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

Chapter 17

Kyle

Since Leah’s disappearance a year ago, I dedicated every fiber of my being to becoming everything my father was not. Each morning, I rose with the light and went to the training ring. The golden hue felt sacred as I channeled my frustration into training with Mark. With every strike, I called upon the moon goddess for fortitude. The vibrations of my impact echoed in my bones as I sought her guidance in the pauses between punches. I prayed for the wisdom to know when to hold back and when to unleash my fury. With her blessing, the war I waged within my pack against my father’s reign could find success.

Mark was my steadfast ally in this endeavor. When not in the ring, we spent hours tirelessly sifting through the tangled web of my father’s twisted schemes, amassing documented evidence to show his crimes. Meanwhile, each time I stood before the council, I wore confidence like a second skin, directing cool logic and meticulously honed arguments to push reforms that would uplift both the Blood Moons and the Moonlight Pack.

My data and figures had become my armor, shining proofs fortified against the vitriol of tradition. Slowly, like the thaw of winter, I watched the elders’ view shift. No longer was I perceived as the out-of-touch, naive Alpha heir. I began to emerge as the grounded leader whose actions stemmed from reason and hard work. Some even whispered I was steadier than my father . Reginald, in all his bluster and outbursts, was losing favor, his temper flaring with each cagy report about the fugitive Blood Moons. Yet, beneath the surface, I was acutely aware that my support, though growing, was as fragile as ice beneath the thawing sun.

With my influence gaining traction in the council, I pushed through significant improvements for the Blood Moons. Their living quarters were revolutionized with electricity and heating; warm showers and proper sanitation replaced the squalor of the shower block. But I knew having the support of a handful of trusted Moonlights and the oppressed Blood Moons wasn’t enough to secure my position.

I forged a secret alliance with the neighboring Shadow Moon Pack, led by Alexis, their fierce Alpha who shared my disdain for my father’s treatment of the Blood Moons. His disdain was hardened when I shared the truth of my father’s treachery.

The Shadow Moon lands were vast, with sprawling forests, plunging into deep valleys, then climbing into towering cliffs. Alexis and I, our breaths mingling in the chilled air of early dusk, met weekly amidst these ancient trees, standing like sentinels. The Shadow Moon Alpha had his most trusted scouts, who molded with the shadows, skilled in tracking and stealth, combing the lands for any trace of Leah and the fugitive Blood Moons. But each update inevitably brought the same disheartening news: there was no sign of them.

I tried to suppress the despondency gnawing at my heart, but each failure to find Leah stung like a relentless winter wind. To combat it, I threw myself into affecting more change within my community. With the unwavering support of voices like Healer Maria, we redefined the role of female wolves within our pack. At our last meeting, they had gathered, laying bare their grievances and complaints about being excluded from combat training. The council’s decision to grant them access to hand-to-hand combat felt like a hard-won victory. It was just one layer peeled away from centuries of unjust tradition.

It was for such a meeting that we gathered in the Council Chamber. The atmosphere thrummed with urgency as we arranged the three tables to accommodate all ten council members. I sat to the right of my father, but even amid the crackling anticipation, I felt most of the elders’ eyes on me. Many more were interested in what I’d bring to this meeting than my father. The air felt electric, poised to burst as we were prepared to discuss the rights granting females equitable access to hunting, a matter I believed Maria and I had secured a solid backing for.

Just as I inhaled, preparing to speak, my father’s voice sliced through the air. “Before we start today, I have an urgent matter to bring up that can’t wait,” he intoned. “I believe the council would agree that my son isn’t just a warrior but a skilled strategist.”

A chorus of affirmations rippled through the room, yet an uneasy chill crept down my spine. His compliment felt heavy with hidden intent, like a wolf cloaked in sheep’s skin. The pit of dread deepened in my stomach as the hairs on the back of my arms stood on end. Had he caught the scent of our plans? Had one of Mark’s and my documents slipped into the wrong hands? Perhaps I’d been seen with the Shadow Moons. My heart thundered, echoing like a war drum within the polished chamber. My palms grew clammy on the smooth surface of the table beneath the emblem of Igaluk glinting in the fall sunshine streaming through the tall windows.

“That is why,” Reginald continued, a predatory smile curling his lips, “I’ve decided to send Kyle to track down the fugitive Blood Moons. Isn’t our best resource better used at bringing those who have eluded our pack for so long to justice?”

My heart raced, each beat a thunderous warning. This wasn’t an assignment. It was his gambit to force me into exile, an attempt to undermine my efforts. My influence with the council had risen too much, and now he would wrest control back from my hands. This wasn’t just a diversion. It was a maneuver to sabotage the progress I had made toward justice for the Blood Moons and the rights of our female warriors.

