Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 4 He said stay

CA SSANDRA

The next few hours passed by laboriously. As we waited for the guards to return with some sort of news about the viper, Marley and I did all we could to keep the boy comfortable. We took his temperature, monitored his heart rate, and continued to apply cold compresses to keep his fever from rising any higher.

Meanwhile, it took all of my concentration to remain perfectly focused on the boy. My mind was trying to wander to different places, and Asher Cellins wasn’t helping. The Alpha King remained close to us as we attended to his son, and it was unclear if he was monitoring our treatment or just studying me.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up as chills continuously ran down my spine. I wasn’t the kind of woman who got nervous easily, but the Alpha King’s very presence set every inch of my body on edge.

Of all of the people to be here, he was the last one I’d ever have expected, and my emotions were running wild. I wasn’t sure whether to cry or be relieved to see him after so long. All I knew was that this was unbelievably complicated.

After long, a pair of guards returned. They’d finally tracked down the viper. Luckily, it was one that I’d seen in a medical book. I relayed all of the information I knew to Marley and Asher, and the pair of them seemed relieved to know there was

a potential cure.

The Alpha King had assigned guards to accompany Marley back to the clinic to procure the herbs needed to heal the boy. My assistant seemed nervous to be surrounded by such heavily-weaponed men, but she accepted the help.

Haff an hour later, she returned with the herbs, and we got to work. We prepared a salve to apply directly to the wound, and then used others to brew a tea that would treat the boy internally. The prince was weak, but we managed to help him get enough of the tea into his system to treat him properly.

Hours passed by, and by dusk, the boy finally became stable. After much fitful moaning and crying, he’d finally fallen into a quiet sleep. The blueness of his lips had disappeared, and color had returned to his cheeks. Beneath the salve, the

swollenness of the bite had eased.

I sent Marley back home. She put up a bit of a fight and insisted on staying with me, but I pushed back and told her she needed

be excited to show you what they hunted in the forest,” I’d reminded her. “They need you more than I

time alone with my patient. The guards

asking everyone to leave us was more of an excuse than anything. My patient was stable, but I needed

see Asher again, and I was surprised to see just how much he’d changed over the years. He was the Alpha King now, and as such, he was the ruthless leader of the Wegalla Empire. In the past, he’d seemed

that, but he had a

boy. Was he also the

of sadness struck me. He had to be. Asher had abandoned me all those years ago and left me to suffer

I

to cry, but

I couldn’t

dear friend Marley and her

The prince had a sweet round face and soft curly hair,

much like his father. He was

roll on his side. His sheets were thoroughly soaked from perspiration, and his forehead appeared

sweetheart,” I murmured, and I hopped to my feet. The poor child was

my head out. A pair of guards

a se rvant,” I said. “The prince needs a fresh

them disappeared down the hall. I stepped back into the chamber, and a few minutes later, the doors flew open to reveal a pair of se rvants with piles of fresh

is he?” he demanded as he rushed over, but when he caught sight of his son, his expression softened.