Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 171 The final stage of the disease

CAS SANDRA

After spotting the mysterious dark figure outside, I meticulously inspected the
entire lab. I searched high and low and examined every surface to make sure
that nothing had been stolen or removed by an unknown intruder.

But much to my confusion, nothing was amiss.

My heart still raced in my chest from being startled, so I stood there for a second
and forced myself to breathe deeply. As the cold air flooded my lungs, I found
myself finally growing calmer. Perhaps this was merely a delusion, a residual
effect from the unsettling dream. Clearly, I was still frightened and at least half-
asleep when I glanced out the window. Seeing shadows out of the corner of your
eye at night wasn’t out of the ordinary. It happened to just about anyone.

When I settled down, I turned on a lamp, and as its warm, calming light filled. the
room, I pulled up my favorite chair and picked up Becky's report. I sunk into the
chair and allowed the soft fabric to comfort me before diving into the report.
Becky's notes facilitated my understanding of the situation. She’d made
comments all over the paper and even added little sticky notes to expand on her
thoughts. I scanned through her neat handwriting and started to take in the
report.

Becky outlined that the poison she uncovered in the water from the mountain
area of Wild Crawler could induce several physical and psychological disorders.
Initially, patients who had fallen victim to the poison in some manner exhibited
physical deterioration. Then, the physical decay gave way to the poison attacking
their neuro system, which led to a sort of hysteria.

However, a question lingered in Becky’s explanation. Her words rambled on with
the possibilities and then led to a pair of sentences that she'd circled in dark. ink.
Does the final stage of the disease cause patients to lose their minds? Contact
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Dic kson for confirmation.

I frowned at the questions for a moment and clutched the papers tighter.
Suddenly, I recalled something Emmett had once mentioned. It had been the
only time he’d ever spoken to me about poison.

Since I'd grown up in Anemond, I'd had no formal education when it came to
medicine. None of my classes, in all of my years of high-born education, had
anything to offer in the way of biology and chemistry, so when Emmett had
brought me to Wild Crawler and took me under his wing as a healer, I'd had to
start at the

beginning.

It was a casual conversation we’d shared in the beginning of my training. Emmett
had lent me his book of research and notes, and as I'd scanned through the
pages, I'd come across the section that mentioned poisons-both man-made and
venoms.

The healer had explained to me that poison was used not only to kill but also to
control. When I'd been confused by that statement, he'd clarified and detailed
instances where poisons were employed chronically, for instance, to render
female wolves infertile or paralyze wolves’ bodies.

The ultimate aim behind such poisons, Emmett emphasized, was control,
namely, the sinister prospect of manipulating people’s minds.

At the time, that conversation had struck me as odd, but it hadn't gone any
further. My memory of the discussion had been a little hazy, as Emmett had
swiftly shifted the subject after mentioning “mind control”:

But now, as I read Becky's comments on Spi ke’s report, the memory resurfaced
vividly. As I stared at the pages of the report, I recollected Emmett's somber
expression during the conversation. His blue-green eyes had been distant and
sad, as if something deeply sorrowful had affected him.

As I pictured him sitting there in the clinic in Wild Crawler, my mind began to
race. Why had he been so upset? Had he known something then, something that
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related to our present situation?

I hated that I truly knew so little about the man who was at one time, my
husband. Though I owed him an enormous debt for rescuing me from the inferno
and getting me out of Anemond, there were so many questions I had about him
and his background.

When he had disappeared all of those years from Wild Crawler, where had he
been? And where did he travel to on those mysterious journeys away from the
clinic?

I set the papers down and cursed under my breath. Though we were getting
closer to answers about the poison that was affecting a chunk of Wegalla’s
population, there was so much that I desperately needed to know.

As the confusion and frustration of the unknown started to consume me, I closed
my eyes. I wanted nothing more than to bring Finnick over to my bed and cuddle
him close, but I knew that the moment I did, I would likely be plagued with even
more bad dreams. I didn’t want to upset my son, so I forced myself to sit up in my
chair and regain my composure.

I sat there until dawn, pursuing the report until I had the details memorized, and
the phrase “mind control” haunted my every thought. I couldn't shake the notion
that this might be linked to the poison, though I had no strong evidence to
support the theory.

As the golden rays of the rising sun streamed through the window, I rose from my
chair, and decided to get dressed. I resolved to eat a swift breakfast after getting
ready, and then I was going to go to the palace to visit Spi ke.

After I checked in with Erika, I left a note for Becky, who had requested a half day
off, and then headed to the palace.

But when I reached Merliscire, Lancel was nowhere to be found, and when I
checked in with one of the other higher-level guards, he reported that Lancel was
unavailable. He explained that the older guard was occupied with a task for
Prince Marco and that he wouldn't be back for a while.

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After I thanked the guard, I walked down the corridor and weighed my options.
People went about their business around me, and I was thrilled that no one
seemed to notice me pondering in the corner.

I could always visit Spi ke unaccompanied, though I knew Asher or Lancel would
firmly oppose that idea. They had always been very insistent on one of them
being. present on our visits, but as I recalled our past encounters, I realized
they'd always been unproblematic. I knew how to evade attention and converse
with Spi k e. Besides, Lancel merely stood by during our discussions anyway...
Moreover, the notion of visiting the strange imposter without the older guard's
presence enticed me. I could potentially inquire further about my past or
Emmett's without raising Lancel’s suspicions.

It wasn't that I mistrusted the steadfast guard, but rather that I believed he didn’t
need to be privy to matters concerning Emmett or the potential of him being a
sorcerer. And of course, I couldn't quite ask Spi ke about myself either, not when
I was still keeping my old identity a secret.

I couldn't risk this entire thing falling apart, but I needed to know more.

So, I decided to visit Spi ke..

[e)