The Fae Prince's Secret Heir

Six years ago, Aria saved a cursed man with her magic, and that night left her with Leo. When Leo's bloodlines worsened and the village threw them out, she knew nightdew grass was the only answer. So she took him to the capital, where the crown was seeking a royal physician.

While Aria checked the notice, a stray arrow from King Aldric's hunt struck Leo. His hood fell. Pointed ears and crimson eyes showed. Elder Ivan confirmed the blood was royal, and King Aldric ordered every available man to find the boy and his mother. Lucian understood then that the woman who broke his curse had borne his child. Aria only found Leo bleeding and heard that an old man in the woods had shot him. She didn't know the king had already seen what she had kept hidden.

In the city, Celeste's carriage nearly ran them down. She called them filth and tried to have the guards seize them, until Aria accused her of drugging a spirit beast in broad daylight. Celeste backed off, but the threat didn't end. Aria took the post as Prince Lucian's personal healer and entered the palace, still not knowing the cursed man was Lucian. He only knew she had a child. Leo was six, the same age as the son he was hunting. He gave Aria a star dust mount for the boy and asked her to bring Leo to the palace.

Inside, the mount became proof of theft. Celeste cornered Leo near the royal spirit beasts. When his hood fell again, his ears and eyes showed. Celeste called it dark magic faking a royal bloodline and had Aria seized. Then she left Leo in the white wolf enclosure with one line: "Since you love animals so much, stay with them as long as you can." The wolves turned vicious. Aria begged for someone to save her son.