Chapter 120

Chapter 120 Report

CAS SANDRA

The morning air whipped around me and made me shiver as I eagerly waited outside of the clinic. I wrapped my thickly knit sweater tighter around me. Not even the coldness of the day could ruin my mood.

I glanced down at my watch. Any minute now.

Moments later, I heard the sounds of wheels against the pavement, and suddenly, a car appeared in the distance. Excitement raced through me and I bounced in place as it drove up to the clinic. When it came to a stop, the back door flew open, and Marley practically flew out of the vehicle.

“Cas sy!” she exclaimed, and as she barrelled toward me, my smile brightened. I braced for impact, but it did me no good. Marley ran right into me and wrapped her arms around me tightly. As we embraced, tears sprang from my eyes and I began to cry from happiness.

you.”

“Marley,” I managed through my trembling l*ps. “Oh, Marley, I’m so happy to see

“You’d better be,” she joked, and after we shared a laugh, we pulled apart from one another just in time to see Jasper heading toward us.

“Jasper!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t expect to see you!”

“Someone had to drive,” he teased, and then his l*ps curled into a smile. “It’s good to see you, Cas sandra.”

“Likewise,” I said, and then I gestured toward the clinic. “Let’s head inside and get out of this cold. The clinic is nice and warm-”

“Wait this is your clinic?” Marley blurted out, and her jaw dropped in shock. “Cas sy, this place is huge! It’s way better than the one back in Wild Crawler”

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tour.”

I grinned. “Just wait until you see the inside of it. C’mon, I’ll give you guys a

Without further ado, the three of us walked up the drive and into the clinic. As promised, I showed my friends all of the different rooms and amenities of the new clinic, and they both seemed thoroughly impressed by it all.

Once I finished showing them around, I ushered them into the meeting room in the back and started heating up some water for tea.

“How is everything back in Wild Crawler?” I asked as I prepared my new tea

“Everything is fine,” Marley remarked and her light green eyes glittered with excitement. “Better than usual, really. Rayden was crowned Alpha of the Pack yesterday. I wish you could have seen the ceremony, Cas sy, it was brilliant. Sofial and Gareth pulled out all of the stops and the banquet afterward… some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life.”

“That’s great!” I said happily. “I’m glad to hear it all went well. I’m happy for Rayden.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that,” Marley said with a wink.”He wanted to come with us, but he needed to take care of some Pack issues first. He still has quite a bit to

learn.”

According to the Pack traditions of Wegalla, the new Alpha would have to come to Anemond to see the Alpha King within a month of his crowning ceremony, so Rayden would likely come to visit soon. I had to admit I was happy at the idea of seeing him, though I knew after their last encounter, that Rayden and Asher being in the same room might spell disaster.

It was strange to think back to the Asher I’d met back in Wild Crawler. He’d been so different then.

Just as I was about to say something more, the door to the meeting room opened, and in walked Becky.

“Oh,” she remarked in surprise, and she pushed her gla*ses up the bridge of

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her nose. “Sorry to interrupt, Cas sy, I didn’t realize you were in here. Wait, are these your friends from Wild Crawler?”

I nodded happily. “Yes, this is Marley and Jasper. Marley and Jasper, meet my a*sistant, Becky. She’s an absolutely brilliant researcher and healer in training.””

“It’s so nice to meet you!” Marley exclaimed, and her smile brightened. “Come sit with us, Becky.”

My a*sistant joined us at the meeting table, and after I finished preparing the tea and pa*sed the cups around, I sat opposite of Marley.

“Did you bring the forensic report with you?” I wondered. “I know you just got here, but I’m really curious about it.”

“No worries, I have it right here,” Marley replied, and she reached into her bag and retrieved it. She handed me the stack of papers.

I briefly scanned them and my l*ps parted in surprise.

“We’ll need to look this over further, but I think this might be related to the poisons,” I realized, and then I handed the papers to Becky. My a*sistant looked them over and then nodded.

“I think you might be right,” she agreed. “We definitely need to study this thoroughly and compare it with our notes.”

“Poisons?” Marley wondered with a worried expression. “What poisons?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later,” I promised. “We have plenty of time to discuss it all. I had Erika prepare a room for you upstairs if you need some time to relax first.”

“That might be good,” she agreed. “It was a long drive.”

“Speaking of drives, I’m afraid I must return to Wild Crawler,” Jasper announced. “There’s a lot of Pack business to get back to. I’ll return in a few days to collect Marley.”

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“It was nice to see you, Jasper,” I said. “We’ll escort you out.”

We walked Jasper out to the car, and after he shared a small hug with Marley, I studied the two closely. It was clear that Jasper treated Marley differently. They had always quarreled, but I could see that he clearly cared for her.

After he got in the car and drove away, I nudged my friend..

“Is there something going on between you two?” I wondered.

Marley’s cheeks flushed scarlet.

“No,” she denied it immediately. “Besides, I’m not interested in men right now.

“Fair,” I laughed and I smiled at her. I missed teasing my friend so much and wanted to spend more time chatting with her like this. But before I could visit with Marley, I needed to visit Asher first. I needed to see the man in the dungeon and see if he could figure out what the data on the report meant.

When I reached Asher’s study, he was busy dealing with a stack of documents. His expression was worried, and I had a sense that he was dealing with something stressful.

“Take a seat, Cas sandra,” he said without looking up from his papers. “I just need a moment.”

“No problem,” I replied, and I sat down in the leather chair opposite him. Asher hadn’t given me any clues about what was going on, but I wasn’t going to press the matter. For now, I needed to focus on the business at hand.

After Asher finished signing the document, he set it aside and looked at me.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “It’s been a busy day already and it isn’t even noon. What’s going on?”

I showed him the report and explained the situation. When I’d asked if Marley

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could visit Anemond, I hadn’t given him any information about the forensic report. I hadn’t meant to leave it out or keep it from him, but I knew the matter would be easier to explain later on.

Asher frowned as he looked over the papers. I told him all about the theory that the poisons had some correlation with the mysterious illness and his eyes widened.

“You think the disease may have some relation to Dark Abyss?” he repeated back in surprise. When I nodded, he sighed. “Well, according to regulation, no one should visit the imposter. But if you really think that it’s necessary to speak with him directly, I suppose I could grant you permission.”

“Thank you-” I started to say, but Asher held his hand up.

“I only have one condition,” he continued. “I need to be with you when you’re talking. I won’t risk you getting hurt.”

I considered the idea for a moment and then nodded.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Shall we go to the dungeon?”

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