Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 181 Run Now

CASSANDRA

I had never considered myself a fool.

But then again, in light of everything, perhaps I was.

At the very least, I was naive, foolish, and blind. I should have put the clues together long before this moment. It should have been completely obvious from when Asher had mentioned the jasmine tea wasn’t a gift from him but from his brother.

Back then, I had thought that Kane Collins was just considerate. I thought maybe he had just checked with Erika or some other servants who knew I adored jasmine tea and then made an excuse saying it was a gift from Asher just because he didn’t want to pressure me.

Or maybe he just wanted to compensate for what his mother had done to Erika and me. Either way, I hadn’t given it a single thought

But if I’d been more careful and sharper about it all, I wouldn’t have neglected the possibility that Kane might find a clue to my real identity.

The moment that the question left my lips, Kane’s gaze remained elsewhere. He avoided eye contact with me as if he was too ashamed to look at me, but his silence gave me all the answers I needed.

Kane knew who I truly was, or at least the woman I had been.

When and how had he figured it out?

I’d been able to conceal my identity from Asher for so long because my appearance had been altered from that terrible inferno. Whatever Emmett had used to heal my wounds and burns had drastically changed my features enough to conceal my former identity. The only indications of my old self were the green of my irises, though they’d been much lighter back then, and then the sear on my leg. Without that scar, Asher would have taken longer to realize it was me.

So what had Kane noticed that his brother hadn’t?

Was it as Keleb suggested, that Kane had been following me for a while to gather intel? Or had he simply caught on by the mention of jasmine tea? It wasn’t the most common of tea flavors, and everyone who had known Cora well knew that it was her drink of choice.

wanted to ask Asher’s stepbrother, but I couldn’t. This wasn’t the time or place, especially considering how injured he was. The sheer amount of blood loss alone

before I could act, Kane spoke. He didn’t look

Run

and then he closed his eyes and his brows furrowed

in my throat as I tried to make sense of it

Sorry?

Sorry for what?

understand what was going on. There was nothing he needed to apologize for. Was he sorry for this situation? Or was he sorry for not letting

for. I knew he had

the matter.

had some kind of sick, twisted obsession with me. He probably just wanted

we weren’t the closest of friends in our youth, he had always been kind to me and treated me with respect. He was Asher’s brother, of course, so I had no reason to believe that he was acting out of some strange place or obsession.

Kane uttered his apology to

Kane, as well as a fool. I’ve heard the stories they tell about you in this terrible palace. You’re nothing more than a second–rate version of that pitiful excuse of a king

anger swelled within me and my hands balled into fists at my side. To throw insults and snide remarks at a wounded

king disrespect the royal family

this,” I demanded. “There’s no reason to continue down here. It’s a waste

get on with the show, shall we? You seem ready to accept the reality of your

I continued to eye him

needs, and no one else will get hurt. The decision is yours. Of course, I’m not a very

I didn’t have a choice in the matter, and I hated the loss of agency in my own life.

grimaced. “This small ward

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