Chapter 59

Chapter 59 Viper appears again

CA SSANDRA

I stared at Asher in surprise. Adalyn?

The Alpha King wasted absolutely no time. Without another word, he turned on his heels and rushed out of the room.

“Go to sleep, baby,” I called out to Finnick. “I’ll be back in a while.”

“Okay,” Finnick replied, but his sleepy tone dripped with confusion. “Mommy, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, honey, but I have to go check,” I said as my hands began to shake at my sides. “I love you.”

As Finnick mumbled back a tired response, I followed Asher out the door. The Alpha King-had managed to cover quite a bit of distance during my exchange with my son, but I was able to catch up to him on the staircase.

“It sounded like it came from the garden,” Asher blurted when I arrived. “I don’t know what she would be doing there at this hour…”

His gray eyes flashed with urgency and though his gait was a little sta ggered from the alcohol, he remained steadier than expected. Meanwhile, I was thoroughly panicked and just as confused as he was.

What had caused his wife to scream at this hour?

Asher barely seemed to notice me as we hurried toward the garden, but I didn’t mind much. I was here only as a healer, not for any other reason. If Adalyn or someone else was hurt, I needed to be in attendance..

Once we reached the garden, I was surprised to see the ma*s of people gathered around. Everyone was speaking at frantic paces and staring on in the

distance..

At the center of the garden near a tall rose bush, Adalyn stood with her

parents. Her mother, Linda, had her arms wrapped around her, and her face was as pale as the moonlight above us. Her eyes were distant and a little glazed and tears streamed down her cheeks.

I followed the direction of her gaze and let out a small gasp of surprise.

There, lying on the ground was a viper.

I then noticed Kaleb was also there. The king of Yurene appeared less shocked than the others and when my eyes flew to his hands, I noticed they were covered in blood.

From his proximity to Adalyn and the trail of blood on the ground, it seemed that he had been the one to kill the beast.

Asher stood there in shock for a moment and then he rushed to Adalyn’s side.

“Were you bitten?” he asked and she shook her head. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” she managed. “N-no Iwasn’t.”

Beyond us, Oliver Moses approached Kaleb. His stern face was just as colorless as the others and his b*dy was as stiff as a board. He offered the king of Yurene his

hand.

“Thank you for saving my daughter,” he said, and then he glanced over at Lindal and Adalyn. “If it weren’t for you… well, I don’t want to think about what may have happened.”

“Of course,” Kaleb said simply, and he accepted the Beta’s handshake. Once -they were finished, Oliver glanced over at Adalyn and Linda.

“If it’s alright with you, Your Majesty, I think it would be best for us to escort Adalyn back to her chambers,” he sighed, and he ran his hand through his thick dark hair. “I think she needs some rest.”

“I think that’s for the best,” Asher agreed, and his eyes fell back to Adalyn. His. expression was somewhere between guilty and alarmed and I watched him force. back a gulp as he touched her arm. The pair exchanged glances, and after Adalyn began to sniffle, Oliver and Linda moved in closer and helped steady their daughter.

As they escorted Adalyn away, Asher turned to the crowd of people that lingered. All fell silent as he cleared his throat.

“Everyone go back to your rooms at once,” he ordered, and without another word, the crowd left until it was only Kaleb, Asher, and I.

Despite the circumstances, Kaleb was in good spirits and stared at the snake.

with an almost amused look.

“Of all of the things to come across in Anemond,” he said as he crossed his arms. “I never expected a viper. What an odd surprise, especially at an hour like

this.”

Asher’s expression darkened and for a moment, I thought he was going to get angry with the king of Yurene. Like me, I’m sure he was wondering what had happened exactly, but instead of taking his frustration out, he simply sighed and glanced at the viper.

“Is that the same kind of viper that attacked me days ago?” he asked me directly as he gestured at the snake.

Heat spread through my cheeks and I immediately crouched down and inspected the b*dy of the dead viper. I needed to stop acting like a bystander and act more like a healer.

“I don’t know,” I admitted as I turned the beast over and examined its scales. “It looks quite similar though. I’d need to get it to the lab and run some tests on it to be

sure.”

“A viper attacked you?” Kaleb asked Asher with a raised eyebrow and when the Alpha King nodded, he frowned. “Were you bitten?”

“Yes,” Asher answered, his steel gaze still on the viper.

Kaleb’s head tilted to the side and stared at the snake as well.

“I don’t understand,” he mused. “How could an animal such as a snake bite an Alpha? Sure they are fast, but werewolf kings are faster.”

“He was trying to save me,” I explained quietly.

It was true. Asher wouldn’t have been bitten if he wasn’t trying to keep me out

of harm’s way and I still felt a touch of guilt over the whole affair.

The king of Yurene’s eyes narrowed for a moment, and then he offered me a strange smile. It was a little smug, a little amused, and I wasn’t sure how to interpret

As I rose to my feet and dusted my hands off on my nightgown, Asher turned to the guard perched at the garden’s gate.

“Send the viper to Healer Cas sandra’s lab,” he ordered. “And then check the garden thoroughly. I want to make sure no more of them are hiding around.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the guard said obediently, and then he offered the Alpha King a small bow of respect.

As the guard sprang into action, I stared down at the viper and concern

crashed over me.

Though my hypothesis hadn’t been fully formed, I’d figured Margaret had something to do with the vipers, and by default, so did the Moses family. But if that were the case, why had Adalyn been attacked? And why were there vipers near the

palace anyway?

Vipers normally didn’t release their venom except for in the vicinity of prey, but if this one had been enchanted or trained, perhaps the rules were different. Were these vipers trained to attack anyone they came into contact with or were their

attacks calculated?

Marco, Asher, and now Adalyn.

What was going on here and how could we put a stop to this mess before anyone else got hurt?

Kaleb interrupted my train of thought when he suddenly cleared his throat.

“I don’t know much about snakes,” he offered in his heavy accent. “But I do know one thing. Although snakes usually move alone, they prefer living together.”

“So?” Asher sighed impatiently.

“So,” Kaleb continued, and he shook his head slowly. “If one snake has been found near the palace… there must be a snake pit somewhere in the vicinity.”