Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 289

The healer appeared dejected as the Alpha’s daughter stared him down with a vicious expression on her beautiful face, but he seemed to know that it was too late for him to deny the truth.

“Please, forgive me, Kiara,” he pleaded pathetically. “This all got out of hand and it didn’t go the way you think. I didn’t do this for revenge or to spite your father. Darwin forced me to administer the poison. He threatened to kill my wife and children if I disobeyed his orders.”

Kiara softened slightly but I maintained my ferocity. As cruel as it sounded, I wasn’t going to wilt just because the healer had an excuse. If he was telling the truth I would let up, but until I was certain, I wouldn’t relax.

“What does Darwin want?” Kiara repeated herself. novelbin

The healer simply glanced at her without saying a word.

The answer was self-evident. If the Alpha died without a proper heir, Darwin would be the one in power. Kiara would either have to marry him or suffer the same fate as her father. Something told me that Darwin had a preference but would accept either option to get what he wanted.

Kiara seemed flustered as she started to put the pieces together, so I spoke to the healer instead.

“Can the Alpha be saved?” I wondered.

The healer considered the question for a moment.

“It would be difficult, but I could try,” he said finally. “I think if I had the proper herbs I could rouse him from his coma and then begin to treat the rest of the poison as I would anything else. It would take some time, and there’s no guarantee, but I think I could try.”

I nodded and then glanced at Kiara. She snapped out of her daze and then nodded. Once I had her turned my attention back to the healer.

approval, I

“You need to do your best to keep this between us,” I said firmly but not unkindly. “If you comply, we’ll make sure your family is safe, If not, your life might be forfeit. It’s all up to you.”

The healer nodded quickly. “Of course. You have my word.”

I released my hold on his collar and the healer rubbed his neck and wiped the small droplets of blood away from his skin. My claws hadn’t pressed in hard enough to inflict too much damage, but enough to still leave some marks.

We decided to return to the palace to check the Alpha’s condition together. Just as expected, the healer gave us a warning stare before we entered Arthur’s room. He pressed a finger against his lips, indicating that we shouldn’t discuss anything here within the castle.

We did as instructed and allowed the healer to examine Arthur. Kiara maintained her distance, but her eyes remained locked on her father. She seemed fiercely determined to make sure he would be okay, and I admired her greatly for it.

Once the healer was done, he gestured to the door. It took me a moment to realize he would only speak to us about the Alpha outside of the castle. It was risky to follow him out since we still didn’t know if we could trust the healer completely, but after Kiara and I exchanged a glance, we stepped out of the room.

We followed the healer out of the castle and all the way to the side road again. After the healer glanced around, he broke the silence and let out a soft sigh.

“The good news is that the Alpha is okay, he informed us. “Darwin had instructed me to increase the strength of the poison the other day, but I didn’t do it. I will stop the administration of the medicine at once and shift him over to normal nutritional pills that should improve his condition.”

Kiara lit up at this news but I wasn’t completely convinced.

“You’d better be telling the truth,” I warned the healer. “And you better not be playing any tricks. I won’t stand for any more harm coming to the Alpha. Do you understand?”

The healer nodded seriously. “Of course, Lord Kane. I don’t want the Alpha to die. That’s why I hadn’t yet used the stronger poison. I don’t want to take his life. He deserves to live on for many more years to come.”

We exchanged a few more words and then the healer left to head back to his home. After he was gone, Kiara reached out and held on to the wall, as if trying not to collapse to the ground. I rushed to her side and steadied her before she could fall.

“Kiara, are you alright?” I demanded as concern swelled within me.

She didn’t answer and instead muttered to herself. “How could Darwin do this?”

I stared into her eyes and offered her a sympathetic expression. “I don’t know, darling.”

I hadn’t meant to call her that, but the affectionate moniker slipped out before I could stop it. Kiara didn’t seem to notice. She looked like a lost little girl.

“Darwin was always loyal to our family,” she remarked sadly. “He’s always been my father’s right-hand man. He’s never done anything without involving Darwin.”

She took a breath and then continued. “He saved my father quite a few times when they were in danger. Pack disputes. Though Darwin is much younger than my father, he considered Darwin to be his

best friend. He’s always been so kind to me. How… how could he do this?”

“Werewolves are complicated,” I explained. “Men are complicated.”

“I can’t believe I even considered marrying him,” Kiara murmured as she shook her head. “How st upid am I? The rest of the Pack is right. I’m an idiot indeed.”

“You aren’t an idiot,” I insisted firmly. “Don’t blame yourself, Kiara. This isn’t your fault. Darwin may have been loyal in the past. He was probably kind back then too. When you’re close to someone, it can be hard to recognize a change right away. One also tends to trust those who have been loyal in the past. Believe me, I understand how you feel. The feeling of being deceived by one of the closest people you know is a nightmare.”

She considered my words for a moment and then nodded.

“What do we do next?” she wondered. “Darwin is very clever, Kane. If we confront him directly, he won’t admit what he’s done.”

“You’re right,” I said. “We need to find another way.”

Our biggest issue was the fact that Darwin had authority in the Pack. It would be hard to get others to go against him. And if the Alpha didn’t wake up… there was no way we could stop him.

I felt a bit exhausted.

If Darwin couldn’t be defeated, there was no way I could command the army of Sky Pride. Our chances of Alpha Arthur awakening any time soon were slim, which meant we couldn’t offer timely help if Asher and Cassandra were in need.

Given, of course, that they had survived the fire in Yurene.

I didn’t know if they were even still alive, but I decided to operate as if they were.

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“Darwin may have power but he isn’t undefeatable,” Kiara interrupted my thoughts. “Most of the Pack are loyal to my father. If we could find any solid evidence showing that Darwin wanted to murder the Alpha, the rest of the Pack would call for his execution.”

A splendid theory.

I nodded my head. “In that case, we would need to get solid evidence.”

The Packs wouldn’t believe in a healer or me, an outsider. As for Kiara, thanks to the rumor Darwin had spread around the Pack, many believed she was spellbound by me, at least figuratively. They believed she would do anything for me, even lie.

“Solid evidence,” Kiara mumbled and then she brightened. “If I want members to stand on my side, I need to convince a few important figures, people who have higher positions and are respected like Darwin. They need to witness how evil Darwin can be.”