Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

ASHER

Chapter 70 Dubious foreigners

I was only half awake as I sat in the meeting room and listened to the morning report. Jacoby was informing me about the investigation being conducted about the attempted kidnapping that’d taken place in the market, and the councilor’s dark eyes were glum as he spoke.

“We checked the identity of the kidnapper, Your Majesty,” he said. “They didn’t live in Anemond, nor did they seem to be residents of Wegalla at all.”

My brow shot up immediately. “Do you think they were foreigners?”

Jacoby nodded. “I believe so, Your Majesty. But without officially issued certification, no foreigners would have been able to pass the territory line of Wegalla.”

I frowned.

This was all very strange.

“Did the soldiers stationed there fail their duties?” I wondered as frustration rose within me. “How could a foreigner enter the territory without anyone knowing?”

Jacoby hesitated for a moment.

“Perhaps,” he began. “There’s another possibility. I find it a little coincidental that the king of Yurene appeared right then and there to stop the kidnapper from taking Miss Ca ssandra…”

“Are you suggesting that he was behind it all?” I asked directly.

“I don’t know,” he replied, and his cheeks flushed with color. “All I know for sure is that the king is infamous for being scheming and slippery. He could be responsible. It would certainly raise the reputation of Yurene if a king swooped in to

save a citizen of Wegalla. It would make their country and their people seem much more civilized and important.”

My frown deepened as I considered his words.

I wasn’t sure if a matter such as this was important enough to make such a fuss about. I didn’t want Wegalla’s own reputation to come into question and be smeared by an incident such as this. But then again, I couldn’t deny the possibility that Kaleb was behind this. As Jacoby had pointed out, it was a little coincidental that he happened to be in the vicinity when the incident had taken place.

help but think

so much of his attention to her. I didn’t want to consider the idea too much further,

was that I couldn’t

turned my attention back to Jacoby, who was waiting patiently

for telling me about all of this,” I said politely, and then I nodded at him. “Please keep up the investigation and let

the way he’d conducted himself. Jacoby was discreet and highly loyal to me. If anyone was going to get any further in this matter, it

my head throbbed. Though I’d drank my fill of coffee this morning, I still found myself to be quite tired. My sleep had been restless and little the night.

had told me that Finnick wasn’t Emmett Keller’s son, my mind could

been three months pregnant when she’d been brought to the territory by Emmett. Of course, it had just

hadn’t known any of this beforehand. Kane had been right when he’d said this

strange that Ca ssandra’s arrival to Wild Crawler had been so wrought with mystery. But

impossible idea crossed my

Cora been pregnant

thought sounded like a ridiculous thing to consider, but I couldn’t help but think about

those years ago. I tried to picture her

it, I couldn’t recall. Before the inferno that’d burnt

other palace business, along with my

wave

done everything I could?

had I let my final images of Cora fade

straight in my chair and wiped away the tears that had started to spill down my cheeks. For the briefest of moments,

is there?” I called out

my guard reported from the other side of

door.

swelled within me.

I wanted to see this morning.