"Your pulse is regular and strong," Ganesh says calmly as he returns my hand to my side on the bed, "Hm..." He tilts his head to the side and cocks his eyebrows up as if he just finds out something interesting.

All the while, I could only think of Sky's words just moments before Lyall came back to the room with Ganesh.

"No," he told me, "I'm not the lycan king's real son. And that is why Father felt so betrayed by Mother and he tried to kill me."

'Lies,' Sasha keeps telling me it must have been lies because the Lyall that we both know feels miles away from the person Sky described. Then again, how can we be sure in the first place?

I've only known Lyall for weeks. Besides, he acts very differently when he's with me than when he's with everyone else. What if he acts differently toward my baby? What if, like Mason, he only wants me and not my daughter?

I won't be able to forgive myself if anything happens to my baby.

'The boy might be lying or... or... confused, Mars,' Sasha says. She still tries to defend our mate and keeps urging me to tell him about my pregnancy. 'Now is a good time to tell Lyall. Especially because Ganesh is here. He'll protect you if Lyall does anything weird.'

My eyes go to Ganesh's cloudy eyes. He bobs his head cheerfully while writing something on a paper, which I assume to be my prescription.

'Without you telling anything, I bet Ganesh would have figured it out anyway,' Sasha says, 'He's the head of royal healers and the healer academy. When he sees the pattern in your symptoms, he'll know.'

I gulp hard.

Sasha is right. It's just a matter of time before Ganesh will tell Lyall about my pregnancy, so it's better if I tell Lyall in person instead of him finding out from Ganesh.

'Now is the right time,' Sasha encourages.

I bite my bottom lip in anxiousness, completely at a loss on what to do.

"So?" Lyall's voice easily fills the entire room. He is asking Ganesh about the cause of my nausea and vomiting. "Was it something she ate in Fidre Village?"

Ganesh turns to me. "Did you eat anything in Fidre Village?"

I shake my head. "No... None of us had time to eat–"

"Wait, what?" Lyall cuts me off with a deep tone. He looks straight at Ganesh, "You didn't provide food for your students who have been helping the people in Fidre Village since morning?"

Ganesh shrugs lightly with two hands raised in the air. "Well, we could have done that if we have more funding. All of our money has been used to buy medical supplies for the people and yet we still don't have enough for Fidre Village. This kingdom has a terrible habit to neglect funding healers because most of us can heal ourselves as lycans. But guess what? Not all people have the same healing ability as warriors like you."

Lyall opens his mouth to argue, but I talk faster, "You guys did run out of anesthetic drugs when you brought all the people with the fertility mark to the royal infirmary."

"Yes," Ganesh nods to me in excitement because I am backing up his words, "Low funding, low supplies, and of course we have to prioritize getting the people the medical help they need than having lunch."

"But–"

The old man rises and taps his cane to the floor in confidence. "But what? Should we provide lunch just because your lover is part of the academy now? We've gone years skipping lunch and sleeping hours. We will not stop prioritizing our patients. So if you want to make sure your lover will get her lunch, you have to make sure every healer in the academy will have lunch too."

Ganesh raises his chin with pride. His cloudy eyes challenge Lyall without fear.

Wow. I didn't think it would be a passionate pitch for the head of healer academy to the lycan king about increasing the academy's budget.

In this matter, however, it's easy for me to make up my mind. "A few healers almost passed out yesterday," I join in Ganesh's pitch, which the old man responds with a wide grin, "And Duncan said having more supplies to the village would help the speed of the village recovery. Also... um... Ganesh, I'm not Lyall's lover."

At the mention of Duncan's name, Lyall's face darkens. He looks at me as if he is silently promising me he will kill someone tonight. His jaw becomes so taut as he says, "That son of a bitch asked you to increase supplies sent to his village?"

"Well, the people need it. And a faster village rebuilding will be more beneficial in the long run because all the people can get back to their regular lives before the rogue attack and landslide sooner. That way, the area's earning capita can return to its normal rate."

Ganesh follows my eloquent explanation with a few simple words, "Unless you want to prove to Mars that you truly are heartless. In that case, then Mars has every right to not want to be called your 'lover.'" He turns to me, who is gaping in shock because of his words. "I'm sorry you are stuck with this man, Mars."

"Fine!" the lycan king growls.

I don't even have time to blink or to form words to respond to what Ganesh said.

"Fine," Lyall says again, "I'll increase your overall budget by three percent for the supplies and I'll treat all the healers to lunch from my own personal money."

My mouth gapes even wider as I turn to Lyall. He can't seriously change a kingdom's policy so easily after Ganesh riled him up about me not wanting to be labeled his lover... right? It must be something that he has thought of long and hard before this, right?

