Page 49 of Lycan Prince's Secret Baby

Then, I startled awake, heat flushing over my skin. I realized I’d been dreaming about him. Again. This deep want in my soul was conjuring all sorts of fantasies.

“Palliks,” I muttered. The cottony buds had dried out, and although I had intended to fill Lina’s bassinet with them, I thought my need, currently, seemed greater than my daughter’s.

But that wasn’t exactly a bad dream, was it?

Ignoring my own maddening reflection, I went to my desk to get the buds, returning to my pillow and stuffing them in.

“Hey, thought I might find you here,” Roman said as he let himself into my room.

“Well, it is my room,” I grumbled.

“Someone needs her beauty sleep.”

“I’m trying. Lina was up a lot last night,” I complained, focusing on that rather than on sharing the real reason I hadn’t succeeded in catching up on my sleep.

“Oh, I thought you might be avoiding the greenhouse and kitchen again because you were avoiding a certain person,” Roman said.

“It’s not avoiding,” I complained. “It’s re-establishing healthy boundaries.”

“Want a tea?” Roman asked as he went over to the thermos on my writing desk.

Okay, clearly, I’m not getting more sleep.

Roman had that reflective look on his face. I knew he had something on his mind. “Sure.”

As we settled into the window seat with a steaming cup of vanilla, hibiscus, and sigla tea in hand, I felt the comfort of some of my usual routine settling back into my life. Before Kyle had arrived here and came into my life again, Roman, Lyvia, and the rest of the pack had been the only friends and support I’d needed. My life and Lina’s had felt tranquil and safe. With more moments like this, I could find the same peace I’d had before.

But Roman’s voice disturbed the semblance of tranquility almost immediately. “Nuka, I need to make sure that you’re a hundred percent certain about your decision to sever your bond with Kyle.”

I was startled, and defensiveness made me lean on humor. “Let me guess, Kyle’s impressed you like all the other warriors in the ring with his Shadow Moon moves?”

Roman huffed a laugh. “More like his clear sense of love and protectiveness toward both you and Lina. The pain of that ritual could have damaged him and his wolf for good, but he did it without hesitation.”

The memory of the way Kyle had selflessly acted during the ritual tore through me—his face strained in agony as he’d taken all the pain that ricocheted through my body, sweat bathing his face, his fists clenched as he endured it all for Lina and me.

Defiance flared through me. “So, I’m meant to run into his arms now because of the recklessness he took on?”

Roman’s azure stare watched me discerningly. “No, of course not. But you should be honest with yourself, Leah. If there’s anychance that you feel a similar strength of love for Kyle, then you should consider whether severing such a bond is the right call.”

Roman sighed. “I’m only saying this as I’d hate to see you suffer anything like the sort of pain I have. Being separated from one’s mate when there’s love is its own particular kind of torture. I wouldn’t want you to suffer that pain. If there’s even a chance that there’s love between you both, I want you to think about whether severing your bond is the right decision. Perhaps you could give Kyle and yourself another chance?”

I frowned, my heart hammering at the idea, half afraid to even contemplate it, the other half already thrilling as my dream from earlier replayed itself through my mind.

But before I could answer Roman, a knock sounded on my door. “Apparently, it’s all drop in on Leah night,” I grumbled as I went to the door.

Chapter 26

Kyle

The ache of Leah’s distance gnawed at me like a deepening hunger. Each day I spent lingering on the periphery of her world felt heavier than the last. The only thing that kept me going was the desperate hope that she’d seek me out when she was ready. I felt like a man who had lived in the sunshine, retreating into a world of shadow.

The few glimpses of her that I was lucky enough to catch showed me how much she poured her heart into nurturing Lina, her fierce resolve vibrant and magnetic. Everyone was overjoyed to see Lina out of her bedroom and back with the pack. But it was Leah’s joyful face that brought everyone to them, as much as little Lina’s flourishing health. But even Leah’s time spent with the pack dwindled when my health was strong enough again to be out of bed. Where she usually spent time in the kitchen and greenhouse, she increasingly shut herself away in her bedroom, clearly determined to cut herself off from me.

It became glaringly obvious that she no longer needed my protection, something that left me bereft. Following the ritual, I realized Leah was distancing herself again when she started sending Lyvia with Lina to spend time with me instead ofbringing her herself. That she hadn’t completely cut contact between Lina and me made my heart swell with gratitude. But oh, how I missed her presence and company. During these special past few weeks, I’d discovered just how mentally strong Leah was and realized she didn’t need my protection. Instead,Ineeded her and our child.

I knew I had nothing to reproach Leah with, though. In the past, my care and love for Leah had repeatedly put her in danger. The way I’d kept her close to me because of my wolf’s need to protect her, only to reject her when we’d first kissed tortured me. Then, the way I’d lost control over the mating bond I’d been suppressing, slept with her, only to reject her again, nauseated me. I didn’t deserve her forgiveness, and yet, I yearned to prove that I’d protect, honor, and love her if she’d only give me another chance.

But I tried to be respectful of her need for distance and time. She’d made it clear she didn’t want me encroaching on her personal space, even when we’d still been spending so much of our time and energy in healing Lina together. My heart twisted as I thought of how Roman had been there first on the scene when Lina’s condition had worsened. The memory of him holding Leah in his arms that night had seemed like a deeper pain than the ritual had caused. That steadfastness that he held her with, the way his gaze had been fixed on Lina with almost as much concern as Leah and I had, made me doubt whether I had a chance. But I had to hope against hope. Maybe with more time and by being respectful, she’d come to me when she was ready.

---