Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 303 Supporters CASSANDRA My brother fell asleep a while later, still holding our mother’s amulet in his hands. He didn’t want to give it back to me, so I allowed him to keep it for now.

We left the room soon after, and once we stepped out into the hall, Asher took my hand in his.

“His physical condition seems like it’s improved,” he informed me. “He looks better than he did when I saw him last.

But his mental condition is still very poor.” “He must have been through a lot,” I said sadly.

Asher nodded. “The conditions out in

the borderlands are harsh. He was probably struggling to survive out there alone.” My lower lip trembled but I forced myself to remain strong. What mattered was that he was alive.

“I’m sure he'll only continue to improve,” I said. “Thank you for saving him, Asher.” He smiled at me warmly. “We’re mates now, Cassandra. You don’t need to thank me for anything.” “Still,” I insisted. “It means the world to me.” Asher nodded and then his face grew serious and he let out a sigh. “It’s Silas who deserves the thanks. Had it not been for him, we never would have found him. I owe my Beta so much.”

I considered what he had told me about Silas’ injuries in Sky Pride and then my eyebrows knitted together. Though we hardly knew each other, Silas Moses had never been a weak man. It struck me as odd that he still hadn’t recovered from his wounds and a thought crossed my mind.

“Was he really injured so badly that no healer in Anemond could save him?” I wondered.

My mate seemed confused and frowned at me. “What do you mean?” “It’s strange,” I explained. “IF the wound had been lethal, Silas would likely have perished on the road back here. But he didn’t. And strong young werewolves like Silas should heal p

quickly if the wound isn’t lethal.” “I"m not following,” Asher admitted.

“Do you remember when you were attacked by a bear during the hunting festival?” I reminded him. “You were wounded so badly that I thought you would die, but luckily, it wasn’t fatal, and you healed quickly. You recovered in a few hours.” Asher’s frown deepened.

“Do you mean to suggest that Silas can’t wake up because someone doesn’t want him to?” he asked slowly.

“It’s just a guess,” I admitted. “I can’t figure out why someone wouldn’t want him to wake up. Who would dare do something like this to Silas in the

House of Moses? Oliver? If it was him, what does he want? What's the point of keeping him unconscious...” Before I could finish my sentence, Asher and I seemed to come to the same realization.

If someone wanted Silas to be unconscious, then they wanted him to stay away from something, something he would want to stop. But what? What action were they about to take? “Do you really think it’s Oliver?” he wondered. “Would he keep his son unconscious and deliberately arrange a farce? “It could be,” I replied. “It would raise people’s empathy, at least. What would be better to the public than seeing a

loving father who desperately wants to save his son? Not to mention the fact that the son is the well-respected Lord Beta. Oliver Moses seems like the type to pull this kind of treachery. What do you think?” Asher let out a heavy exhale. “It’s not a bad theory. I just can’t imagine how a father could use his son’s life for his own political plot. I would sacrifice anything for the life of my son. How could others think differently?” I wasn’t sure if Asher thought of Finnick or Marco when he made his statement. Perhaps he was referring to his late father as well.

I remembered that Emmett had told me in my dream that the last Alpha King wanted to use Asher to speak with his dead wife. How much of that did

Asher remember or know? I squeezed Asher’s hand.

“Unfortunately, people aren’t all the same. But I think you're going to be a better father than all of them.” “I’m not sure Finnick would agree,” he said quietly.

“He will one day,” I assured him. “You just have to give it time.” My mate nodded and we fell into silence as I considered our discussion.

“What do you think Oliver is planning?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think there’s a way to find out,” he replied, and when I blinked at him in confusion, he continued to speak. “After Oliver claimed the ‘Alpha King was missing’,

he hosted meetings regularly as a regent. I would need to see the councilors, but I think they would help me understand what's going on in this country and speculate what Oliver is planning.” Our plan had been to go straight to the House of Moses, but we decided our best course of action would be to call the councilors. The clinic would be the perfect place to meet since it was just far away enough from Merliscire to give us privacy, so we placed the calls at once.

We asked Max to keep watch on the clinic and then went into one of the private meeting rooms. Once we were sure we couldn’t be overheard, I picked up the phone and dialed the numbers.

Each time, I made sure to speak first : and ensured that the councilors themselves were on the other end before passing the phone to Asher.

We invited two councilors to join us, Jacoby and Karsh. They were the only ones Asher trusted. There should have been three of them, but Karsh informed him that the third, Aremine, had passed away not too long ago.

“It’s sad,” Asher remarked as we waited for the councilors to come to Keller's. “He was a good friend of Lancel’s back in the day.” I blinked at him, suddenly realizing that his beloved guard hadn’t been around for quite some time. I then remembered what he told me about the day Marco had been brought to him, when Adalyn had administered the

poison.

Asher released a sigh and shook his head before I could utter a word.

“I hadn’t expected Lancel to do that,” he sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. “I’ve known him for so long. I know he never would have done that if he’d known it was a trap, and it was exactly because he cared about my feelings that he brought Marco to me.

But a mistake was made and Lancel broke his vow of absolute loyalty, so he couldn’t be the king’s guard anymore.” He sighed again. “That’s why I've started to understand my father. It’s never an easy or pleasant thing to be king.” «1 understand,” I assured him. “You and Lancel are like Erika and I but

more complicated. just... T can’t believe Adalyn did all that. Used Marco and then drugged you. She must really be crazy.” Asher nodded. “She’s dangerous, more than I ever expected. We can’t underestimate her, Cassandra.” The councilors arrived not long after we made the calls and seemed agitated when they saw Asher.

Jacoby shed some tears while Karsh knelt down before him. They thanked the Moon Goddess dramatically for sending the Alpha King back to them, and then after a while, we all gathered around the table to talk.

It was a long conversation. The councilors mentioned that Oliver was

trying to take the power of Wegalla bit by bit. He was isolating councilors who had clearly shown their loyalty to Asher and remained on his side. He weakened their power at once.

He had also announced the palace would stop providing financial support to Packs like Vanished Hunters and White Shadows, which had been receiving support ever since they became part of Wegalla.

Aremine had protested strongly at the meeting but got spiteful comments from Oliver and his accomplices. The poor old man had suffered from a heart attack and died.

«liver wants the small Packs to go against the royal family,” Asher mused.

“1m afraid so, Jacoby said. “And

there's more than that, sadly. Oliver has been quiet since Silas was ill, but yesterday, he called all the councilors for a meeting.” Asher frowned. “What does he want?” Karsh and Jacoby shook their heads.

“We don’t know,” Jacoby said. “But Oliver wants every councilor to be at the next meeting. There must be no exception. No excuses.”