Ch. 291..295: Alpha King’s Lost Luna Chapter 291-295
Chapter 291
Outside of the scientific research I’d conducted with Becky back in Anemond, I had known nothing about wielding magic before the fire in the main building at Vlokwell. When I cast the spell to put out the blaze and control and deflect the bullets from Kaleb’s soldiers, I acted completely on instinct. There had been no incantations, no rituals, just pure adrenaline.
I didn’t know what to expect when I ordered Raven to show me how to use these new powers, but I hadn’t realized it would be so difficult.
As she taught me, using sorcery required willpower, physical energy, strong belief, and determination. To practice certain forms, one needed to believe in what would happen next and be determined to make it happen. It was all bizarre and for someone like me, who had always thought magic powers were merely a fabricated story, practicing sorcery was a challenge.
After half a day of attempting different spells and techniques to no avail, I was ready to give up entirely. Still, Ravenworked insisted that since Emmett’s soul contained both strong willpower and energy, I could use magic properly regardless.
The dark-haired sorceress hadn’t asked me why I needed to practice magic so urgently, but I assumed she already knew by the way she hinted around it. Raven made it a point to mention that she wasn’t an expert in using magic for fighting, but Roxy was. She said if I wanted to get better at fighting, I’d better look for her sister instead.
At the mere mention of Roxy, Raven looked a bit dejected but refused to say outright that she missed her twin. In any other circumstance, I’d have felt bad for her, but the sorceress twins had been a thorn in all of our sides for so long.
During one of our lessons, I muttered something to myself quietly in frustration, and Raven’s face went pale.
“So, what are you going to do to me?” she wondered, her face uncharacteristically serious. “Burn me alive until I’m nothing more than ashes? Like what I did to you?”
“You will be imprisoned in Wegalla,” I answered without missing a beat. “I don’t believe in sentencing a person to death, but you will be detained for your crimes, Raven.”
Emergency calls only F
I expected her to react as solemnly as she did before but instead, she giggled and shook her head.
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“That’s a fate even worse than death,” she said, and the glint in her bluish-green eyes was unnerving. On anyone else, it would have seemed like her humor and tendency to ramble as a coping mechanism, but I was fully convinced that Raven was utterly insane. There was no other explanation for her weirdness, and I longed for the day when I got to see her get put away in a Wegallan jail cell.
Until then, I had to endure her and learn all I could about sorcery.
For all of her faults, I had to admit that Raven was a good teacher. Strangely, she was enthusiastic about inspiring my potential.
The more I worked with her, the more I began to understand what kind of a person she was.
I had once thought that Raven was just evil and cun ning but that wasn’t the whole truth. It was true that she had a horrible personality. She saw others as her gu inea pigs and had no respect for life. But on the other hand, she was very pure.
She cared nothing about power or politics. She was only passionate about magical research. She didn’t care if Kaleb died or if Yurene was crushed. She was willing to work with anyone and stay anywhere as long as she had a chance to discover new things about magic. I supposed that was why she was so cooperative.
Weirdly enough, I began to believe her more and more.
So, one day, I decided to ask her about the method to remove poison from Asher’s body. I mentioned what Emmett had told me, that mating would be the ultimate cure. I asked her if that was true.
Raven waited for me to finish and then raised an eyebrow and giggled.
“I don’t see any reason why he would lie to you,” she remarked. “After all, if you and your king are in love with each other, what would be lost if you mated?”
Though she was blunt with her words, she was right. What could be lost?
Asher was married but that was a long-forgotten fact. He’d never mated with Adalyn and he made it clear that he had no intention to do so. She was a ghost, nothing to worry about given our current situation.
I had already made up my mind long ago. Whatever the consequence was, Asher would be my only mate and lover.
Emergency calls onlyDO
:
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That night, when Asher kissed me and said goodnight, I took his arm and pulled him in closer. He seemed surprised but didn’t resist.
“Finnick is going to sleep with Erika tonight,” I whispered. “I want you to stay.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his. Asher studied me for a moment, blinking his gray eyes at me in confusion. To his credit, we hadn’t been intimate since Lila and Finnick had seen us in the bedroom.
#
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Did something happen?”
I took a moment to gather my courage and then gazed deeply into his eyes.
“I want you to claim me,” I said softly but definitively.
