Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

ASHER

Chapter 81 A taste of jealousy

When Ca ssandra Keller arrived at my study for the health check the next day, was still thinking about Adalyn’s accusatory words. I wasn’t st upid enough to fall for the claim that the healer was somehow entangled with the king of Yurene. There

was no way she had anything to do with him..

I knew Adalyn’s words had come from jealousy.

And yet, I couldn’t help but consider Kaleb. The way the king from the North treated Ca ssandra bothered me greatly. There was something there in the way the tall, foreign man studied her. There was an affection that I didn’t like, one that even now, I couldn’t deny.

But a spy? No. There was no way that the beautiful healer I’d plucked all the way from Wild Crawler was an operative.

“Is everything okay?” she asked me quietly.

“Sure,” I remarked simply.

She spread her supplies out on my desk and then got to work. As she poked. and prodded me, my mind began to wander until I finally slipped back into reality. Ca ssandra was engrossed in her work. I watched her closely as she made notes about my blood pressure and then moved on to the next task with ease.

I wanted to make small talk, but I had the sense she didn’t want to speak with me at all after what had happened between us in my chamber yesterday. What could I say, and what could I do about it all?

A sigh escaped me before I could stop it.

“You can sit closer,” I said-softly.

Ca ssandra looked up from her notes and seemed taken aback by the offer.

“Excuse me?” she asked as her brow furrowed.

closer,” I repeated myself, and then I took a breath. “I promise, I won’t touch

a little closer, but I could tell

cleared my throat. “About Margaret. I just wanted to apologize for what she did. There was no reason why she should have shown up to your chambers and tried to seize you. Her guards had no reason to lay a single hand on you and I promise it’s being dealt with. I’ve always tried to play nicely with her for my brother’s

true. I’d always wanted to send Margaret away, and now since my father was gone, there was really no reason for her to remain in Anemond. But I resisted the urge to exile her for Kane’s sake. I didn’t want to damage my

somewhere else.

clearly, I’d been too lax with her. I needed to punish her for what she’d attempted to do to Ca ssandra.

in my laboratory. I understand why

to say something in response but

us where Ca ssandra had asked me

Adalyn, and

in my heart grew stronger.

that Kaleb was the one that stopped Margaret,”

tucked a lock of her hair

said. Ca ssandra stopped what she was doing and raised her eyes to

said. “He did”

she sharing any of this with me? Did she really trust me so little and the king of Yurene so much? Why

to you about?” I asked her directly as my head began to

her eyes fell to the

as a gentleman. He brought me some salve from his country to soothe

night,” I said. “At her

ssandra fell silent. She stopped making notes in her journal and

line. Her hands shook a little, but she

Your

like hearing the words “Your Majesty” coming from her lips. They were too cold, too courteous, too/polite. As absurd as it seemed, they almost felt like an insult coming from