Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 33 Troubles

CA SSANDRA

Why had there been a viper near the Palace?

And why had Asher uttered my true name before he’d lost consciousness in the garden?

The questions swirled around in my mind as I stared down at Asher. The Alpha King was fast asleep and tucked tightly into bed. His forehead was still shiny with- sweat and his chest heaved as he breathed laboriously.

Just after he’d been bitten by the viper, I’d screamed my head off and caught the attention of several guards out on the grounds. They’d rushed over to Rosepetal and helped get the king back to his room in the palace.

One of the guards, an older one whose name I couldn’t recall, had asked if I wanted the aid of the other royal healers, but I’d turned down the offer. I didn’t want to risk the others seeing the dark mark on Asher’s skin. Injured or not, I’d made a promise to keep the king’s disease a secret.

Since I’d been appointed as Asher’s private healer, the guards had no problem with me treating him personally. They’d even gone out and retrieved my medical supplies from the palace lab for me.

The viper’s body had been retrieved and sent to the lab with my assistant, Becky. I was assured that once the results were finished, they would be brought to me straight away.

Once I had my supplies, I had one of the guards remain at the door for me, and the other standing just outside the chamber. They’d granted me my privacy and allowed me the space to treat Asher.

I attempted to steady my hands as I cleaned the wound on his wrist, but it was no use. I was a complete and total wreck. Seeing Asher this way made my heart

ache in ways I didn’t know it could. I’d never been this way before. Emmett had always praised me for my calmness when it came to the horrific things I’d seen during medical treatment. I’d always been able to prioritize my patient’s health over my own emotions, but today…

Today I was scared.

I needed to stay sharp and focused if I was going to

quickly and dabbed the bite carefully with my supplies. Once the wound was clean, I could begin to apply medicine to it and get the swelling

I set my rags down, I heard a

a guard’s voice called out, and then suddenly, the doors flew open, and in

was rendered furious. Her amber eyes were piercing as they bore into mine with sharp intensity, and for a moment, I thought her gaze was going to set me on

her finger pointed right at my face as her

I tried to reason with her, but it was of no

closer. “I mean it. You’re a murderer and a conspirer. I’m willing to bet you used some kind of peasant black magic to control the

please,” I pleaded with her as I took a step backward. “You’re not making any

eyes and braced for impact, but when it never came, I peeked and saw

Let

at the guard, and when she reached toward me, her fingernails shifted into

Adalyn still, “Your cannot harm the royal healer,

husband? I

grip on her was

to administer the treatment. Besides, I’m the only one here in the palace with the knowledge needed to treat the viper bite. The beast was nearly identical to the one that bit Prince Marco back in the Wild Crawler Pack, and I was able to cure him quickly if you recall. So, if your

daggers toward me and her nostrils flared. She opened her mouth as if she was going to speak, but then no

bested her? Did she know that she had no choice but to trust me and let me care for

about and stiffened.

oves were s

hold on her. Part of me wanted to brace myself for an attack, but the other part knew I needed to stand my ground. Adalyn couldn’t bring