He didn’t say anything, but I could see an array of emotions flash in his eyes and his breath grew heavy. I had no idea what it meant to a male wolf when his mate asked him to claim her, but I could sense he was having a hard time controlling himself.
He suddenly grabbed my shoulder tightly.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his tone harsh.
I nodded. “Yes.”
Asher hesitated. “Why? I don’t want you to make a hasty decision. We can wait-”
“I don’t want to wait,” I interrupted him. “I think it’s the only way to control the poison in your body, Asher.”
Disappointment flashed in his eyes and he smiled bitterly. “Is that why you want me to claim you? So you can save my life?”
“That’s not what I mean,” I insisted. “I love you, Asher. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved and the only man I want to love. That’s why I want you to claim me. I want to be yours forever- body, mind, and soul.”
Silence hung in the air for a moment, and he raised his hand to cup my cheek. His skin was cold against mine but I didn’t mind. His scent was consuming me and all I wanted was to bridge the distance between us.
Emergency calls only
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“Do you know what mate means?” Asher asked me gently as he gazed into my eyes. “There would be no way back. This is a permanent connection-”
“I know what it means,” I insisted as I leaned into his touch. “I don’t make this decision lightly, Asher Collins.
Being mates means nothing can pull us apart, not even death. I would be yours, forever. And that’s what I want. To be yours, forever.”
Chapter 292
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The next morning, when I walked into the bathroom, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and my heart sk ipped a beat.
It was real.
I mated with Asher last night.
He had claimed me as his under the light of the moon. We had opened the windows and let the cool night air
filter into our room as we mated and made love. It had been a special night, one I would never forget. The love within my heart was stronger than it had ever been and I felt like I was finally thawing. I was becoming myself
again, the version of myself that had been lost in the inferno. I was healing from my trauma and learning to be alive again.
I smiled at my reflection and admired the rosy color of my cheeks. They didn’t look as hollow as they once had and there was a sparkle in my emerald eyes again.
As I brushed my long copper hair and braided it, I remembered the other discussion we’d shared last night. We’d reached an agreement that it was time to tell Finnick the truth.
He deserved to know that Asher was his father.
Asher thought it might not be the right time to do so. He was worried Finnick might be too emotionally vulnerable after all he’d seen in Vlokwell.
But I assured him that it would be fine and there would never be an ideal time to tell him. Finnick was a strong boy. He could handle much more than other children his age, even something as intense as this. Besides, we needed to decide if we were going to take him back to Anemond with us or if we were going to let him stay with Erika and Helene while we got things sorted out. We could only make the decision after Finnick was informed of the fact that his father was alive and with him.
After some convincing, Asher agreed with me.
“I believe in you,” he said. “I want to be with you when you talk to him. I’m worried Finnick might find it hard to believe, and if he’s angry, I want to be there to take it. I’ll be sure to let him know that none of this is your fault,
Emergency calls onlyDO
…
it’s mine.”
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I shook my head and told him I needed to handle it alone. Finnick was a sensitive boy. Asher’s presence might
cause extra unnecessary pressure and I didn’t want to scare him off. My mate agreed to these terms but decided he would be nearby just in case.
So, after I finished dressing, we left our room and then headed downstairs. After we exchanged a glance, we went our separate ways and I called out for Finnick. He appeared moments later with a surprised look on his face.
“Yes, Mommy?” he asked.
“I need to talk to you, honey,” I said gently as I approached him. “Will you come with me outside?”
Finnick nodded and then reached out and took my hand. I led him outside and over to a chair on the porch. The sun was high in the sky already and it was a clear, warm day. We sat there in silence for a moment, staring out at the flower fields beyond us until finally, I spoke.
“How has your day been?” I wondered. “Did you have a good time playing with Helene and Lila?”
He nodded happily. “We have a lot of fun together. I like them both, Mommy. I missed having fun in Yurene.”
“I understand completely,” I assured him with a smile.
We chatted for a while and then finally, I knew it was time to talk. As I looked at Finnick’s innocent eyes, I began to feel guilty. Why hadn’t I told him the truth long ago? What if he didn’t believe me? He could break down into so bs, he could be angry… there was no telling how he would react.
But I couldn’t keep this secret any longer.
“Honey, I have something serious to say,” I said finally, “It’s difficult, but you need to know.”
