Lycan Prince’s Secret Baby (Moonlit Forbidden Love #1)

Chapter 6

Kyle

Fury spiraled through me as I locked eyes with Leah. Her bright blue gaze had taken on that stormy hue reminiscent of the Council Chamber. It felt as if a bomb had detonated within me as I grappled with the enormity of what she had done. Leah had risked everything by bringing extra rations to the Blood Moon Pack, and the thought of her putting herself in harm’s way sent my wolf into a frenzy.

Tearing through my own churning emotions, I wrenched Leah through the doorway, my grip firm on her wrist as I stepped out into the night.

“Let’s go,” I commanded, urgency threading through my voice. A fierceness threaded through me as I tugged her on through the darkness, needing to get her away from there.

Her delicate frame stumbled to keep up with my determined strides, and I could feel the heat radiating from her skin—wild and intoxicating. But amid my determination, I became suddenly aware of how forceful I was being, realizing I was practically dragging her.

“Slow down!” she protested, the rush of her breath mingling with the night air. The undercurrent of her defiance only made my heart race faster and my blood heat.

The crunch of pine cones and needles echoed in the stillness as we hurried away from the Blood Moon quarters. The scent of damp earth filled my lungs—fresh and grounding. As we navigated the familiar path, I slowed my pace and allowed Leah a moment’s reprieve. Her chest heaved as she fought to catch her breath; I scented perspiration glistening along her brow and stole a glance at her—strands of her fiery hair clung to her flushed cheeks.

“Just, catch your breath,” I murmured gruffly, my tone softening involuntarily. The icy resolve I had maintained began to thaw just a fraction in the face of her vulnerability.

As we passed the pine trees separating the Blood Moon quarters and Moonlight, I slowed our steps even more. The blanket of stars above shone clearer here, unobscured by the light pollution of the Moonlight compound. I eased my grip on her wrist, and the wind shifted, carrying a hint of Leah’s floral scent—a sweet blend of wildflowers that ignited something primal in me. She was a flame, radiant and dangerous, lighting up the void in me I hadn’t realized existed.

Leah’s rigid shoulders relaxed slightly, and we continued, our footsteps falling more softly. I didn’t look at her, but something in me gradually uncoiled as I savored the contact of my hand around her wrist as I led her onward.

Approaching my home, the familiar outline of the two-story cabin loomed in the moonlight. Hesitation washed over me. How should I handle this? I pushed the front door open to the dark foyer, and it was only then that I finally released her wrist. Instinctively, she clenched her fists, tilting her chin defiantly. That fiery spirit of hers burned brightly.

“What’s going to happen now?” she demanded, her voice steady despite the vulnerability that lingered beneath her bravado—a quality I admired but felt compelled to temper.

“Go to bed, Leah,” I managed to grind out, my throat tight with conflicting emotions. I turned down the hall to my study, wishing for just a moment to break the mounting tension between us. Relief washed over me as her swift steps sounded on the stairs, and she retreated to the attic.

I slumped against the wall outside my study, closing my eyes and pressing the heels of my hands into them. What the hell was happening to me? My heart raced as I forced myself to confront what I’d witnessed tonight.

The sorrowful children nibbling on my half-eaten scraps and the frail elderly couple huddled under threadbare blankets loomed in my mind. I could see how their eyes had filled with fear at the sight of me and how the children had hidden beneath their blankets. I imagined my mother standing before me, her compassionate gaze piercing mine. She would have fought fang and claw to ensure every Blood Moon had the basic dignity and rights to life that they deserved—rights that every shifter deserved.

I had once believed all Blood Moons were deceitful, allowing my past to cloud my judgment. However, witnessing the suffering of the innocent shifted something within me. They were trapped in a servitude my pack and my father had imposed upon them. Memories of my mother’s violent death at the hands of the Blood Moon Pack washed over me—bitter and sharp—but they couldn’t silence her words: “Change begins with empathy, my son.”

Standing here, grappling with this truth, I came to an unsettling realization: my hatred—the very anger that had driven my quest for revenge—would not bring her peace, nor would it end the cycle of suffering. If I allowed this injustice to persist, I would be no better than those who had silenced her. My mother had envisioned a world where Blood Moons and Moonlights could thrive side by side, and it was time to honor that vision. I felt the seed of change unfurling. With a newfound clarity, I understood that my mother could finally be at peace if I could pull my pack from its oppressive ways and guide them toward a harmonious coexistence with the Blood Moons.

Another surge of truth crashed over me as I realized Leah had only been wearing gray overalls and a linen shirt tonight. What were the chances that she didn’t own anything warmer than that? The thick, warm jacket slung over my shoulders felt like chains.

I can no longer stand back. I need to act.

