Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 99 Recreation of ancient sorcery

ASHER

The moment Kane left my study, I ran to the dungeon at once. I wasted no time,
and the moment I reached the man’s cell, I held the small crest in front of the
bars.

me-"

“What is this?” I demanded, my voice surging with power.

The imposter’s face paled, but he shook his head swiftly.

“That... that isn’t mine,” he insisted. “I don’t know why you think it belongs to

“It was found on your person, was it not?” I retorted, and then I took a step
forward. “Dark Abyss, right?”

own.

When the man remained silent, I continued on.

“Is your name really Spi ke Nox?” I asked him directly.

The imposter refused to answer the question but followed up with one of his
“Have you considered my offer, young Alpha?” he wondered. “The one I gave
you yesterday? Information about your beloved Cora Felix in exchange for my
freedom?”

“You arent in any sort of position to bargain,” I seethed as I shook my head.
“Besides, that'll never happen. You were involved in her death. I'd never grant
you freedom. You can rot in that cell for the rest of your life for all I care.”

The man frowned. “l meant what I said yesterday. I will help you find the true
murderer-"

“There’s no need,” I interrupted him. Because I would find it out eventually. Now
that I'd found my mate, everything else didn’t seem as important. If she wanted
revenge, I would deliver it for her. If she didn’t want to bring up the past, I would
remain silent.

When it came to Ca ssandra, I'd do whatever she asked.

The man suddenly looked panicked. He was probably baffled by my sudden shift
in attitude.

“I have other things I can tell you,” he insisted as he gripped the iron bars of his
cell.

“Nothing you have to offer is worth your freedom,” I replied.

“Then I don’t need it,” the man said. “But I need you to keep me alive, young
Alpha.”

His light brown eyes darted around suspiciously, as if he were being watched.
“Someone will attempt to take my life,” he said in a hushed tone. “I need you to
ensure my safety. In exchange, I'll tell you anything you want to know. I need a
safer place to stay. This cell isn’t safe.”

I frowned. “This dungeon is one of the safest places in Anemond. No one is going
to get to you down here, not without my express permission.”

For the first time since his imprisonment, the man looked scared. He didn’t seem
to be lying.

Something was troubling him.

What did he fear? An idea came to my mind.

“Are you afraid of Oliver Moses?” I asked, and when he frowned, I spoke again.
“The man who wanted to kill you in the corridor?”

“I don’t know who the one is,” the man said. “I was always masked when I saw
him. But I know that he would try to kill me if I confessed everything I knew to the
Alpha King. It's him I'm afraid of.”

Masked?

My confusion grew stronger and I tried to read the imposters face. What in the
world was he talking about? Half of the sentences and phrases that poured from
his mouth made little to no sense.

Was he insane?

I took a moment to consider how to proceed. I could always walk away and
regroup, but I had too many questions.

“Spi ke,” I addressed him. “Can I call you Spi ke?”

The man nodded.

“Spi ke, let's see what you can tell me,” I decided, and I crossed my arms against
my chest. “But before you get to that, I need you to tell me about Dark Abyss
first.”

Spi ke glanced around. His eyes searched every corner of the dungeon, as if he
were afraid of someone eavesdropping. Nearly a minute later, he nodded and
took a deep breath.

“Dark Abyss is where I come from,” he explained. “It's a small Pack, one that few
know about, with a group of talented individuals who worship sorcery.”

He leaned in closer. “Your Majesty, have you heard of Ewonmiams, the most
famous academy of sorcery in history.”

I nodded. “Yes, I'm familiar.”

“Well, those within my Pack wanted to duplicate its success,” Spi ke continued.
in my pack wanted to duplicate “There were whispers and tales that some of my
Pack members were actually descendants of the old sorcerers themselves, but
without a record of the spells and magics practiced by the ancient spellcasters, it
was hard for them to learn or recreate those rituals with any sort of success.”
“Interesting,” I remarked. Ca ssandra had been correct after all. This man had
ties to the Ewonmiams, or at least his people did. I thought sorcery was long
dead. and buried, but there were still practitioners trying to continue the legacy.
“My Pack found ourselves in a tough situation,” Spi ke said, and a sad
expression settled over his features. “We were attacked by an army led by the
former King of Yurene. I had run, you see, to evade the war, and I was saved by
the masked man. That same masked man brought me here and used me as a
pawn for his own selfish agenda.”

I tried to make sense of his tale. Spi ke’s explanations made sense, but there
were still so many holes in his story. I wanted more information about Dark
Abyss, the sorcerers, and the former king of Yurene. I didn’t know him that well,
so any sort of information I could get was vital.

I didn’t trust the Northerners, and now that I knew they had something to do with
this strange, diminished Pack, I needed to know more.

“Were you the one who stole the book in the library?” I asked. “The one about the
Ewonmiams? I assume you were the one who trashed the place and left it in
ruins.”

Spi ke nodded without pause. “Yes, it was me.”

“What was in the sealed box?” I asked. “And where are those materials now?”
“The box contained a few more books,” he replied. “But I'm not sure where they
are now. The masked man told me to place them in a specific location so he
could pick them up. It used to be the basement, but after the basement was
discovered and exposed, I just dropped them off in a random place. As far as I
know, they're still in a trash bin out on the street.

My head began to pound as I considered his answers. I took a step away from
the bars and turned toward the opposite wall.

This masked man seemed to be coming up a lot. Who was he? And did he have
something to do with Cora?

One thing was certain, he was an important player in all of this, and we needed
to uncover his identity if we were going to make sense of things.

Pain shot through me. I needed to lie down for a bit as Kane suggested, but
before I left, I had one more question.

“Were you the one in the basement that day?” I asked as I turned around. “When
we went to catch the vipers?”

Spi ke shook his head. “No. I was in the palace that day.”