“What is it?” Finnick prompted me.
I let out a soft sigh. “Your father is still alive, Finnick.”
He was stunned for a moment but didn’t look shocked or surprised. Instead, he seemed confused.
“Do you mean Emmett?” he asked after a second of silence.
Emergency calls onlyO
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I shook my head. “No, baby, I mean your biological father.”
The confusion left his expression and his lips parted.
“I already know that,” he said, much to my surprise. “The Alpha King is my father.”
I stared at him in complete shock. My heart pounded wildly in my chest and my hands instantly felt clammy. How long ago had he learned the truth? Had he put it back together in Anemond? Or some other time? How long had we pretended the other didn’t know?
I began to panic but quickly reminded myself that it was unnecessary to do so. It didn’t matter when he found out. What mattered now was that we discussed this as a family.
?
“How… how did you know?” I asked.
“Lila told me,” he revealed matter-of-factly. “She read the king’s mind.”
I raised an eyebrow. That made sense. I wished he’d found out from me but I couldn’t fault Lila. They were children, after all.
“Mommy, do you want me to call him ‘Daddy’?” Finnick spoke again and when I didn’t answer, he sighed. “I still dislike the king. I don’t want to call him ‘Daddy’ because he abandoned us.”
“That’s not true,” I finally found my voice. “Asher didn’t abandon us. It’s more complicated than that,
Finnick”
He shook his head like a little adult. “But your suffering was real. You hurt, Mommy. The king brought bad things to you, so I dislike him. I prefer Emmett. He wasn’t close to me but he was nicer to you.”
When I told everything to Asher later that day, he smiled bitterly at me.
“I expected this,” he replied with a touch of sadness in his tone. “I knew Finnick wouldn’t easily accept me. You both went through so much without me. But I intend on spending the rest of my life making it up to you two.”
He kissed my forehead and drew me close. “Don’t worry about it, Cassandra. I understand that Finnick dislikes me. I suppose I’m grateful that he made it a point to say ‘dislike’ rather than ‘hate’. We’d be in much more trouble if he said he hates me.”
Emergency calls only
I gave him a small smile and nodded.
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As he wrapped his arm around me, I wanted to ask how he felt today, but I knew he would give me the same answer as always. Regardless of the truth, he always told me he was fine.
But I noticed today that the black marks had faded a bit. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I swore I saw a difference. Had our mating helped his disease?
Either way, I appreciated this moment. Despite what I was going to face and all of the uncertainty before us, I felt peaceful and blessed in Asher’s arms.
It was the first time I’d felt like this in years.
Chapter 293
The night before we were set to leave the Alpha of Red Stone’s home and head toward Wegalla, an accident happened.
We were packing up some of our belongings when we heard a short screech. It was a haunting, terrible sound that stood out in this silent place. It was the kind of noise that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up, and a shiver traveled down my spine.
I braced for something horrible, but when we rushed to the window and
glanced outside, there was nothing to be seen. I glanced around, waiting for a second utterance, and when it didn’t — happen, I thought maybe it had been my imagination.
Just as we turned around to get back to packing, a second screech was heard, short but clear.
Asher and I rushed out of the room and met the others in the hallway.
Everyone else had heard the sound as well. We did a headcount to make sure all were present, but to our surprise, two soldiers of Red Stone were missing.
The Alpha ordered his remaining men to search the perimeter and find the missing soldiers. He joined them outside and they were gone for a good amount of time, but when they
returned, they revealed they hadn’t found the missing soldiers.
“It’s like they vanished completely,” the Alpha remarked with a shake of his head. “It’s like they were taken by ghosts.” It was a metaphor, but we all knew it couldn’t be a ghost.
There was a logical answer, but all seemed unwilling to say it. Finally, the Alpha spoke again.
“It was likely someone from Yurene,” he sighed. “They finally found this place.” “If that’s the case, why would they take two soldiers?” Asher pointed o “Wouldn't they go straight for Cassandra?” “That would mean that Cassandra i
their target,” Helene chimed in, her caramel eyes regarding me seriously.
I remained silent as they spoke, but Helene’s words ushered in a realization. If the target wasn’t me, who would be the one worth chasing? There was only one answer that made sense to me.
Raven.
