Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 52 Rude Northerner

ASHER

“You’re very late, Alpha Asher. Is it customary of your Pack to keep your guests

waiting?”

The moment I stepped into the first-floor meeting room, a heavily accented voice reached my ears, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Though I knew the voice belonged to the King of Yurene, I was shocked by how callously I was being

spoken to.

The king stood from the couch very slowly and then extended his hand toward mine. “I jest, of course, though you do appear to be quite busy.””

I stared at his hand for a moment before I accepted it in mine. “I suppose I am quite busy. I’m sorry to keep you waiting-”

“Are you ill?” Kaleb blurted out. “You look tired-”

Lancel took a step forward in warning, but I raised a hand to stop him.

“It’s fine,” I murmured.

Kaleb studied us with a curious expression and then chuckled. “It seems the people of the South are more tense than us Northerners.”

The king of Yurene was one of the tallest men I’d ever seen. I wasn’t short by any means, but compared to his impressive stature, I felt like a child again. His hair was somewhere between gold and brown, and his deep blue eyes were dark and haunting. His appearance was sophisticated but his attire was another thing completely. He was dressed in deep leathers and furs that suggested a colder climate than it was. It made sense- Yurene’s climate was likely much colder than that of Wegalla’s.

Despite his height, he appeared to be a few years younger than me and still

had a softness to his smile.

so,”

former king of Yurene, had taken most of their land through war and disputes, Kaleb was known to use softer policies to annex other packs into their empire. That being said, I could see

counselors,” I introduced the group to the king, and then I took a seat in the leather chair opposite

you

with trays in their hands. They arranged a teapot, cups, and small tiers of snacks on the table before us, and then filled each of the cups with my favorite blend of tea. My mouth watered as the smell hit my nose.

them as I

thank you,” Kaleb’chimed in, and when he lifted the tea to his lips, he

Asher. I must say, the tea in the South is very worthy of praise. The

me that you have had a rather bad impression of Wegalla,” I remarked, and I pushed

bluntly, and then he offered a strange expression of amusement. “I didn’t expect to see an attempted kidnapping upon my arrival to Anemond.”

I set my tea cup down. My eyes flew to Lancel, but my guard looked just as confused by

get a feel for Anemond before I arrived in the palace. I’ve only heard tales. of Wegalla from my father, you see, so I wanted to get to know the city myself. I was in the middle of the market when I heard a woman cry out for help.

woman.’

my,” I uttered before I

continued. matter-of-factly, but his bright expression faded quickly. “But I must

kidnapping? In Anemond? Sure, the capital could be dangerous, but something like this… it all sounded so strange. Crime

years.

eyebrows creased together. “I can

mean to say that it was simply a stroke of bad luck,

was being challenged like that in my own palace. I wasn’t sure how things were done in Yurene, but Kaleb was

king stared at me for a moment

have brought you bad luck,” he remarked, and

own and try to steady my breath. I needed to stay calm and collected. Politics

to do so.

here, Alpha Kaleb?” I wondered. “From our correspondence, I