An hour later, I was admitted to Blackthorn Healing Sanctuary.
Before boarding his plane, Adrian stopped by to see me.
He poured a glass of warm water and held it to my lips.
“Here, have some water. It’s just the right temperature. It’ll help your throat.”
His eyes were gentle.
“I’m going to wash my hands.”
He set down the glass and went into the bathroom.
As the water ran, I quickly unlocked my backup phone.
My family’s Royal Council Advocate had just sent me an image of the cargo manifest scroll for Adrian’s private jet.
One line sent a chill through me.
The Moonstone Healing Array I’d reserved from the Northern Territories six months earlier had been packed up and loaded onto his plane. Every last piece of it.
Adrian emerged, drying his hands.
He came to my bedside and gripped my shoulders, his expression apologetic.
“Mate, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“The Master Moon Healer you booked suddenly fell ill today. She won’t be able to perform your procedure.”
He sighed helplessly.
“But don’t worry. I’ve brought in an equally skilled Senior Pack Healer to replace her. Everything will go smoothly.”
I watched him perform, coldly and silently.
Then I glanced at my backup phone.
A red dot blinked on the flight’s live tracking map.
The leading Master Moon Healer from the Central Territories, supposedly too sick to work, was sitting aboard Adrian’s private jet.
When I said nothing, Adrian stroked my hair.
“Elena, you’ve always been healthy, and all your prenatal checkups have been normal.”
“A Senior Pack Healer can handle a normal delivery. There’s no reason to monopolize a Master Moon Healer. We’ve got plenty of medical resources in the Central Territories, don’t we?”
“Just leave your mark on the scroll.”
Adrian casually handed me a parchment scroll.
It was a Sanctuary Lockdown Scroll restricting outside visitors and unauthorized transfers.
He presented it as a favor.
“Blackthorn Pack’s territory has been unstable lately. I’m worried a rival pack might attack if you leave the sanctuary. Leave your Luna’s Mark, and the guards can keep you safe until you deliver.”
I stared at the scroll, swallowed the ache in my throat, and drew my hand away.
I pressed my palm against the designated spot, leaving my Luna’s Mark.
Satisfied, he rolled it up, activated the lockdown with his Alpha Seal, and checked his watch.
“I’m running out of time. I have to go.”
Then he left without hesitation.
He’d barely gone when Beta Derek took up position outside my treatment room.
Just then, the backup phone under my pillow lit up.
A healer had secretly sent me an image of a Healing Supply Scroll from the Sanctuary Archives.
It clearly listed the Silver Moon Healing Reserves prepared specifically for my delivery.
Ten minutes earlier, Adrian Blackwood had ordered every reserve transferred out under the pretext of reallocating medical supplies to the Northern Territories.
I stared at his Alpha Seal on the transfer record. My hands and feet turned to ice.