I immediately turned on my heels and rushed wordlessly down the hall to the room we’d locked the sorceress in. I opened the door, and just as expected, someone was kneeling down in front of Raven trying to open her chain.
Asher appeared behind me a second later and we recognized the intruder at
once.
It was Roxy. = Raven's fearsome twin sister reacted swiftly and jumped out through the window.
Raven laughed like a maniac at the spectacle, meanwhile, the rest of us chased after Roxy. I raced as fast as I could, half expecting her to get away, but much to my surprise, Roxy hadn’t gotten away. She was waiting for us in the yard, her eyes fierce as they stared back at us.
I'was surprised she hadn’t fled. I'd expected her to vanish into the night but she was clearly here to save her sister. Determination painted her expression and even from my vantage, I could see her nails extend into claws.
The Alpha of Red Stone ordered his soldiers to attack, but as his men lept in her direction, it was clear that they were no match for the dark-haired warrior. Roxy was so swift that she was like a shadow. She
maneuvered around the soldiers and attacked them so deftly that they didn’t even have a chance to shield themselves. They fell prey to her attacks and died immediately when she ripped apart their necks in one easy motion.
It was simultaneously a terrifying and amazing sight. She was fluid and graceful while still being powerful.
Watching her, I could understand why Raven had recommended that I ask her sister for guidance on fighting. Roxy was like a killing machine. She ran on pure instinct, seemingly guessing her opponent’s moves before they
happened. It was a gift.
Not for us, of course. / She was an enemy, not just someone to marvel at.
“We can’t defeat her,” Helene uttered behind me. “Roxy is too powerful. We need to run.” The Alpha of Red Stone released an agitated growl. “No. We can’t run. I watched two of my soldiers die at her hands.” He rushed forward, ignoring Helene’s suggestion, and launched an attack on Roxy. Despite his age, he was a good fighter. The Alpha was swift on his feet and managed to hold his own.
Roxy managed to avoid his attacks, but she was unable to land a single blow.
She was forced to move backward into
the shadow of the trees.
The Alpha laughed, the sound mocking and crueler than expected. eT “I'll take your life yet, girl,” he called out to her. “My men will be avenged!” His words had been brave but he had underestimated Roxy's abilities.
Up until now, she hadn’t used magic, but that changed quickly. Sparks formed around her hands, setting her blue-green eyes ablaze.
She flew forward. One moment she was in front of the Alpha of Red Stone, but in the flash of a second, she was behind him and her claws dug into his back. As a deep cry of pain escaped him, he sank to his knees on the ground.
Seeing this, we all lept forward. I
| hadn't intended to fight, but I wasn’t going to let the Alpha who had done so much for us get hurt. Ne Just as Roxy raised her claws to deliver another blow, we rushed at her. Asher managed to knock her to the ground and a pair of soldiers quickly flanked their Alpha.
Helene was right. Roxy’s power was horrible.
She dealt with the rest of the soldiers in no time. All became a flurry of movement, and Asher and I could barely keep her under control.
Rayden tried to join in, but I heard Helene stop him.
“You'll die if you move forward,” she said firmly. “You're already injured, Rayden, and besides, Wild Crawler
| needs their Alpha. Stand back.” Roxy stared me down as this exchange took place. opr “If you keep getting in my way, I’11 kill you,” she threatened with a growl.
“If you were capable of that, you'd have done it already,” I fired back angrily.
She growled again and glanced between Asher and me. She seemed to realize we were too difficult to deal with and suddenly changed her direction. She rushed toward Helene and Rayden, and just as she
moved, I realized they weren’t alone.
Erika and Finnick stood right beside Helene.
Panic flooded through me. I couldn’t move as fast as Roxy. Desperation
coursed through me, and suddenly a shout escaped my lips.
“No!” pe Roxy suddenly froze in place as everyone stared in disbelief. The sorceress then fell to the ground and stared at me in shock.
I realized at once that I had somehow controlled Roxy’s movements with my magic.
She glared at me with hatred, and while she stared at me, the Alpha of Red Stone moved quickly and launched his attack against Roxy. Unlike last time, she didn’t expect it, and his claws were about to rip her chest open, but before they made contact, someone | rushed out and got between them and Roxy.
It was Raven.
