Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper
Chapter 181

Chapter 181 Run Now

CASSANDRA

I had never considered myself a fool.

But then again, in light of everything, perhaps I was.

At the very least, I was naive, foolish, and blind. I should have put the clues together long before this moment. It should have been completely obvious from when Asher had mentioned the jasmine tea wasn’t a gift from him but from his brother.

Back then, I had thought that Kane Collins was just considerate. I thought maybe he had just checked with Erika or some other servants who knew I adored jasmine tea and then made an excuse saying it was a gift from Asher just because he didn’t want to pressure me.

Or maybe he just wanted to compensate for what his mother had done to Erika and me. Either way, I hadn’t given it a single thought

But if I’d been more careful and sharper about it all, I wouldn’t have neglected the possibility that Kane might replace a clue to my real identity.

The moment that the question left my l*ps, Kane’s gaze remained elsewhere. He avoided eye contact with me as if he was too ashamed to look at me, but his silence gave me all the answers I needed.

Kane knew who I truly was, or at least the woman I had been.

When and how had he figured it out?

I’d been able to conceal my identity from Asher for so long because my appearance had been altered from that terrible inferno. Whatever Emmett had used to heal my wounds and burns had drastically changed my features enough to conceal my former identity. The only indications of my old self were the green of my irises, though they’d been much lighter back then, and then the sear on my leg. Without that scar, Asher would have taken longer to realize it was me.

So what had Kane noticed that his brother hadn’t?

Was it as Keleb suggested, that Kane had been following me for a while to gather intel? Or had he simply caught on by the mention of jasmine tea? It wasn’t the most common of tea flavors, and everyone who had known Cora well knew that it was her drink of choice.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask Asher’s stepbrother, but I couldn’t. This wasn’t the time or place, especially considering how injured he was. The sheer amount of blood loss alone was threatening his life. We needed to replace a way out of this terrible scenario and get far away from the king of Yurene.

But before I could act, Kane spoke. He didn’t look at me and his voice was coarsely low.

Chapter 181 Run Now

“I’m sorry, Ca*sandra,” he apologized, and then he closed his eyes and his brows furrowed in pain. “I’m so, so sorry.”

A lump formed in my throat as I tried to make sense of it all.

Sorry?

Sorry for what?

I didn’t understand what was going on. There was nothing he needed to apologize for. Was he sorry for this situation? Or was he sorry for not letting me know that he had long uncovered the truth? Or maybe, he was sorry that we were involved in this sick game Kaleb appeared to be enjoying.

Regardless, there was nothing for him to apologize for. I knew he had his reasons for remaining quiet on

the matter.

I didn’t think what Kaleb had said about Kane was true. I didn’t think he had some kind of sick, twisted obsession with me. He probably just wanted to make sure I was okay out of kindness or something.

Though we weren’t the closest of friends in our youth, he had always been kind to me and treated me with respect. He was Asher’s brother, of course, so I had no reason to believe that he was acting out of some strange place or obsession.

Kaleb laughed when Kane uttered his apology to me.

“Oh, now I definitely feel sick of this pathetic love story,” he mocked him and then he sneered. “You’re a coward, Lord Kane, as well as a fool. I’ve heard the stories they tell about you in this terrible palace. You’re nothing more than a second–rate version of that pitiful excuse of a king that rules Wegalla”

At the mention of Asher, anger swelled within me and my hands balled into fists at my side. To throw insults and snide remarks at a wounded man on the ground was nothing short of cowardly in its own right.

How dare this cruel foreign king disrespect the royal family of Wegalla?

“Stop this,” I demanded. “There’s no reason to continue down here. It’s a waste of time.”

Kaleb lifted a brow and then shrugged. “You’re right, Healer Ca*sandra. Why pretend otherwise? Let’s get on with the show, shall we? You seem ready to accept the reality of your situation.”

When I continued to eye him coldly, he spoke again.

“If you agree to go to the North with me, everything will be just fine,” he remarked. “Lord Kane can get the help and médical attention he needs, and no one else will get hurt. The decision is yours. Of course, I’m not a very patient person, so you need to make your choice now. Will you come with me and save him?”

My hands curled into fists at my sides. I knew I didn’t have a choice in the matter, and I hated the loss of agency in my own life. After five years, after all that had happened, I was still incapable of controlling my own fote, wasn’t I?

Kaleb looked at our surroundings and grimaced. “This small ward is suffocating, isn’t it? And the smell of

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Chapter 181 Run Now

blood is too heavy. If it’s impacting your judgment, perhaps I could take you somewhere else and you could make your choice there”

“No,” Kane spoke up, and then he glanced at me finally. “Ca*sandra, don’t do this. You don’t have to go with him.”

I dug my fingernails into my palm and took a deep breath, I approached Kane and then crouched down

beside him.

I had an idea but admittedly, it was crazy. It would require swiftness if I was going to pull it off, as well as cooperation on Kane’s part.

“Tightly hold your breath,” I said to him in an almost whisper,

Kane’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “What-”

“Do it,” I insisted with a firm look.

Once he nodded, I put my hand in my pocket and retrieved a small bottle. I then lifted it in one swift motion and held my breath as I flung it against the stone wall.

The gla*s shattered upon impact and as the shards flew in every direction, plumes of shimmering smoke rose around us.

The bottle had contained an inhalation anesthesia. I always carried it with me when I went to visit Spike. just in case anything went awry. I’d never needed to use it, but now was the perfect opportunity.

The anesthesia wasn’t enough to make the guards lose consciousness, but it was enough for them to loosen their iron grip on Kane. The tall pair of men let go and began to cough, and as they dissolved into a fit, covered my mouth and nose with my sleeve. Kane copied my gesture and then I inclined my head forward, toward the dungeon stairs.

We needed to run