Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 208

CASSANDRA

Much to my surprise,

Kaleb didn’t come searching for me until the next day, and even then, he didn’t
meet with me in person. Instead, he sent Ms. Benn, who arrived at the door of nly
room with a garment bag in tow. The heal servant's icy eyes were blank as they
met mine, and she handed me the bag without a word.

“What's going on?” I wondered as I accepted it hesitantly. “What is this?”

“The king sent me to invite you to a party tonight, she explained in her low,
heavily accented yoice. “To celebrate the return of the diplomatic corps. You will
come alone while your maid and your son remain in the room.”

I wanted to shove the garment bag back at her and tell her to leave me alone, bt I
knew that I didn’t have the right to turn down an invitation from the king. Though
we had our own chamber, we were still prisoners of a sort, so I needed to do as
instructed. So. I nodded.

“The king wants you to wear this tonight.” Ms. Benn continued, and after her
strange eyes trailed over me, she gave one last instruction. “And he wishes for
you to wear your hair up.

The head servant turned on her heels and left, and once she was gone, I closed
the door and then brought the garment bag over to Erika. The maid laid it down
on the bed and carefully unzipped it, revealing a silk dress. The color was so
dark it was nearly black, but when she held it up. I could see it was actually
sapphire.

“Oh my,” Erika noted as she spun the dress around, and when she did. my lips
parted in surprise. The dress was gorgeous and much like the one I'd worn
during the banquet back in Merliscire Palace, but it was much more revealing. It
was sleeveless, with a high neck, and the skirt was long, but it had an incredibly
high slit, and the entire back was exposed. It was much more daring than
anything I'd ever worn before, though I wasn't all that surprised.

Along with the dress came a pair of high heels, and I winced at the sight of them.
I was quite petite, so I wasn't a stranger to heels like that, but I rarely wore things
like that nowadays.

“This is a deliberate humiliation,” Erika said through pursed lips as she studied
the garment. I wanted to agree. I didn’t know what Kaleb intended to do. Though
I was a prisoner with no hope of escape, I knew I needed to protect myself.

So, two hours later, after Erika helped me twist my long copper hair into an
elaborate updo and applied some makeup to my tired features, I put on the dress
and hid two syringes of anesthetic and a long needle I could use as a weapon
into my handbag.

Better safe than sorry.

Though the dress was revealing, it was quite beautiful. It hugged me tightly, but
the color was a perfect contrast against my fair skin and fiery hair

Ms. Benn came to collect me once the sun went down and she escorted me
down the stairs and out of the side building of the castle: I walked very slowly, as
it was difficult to keep my balance on a stone-paved lane, especially with it being
so dark. The night was so cold that I shivered and held my arms. This dress
provided no warmth at all, and I felt chilled to my bones.

The lights were sparse outside, and I couldn't help but wonder if that was also a
deliberate arrangement to avoid being found by their war opponents. Things here
were so strange and guarded that it seemed to make sense

Ma. He led me into the main building, and I was surprised to see that Kalebs was
waiting for me outside of what 1 paruumed to be the banquet hall. He
straightened up at once when he saw me

11 wore a finely tailored suit, pa back, and lus shiny goldenrown lau had been
tied back with a black velvet ribbon. His avy eyes were bright, and when they
trailed over a shiver traveled down my spine. The tall foreign king was incredibly
mention but I felt like comerof prey in his gaze

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11:45 Fri, Feb 23.

Chapter 208

Ms. Benn bowed her head and retreated as Kaleb walked over and gestured for
me to take his arm. I didn't speak a word but complied and followed him into the
room

The banquet hall was very large, maybe as large as the one of Merliscire, but the
decoration of it was much simpler. The walls and floors were white, but the stone
glittered in the candlelight. It was like we were in a castle of ice, though the room.
was heated.

There were many people in the hall. Women were

sel just as sparsely as I was, their dresses exposing their lovely

frames. Heat spread to my checks at the sight. I wasn’t a prudde, just wasn’t
used to things like this.

Some of the people in the room were tangled with their partners, their bodies and
lips kissing and touching. It was almost more like a mating party than a
welcoming one. Was it mating season now?

Raven was right.

Things were more civil in the North.

I avoided eye contact with those lust-filled wolves and instead paid attention to
the more polite ones. Kaleb was greeted by a few people when we entered the
hall and introduced me at once as an “excellent healer.

Though they all made weird faces, just as Raven had when they heard the word
“healer,” they all showed their respect for me. It was probably just for Kaleb’s
sake, but I didn’t mind it anyway.

Suddenly. I heard a cheerful voice call to me, and I turned to see it was Raven.
Her hair was shiny and fell in perfect waves to her shoulders, while her tall,
elegant frame was highlighted by a tight, burgundy silk dress. It was low cut, but
her chest was modest enough not to show too much. Her full lips had been
painted dark red, and at once, I thought of Adalyn, though Raven somehow
looked much more lovely.

“Hi Cas sandra,” Raven gushed as she reached me, and she gave me a big hug.
“I knew he would bring you here.”

Her smile was bright and she gave me a mischievous wink. It was clear she
believed he had a crush on me, but this was a huge misunderstanding. But what
else could I say? I couldn't tell Raven that I was a pawn or a hostage. It would
sound too pathetic, and besides. I didn’t know if she could be trusted, even
though she'd saved Finnick. Sure, she was hospitable and kind, but I couldn't let
my guard down.

Before I could say something, an icy voice called out to Raven, and when a
figure appeared behind her, I thought I'd lost my mind. The woman had the same
face, eyes, and hair as Raven's, though there was a more serious expression on
her features. She was also slightly taller, and her muscles were more defined. I
knew from her powerful, confident gair that she had to be a trained warrior.
Raven's twin bowed her head at Kaleh before turning to face me. Her stare was
sharp, and I fought the urge to shiver as her blue-

e-green eyes trailed over me. She was like a jungle cat, poised and ready to
pounce

“Cas sandra, this is Roxy Carter, the king of Yurene introduced us, and then he
glanced at Raven. “And I see you've met her twin Raven though I'm not sure how
that's possible.”

Just as I was about to explam, Raven spoke up first.

“Her son had been poisoned by the mist, she explamed “I brought her a cure and
then showed her sorceries. She seemed quite shocked

file continued to rande on until Roxy cut her off

That's enough her tat sand harshly “We don’t need every detal

Sony Bases sald quietly and then she offered an apologetis jassion was just
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11:45 Fri, Feb 23.

Chapter 208

“Welcome back, Kaleb

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