Chapter 51

Chapter 51 Mess

ASHER

I’d just laid my head down on the desk in my study when I heard a series of knocks on my door. For a moment, I considered ignoring them entirely, but à voice in the back of my mind told me that I had a duty to fulfill.

I was just so tired these days.

But the Alpha King couldn’t take a break.

“Enter,” I groaned, and I pulled myself back up. As the door, began to open, I ran a hand through my hair and took a long, deep breath.

Luckily, it was just Lancel. My most trusted guard entered the room quietly and as he approached my desk, his full eyebrows creased together in concern.

ask?”

“Alpha?” he asked, his tone drenched in worry. “Alpha, are you alright?”

“Yes,” I answered quickly, though I didn’t exactly mean it. “Why ever do you

“Your skin is quite pale, Alpha,” Lancel replied worriedly. “You’ve got dark circles under your eyes and you look quite tired.”

“You sure know how to flatter me, Lancel,” I murmured, and I stifled a yawn.

“You haven’t seemed quite yourself lately, that’s all,” he said in a much gentler tone and he bowed his head in respect. “I just want to make sure you’re feeling alright.”

“You worry too much,” I teased him, and I gave him a small smile. The older man returned my smile, but deep down, I knew he wasn’t going to put his worry to rest.

I couldn’t blame him for being concerned. He was right- I wasn’t looking my

best these days, nor was I feeling my best. There was simply too much going on in the palace and my sickness was really taking its toll these days. I was so stressed by it all that I was hardly sleeping, which was only making the symptoms of my

condition worse.

I needed to speak with Healer Ca ssandra but I wasn’t too keen on the pleasure

of her company after our last encounter.

“Now, enough about me)” I said after I cleared my throat, and I straightened my posture. “What do you have to report? Have you completed your investigation?”

“Indeed,” Lancel said, and as he took a seat, I took a moment to get my nerves.

under control.

I’d sent Lancel on a mission to continue investigating the arson at Ca ssandra Keller’s home in Wild Crawler, and also to look into the healer and her supposed late husband. I’d been highly suspicious about the man and wanted to know more about Cas sandra’s past.

Part of me felt guilty about looking into her so deeply but the other part needed to know.

“Emmett Keller was born in Wild Crawler territory,” Lancel reported, and he held his chin up slightly as if he were giving a school report. “His parents were murdered when he was quite young. Apparently, his parent’s killer meant to take his life as. well. He kidnapped Emmett along with them and the rest of the Pack believed him to be dead.”

“Wow,” I murmured. “Continue.”

“He returned to the Pack when he was sixteen and settled back down in his family’s old residency,” Lancel said. “Everyone was surprised by his return.”

I frowned. Something about this didn’t add up.

“How did the Pack know it was him?” I wondered as I leaned forward on my elbows. “Did they check his identity?”

Lancel nodded. “They asked him all kinds of questions to confirm.”

“That doesn’t seem to be foolproof method,” I pointed out, and my eyebrows creased together.

“The only strangeness about him when he returned was that he was suddenly a self-taught healer,” Lancel continued on. “The boy was quite knowledgable but wouldn’t explain how he’d come by such information. He was simply quite talented at it.”

“Hmm,” I remarked. How strange. “Please continue looking into Emmett Keller. I think there’s more there to investigate.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Lancel replied obediently.

“Now, did you find anything out about Ca ssandra Keller or the Moon Chase Pack?” I wondered.

My guard shook his head slowly and offered me an apologetic glance. “Sorry, Alpha. The population of the Moon Chase Pack is very low and has decreased by the years. The last Alpha of the Pack died many years ago and no one has taken up the mantle.”

Figures, I thought to myself. The Moon Chase Pack were nomads who weren’t known for being very social. There was no way to truly figure out if Ca ssandra’s stories were true or not.

“What of the arsonist?” I sighed. Surely, there had to be some good news to report.

Lancel hesitated.

“Tell me,” I insisted.

“I spoke with some of the residents who live near where the arsonist disappeared,” he replied. “Neighbors of Mrs. Keller. They said some peculiar things. One in particular, this old man, insisted that people disappear in those forests all the time. He claims that something… magical happens there?”

I nearly laughed. “Excuse me?”

“Perhaps that’s the wrong word for it,” Lancel corrected himself, and after at sigh, he continued. “He just said that there was some sort of sorcery at play. I’m not sure that there’s any kind of truth to the idea, but he was very insistent that something more was happening there. If I may be frank with you, Alpha, I think it’s ridiculous.”

I wanted to agree with Lancel. Everyone in Wegalla knew that sorcery was no longer practiced in the empire.

“Are you still in contact with the man?” I asked as I considered his words.

Lancel nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”

“I know it’s likely a falsity, but speak with him again,” I said. “Ask him everything he knows about this alleged sorcery and report back to me.”

My most trusted guard looked less than thrilled by the idea but he nodded obediently anyway.

“Yes, Alpha,” he replied.

We sat there in silence for a moment. Arson, sorcery, murder, kidnapping, nomadic Packs without an Alpha to answer to… the empire was messier than ever, especially when it came to Ca ssandra Keller. I had the sense that there was something insane going on here and I needed to get to the bottom of it before it bled into life here in the palace.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

“Who goes there?” I called out. “Enter.”

“The door creaked open and in rushed a young se rvant. He approached my desk swiftly and then offered a small bow.

“Your Majesty, the King of Yurene has arrived,” he announced in a hastened. pace. “He awaits your company in the meeting room on the first floor.”

“The King of Yurene?” I repeated back in surprise, and when the se rvant nodded, my eyebrows creased together. I hadn’t expected the king would come to Wegalla himself. According to the plan we’d crafted through correspondence, the king was going to send a group of diplomats to speak with me.

But it seemed that the king had other thoughts in mind.

I had yet to meet the man, but it seemed like he was a bit of a troublemaker.

I sighed and rubbed my temples in exasperation. “I’ll be there in a moment. Now leave us.”

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