Page 6 of Lycan Prince's Secret Baby

I had nothing to transport my belongings, so I used the bed sheet to bundle my clothes and meager possessions.

The healer’s footsteps sounded behind me, and my heart hammered as I realized she was leaving. I blurted out, “Healer Maria, will Mary be all right?”

She stopped and turned to look at me. Her hazel eyes swept over the bundle of my belongings in my arms. “Only Igaluk can know such things,” she said, and with that, she was out the door.

Her statement, devoid of warmth, had my throat tightening. I understood that she was a Moonlight—and her icy detachment was due to the bitter past between our packs—but surely the heart of a healer should be more compassionate? A pang of longing shot through me as I thought of my mother, who’d healed our pack with such love and care.

She’d been so passionate about herbalism that she’d studied it at the Silver Moon Pack’s University here in northern Alaska. While our lands were some of the most southern packlands, the Silver Moons lived in a mountainous region far to the north. The cold and snow made living conditions there some of the harshest, but some of the rarest herbs and minerals only existed within the ice. My mom had loved nothing better than to reminisce about her days spent there and the unique flora of the Silver Moon lands.

“What’s going on, Leah?” Lucy’s worried voice brought me back from my reverie. Her hazel eyes were wide with concern, and her youthful face was pale.

I knew the soldiers outside were unlikely to grant me much more time. If they knew how little I had to pack, they would have already marched me away.

“The patrol caught me harvesting the pomenta,” I explained.

“We figured,” Phoebe said seriously. “When the healer showed up, we knew you must have been caught.” There was a question in her tone. Why had my capture resulted in Mary getting treatment? After all, the Moonlights didn’t give a damn about us.

Except for Kyle.

My pulse spiked as I thought of the tall, muscular shifter: jet-black hair framing a face that was both handsome and fierce. But it was the feeling I’d experienced when our eyes met that sparked through me. Remembering the frisson of energy made me feel light-headed. A small, ridiculous part of me wondered whether he’d issued the order for Blood Moons to be treated because of how he felt aboutme.

I pushed the thought away.

Instead, I grasped onto the one thing he’d said in the council that explained his decision.

“The council has decreed that from now on, Blood Moons will be given treatment when they are ill. They talked about how it was a more cost-effective strategy for a healthy workforce.”

Phoebe’s forehead wrinkled. “Still sounds too bloody enlightened for the Moonlight Council.”

“There was a new member on the council,” I explained. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “The Alpha heir.”

Phoebe’s face lengthened in shock. “Leah,” she gasped, her hands covering her mouth. “You mean Kyle?”

Hearing his name squeaked with such dread made my head swim.

“But Kyle hates Blood Moons,” Phoebe said, distress creasing her olive skin as she tried to make sense of the situation.

Like me, they’d heard the whispers about how the Alpha heir hated us. My stomach twisted as I wonderedwhyhe’d ordered me to serve him.

My wolf rose within me.Because he wants us close.

I wrestled her down, quashing such a ridiculous interpretation of his actions.

“He’s overseeing my punishment for stealing,” I explained. “I’m to serve as his personal maid.”

“Oh, Leah, I’m sorry.” Lucy grimaced.

“Be careful, Leah,” Phoebe cautioned. “He’s got more reason to hate us than the rest of these Moonlights put together.”

I nodded, knowing she was talking about the death of Kyle’s mother on our lands during peace negotiations—the catalyst for the war between our packs.

Yet, Phoebe’s worried gaze lingered on me. “Did he do that to you?” She stared at my arm.

I realized she’d noticed my flinch earlier when she’d touched the area the guard had gripped. I shook my head. “One of the guards.”

Something deep within me rose up, wanting to defend Kyle. I wanted to say that he wouldn’t hurt me. But my cheeks flushedas I buried the truth from my friends; Icouldn’ttell them that Kyle was my fated mate.

After all, I didn’t understand why he’d decided to make me his personal maid. The memory of his voice from the council echoed in my mind.“If she’s a threat, it’s better that I keep an eye on her, isn’t it?”His expression had been taut and serious, and his gaze was heavy with mistrust. Yet I had sensed something deeper beneath the surface—an undeniable heat of attraction that had coursed between us.

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