
My mouth goes dry.
He has it.
He has it.
The one piece of evidence that ties the creature from last night… to me.
I grip the edge of my dresser to steady myself. My pulse is loud and frantic. If he saw me shift—no, he didn't. The talisman must have forced me back just in time. But he saw enough.
And now he has the bracelet.
A hunter holding your identity.
I swallow hard, panic pressing against my lungs.
I have to act normal. I have to stay in control. I have to pretend nothing happened.
But the mirror betrays me—my eyes flicker gold for a moment before shifting back.
I splash cold water on my face, breathe, tie my hair, and leave the house with a heart that feels like it's trying to escape my chest.
Every step toward school feels like walking toward a noose.
When the school gate comes into view, I see him.
Liam.
Standing alone.
Waiting.
And in his hand…
The bracelet.
My heart almost stops beating.
His eyes lift slowly when he senses me. He doesn't smile. Doesn't wave. He just watches me with a look that is far too calm, far too sharp.
Hunter calm.
Danger calm.
The kind of calm that sees truth long before you speak it.
"Liora." His voice is low. Controlled. "We need to talk."
I force a laugh so bright it hurts my throat. "Oh! You found my bracelet! I thought I dropped it in class."
He doesn't smile.
He doesn't blink.
"Class?" His head tilts slightly. "Is that where you lost it?"
My breath catches for half a second. Barely a blink.
But he sees it.
He always sees it.
He steps closer—so close I can feel the heat of his breath. "Liora," he murmurs, "tell me where you actually lost it."
"I—I don't remember," I lie.
"You remember everything," he counters quietly. "Every detail. Every sound. Every step. That's what makes you… interesting."
The word interesting feels like a blade.
He's not questioning anymore.
He's hunting for truth.
Literally.
I swallow and try to step back, but he catches my wrist—not hard, not aggressive, but firm enough to stop me.
His fingers brush my skin. A flicker of electricity shoots up my arm.
He notices. I see the moment shock crosses his face. He didn't expect that. He didn't expect this—whatever this is.
But he doesn't let go.
"Liora," he says softly, "I found this bracelet in the woods."
My blood freezes.
"The same woods where something ran from me last night."
He leans in closer, voice almost a whisper. "Something fast."
I feel my throat closing.
"Something strong."
My knees weaken.
"Something… dangerous."
My lungs stop working.
"And your bracelet was right there."
He turns the charm between his fingers. "Explain that."
My heartbeat is loud enough that I'm sure he hears it.
I open my mouth. Nothing comes out.
"Liam, I—"
I choke on the words. On the fear. On the truth.
His expression shifts—confusion, frustration, a flicker of something that looks almost like fear.
Not fear of me.
Fear for me.
"Liora," he whispers, "I'm not stupid. Something is happening. Something around you. Just tell me the truth."
Tell him?
Tell a hunter?
Tell the boy trained to kill my kind?
No.
No.
I drop my gaze, pull my hand away slowly, and lie.
"I must've lost it earlier. Maybe someone picked it up and dropped it."
He stares at me.
The air thickens.
His jaw tightens.
His eyes darken.
He knows I'm lying.
But he's not pushing. Not yet.
When he speaks, his voice is too calm.
"Then tell me something else."
I look up, trembling.
"Why were you limping this morning?"
My stomach twists painfully.
I forgot.
I forgot to hide the ache. The bruises. The marks the shift left on me.
"I tripped," I say.
He lifts a single brow. "Before or after you went into the woods?"
"Liam, stop."
"I can't."
His eyes flash with conflict. "Liora, something chased me last night. Something almost attacked me. And now your bracelet is there. You're hurt. And you're lying."
"I'm not—"
"You are."
The air sinks between us like a stone dropped into deep water.
He steps closer again, his voice barely above a breath.
"Liora… what are you?"
The words strike me like a blow.
And for a moment, the world slows.
His face is inches from mine. His eyes searching, begging, hurting. Not because he wants to expose me.
Because he's scared of losing the version of me he thinks he knows.
And I—
I can't give him anything.
Not when hunters slaughter hybrids like me on sight.
Not when my parents spent their whole lives protecting me.
Not when my alpha instincts scream danger even as my heart aches for him.
I shake my head. "I'm nothing."
His expression cracks.
He reaches out… then stops himself. Like touching me might shatter something between us.
"That's the second lie you've told me today," he murmurs.
Before I can respond, the bell rings sharply behind us.
Students flood past, laughing, chatting, unaware of the battlefield standing at the school gate.
I take the chance. I step back.
"Thank you for finding it," I say softly.
He watches me with eyes that see far too much.
"Liora," he says, voice breaking around my name, "don't walk away from me."
But I do.
Because if I stay...
He'll see everything.