The Alpha’s claws pierced her chest instead. SE Shocked silence hung in the air and blood soaked Raven’s clothes immediately. The Alpha retreated in surprise, removing his claws from the sorceress, and when he stepped back, Roxy broke out of her paralysis and took Raven into her arms.
“Raven!” she sobbed as she held her sister close.
“I’m sorry,” Raven apologized weakly as she coughed up blood. “I was always a disobedient sister. I hope you’ll forgive me this one last time-" Her sentence trailed off and then she grew limp.
Just as her heart stopped beating, Roxy
let out a wail of despair.
Raven was dead.
Chapter 294 Debt of Blood CASSANDRA 8 Roxy let out a terrible roar.
It was the most horrible sound I'd ever heard from a werewolf and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
The dark-haired warrior sorceress didn’t cry and no tears spilled onto her cheeks, but her sea-green eyes were wide and bloodshot.
“No,” she uttered as her full, lower lip trembled. “No, no, no.” She cradled her twin sister’s lifeless | body close and supported her neck.
When she was balanced in her lap, she raised her fingers and sparks began to fly from the tips. She whispered to
herself using words I didn’t recognize.
It appeared as if she were trying to cast some sort of spell on Raven. But as the minutes went by, her efforts seemed to be in vain.
She was gone.
All of us were stunned. None of us had expected Raven to stand in the way of her sister. Everything had happened so quickly that it hardly felt real. Though I hadn’t been Raven’s friend by any stretch of the imagination, I hadn’t wanted her dead. She had put a great amount of people through anguish in the name of science, but my feelings toward her weren’t malicious. Upon our return to Wegalla, she would have been imprisoned for her crimes.
But I had never wanted her dead.
Just as my eyes began to well up at the
gruesome sight of her dead on the wet ground, I heard someone shift their body weight and when I turned, I was surprised to see the Alpha of Red Stone spring into action and launch an attack against Roxy.
I wanted to stop him but it was too late.
Though he was older, he was swifter than expected and I was too shocked to react quickly.
Despite her deep sorrow, Roxy reacted instinctively. All was a blur and then, in the flash of a second, the Alpha of Red Stone fell to the ground and groaned.
My jaw dropped in shock at the gruesome sight.
His left arm had been cut so deeply that his bone was exposed.
As he breathed heavily, Roxy growled at us.
“I only wanted to take my sister back!” she shouted at us spitefully. “I came here for her and her alone. Youall deserve to die. I'll kill you all one by one and enjoy it!” She gently laid her sister onto the ground and then rose to her feet. Her expression hardened and then she ran toward the house.
My heart nearly stopped.
Erika, Finnick, Helene, and Lila were all on the porch.
My feet carried me before my mind knew what was happening. I couldn’t let Roxy get to the children. She was too lethal and had revenge on the brain. She would stop at nothing to kill everyone we loved in retaliation for the death of her twin.
My claws extended and I slashed at Roxy in an attempt to stop her. I used all of my strength but it wasn’tany use. I managed to stop her from reaching the children, but I couldn’t knock her to the ground
as I intended.
Helene joined the fray in an attempt to protect Lila. The little girl had been in her arms, and as Roxy advanced like lightning, Helene urged her to run back into the house.
Lila didn’t hesitate. She grabbed Finnick’s hand and pulled him away with her, which I was infinitely thankful for. It had been a narrow escape, but just as the front door closed behind the children, Roxy lunged toward the porch and Helene jumped in the way.
In the process, Roxy’s razor-sharp claws slashed Helen’s back. They dug
in deeply and Helene let out a pained cry.
I slashed Roxy’s cheek with my own claws to keep her from harming Helene further. The sorceress shouted in pain as blood spilled from her new wounds and retracted her nails.
As Helene was pulled away from the fight, I gathered my strength and focused my mind. Every one of my muscles tensed as I summoned the magic power within me but when I tried to use it as I had before to restrain Roxy, it didn’t work.
Frustration swelled within me.
Raven was likely correct. I probably needed to practice sorcery more to get a proper handle on the power.
Roxy turned her focus on the others |
and as the soldiers jumped in to stop her, it became a bloodbath. The warrior sorceress was formidable on most occasions. Now that she was angry and mournful, she was downright lethal.
As the minutes went by, more and more soldiers fell dead and it seemed less and less likely that we were going to survive this fight. Though she was just one person, Roxy was too powerful.
