CHAPTER 3: ALPHA'S HUMAN WIFE

“Alpha,” Alex’s voice came through the line, tired but steady. “I checked all the hospitals. There’s no one that matches Leila’s name or description.”

Adrian’s grip on the phone tightened. “No one?”

“No one, Alpha.”

The call ended, and Adrian slowly lowered the phone. His chest constricted painfully as he whispered into the empty room, “She’s just a human orphan. Where could she possibly disappear to?”

The words echoed back at him, hollow and haunting. He sank to the floor, resting his back against the bed. His hair was a tangled mess, his eyes bloodshot. A half-empty bottle of alcohol rolled to the side as he pressed his palms against his face. The great Alpha Adrian Blackwood sat broken on the floor, drowning in fear and guilt.

Meanwhile, far away in the Lycan palace, Leila had been carried into a grand chamber, her body weak and pale. She was very sick, her breaths shallow. Healers rushed in and out, preparing herbs and remedies.

Prince Darius paced back and forth near her bedside, his steps restless, his eyes never leaving her face. His wolf growled inside him, impatient, protective.

The Lycan King, her father, stood near the window, but his hands clenched behind his back betrayed his calm mask. Every few seconds, he turned to look at his daughter, his face etched with both sorrow and hope.

Hours passed, every tick of the clock heavy with tension.

Then suddenly, Leila screamed and jolted upright from her bed. Her cry tore through the silence, sharp and broken. “My baby!” she gasped, her hands flying to her stomach as tears poured down her face.

Her body shook as she sobbed. “My baby…”

She turned frantically until her eyes landed on the person beside her. Prince Darius was already at her side, his hand reaching out to steady her trembling fingers. His voice was deep, soothing.

“It’s all right,” he said firmly. “Your baby is perfectly fine.”

Leila blinked at the two men standing over her bed, confusion clouding her eyes. Her voice trembled as she whispered, “Who… who are you people?”

Prince Darius stepped forward, his gaze soft yet intense. “Leila… you are our missing princess. The daughter of King William of the Lycan Kingdom.”

Leila frowned, shaking her head weakly. “That’s not possible. I'm just a human orphan. I don’t even have a wolf.”

The older man beside him, the Lycan King, knelt slowly at her side. His hands trembled as he cupped her cheek. “No, my child. You are not human. You were taken from us as a baby… hidden in the human world after your mother’s death. We’ve searched for you for eighteen years.”

Leila’s lips parted, her heart pounding against her ribs. “That can’t be…”

Darius nodded, his eyes glistening. “The magic orb led us to you the moment your wolf awakened. The pain you felt… the strength that kept your pup alive, it wasn’t human. It was your Lycan blood.”

Her breath caught. “My pup…” She looked down at her belly, the memory of her agony flashing before her. “How did my baby survive all that?”

The King smiled faintly, brushing a tear from her cheek. “Because you are blessed with the power of healing, my daughter. A rare gift passed down through our royal line. That is why you lived… and why your child is stronger than any Alpha’s heir.”

Leila blinked rapidly, struggling to understand. Healing power? Royal blood? It all sounded like a dream she was afraid to wake from.

Prince Darius held out a small mirror. “Look at yourself,” he said gently.

Leila hesitated, then took it with trembling hands. She gasped.

The deep wound that had slashed her forehead was gone, her skin smooth, flawless, glowing faintly beneath the morning light.

“I…” Her voice broke. “It healed.”

Darius smiled proudly. “Your true nature is waking, Princess Leila.”

Tears filled her eyes. “All my life, I thought I was nothing. I thought being human made me weak.”

The King touched her hand, his voice steady and warm. “You were never weak. You were only hidden. But now, my daughter… it’s time for the world to know who you truly are.”

Leila’s expression hardened slightly as she looked at her reflection again. The fragile girl she once was had vanished. What stared back was someone new—someone powerful, calm, and dangerous.

“No,” she whispered. “Not yet.”

Both men looked confused.

Leila turned to them, her eyes sharp with purpose. “Before the world sees the princess, I have to close a chapter of my past. There’s someone I need to face.”

A few days later, the Blue Moon Pack was alive with noise and whispers when a cloaked figure walked through its gates. The guards barely recognized her, the human wife they once mocked now stood tall, graceful, her presence commanding even without a word.

No one knew that under that cloak beat the heart of a Lycan princess.

Leila had changed. Her hair fell in soft waves, her eyes glowed faintly like silver under sunlight. But she hid it all, dimming her power, disguising her scent with herbs.

To them, she was still the unwanted woman who vanished weeks ago.

She walked through the familiar corridors until she reached the door of the Alpha’s office. Her pulse was steady, her heart cold.

When the door opened, Adrian froze.

“Leila?” His voice broke, disbelief flashing across his face. He rose from his desk, his usually composed posture faltering. “You’re alive… Goddess, you’re alive!”

Leila gave a faint smile. “Surprised to see me, Alpha?”

He stepped closer, eyes searching hers. “Where have you been? I’ve been going crazy trying to find you. You just disappeared!”

Leila tilted her head slightly, her tone calm but laced with quiet pain. “Did you really look for me, Adrian? Or was I just another responsibility you were glad to lose?”

Adrian clenched his jaw. “That’s not fair…”

“No,” she interrupted softly. “What’s unfair is leaving your wife bleeding on the ground while you protect another woman.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Adrian’s throat tightened, words dying before they could escape.

Leila took a deep breath, her eyes glistening though her voice stayed steady. “I didn’t come here to argue, Adrian. I didn’t come to beg either.”

Adrian frowned, confusion flickering through his expression. “Then why…”

Leila reached into her cloak and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Her fingers brushed over it like a final goodbye. She placed it on his desk and met his gaze.

“I came here to end this.”

Adrian’s brows furrowed. “End what?”

Leila’s voice dropped, calm and final.

“Our marriage. I want a divorce.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. He grabbed the paper from the desk and crumpled it in his fist.

“So that’s your game plan, huh?” he hissed. “Let me guess, you want more money?”

Leila blinked, pain flashing in her eyes. “If you’d bothered to read it, you’d see I’m not asking for anything.”

Adrian laughed, sharp and cruel. “Oh, please. How could you even afford an attorney?”

He leaned closer, his breath hot and bitter. “Unless, of course…” he smirked. “You’ve got yourself a sugar daddy now.”

Leila froze. The insult hit her harder than any slap. Her throat tightened. “Is that what you think of me?” she whispered, her voice shaking. “A gold digger?”

Adrian crossed his arms, his eyes cold and distant. “That’s what you are.”

Something inside Leila cracked. She wanted to scream, to tell him the truth, that she didn’t need his money, that her bloodline could buy his entire pack ten times over. But she swallowed it down. He didn’t deserve to know who she had become.

He turned abruptly, pulling open a drawer. Paper rustled as he threw a file onto the desk.

“That’s our deal, Leila,” he said, his tone like ice. “You brought it to me yourself. One million dollars per year, to be my secret wife. Remember?”