Without further hesitation, I headed out of the house. I made my way straight to my assistant Mark’s home, knocking on the door a few times before a light flickered on inside.

A few minutes later, Mark poked his head around the door, his expression bleary. “What’s wrong?” he mumbled, sleep heavy in his voice, his tousled brown hair sticking up wildly.

“I need to know how our food distribution works and who oversees that process,” I said.

After blinking away his grogginess, a flicker of recognition crossed Mark’s face, his brow furrowing. “Most people count sheep, not spreadsheets,” he quipped in his usual deadpan manner, but I couldn’t afford to laugh.

“I’m serious, Mark. There’s a massive miscarriage of justice happening in our pack. I need answers—like, now.” The gravity of my words settled between us.

Mark stepped aside. “I guess you’d better come in then.” He gestured me into the small kitchen, which felt cramped as I paced.

Once inside, I wasted no time. “We need to discuss the distribution of food to the Blood Moon Pack,” I said flatly.

Mark glanced at me, his intense brown eyes assessing me for several long moments. “You’ve seen something, haven’t you?”

“I was there tonight,” I confessed, my voice barely above a whisper. “At the Blood Moon quarters. These people are starving, Mark, children and the elderly. It’s inhumane.”

“Elder Sam is responsible for their rations.” Mark’s expression lost its guardedness.

Anger bristled through me. I thought of that self-righteous elder. “He’s skimming off the top, isn’t he?”

Mark nodded grimly. “Food allocation was set by Reginald, but Sam has been steadily decreasing their rations over the last three years. Things have slipped through the cracks and into Sam’s pocket, and everyone knows it.”

I took in the fact that my father, Reginald, had set the amount of rations the Blood Moon Pack received. My father had become so focused on hunting down the Blood Moon rebels to avenge my mother that he’d relinquished the pack’s running to a lesser shifter.

I remembered how adamant the elder had been the night Leah had been caught stealing the herb from the hillside. He’d claimed that supplies had been going missing for months and that she was the one taking them from the infirmary.

I narrowed my eyes, not mincing my words. “He’s also stealing the herbs from the infirmary, right?”

“With his status as an elder, he has access to everything. He’s been selling the pack’s herbs for profit for a long time.”

Rage crashed through me. The perfect image of my childhood shattered as I realized that this elder had been taking advantage of his position for years. The world I had always believed to be just was unraveling fast. My head spun, thinking of how earlier tonight, I’d been sure I was about to expose the deep-rooted evil of the Blood Moon Pack. Instead, I’d uncovered corruption festering at the heart of the Moonlight Pack.

For a moment, I wished my father were back.

It's my duty now. Things have to change.

Feeling the same certainty zip through me as I had when I’d known I needed to protect Leah, I knew I had to help the Blood Moons. No longer would they live under the oppression that I’d unknowingly accepted.

“Starting tomorrow, Mark, I want you to be in control of the distribution of the Blood Moon rations.” I straightened, my determination sharpening. “I’m charging you with ensuring that all Blood Moons receive enough to eat.”

“Are you sure about this?” Mark asked, newfound seriousness washing over his features. “The elders won’t like this, and you’ve already sparked dissent with the medical treatment order.”

“I’ll handle the elders,” I assured him, shoving aside any lingering doubts.

With Mark’s acquiescence, I stepped out of the cabin, adrenaline coursing through me. I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but the time for talking was over. Back in my study, I found my mind buzzing with ideas. Soon, the clack of my computer keys echoed through the stillness of the night. Every keystroke was fueled by an earnest need for change. As I drafted a plan for dealing with the elders, relief washed over me. Maybe this was just the beginning of real reform. Excitement stirred within me, a sense of igniting my spirit.

It was a spirit I saw reflected in the faces of the Blood Moon Pack over the upcoming days. As the week progressed and the Blood Moons began receiving their rightful share, it became a common occurrence for them to greet me with smiles and gratitude. A mix of discomfort and guilt churned within me every time I received their thanks. After witnessing the hellish conditions they lived in, I knew what they were receiving was merely the basic rights every shifter was entitled to—rights that Leah was now receiving as well. My wolf finally felt content as I ensured from a distance that she ate her portions, nourishing herself, too.

But Mark had been right about the Moonlight elders’ discontent. Their disgruntled faces and murmurs reached me over the following days. Within a few days, I summoned a council meeting, knowing I had to confront their dissatisfaction directly.

By the time the council meeting arrived, the sun had begun its descent, casting an amber glow through the narrow windows of the Council Chamber. The ten elders—an imposing fortress of grim faces—had already convened. The atmosphere was thick, the bitterness of the past entrenched on each of the lined and weathered faces surrounding me.