Ganesh grins even wider for his triumph. Especially when the Lycan King says, "In fact, I will make it official now." He points at Ganesh with his fangs showing. Only Ganesh, and perhaps Naver, would stare directly at the king's fangs with a wide grin.

The Lycan King walks to the door. "I'll be right back," he says, "It'll only take ten minutes at most." Then the door closes with a bang.

After that, there is only silence. The quietness stretches into awkwardness. I fidget on the bed.

When Ganesh gives out a long sigh and sits down next to me, I know. I just know.

"You're pregnant." He tears the prescription paper in his hand. It was just a decoy in front of Lyall. I am not really sick. I am just pregnant. "And it's not Lyall's. The time doesn't match up."

I nod in silence. "Are you going to tell Lyall?" My voice has become small.

Unexpectedly, Ganesh grips my hand. His fingers are so frail and thin that I don't dare to grip back for fear of crushing them. "My dear, I can understand why you haven't told Lyall yet," he whispers, "you are not only fearful of your life, but you are afraid of your baby's too. After the curse, Lyall can be... unpredictable."

Hearing his words put sharp needles through my chest. I didn't realize how much I wanted to tell Lyall and for Lyall to accept my secret until I hear Ganesh out.

"But if anyone can make Lyall love someone, even a baby that is not his flesh and blood, it would be you." His cloudy eyes give me a strong, encouraging gaze.

"But I'm... already treading on thin ice, Ganesh," I talk in a low voice, afraid that Lyall would come back any moment now and overhear us. "I haven't made Lyall fall in love with me, as per our agreement. Honestly, I don't think I can... So, until I can make my own footing in this kingdom, I cannot risk the lycan king being mad at me."

There is just something with Ganesh and Naver that makes me comfortable in baring my plan out. I just know that they would want the best for me, too. That's the kind of people they are. They are not clouded with blind loyalty. And I guess, my own unique magic plays a part in me being able to read people too. "That was why I insisted on being a healer. I want to be indispensable. So, even if I can't have the lycan king's trust, he won't be able to give me back to my old pack or throw me out. Because he will need me for his kingdom. That's my plan."

I don't know if Ganesh sees the fear or the determination in my eyes, but his eyes glisten and he puts his other hand on our intertwined fingers. "My dear Mars," he says, "Lyall would be a fool to want to discard someone as incredible as you. If it's any consolation, as the head of royal healers, I hate to lose your ability, even if it's still raw."

"It shall be your choice when to tell him," he taps my hand gently, "If you need help with antenatal care, come to me."

"Hmm... I am still trying to figure out how I can cover up the bump in a month or two. If only werewolves and lycans pregnancies are as slow as humans, I would have more time."

"Are you planning to keep it a secret for that long?" Ganesh asks, "I'm actually surprised that none of us have discovered your pregnancies, with the hormones and everything."

"Oh," I almost let out Sky's name, but luckily, I hold my tongue at the very last second, "Uh... Sy, a witch I knew, helped me with a spell that can mask my pregnancy scent when I ran away from my pack."

Ganesh nods. "I see... that must be one hell of a spell to last this long." It is. Come to think of it, Sky's magic seems powerful and unique too. I have never seen magic like his.

"Ganesh," I have decided to ask the head of royal healers about what's been bothering me, "Is it true that... Lyall killed Adina's son because he is not Lyall's actual son?"

The old man's hands become stiff. His eyes are wide. But before he can answer me, the door swings open to reveal Lyall with a dark face. The room instantly becomes much heavier than before.

Oh, Goddess... Lyall must have overheard my question.

And he doesn't look so happy about it.

"Who the hell told you that?" Both Sasha and I shiver from the intensity of his low tone. This is another proof that I am treading on thin ice with the lycan king. One wrong word or action that offends the king could make my life in this kingdom become hell.

When I don't answer him, he walks near my bed, bringing intense air all around us. "The budget increase is official. Tomorrow, more supplies will be brought to Fidre as well. You can go now, Ganesh."

I look at Ganesh, pleading with him silently not to leave me. But unlike before, Ganesh seems wary of this version of the lycan king. The old man taps my hand gently and gives me a small smile. I don't blame him for not wanting to test Lyall now, despite him usually being casual with the king.

After all, we are all treading on thin ice with the lycan king.

Ganesh bows deeply to the king before going out of the room. Once he is gone, Lyall takes a step even closer to the bed. He grabs my chin and forces me to look up straight into his green eyes.

"Name, Mars. I need a name for the person who is spreading lies in my kingdom." His hot breath fans my face, sending more shivers up my spine.

Without thinking, I blurt out the first thing appearing in my mind in an attempt to distract the king from interrogating me, "It's my birthday today, King. Will you do me a favor? I'm craving cheese."

The king blinks at my words. Then he blinks again. His intensity from before has washed away, though not completely.

–to be continued–