Maria and Ellen’s faces blanched, their expressions mirroring my dismay. They saw my father’s command for what it was, too. They also understood the stakes. The palpable tension rippling through the elders confirmed that they recognized this was a power play.

Steeling myself, I locked eyes with my father, meeting his icy glare with unwavering resolve. “I will gladly go hunting for them,” I replied, determination surging through my veins like molten steel.

I would not give him the satisfaction of seeing that he had rattled me. I would wear the mask of the dutiful son, biding my time until I could strike against his oppressive rule. My hand was not yet ready to be revealed. I lacked the allies I needed, but I would adapt.

And so began my quest, an unplanned hunt for the lost Blood Moon warriors. My father commanded me to seek them out, but he underestimated my resolve. I vowed that I would not only find them, but I would convince them to unite with me against the very regime that had cast them out of their lands.

As I prepared to leave, Mark pressed a crumpled map into my hands, each smudge of ink indicating where the Blood Moon warriors had been rumored to gather. I studied the map intently, committing every line to memory. Provisions were unnecessary. My wolf form was far more adept at traversing the rugged Alaskan landscape than my human one.

With my heart pounding with both anticipation and anxiety, I shifted into my wolf. My thick gray fur became a warm cocoon against the biting Arctic chill. Days bled into nights as I traversed the wild expanse, my senses sharpened, each rustle of leaves and babbling brook an ode to the moon goddess. I hunted when hunger clawed at me, survival instincts driving me to take down hares, squirrels, and martens. At night, I snuggled into empty burrows, curling against the earth’s cool interior to ward off the cold.

On reaching the first valley sketched on Mark’s map, I felt an electric pulse reverberate through the air, the aura of magic wrapping around me and beckoning me on. With each step, I could sense the ancient enchantments etching a protective barrier over the area. But as I plunged deeper, the air hummed with an intensity that forced my wolf form to recede, catching me off guard. Too late, I realized the spells repelled my beast’s magic, and I was left vulnerable in my human form. The rocky cliffs loomed to my right while the wind sliced at me as if trying to bite down to my bones.

The frozen ground felt bitter under my bare feet, grounding my thoughts while the glinting lake to my left appeared far more intimidating now than it had to my wolf eyes. A thickening mist encircled me, shrouding clarity and fanning my doubt. Should I turn back? But what if these were protective enchantments placed by the Blood Moons? What if they were close?

Cornered, my wolf howled beneath my skin, snapping at my heels and urging me forward. I brushed my fingertips against the weather-worn stones of the cliff, an electric pulse thrumming beneath them, a connection to something ancient and powerful.

Then, cold hands gripped me from behind. Darkness flooded my senses, panic crashing over me as a blindfold smothered my eyes. Fear surged through my veins as if I’d stepped into the lake beside me and crashed into its icy depths. Yet I fought the instinct to struggle. This was what I’d come here for: to find the Blood Moons. I had to trust that they were the ones leading me now, so I fell silent, allowing them to guide me onward.

I sensed a shift in direction, moving to the right as if I were being drawn into the very cliff. The ground beneath me grew uneven, my footing faltering a few times as those holding me kept me upright and pressing forward. The air thickened with smoke, the darkness closing tighter, but the chill gradually lifted. Moments later, the blindfold was torn away, and I was met by the fierce light of a roaring fire that flickered brilliantly in a huge, lofty, cavernous space. Without clothes, my bare body was grateful for the heat radiating from the torches about the cavern.

At the center of this unsettling assembly was a tall, broad-chested man with dark brown hair framing rugged features and piercing blue eyes that locked onto mine with a ferocity that made my heart pound. My breath caught in my throat. Was this Roman, the Blood Moon Alpha? I sensed the weight of his presence, the echoes of pain and loss shimmering in his expression. This was a man shaped by suffering, a stark reminder of what my pack had done to him and his people.

But even in the tension hanging in the air, it was the woman standing beside the man who commanded my attention. She stole my breath and sent my heart spiraling into a thunderous rhythm.

Leah.

Her fiery hair fell around her face in wild cascades, as luminous as the flickering flames that danced around the cavern. Tension and hardship had sharpened her features, but she remained as beautiful as ever. My heart raced faster when I caught sight of the cradled baby in her arms.

In a heartbeat, my purpose shifted. I had come seeking an army assembled to reclaim what had been stolen from the Blood Moons to confront my father and his oppressive regime. But now, as I stood before my mate, a new yearning ignited within me, blending hope and determination. Perhaps fate had led me here for a reason far greater than I had anticipated—to mend the broken bond between us. My heart climbed into my throat as my gaze stole over Leah and the bundle in her arms. Could this child be… mine ?