Page 19 of Lycan Prince's Secret Baby

Hopefully, he was up for an evening session now. “Come in,” I called out, thinking of how therapeutic it would be to go and spar a bit in the training ring. The night’s cool air would soothe my pent-up frustrations, and the movement would banish the aches that came from too long spent at this desk.

The door swung open, revealing Leah framed in the doorway. My breath caught as her ember-hued locks cascaded over her shoulders, a vivid contrast to her familiar white shirt and well-worn jeans. She looked serious, channeling the same energy she had the last time she’d knocked on my study door. A sense of déjà vu tripped through me as if I’d been transported back to that moment in the past. But, this time, there was no tea in her hand.

I stared, entranced, my heart racing at the sight of her.

Am I dreaming?

Ihaddreamed of her many times since her departure.

Just then, she pulled something out of her pocket, and my heart lurched when I recognized the bronze rune-marked pendant hanging from the black cord. My necklace. The one I had thought lost to me.

Just like Leah.

“I came to return this,” she said, her voice guarded. “It slipped into my top when—” She paused, shaking her awkwardness and stepping closer. “Anyway, I’ll just leave it here.” She reached to lay it on my desk. Her hand froze mid-air.

I saw what her eyes had landed on: her white shirt, bundled on top of my paperwork and covered in my scent. It felt like a damning indictment of everything I’d tried to suppress. My heart beat in my chest as if it had been bared and laid out before her.

Her cheeks flushed, and I saw she gatheredexactlywhat I’d been doing with it. But Leah’s embarrassment quickly shifted todefiance. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing. “Really looks like you don’t need me any longer, Kyle,” she shot at me, the rawness of her words turning my blood to ice.

I was thrust back to the infirmary and to the words I’d hurled at Maria:“I don’t need her any longer. Her presence is more of a hindrance than a help.”The cold echo of my voice haunted me as my wolf growled in protest, demanding to show her the truth behind my denial. After all, hadn’t I missed her every waking moment of every day since she’d left? And, clearly, as my dreams overflowed with thoughts of her, even my subconscious had missed her.

But Maria’s warning lingered in my mind, grounding my resolve even amidst the chaos I felt. I couldn’t let her stay. I needed her to leave, to escape before my wolf won the battle.

“Idon’tneed you any longer,” I spat, my voice unyielding. “It was a moment of madness. Nothing more, Leah. Idon’tcare about you.”

Something flickered across her face, a fleeting spark of hurt swiftly eclipsed by defiance. “So, you bringing me under your roof in the first place had nothing to do with our mate bond?”

I swallowed hard, my heart thumping in a chaotic rhythm as she named it—“mate bond.” Mate.My wolf stirred with a deep, ravenous appreciation for the term.

I refused to let her bait me. “I brought you under my roof in spite of that,” I insisted, my words tasting bitter, tainted by the shadows that buried the truth within me. “I needed to prove that you weren’t a threat, that’s all.”

She shook her head, her silky waves stirring and making me ache to reach out and brush them. “You didn’t let go of me on the way back from the Blood Moon quarters. You dragged me back here, refusing to let go until I was inside.” Her hard expression broke for a moment, shifting with something tender.

The intensity of her gaze cracked the shell around my tightly controlled emotions. I felt the tension in my body flicker, a spark igniting what I had tried to bury. “I only held onto you because you disobeyed me,” I protested, but my harsh tone had lost its edge. My words felt rote, with no belief behind them.

She tilted her chin up to me more. That spark of defiance I’d tried to temper was still burning as brightly as ever. Her voice was softer but still questioning as she said, “You didn’t assign me tasks outside of the house for a week when we got back from the Blood Moon quarters.” She pushed, her voice soft yet unyielding, leaving no room for escape.

I felt the dam break. The long-repressed desire surged uncontrollably, forcing its way through the cracks of my resolve. “What do you want me to tell you, Leah?” I rasped, the rawness tearing through me. “That I can’t bear the thought of you being in harm’s way? That I’d destroy anyone who hurt you? That when you fainted, the terror of losing you is the most afraid I’ve ever been?” My breath came in ragged gasps, the weight of my confession hanging between us like a third being, sucking up all the air from the room and suffocating the pair of us.

Leah’s mouth fell open, visibly stunned.

Finally, I’ve left even Leah’s smart mouth speechless.

As I made the mistake of thinking about her mouth, my gaze dipped to it. I remembered how sumptuous and soft it had been.Then, just like when the bones in my body broke with the shift, my wolf’s need for everything about Leah cracked. My mouth crashed to hers, capturing the essence of wildflowers that had haunted me. My lips devoured hers, telling her there was no stopping this time. She wasmine.

Chapter 11

Leah

The moment Kyle’s lips brushed against mine, a rush of heat ignited deep within me, overwhelming all restraint. The carefully managed estrus that my medication had suppressed surged to life, a wild thrum that coursed through my veins, raw and demanding. It was as if every nerve ending had suddenly awakened, electrified by the warmth of his breath and pine scent. My fingers caressed the sharp edge of his chiseled jaw, tracing the hint of stubble.

My hands traveled up into his short hair. A low, primal sound rumbled from his throat as my fingertips grazed his scalp, resonating deep within me and making my toes curl.

I didn’t want to come up for air. Anxiety coursed through me that when I did, he’d draw back. But…air. Gasping it in, my eyes found his—those mesmerizing, emerald-green pools—and they seared with demand. The fire in his gaze spoke volumes, flickering with a primal claim that his gruff voice confirmed as he rasped, “You’re mine.”

In the dim lamplight of the office, the walls danced with shadows, casting an intimate glow over Kyle’s handsome face. A delightful challenge danced in his expression, daring me to defy him, but after his admission that the most afraid he’d been whenhe thought I wouldn’t wake up, my defiant spirit had melted away. I wanted to give myself to him completely. My lips burned with the reminder of what it was to give into the fire in his stare. I wanted us to burn together.

Desire surged through me as I sensed that all his restraint had crumbled away. Left in front of me was my mate, currently more wolf than man, and damn was that sexy. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, each exhale urgent and raw. The tension in his broad shoulder and chest mirrored mine. It was as if our wolves were staring one another down, waiting to see who would be the first to strike.

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