Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 1 Emergency

CASSANDRA

“For the glory of Wegalla Empire, you must die!” Intruders snarled at me as I knelt on the floor.

“Please let me see Asher. Please…” I begged.

“How dare you speak the name of our king!” The soldiers growled and grabbed my hair, forcing me to raise my head. They were like shadows towering over me.

“Please. I need to talk to him. I’m pregnant. I have his baby!” I cried.

The head soldier snorted. “Baby? You think you’d be qualified to deliver a baby for our king? Filthy whore! He won’t come to you anymore. Don’t you understand? He’s with Lady Adalyn. Now drink it!”

“No!”

He pulled me harshly, gripped my face and pried my mouth open. Mysterious liquid flew down my throat.

Burning. I began to gag.

“Die! You wretched moron.” They spat at me before slamming the door. And I heard the click of the lock.

I struggled to move, but my eyes felt swollen, and my legs were strengthless. The smell of smoke quickly filled the room.

Fire engulfed me.

*****

My mind wandered as I stared out the window. The sky was a perfect clear blue, and the air was filled with the sound of children’s laughter. A smile formed on my lips at the sound.

Far beyond me, the pups, accompanied by their parents, made their way toward the forest not too far away from where I sat. It was finally time for the annual hunting festival, and the pups chattered and giggled with excitement as they tugged at their mother’s and father’s sleeves.

I remembered their innocent happiness well. When I had been a pup myself, I’d been infinitely impatient and raced far ahead of my father and brother, urging them the entire way to move faster. I’d been so excited to get a glimpse of the hunting group I wished to one day be a part of. I was eager to find my place amongst the Pack.

I’d been grown for a long time now, and yet, these pups had more freedom than me.

the deadly inferno, I’d lost the ability to shift into my

my name, my identity, and all I used to love and cherish. I’d

feel the familiar ache of loneliness, the sound of footsteps rang out behind

fell asleep

but her

“Here, come sit down. We still have a while

fire and brought me to his pack, he taught me how to be a healer. And Marley had

seat on the stool beside me and then glanced

can’t believe it’s already time for the hunting festival,” she sighed, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “The kids have been going

sure,” I mused. “The village has been loud

packs are troublesome. Can you imagine? I was stopped by them three times this morning for the question – ‘How to get to the forest?’. Gosh. Can’t they read signposts? They are everywhere on the streets.

“I wish they could be more like your Finnick. He’s such a good boy. Mine are little monsters, no matter what I do. You’re lucky Finnick hasn’t begged you to come

a moment, and a

Cassandra,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to bring

therefore, I was not allowed to enter the forest, even the

understanding smile. “Don’t even worry about it. Besides, Finnick is too young

since that calamity. I need to go

is your sweet boy?” Marley wondered

with the Luna and her children,” I

to watch my son while I ran the clinic. The hours were incredibly long, and my patient list had grown endless recently. Marley and I were

with an unsure origin I had yet to place. It was accompanied by a peculiar mark on different parts of the patient’s bodies, each slightly raised, red, and warm to the touch. I’d biopsied several of them, and

again, and then beyond us, bells rang out. She glanced up at the clock. “Looks like it’s time for our next patient. Ready to

I nodded. “Let’s go.”

her to her feet, and then we walked out into the front of the clinic, where our next patient was nervously awaiting us. She was a young woman named Anna, and her brown eyes were slightly glazed over. Her skin was pale and coated with a slight sheen of sweat, and her arms were wrapped around herself as she shivered. Marley and I

sickness, but it seemed to just be a common cold. I prescribed

say, and suddenly, a tall man burst into

his side indicated his rank. I recognized

I knew him very well, as he was often sent to collect me on

knew something was wrong. Jasper was always

addressed me hurriedly. “You must accompany