We couldn’t stay here anymore. We n
eeded to run before the sorceress destroyed us all in her rage.
“Everyone needs to get out of here,” | urged as Roxy retreated into the woods.
The Alpha of Red Stone shook his head.
“You all can leave and should do so at
nce, but not me. I'll deal with this sorceress. I want blood for blood, | revenge for my dead soldiers.” ~~ “We can’t leave without you,” I insisted.
“If he wants to stay, I’ll remain here with him,” Rayden spoke up.
The Alpha laughed. “You all would be a burden, especially you, considering your condition. You all have too many vulnerable poibnts that the sorceress can easily attack so you’d better leave now.” There was a second of silence and then the Alpha addressed Rayden again.
“Since I am staying, I need you to go to Red Stone,” he said. “Help my son, who is ttooo young to take on the crown himself. He will need guidance.”
Before Rayden could speak a word, the _ Alpha ran back out toward the forest to | join the fight that had resumed. I heard him tell the remaining soldiers to get their guns and then his words grew muffled.
Despite all of our concerns about leaving, we had to get out of here.
Helene was in bad condition and needed medical treatment.
So, we vowed to get out of there while Roxy was occupied, but when we got to the cars, we were shocked to see the tires had been slashed. She had to have destroyed them before the fight.
We had to run.
Asher grabbed the children from inside the house and as we ran away, we
heard Roxy call out to us. She taunted us and said she would kill us one by one, but soon, her voice was drowned out by the sound of gunfire.
We continued all the way out to the wide plain. I ran with Finnick in my arms and when we stopped, I cradled him tightly. His body shook and his gray eyes were filled with fear.
“I owe the Alpha of Red Stone | everything,” Rayden announced. “So, I'm going to Red Stone to get more soldiers here. It isn’t far away but the rest of you shouldn’t come with me.
Even though I don’t want to say it, the Alpha might die. If he does, the others in Red Stone might blame the Alpha King and Cassandra.” Asher and I exchanged a glance. He was right. If we hadn’t kidnapped Raven, |
Roxy would never have come here.
“You’d better go to Wild Crawler,” Rayden urged me. “My father will help you.” “We owe the Alpha too,” Asher spoke up. “We should go with you to explain everything. The members of the Red Stone Pack will understand-" “No,” Rayden said firmly. “It will cost too much time and the dispute in Wegalla can’t wait. Oliver can’t have the crown.” We parted there and Rayden disappeared into the night. I knew it would take at least a night for him to gather soldiers and come back to help the Alpha. Considering Roxy’s power, the situation would be harsh if the Alpha still didn’t want to run. But Rayden was right. We had our
responsibilities. We needed to go back to the place of all of our nightmares and face our fates. a
Chapter 295 Sneak into the House of Moses Za BECKY This was the boldest thing I'd ever done in my life.
I had always been a good girl. I rarely lied and rarely got myself into any sort of trouble. I obeyed the wishes of my mother and everyone else without any complaint.
But things had changed. This time, I had lied more than I’d ever done in total over all these years.
I'had assumed the identity of a royal healer and used my invented position to sneak into the House of Moses.
Cassandra had left her official badge in the clinic and I saw no other option
than to pretend. So, I did all I could to disguise both myself and my scent. I changed my usual style of clothing to one that was more professional. I switched out my glasses and made sure that my hair was neat and orderly. I had to pass as a royal healer and they often appeared very well-dressed and put together.
Dickson had been against the idea when I had proposed it to him. He didn’t like the plan of sneaking in to infiltrate the House of Moses and insisted I could do nothing to help Silas.
“It’s too late for him,” he insisted.
“He’s too close in proximity to his family and there’s no way you can take care of him without them noticing. The second they see you together, it’s over, Becky. It’s too dangerous to go there.”
“I have to try, Dickson,” I pressed despite his protestations. “I have to try.” “Do you want to mate with Silas?” Dickson blurted out and my cheeks grew hot. It was a very personal question to ask, especially considering our shared history.
“This has nothing to do with romance,” I replied sharply as irritation swelled in my belly. “I can’t just wait here while he’s in there dying.
I'was the one who told him to help his Alpha rather than stay here in Anemond. If he’s in danger then it’s partially my fault.” “That’s not true and you know it,” Dickson replied and his sky-blue eyes locked on mine with intensity. He
pushed his dark-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose and took a step forward. “It isn’t your fault and you shouldn’t hold yourself responsible.
