Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 59 Viper appears again
CA SSANDRA
I stared at Asher in surprise. Adalyn?
The Alpha King wasted absolutely no time. Without another word, he turned on
his heels and rushed out of the room.
“Go to sleep, baby,” I called out to Finnick. “I'll be back in a while.”
“Okay,” Finnick replied, but his sleepy tone dripped with confusion. “Mommy,
what's going on?”
“I don’t know, honey, but I have to go check,” I said as my hands began to shake
at my sides. “I love you.”
As Finnick mumbled back a tired response, I followed Asher out the door. The
Alpha King-had managed to cover quite a bit of distance during my exchange
with my son, but I was able to catch up to him on the staircase.
“It sounded like it came from the garden,” Asher blurted when I arrived. “I don’t
know what she would be doing there at this hour...”
His gray eyes flashed with urgency and though his gait was a little sta ggered
from the alcohol, he remained steadier than expected. Meanwhile, I was
thoroughly panicked and just as confused as he was.
What had caused his wife to scream at this hour?
Asher barely seemed to notice me as we hurried toward the garden, but I didn't
mind much. I was here only as a healer, not for any other reason. If Adalyn or
someone else was hurt, I needed to be in attendance..
Once we reached the garden, I was surprised to see the mass of people
gathered around. Everyone was speaking at frantic paces and staring on in the
distance..
At the center of the garden near a tall rose bush, Adalyn stood with her
parents. Her mother, Linda, had her arms wrapped around her, and her face was
as pale as the moonlight above us. Her eyes were distant and a little glazed and
tears streamed down her cheeks.
I followed the direction of her gaze and let out a small gasp of surprise.
There, lying on the ground was a viper.
I then noticed Kaleb was also there. The king of Yurene appeared less shocked
than the others and when my eyes flew to his hands, I noticed they were covered
in blood.
From his proximity to Adalyn and the trail of blood on the ground, it seemed that
he had been the one to kill the beast.
Asher stood there in shock for a moment and then he rushed to Adalyn’s side.
“Were you bitten?” he asked and she shook her head. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she managed. “N-no lwasn't.”
Beyond us, Oliver Moses approached Kaleb. His stern face was just as colorless
as the others and his body was as stiff as a board. He offered the king of Yurene
his
hand.
“Thank you for saving my daughter,” he said, and then he glanced over at Lindal
and Adalyn. “If it weren't for you... well, I don’t want to think about what may have
happened.”
“Of course,” Kaleb said simply, and he accepted the Beta’s handshake. Once -
they were finished, Oliver glanced over at Adalyn and Linda.
“If it's alright with you, Your Majesty, I think it would be best for us to escort
Adalyn back to her chambers,” he sighed, and he ran his hand through his thick
dark hair. “I think she needs some rest.”
“I think that's for the best,” Asher agreed, and his eyes fell back to Adalyn. His.
expression was somewhere between guilty and alarmed and I watched him
force. back a gulp as he touched her arm. The pair exchanged glances, and after
Adalyn began to sniffle, Oliver and Linda moved in closer and helped steady their
daughter.
As they escorted Adalyn away, Asher turned to the crowd of people that lingered.
All fell silent as he cleared his throat.
“Everyone go back to your rooms at once,” he ordered, and without another
word, the crowd left until it was only Kaleb, Asher, and I.
Despite the circumstances, Kaleb was in good spirits and stared at the snake.
with an almost amused look.
“Of all of the things to come across in Anemond,” he said as he crossed his arms.
“I never expected a viper. What an odd surprise, especially at an hour like
this.”
Asher’s expression darkened and for a moment, I thought he was going to get
angry with the king of Yurene. Like me, I'm sure he was wondering what had
happened exactly, but instead of taking his frustration out, he simply sighed and
glanced at the viper.
“Is that the same kind of viper that attacked me days ago?” he asked me directly
as he gestured at the snake.
Heat spread through my cheeks and I immediately crouched down and inspected
the body of the dead viper. I needed to stop acting like a bystander and act more
like a healer.
“I don't know,” I admitted as I turned the beast over and examined its scales. “It
looks quite similar though. I'd need to get it to the lab and run some tests on it to
be
sure.”
“A viper attacked you?” Kaleb asked Asher with a raised eyebrow and when the
Alpha King nodded, he frowned. “Were you bitten?”
“Yes,” Asher answered, his steel gaze still on the viper.
Kaleb's head tilted to the side and stared at the snake as well.
“I don't understand,” he mused. “How could an animal such as a snake bite an
Alpha? Sure they are fast, but werewolf kings are faster.”
“He was trying to save me,” I explained quietly.
It was true. Asher wouldn't have been bitten if he wasn't trying to keep me out
of harm’s way and I still felt a touch of guilt over the whole affair.
The king of Yurene’s eyes narrowed for a moment, and then he offered me a
strange smile. It was a little smug, a little amused, and I wasn’t sure how to
interpret

1.
As I rose to my feet and dusted my hands off on my nightgown, Asher turned to
the guard perched at the garden's gate.
“Send the viper to Healer Cas sandra’s lab,” he ordered. “And then check the
garden thoroughly. I want to make sure no more of them are hiding around.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the guard said obediently, and then he offered the Alpha
King a small bow of respect.
As the guard sprang into action, I stared down at the viper and concern
crashed over me.
Though my hypothesis hadn't been fully formed, I'd figured Margaret had
something to do with the vipers, and by default, so did the Moses family. But if
that were the case, why had Adalyn been attacked? And why were there vipers
near the
palace anyway?
Vipers normally didn’t release their venom except for in the vicinity of prey, but if
this one had been enchanted or trained, perhaps the rules were different. Were
these vipers trained to attack anyone they came into contact with or were their
attacks calculated?
Marco, Asher, and now Adalyn.
What was going on here and how could we put a stop to this mess before
anyone else got hurt?
Kaleb interrupted my train of thought when he suddenly cleared his throat.
“I don’t know much about snakes,” he offered in his heavy accent. “But I do know
one thing. Although snakes usually move alone, they prefer living together.”
“So?” Asher sighed impatiently.
“So,” Kaleb continued, and he shook his head slowly. “If one snake has been
found near the palace... there must be a snake pit somewhere in the vicinity.”