Most elders congregated around two additional tables that had been moved in to seat the entire council. The central seat at the high table, bearing Igaluk’s symbol, was left vacant for me. Without surprise, I noticed Elder Sam seated to my right. Healer Maria sat to my left, here in both her capacity as an elder and as a healer. I’d asked her to answer any questions the other elders had about the healthcare costs. My Assistant, Mark, was also seated at the high table to take down the minutes. He had already set up the projector.

I took my seat at the head of the table. “Good evening, Council,” I began, my voice steady as I leveled my gaze at the elders. “I’ve gathered you here today to discuss the future treatment of the Blood Moon Pack.”

“The future?” Elder Matthew scoffed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “Their ‘future’ is servitude. You’re creating trouble where there was none.”

I quelled the urge to lash out. I countered calmly, “The treatment they’ve received has been inhumane. They’ve suffered under the guise of servitude for too long, and it’s time we change that.”

“Not every shifter deserves respect—especially when they turn on their own kind,” Sam interjected from my right, anger radiating from him as his hands rested against the table.

I met his dirt-colored stare. “All shifters deserve life’s basic essentials. If history has taught us anything, it’s that it’s our duty to treat our fellow wolves with common decency.”

Murmurs rippled through the council, but I pushed on, determined to lead them through the evidence I’d collected. “The data I’ve compiled reveals the economic advantages of increasing rations and healthcare,” I declared, my voice gaining momentum. “In doing so, we ultimately help our pack.”

Mark activated the projector, and the first slide illuminated the room, casting shadows across the elders’ faces. My clearly outlined calculations became my battleground, cementing my arguments in a way that emotionally charged ones couldn’t. I displayed graph after graph, illustrating the productivity gains correlated with improved rations and care, and a visible shift began to occur within the council.

“So, although the Moonlight pack expends more on healthcare and rations for the Blood Moons, the return on investment far outweighs the costs. Each Blood Moon may require additional resources, but their increased health will lead to greater productivity. In essence, for every outgoing we make, they give back a greater return to our pack as a whole,” I concluded, finishing the cost-benefit analysis.

Nods began to ripple through the elders, clearly processing the implications before them. Hope beat through my chest. But, sensing the tide turning against him, Sam’s venomous voice rang out, “All this is a charade, a smokescreen, isn’t it, Kyle? You stand here, presenting us with figures, but the truth is you’ve been seduced by that Blood Moon girl!” Anger laced every word, rising from him like smoke.

A mix of uncertainty and anger rocked me. He was trying to provoke me, but I stared him down. Part of me longed to lash out and expose him here for all his crimes, but I needed to gather evidence against him first. Now was not the time for such a revelation.

Instead, I curbed my anger and announced deliberatively, “Discussions in this council should be led by data and logic, something I can see most of the council is able to fathom.”

“You truly have forgotten your mother’s memory—what they did to her, what you owe us!” Sam shouted, his voice booming through the chamber.

Outrage blazed through me. “How dare you accuse me of forgetting! What I’m doing is honoring her memory. My mother’s final undertaking was to try to heal the rift between our packs.” My body vibrated with suppressed rage.

As Sam’s fury spilled from him, I recognized the depths of his exploitation. He was wielding my mother’s death like a weapon to prevent these changes. I’d never thought he’d stoop so low as to invoke her name just to protect the money he’d been siphoning from the Blood Moon Pack’s rations.

Taking a breath, I tempered my voice and scanned the other elders, realizing some of them looked ashamed. Anticipation beat through my chest. Could I propel them toward throwing off these outdated beliefs by appealing to them in my mother’s name? “Let us not choose the past over the future anymore,” I urged them. “Let us move forward and build a future your Luna dreamed of.”

The weight of my words hung over the chamber.

Healer Maria spoke up, “Tamara would have backed these reforms. I would see them put in place, too.”

Ellen, the only other female on the council, echoed her sentiment. “For Tamara, I endorse these changes.”

But Sam’s disdain festered in the air, along with a couple of other staunch traditionalists. I realized that the path of true change wouldn’t be easy. There was a fissure formed by grief and anger that I had to cross and that we all did, but I swore I wouldn’t retreat. Sam’s barb about being seduced by the Blood Moon girl rang through me, muddying my thoughts. Yet, this was about all of us protecting our shared lands and breaking free from the cycles that had shackled our kind for too long.

Sam bringing up my mother’s death, hadn’t gained him more support. Instead, the two female elders, along with the majority of males, had been persuaded by the numbers and supported my reform. But, as the meeting adjourned, I strode out of the hall, ready to turn my words into action. We would usher in these necessary changes. A fire burned in my belly, and I swore I would fight this vicious cycle of hatred that had defined our kind for far too long. My mother’s name had acted as a catalyst for me, and I felt her spirit burning brightly within my chest. She would guide our pack into a long-awaited better future.

The time for change is now.