Silas is the Beta. His duties should have been with the Alpha King regardless.
You need to stay out of this.” “I can’t,” I fired back and I turned away from him before I could shed a tear. “I'm a healer, Dickson. I can’t just stay here and act like this isn’t happening.” He exhaled heavily. “You might be a healer but you can’t save everyone in danger-" “I’m going to save this one,” I interrupted him, and before he could utter another word, I grabbed the badge and left the clinic.
Even though my heart pounded in my
chest and my hands shook at my sides, I walked straight toward the House of Moses with my head held high.
Thankfully, it wasn’t very difficult to sneak in. All T had to do was flash my badge at the entrance and an armed guard allowed me to pass through. He didn’t ask for any additional information from me at all. It was a little funny how easy it was but I thanked the Moon Goddess for giving me a bit of good luck.
At first, I thought Oliver or Adalyn might recognize me straight away, but they were nowhere to be found. I roamed the halls and peeked around, but there was no sign of the former Beta and his awful daughter. They were likely busy with whatever scheme they had hatched up next, so I decided to use that to my advantage.
When I arrived in Silas’ chamber, I was sadly surprised to discover that Dickson had been right. = It seemed like there was nothing I could do.
Silas was lying in bed, tucked into some sterile-looking white sheets. His skin was ashen and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was unconscious and when I spoke with the healer present, he informed me that the Beta of the Pack had been in a deep coma since he arrived.
There wasn’t anything any of the royal healers could do. After I made up a name for myself and explained vaguely that I was a new healer, I came to learn that they had tried everything in their power to make him better. Medicines, balms, serums, all had been used to
heal him but only the wounds on his skin had started to heal. He was still fast asleep and showed no signs of rousing any time soon.
He was emaciated and appeared almost frail. Silas had always been a lean man, but he was so thin and sick-looking. It was a horrid thing to see and it made my heart ache so badly I thought I would perish.
For the first time, I began to regret that I had said all of those words to Silas back in Wild Crawler. I knew he would want to be a loyal Beta. I knew he was different than his father. And for the first time, I thought he wasn’t as large and strengthful. Here in this bed, he appeared like a child, a pitiful little boy suffering from something he never should have been suffering from.
I spent that whole day in Silas’ room. I stayed with the other healers, doing what we could and spending the rest of the time praying for his health. It seemed that all we could do was pray to the Moon Goddess for his fast recovery.
After a while, I began to wonder if I should stay. It was dangerous for me to be there alone, pretending to be someone I wasn’t. Yet, I remained.
Sometime in the evening, the head servant stepped into the room and informed everyone that Lord Oliver and Lady Adalyn would be coming to visit. This message caused quite a stir among the healers. Though they didn’t dare to speak loudly, they whispered and appeared restless.
“What’s wrong?” I asked one of the
healers closest to me.
“Lord Oliver will be angry if he finds that Silas’ condition hasn’t improved,” he replied quietly. “He has been this way for the past few days. You should remain silent and keep your head lowered. If you're lucky and play it safe, you should be alright. But there’s a chance Lord Oliver will take his anger out on you. Since you're the newest among us, you'll likely get picked.” I suddenly felt chilled to the bone. I knew if Oliver Moses recognized me, I was doomed. I wanted to leave but the healer told me no one was able to leave at this point, even if their house was on fire.
Just as he finished speaking, the door to Silas’ chamber opened again and Oliver and Adalyn walked in.
All the healers bowed their heads as they entered and I managed to get behind everyone. I tried to hide. myself in the corner, far away from the Moseses, and my heart raced.
Just like the healer said he would be, Oliver was extremely angry. His voice was very coarse and sounded tired. He first scolded the head of the royal healers and then searched the room for someone else. I could feel his gaze as it traveled around and braced myself to get chosen.
But before he could say anything, Adalyn started to speak. She sounded equally tired, but there was almost an expression of contentment on her face.
“It’s meaningless to vent your anger on these poor healers,” she remarked.
“They’ve done all they can to heal Silas. I'm sure he will be just fine, Father. He has always been blessed by the Moon Goddess. Besides, we have more important issues to discuss. We still haven’t found our king and we need a plan to stabilize the country.”