Chapter 4: The Alpha’s Demand
The medical tent was suddenly too small, the air too thick. Leo’s gaze burned into Lily, his entire body rigid with shock.
“You have a child.”
It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation.
I instinctively moved to shield Lily, my voice sharp. “This isn’t the time or place.”
His jaw clenched. “You kept her from me.”
A bitter laugh threatened to escape. “You rejected us. You told me to get rid of her.”**
The words hung between us like a blade.
Lily, sensing the tension, clutched my leg tighter. “Mama?”
Leo flinched at the word.
Beta Ryan cleared his throat awkwardly. “Alpha, the patients—”
Leo didn’t even look at him. “Take the child to the Luna quarters.”
“No.” My grip on Lily tightened. “She stays with me.”
For a long moment, we stood locked in a silent battle—Alpha versus mother, past versus present.
Finally, Leo snarled and turned away. “We’ll continue this later.”
The Deadly Truth
As I worked through the night, examining patient after patient, a horrifying pattern emerged.
This wasn’t just Moon Sickness.
Someone had poisoned the pack.
The symptoms were too precise, too aggressive. This was an attack—and from the progression, it had started shortly after my exile.
Coincidence?
My blood ran cold as I recalled Leo’s last words to me: “I never want to see your filthy face in my pack again.”
Had someone taken advantage of my absence?
Had my exile doomed these people?
At dawn, Leo cornered me outside the healer’s hut.
“You’re hiding something,” he growled.
I wiped my bloodstained hands on a cloth. “And you’re wasting my time. People are dying.”
He stepped closer, his scent enveloping me despite my resistance. “The child—”
“Is none of your concern.” I met his gaze head-on. “You lost the right to call yourself her father the moment you threw us away.”
Something dark flashed in his eyes. Pain? Regret?
Before he could respond, a warrior came sprinting toward us.
“Alpha! Intruders at the eastern border—they’re carrying the same poison!”
Leo’s expression turned lethal. He barked orders, but as he turned to leave, his hand shot out and gripped my wrist.
“You’re coming with me.”
I tried to pull away. “I need to stay with the sick—”
“You need to prove whose side you’re on.” His voice dropped to a whisper only I could hear. “And then you will tell me everything about my daughter.”