Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

ASHER

Chapter 29 Her secret

Why did I trust Cas sandra Keller?

That was a great question. But I was completely surprised when the healer asked
it, and even more surprised when I realized her question had a point.

I hadn't told anyone about my ailment apart from Lancel. My most trusted guard
had been attempting to investigate the mark for me, but it hadn't been going well.
Besides him, no one else knew I had the disease. Not the royal healers or even
Adalyn.

So, why was I willing to entrust this secret to a healer from a mostly forgotten
Pack on the border?

In all honesty, I didn’t know why, but something in my gut told me she could be
trusted. When I'd shown her my mark back in Alpha Gareth’s meeting room, I
hadn't thought about it twice. Trusting her felt natural as if she were someone I'd
known for years.

But in reality, it was unnatural, strange even.

Why would I trust a village healer?

So, I reached into my mind and crafted an answer for Ca ssandra Keller that
seemed passable. I told her it was nothing, just a calculated choice. I hated to lie,
but I needed to do so to cover for myself.

My father, the late Alpha King, once told me that the king should trust no one. I'd
never believed him until I myself became king and realized that Anemond was full
of traitors and liars who sought to sway me in their favor. They smiled at me and
treated me favorably, but their reasons for doing so only came down to one thing.
Power.

Everything would change if I wasn’t the king, and the Moon Goddess only knew
there were plenty of others who wanted to replace me.

My stepmother and stepbrother, Adalyn’s family, the malicious Northerners...
they all wanted my power, and that was all. I was alone.

Ca ssandra Keller considered my answer for a moment, and then she tucked her
long copper hair behind her ear and nodded.

“I see,” she said simply. “I'll do my best, Your Majesty.”

I

“Good,” I replied, and for a moment, I continued to study her. Something about
her was familiar, I just knew it.

Again, I was reminded of Cora, though I couldn't place why. Though Ca ssandra
was impossibly lovely as well, they looked nothing alike. They had completely
different faces and their demeanors were entirely different. Cora was lively and
outgoing, while Ca ssandra was calm and thoughtful. Still, there was something
there that made me like Ca ssandra, along with her son.

I looked at the boy. “How old is your son, Healer Ca ssandra?”

For a moment, the healer looked panicked, but I couldn't figure out why. Despite
her quiet nature, she was prone to fear and it made her seem suspicious.

“I'm five years old,” Finnick spoke up before she could answer, and Ca ssandra’s
deep green eyes widened as if he'd said something he wasn't supposed to.

“Yes, Finnick is five years old now, Your Majesty,” she managed. Uneasiness
painted her features, and she appeared as if she wanted to run away.

What was it about this woman? Why was she so scared? Was she simply
uncomfortable with me because of my station? Or was it something further?

Ca ssandra plucked one of the small teacups from the silver tray and then
carefully picked up the teapot. She streamed steaming hot tea into her cup and
then gently set the teapot back down. She passed the cup down to Finnick, who
accepted it quietly and then filled another for herself.

I waited until they were finished and then continued with my questions.

“Did your father have gray eyes, Ca ssandra?” I wondered. “Or perhaps your
husband? Emmett, you said his name was?

I wasn’t sure what inspired me to keep pressing further, but I was still a little
curious of Finnick’s eye color. Was there something in his bloodline that made
the pair familiar to me?

Ca ssandra’s hand suddenly twitched, causing her teacup to crash to the ground.
It shattered upon impact and the pieces flew everywhere, all over the floor. Hot
liquid sprayed me, and I hissed instinctively in response.

“I'm so sorry, Your Majesty!” she apologized profusely, and her big eyes flashed
in horror. She rose to her feet in a flash and started collecting the shards from the
floor. Meanwhile, I reached forward, grabbed a napkin, and began to dab at my
shirt. Luckily it didn’t leave a huge mark, but my skin was a little warm.

“It's ok

I grumbled as I dried myself off. “It was an accident.”

But something in my mind wondered how much of an accident it was. The timing
of Ca ssandra dropping the cup seemed a little convenient. Had something about
my question flustered her so greatly that she slipped?

One thing was for sure, Ca ssandra Keller had something to hide.

Was it a plot or some kind? An attempt to bring me harm? Or something else.
My mind didn’t want to consider the possibility, but I was also no stranger to odd
plots and attempts to seize my power.

Years ago, my wicked stepmother had once tried to drag me from my crown.
She'd hired a young maiden with similar features to impersonate Cora in an
attempt to seduce me. She had wanted to find a way into my heart and my
secrets, so she could use them against me at a later date. My stepmother had
hoped that she could use the girl to infiltrate Pack meetings, but unfortunately for
her, the maiden she’d hired was a lousy imitator. I'd seen right through her
disguise and knew at once that she wasn’t my Cora.

Was Ca ssandra an imitator as well? Did she have a secret to hide, a reason to
act so suspicious and afraid of me at all hours?

As the healer flittered about and tried to clean up her mess, I studied her son
and was surprised to find the small dark-haired boy was studying me as well. His
gaze was far more intelligent than a normal boy of five years and his aura struck
me as strange, familiar somehow. I couldn't place my finger on it, but there was
something about the boy that raised my eyebrows.

Finnick’s gray eyes, a similar shade as my own, blinked at me innocently enough,
but his posture was straight and polite as if he were much older than his years.
His hands were folded neatly in his lap and he didn’t fidget even once.

He was nothing at all like Prince Marco. My curly-haired son was restless,
attention-seeking, and had a bit of a temper issue. But not Finnick. He was calm,
cool, and collected, something I admired greatly. In some ways, the young boy
reminded me of myself when I was his age. I had always been the quiet one in
my group of friends as well.

How could this mild-mannered boy be Ca ssandra’s son? Sure, their faces
shared some similarities, but their natures seemed completely different. She
shared his kindness and politeness, but the healer was constantly on edge
around me.

Something more was going on.

Whatever it was, I would figure out her secret eventually.