My Alpha Hid Our Son for 12 Years… Now I’m the Royal Healer He Lost Chapter 02

My Alpha Hid Our Son for 12 Years… Now I’m the Royal Healer He Lost Chapter 02

It was two in the morning.

Rowan lay curled up on a wolfskin rug in the living room, his tiny body trembling.

I’d prepared every rune for the First Howl ritual. Everything was ready.

Everything except the one person who mattered most.

“Mom…” His voice quivered. “Is… is he really not coming?”

His wide eyes searched mine, filled with desperate hope.

I knelt beside him and gently brushed his hair back.

“The Alpha…” My throat tightened. “He has something important to take care of.”

“It’s okay. Mom’s here. I’ll guide you through it.”

The words tasted like ash.

Without an Alpha father’s presence, the First Howl was incomplete.

Dangerously incomplete.

Once Rowan’s wolf awakened, the backlash from the pack’s collective spirit could easily tear apart the mind of an unprotected pup.

My hands shook as I dialed Kael’s number one last time.

Once. Twice. No answer.

Just as I was about to hang up, my phone lit up.

Not a call.

A breaking news alert from the Lycan Herald.

ALPHA KAEL ASHFORD PUBLICLY CLAIMS CELESTE RAVENWOOD BENEATH THE MOON GODDESS’S GAZE

My finger tapped the notification before I realized what I was doing.

The livestream opened. The alliance banquet had already begun.

Under the full moon, with every Alpha watching, Kael gently cupped Celeste’s face.

Then he kissed her.

In werewolf society, when an Alpha kissed someone beneath the Moon Goddess’s witness, it was far more than affection.

It was a public declaration. A challenge to fate itself. A denial of the mate bond.

The comments flooded across the screen.

“The Moon Goddess blesses Alpha Kael’s choice! This is the Luna Silvercrest deserves! A noble bloodline. A brilliant strategist.”

“Together they’ll build the strongest pack in history!”

Then one sentence beneath the livestream pierced straight through my heart.

When Will Defies Destiny, Legends Are Born.

Pain exploded inside my chest.

The mate bond.

My wolf let out a wounded whine.

It felt as though invisible claws were tearing through my soul.

His public betrayal had reached me through the bond.

Every heartbeat hurt.

“Mom…” Rowan suddenly grabbed my sleeve.

“I… I don’t feel good…”

His breathing became uneven. His little wolf had already begun awakening.

His spirit was beginning to lose control.

There wasn’t another second to waste.

I dropped my phone. Fell to my knees beside him.

If his Alpha father refused to protect him, then I would.

I pressed both palms firmly against Rowan’s chest.

My healing aura surged from deep within my wolf. Silver-white light wrapped around his trembling body.

I wasn’t simply soothing him. I was building a fortress around his soul.

A shield powerful enough to block the overwhelming pressure of the Silvercrest Pack’s collective wolf spirit.

“Look at me, Rowan.” My voice was soft.

“Listen only to me. Now… howl with me.”

I tilted my head toward the full moon. My wolf answered first.

Comforting howl drifted into the night.

Rowan looked at me. Then copied me.

His first howl trembled with fear. He let out the first, and loneliest, howl of his life.

When the final note faded into the night, Rowan collapsed into my arms.

The ritual was complete. His tiny wolf had awakened.

I, however, had exhausted nearly every ounce of my life force.

Cold sweat soaked through my clothes. My legs buckled.

I staggered toward the mirror near the fireplace.

A single strand of silver-white hair now hung beside my forehead. The cost of forcing my healing gift beyond its limits.

The clock on the wall read 4:00 A.M.

A moment later, I heard the front door downstairs open.

Kael was finally home.

I steadied myself against the wall. Walked into my study. Opened the bottom drawer. Removed one document.

Then slowly made my way downstairs.

The living room still smelled of expensive liquor.

And Celeste’s cool cedar pheromones lingered all over Kael’s clothes.

He loosened his tie as he walked inside.

His eyes swept over my pale face. My drained aura.

There wasn’t a trace of guilt in his expression. Only annoyance.

“Still using Rowan to get my attention?” His voice dripped with contempt.

“Twelve years, Elara. Aren’t you tired of playing the same pathetic game?”

He rubbed his temples impatiently.

“And don’t forget how you got into my bed in the first place.”

He never asked about Rowan. Not about the First Howl.

So this was all I had ever been to him. A manipulative Omega.

The woman who had supposedly trapped an Alpha through deception.

Hope finally died.

I held out the document. The Release Papers.

“Sign it.” My voice was hoarse but steady.

“You’ve won. You can finally be with your stronger choice.”

Kael glanced lazily at the title. Then laughed. As though it were nothing more than another childish stunt.

Just then, his communicator rang.

Celeste.

“Kael,” she said sweetly.

“I’m at the East Wing Residence, but the guards don’t recognize me. They won’t let me in. Could you come get me?”

His expression softened immediately.

“Stay there. I’m coming.”

He ended the call.

Without reading a single word of the agreement, he flipped directly to the last page.

His signature flowed across the paper in one swift motion.

“If this little act keeps you quiet for a few days…”

He tossed the document back onto the table. His voice was as cold as ice.

“Then keep it. And stop reaching for things that were never yours. Learn your place.”

He turned toward the door.

His hand had barely touched the handle when he suddenly froze.

His hand flew to his chest. His face instantly turned pale.

At the exact same moment, I felt it too.

The first crack in our bond, a sharp pain tore through my soul.

“Damn…” Kael staggered, pressing harder against his chest.

“This wine…”

“It hit harder than I expected.”

He frowned, clearly believing it was only the alcohol.

He never realized that the pain wasn’t coming from the wine. It was the mate bond breaking apart.

Without another glance, he walked out into the night.

I didn’t cry.

I quietly folded the signed Release Papers. Then turned and walked upstairs.

Rowan had already fallen asleep. Tear stains still covered his cheeks.

Even in his dreams, he whimpered softly.

“Dad… monster…”

My heart nearly shattered.

I sat beside him and gently gathered him into my arms.

Resting my forehead against his, I whispered,

“No, Rowan. You’re not a monster. You’re the bravest wolf I’ve ever known.”

Outside the window, dawn slowly painted the eastern sky.

I stared into the growing light. My eyes were colder than winter itself.

I kissed my son’s forehead. Then quietly delivered the final verdict.

“From today on, we don’t wait for anyone anymore.”

“We don’t have an Alpha.”