Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 80 Lie

ASHER

I stared into my son’s eyes with disdain as I fought to refocus my mind. Out of the

corner of my vision, I could see Ca ssandra leaving the chamber. Though I

needed to concentrate on Marco’s words, I was still a little bothered after my

encounter with the healer.

“Marco, why are you here?” I asked him as my frustration began to rise. When

my son began to pout, I decided to soften my tone. The boy was visibly

distressed and I didn’t want to usher in another tantrum. “What's going on?”

Though I didn't want to admit it, part of me knew that I'd been neglecting the boy

quite often these days. I'd been so caught up in all of the drama of the snakes

and the market, and the other various goings on in Anemond that I'd barely even

seen Marco.

“Daddy, why haven't you visited Mommy?” Marco whined, and his lip began to

quiver. “She was severely hurt and she’s in pain. She needs you right away,

Daddy!”

A heavy sigh escaped me before I could stop it.

Adalyn.

Just the thought of her made my head ache again.

“Marco, I don’t have the time right now,” I said gently as I pinched the bridge of

my nose between my fingers. “Daddy has a lot that he has to deal with, and

besides, it's late-"

“You could visit Mommy now!” Marco announced. “IE you have time to talk with

the healer lady, why can’t you talk with Mommy?”.

The young prince's theory wasn't a bad one, and I had to acknowledge the logic

in his words. But then again, I knew that this idea wasn’t unprompted.

“Did your mother ask you to come here?” I asked, and I tried to shove down the

mounting frustration within me. Marco's cheeks lost their color and his eyes fell

again to the ground.

“Mommy did want you to come see her,” he said quietly as he gave a little kick.

“But she didn’t tell me to come here. It was my idea, Daddy. I just want you and

Mommy to be happy, that's all.”

The sentiment hung in the air and I felt a tug at my heart. I couldn’t blame Marco

for feeling this way. Adalyn and I hadn't been model parents lately. He deserved

better adults to look up to. How was he ever going to learn what a healthy

relationship looked like if we didn't at least pretend to conduct ourselves like

adults?

“Okay,” I decided, and I reached out and took his hand. “Let's go see Mommy.”

Marco lit up immediately. “Really?”

I nodded.

The young prince's lips curled up into a grin and he laughed.

We left the chamber and I took a moment to tell the guards where I was going.

One of them decided to remain outside of the room while the other offered to

accompany us to the House of Moses. I agreed to the young man’s offer, and

then the three of us made our way out of the palace.

The House of Moses was technically part of the palace grounds, but existed just

on the outskirts. The walk was a quiet one, but I could tell that Marco was beyond

excited. I wanted to remind him to lower his expectations, but at the same time, I

didn’t want to ruin his good mood.

Once we reached the grand estate, Marco rushed ahead to the front door and

knocked on it happily. Moments later, the door opened, and Linda Moses greeted
1.

“Oh,” she remarked in surprise. “Hello there! Please, come in.”

She ushered us inside, and I said a small prayer to the Moon Goddess. This was

likely going to be a terrible idea.

“Is Oliver around?” I asked as we lingered for a moment in the foyer. I peered up

the stairs but didn’t see the Beta up there.

“No, no,” Linda replied politely. “He’s away visiting some friends.”

“At this hour?” I wondered, but I decided not to press any further. Admittedly, I

was happy that he wasn't around. I wasn't in any mood to speak with him

anyway.

joy.

“We're here to see Mommy!” Marco exclaimed as he practically bounced with

“That's sweet,” Linda said enthusiastically. “I'm sure she’ll be very happy to see

you. Come along. She’s in her bedroom.”

Without further ado, Linda led us to Adalyn’s room on the top floor. With every

step, I forced myself to breathe. I could do this. I just needed to visit Adalyn to

satisfy Marco.

Linda knocked on the door and moments later, there was a loud thud on the

other side.

“Go away!” Adalyn’s mu ffled voice called out. It sounded as if she'd been crying.

Her mother looked embarrassed as she turned back to face me.

“Adalyn had a small... quarrel with her father,” she explained gently and Marco

looked worried. I raised my brow. What had the Beta said to make Adalyn so

upset?

I approached the door myself, and once Linda stood aside, I knocked.

“Its me,” I said. “And Marco.”

“Asher?” Adalyn said timidly, and then the door flew open. Adalyn stood there,

wearing a simple dark red robe. Her eyes were completely bloodshot, and her

cheeks were slightly swollen.

“We came to see you!” Marco said, and he wrapped his arms around Adalyn’s

legs. Adalyn’s golden eyes remained fixed on me.

“Thanks, baby,” she said, and then she crouched down until she was at Marco's

level. “Why don’t you go see Grandma for a while while Daddy and I have a

grown-up talk?”

Marco nodded happily. “Take your time! I'll go play with Grandma!”

Linda obediently took Marco's hand and led him away. Adalyn and I stepped

into her room and closed the door behind us.

The room was silent as I tried to find the right words to say.

“Has your wound improved?” I asked, and Adalyn nodded.

“Yes,” she said quietly. “I feel much better. I should be able to return to the palace

soon.”

“Don't rush,” I assured her. “There's no hurry. Take all of the time you need to rest

here.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes and she frowned.

“oh.

Silence again, and then I decided to just lay it all out.

“Adalyn, you shouldn't lie to Marco,” I said. “He came to me crying. I'm worried

that lying will only teach him bad habits.”

Her lips parted, but I had to continue anyway.

“If taking proper care of him and teaching him is too difficult, I could hire someone

else to do it,” I said. “l don’t want him to grow up to be spoiled or-"

“The healer!” Adalyn seethed, and her hands curled into fists at her sides. “I-I

knew it! You want her to take my position!”

“What?” I demanded, and I took a step backward. “What are you talking about?”

“You want to replace me!” Adalyn accused and then she shook her head and

pointed at me. “I knew it! Well, you listen here, Asher. That woman is suspicious

in every conceivable way.”

“She has nothing to do with this,” I said. “This is between us.”

“Who's the lying one now?” Adalyn laughed cruelly as tears fell down her cheeks.

“Asher, you're kidding yourself here. Don’t you think it's strange that the king of

Yurene cares so much about her? Or that the viper attacks started with her? I'm

telling you, Asher, that woman is a spy... or something even more vicious. Mark

my words. Something is wrong with her, and letting her into your life... it'll be your

undoing.”