Chapter 92

Chapter 92 His mate had been pregnant

ASHER

I raised my eyebrow and stared at the man. A tidbit of information? He truly must have believed in what he had to say. Either that or he was a master of deceit. Regardless, I knew I had no choice. I had to take the bait.

I had to know about Cora.

“Fine,” I said, and I crossed my arms. “What do you have to say?”

The imposter cleared his throat. He seemed just as surprised as I was that I’d agreed to hear him out. He took a second and then began.

“Even back then I found the girl to be quite pitiful,” he remarked. “She looked so innocent. But there’s nothing I could do about that. It was a shame, really.”

My stomach turned as I pictured Cora. From his tone, I could tell she had probably been scared.

I wanted to strike him down.

What had they done to her?

“Get to the point,” I demanded.

“I’m getting to the point, young Alpha,” the imposter said with a wave of hist hand. “I’m simply saying that she was pitiful. She seemed so innocent, so precious. Well, innocent enough, seeing as she was the daughter of such a serious criminal. She was likely tied into their business, so I can’t help but wonder how naive to it all she truly was-”

“Get to the point!” I shouted, emphasizing every word.

The man laughed, and before I knew what I was doing, I lunged forward and

reached through the bars. I grabbed his n*eck and yanked him forward until his chest smacked against the bars.

“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll end your life now,” I threatened. “I’m serious.”

I tightened my grip around him to emphasize that point, and the imposter struggled for breath. Despite the danger of my hands around his n*eck, he maintained eye contact with me and didn’t panic.

After nearly a minute, he began again.

“She was pregnant, young Alpha,” the man revealed. “She was pregnant with your child.”

The world suddenly turned on its axis.

My heart sunk in my chest as the weight of his words crashed down on me. My knees wavered and my eyes started to well up involuntarily.

Cora was pregnant.

She was pregnant with my baby.

I released my hold on the man and took a few steps back from the bars. I searched the room for something to brace myself on as my chest heaved. I’d never felt shock like this before and for a moment, I thought I was going to be sick.

“I didn’t mean to end two lives,” the man spoke again, and he rubbed his n*eck. His skin had turned bright red from my chokehold, but I didn’t care about that. I couldn’t care less about his well-being, not right now.

“S-s-shut up,” I stammered as a lump formed in my throat.

“I couldn’t just stop because she’d said so,” he continued anyway, his tone. serious for once. “It could have been an excuse after all. I’m sure any person under those circumstances would say anything to survive-”

“Please,” I murmured.

“It was all so very violent,” the man sighed. “Vicious, really. I would be very happy to help you convict the person responsible-”

“Shut the f**k up!” I growled. My inner wolf was going to take control if the man continued to say anything further.

I turned away from him and fought to regain control. My nails had already. sharpened into claws, and I could feel my canines pressing against my l*ps. My entire b*dy shook as I battled my beast.

There was a long moment of silence. My tone must

to keep the man from running his mouth.

have been intense enough

When I finally had an ounce of control, I took a long, deep breath, and pulled myself together.

“Is she still alive or not?” I asked the man quietly, and when I turned back to his cell, the imposter’s expression was confused.

“It wouldn’t be possible,” he said as he shook his head slowly. “Cora had drank a cup of poison before the fire was set. Even if she’d managed to escape, she wouldn’t have survived. The poison had no cure.”

The moment the man finished speaking, I turned on my heels and ran out of the dungeon. I nearly lost my footing up the stairs, and as I ascended, I heard the man calling my name. But I ignored him. I would deal with the imposter later.

For now, there was only one person I wanted to see.

Ca ssandra Keller.

I had already started to believe that Ca ssandra was really Cora. And the fact that Cora had been pregnant before the inferno only further proved my theory. She had a son, after all, one who was around the proper age.

I sped up my pace until I reached the entrance of the palace. The guards were surprised to see me rush by so quickly, but I couldn’t stop and explain. My mind was racing just as fast as my feet were carrying me. It was a surprise I wasn’t flying.

As I ascended the main staircase, I tried to figure out the rest of the story. The imposter had said that Cora had consumed an incurable poison. Is that why her appearance had changed? Ca ssandra and Cora looked nothing alike. Was that a side effect of the poison? And was that why she was so afraid of revealing her true

identity?

How much did she truly suffer?

My eyes welled up again and I hastened my pace even further.

I had a feeling that I would lose her again if I didn’t go to her now.

Guards and other palace personnel alike ducked out of the way as I rushed down the corridor. I could hear the whispers and remarks around me, but I paid

them no mind.

Let them talk and gossip about the king going mad.

I reached the door of Ca ssandra’s room soon after, and when I flung it open, 1 saw the healer standing there with Lancel and Erika. She seemed surprised to see me, and her emerald eyes trailed over me as I rushed in.

“Your Majesty,” she said, and her eyebrows knitted together. “Is something wrong?”

When I glanced over at Lancel and Erika, she spoke again.

“Lancel came to make sure I was okay,” she explained calmly. “We were just discussing the possibility of me returning back to work today since the imposter was caught-”

“Everyone out,” I demanded. The room fell silent, and when nob*dy moved, I said it again. “Now.”

The guard and the maid exchanged looks of fear and concern. They complied without question, and the moment they left and closed the door behind them, I stared at Ca*sandra.

The healer stared back at me in alarm. I could see the fear and panic in her eyes and I hated it.

It was driving me absolutely crazy.

I didn’t want to scare her. I was tired of scaring her. But I couldn’t let things. continue on like this. I had to know the truth, and I had to know it now.

Who was she?