Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 69 North King’s request

CA SSANDRA

A gasp escaped me, and for a moment, I swore I was about to faint. My head spun and a huge knot formed in my stomach.

Had I heard the king correctly?

Emmett? My Emmett?

“I was devastated to hear that Emmett had passed away,” Kaleb continued without ski pping a beat. “But now I’ve found you. I thought it was a coincidence that your last name is also Keller, but then at the banquet, you said you were from the Wild Crawler Pack. Does that mean…”

His question trailed off and I knew I had to finally speak.

“Emmett was my husband,” I confirmed.

Kaleb nodded solemnly. “I figured as much.”

The room fell into silence as I processed all of this new information. Emmett had been to Yurene? He’d never mentioned he’d been to the North even once. In fact, most people in Wegalla never spoke about the North in general. Why had he gone there in the first place and what brought him to the former king of Yurene in the first place?

The room begin to tilt and I had to steady myself for a moment to keep from. swaying. Just when I thought I was past all of the secrets and mysteries, I was being dealt another.

Kaleb studied me but gave me a little bit to think about everything. I appreciated his patience, but I struggled to find the right words to say. I couldn’t betray too much. It would seem strange for a wife to know so little about her husband, though I could simply pass it off if I needed to.

Most importantly, I needed to find a way to convince Kaleb that my going to his country wasn’t a good idea.

“I’m not as talented a healer as Emmett was,” I said softly. “I want to help, but

I won’t be

Ca ssandra,” Kaleb pleaded in an equally gentle

curled into a frown. “What do you mean? How so?”

distant look in his eyes. “My father first began to suffer some headaches. They were few at first, but then they began to progress and they became more frequent. His skin lost most of its color, and then these strange marks

I asked, and my eyes began to

along here. Just like the headaches, they were few at first and then multiplied. Deep black marks.”

I gasped.

Black marks.

the same disease that plagued

Kaleb’s

parted, but he didn’t say anything else. He waited patiently with a knowing look on his face.

thoughts of Emmett aside. I needed to act like the

was your father infected?” I asked him as

was years ago,” the king replied and he shook his head. “He started to grow the black marks after he returned from the battlefield. Back then, Yurene was fighting against a small Pack. There was a dispute over territory.

but then, he recovered almost overnight. It seemed to be a miracle. But soon after,

began to

I wondered and Kaleb

with time. But I worry that if left untreated for much longer, it may spread to others in Yurene and become something of an epidemic. I do not wish for my people to suffer as my father has,

ago, why didn’t it spread instantly to Wegalla? And Emmett… how did he

for you?” I asked. “Could you recognize what he used

and then he frowned. “But none of the healers in Yurene could figure out what it is.

nodded. This was tricky territory and I

as I knew, Kaleb’s father could have been the first one infected with the disease.

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