Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 309 Hostage CASSANDRA Adalyn’s face twisted again at Karsh’s cold and daring question, only this time, she didn’t recover and lost any sense of calm within her.

“How dare you demean the future king’s mother?” she roared, her golden eyes flashing with anger as she bared her teeth.

Despite her outrage and fierce expression, the councilor remained as cool as ever and didn’t even flinch. It was an impressive sight to behold and it made me respect Karsh even more.

Adalyn had always been a brat but I had the sense that her ferocity wasn’t something to take lightly, at least not today.

“I’m just stating the truth, Lady Adalyn,” Karsh said with a slightly raised chin, his eyes locked on hers.

“The king is alive, I can assure you-" Before he could finish his statement, Adalyn motioned with her hand and gave a signal to the soldiers behind her.

“Seize that traitor!” she ordered, and her men launched into action at once.

My heart raced in my chest as I saw the soldiers approach Karsh, but before they could get too close, Asher suddenly stood up and stepped forward. The fluid motion made the hooded cape that concealed his face fall aside, revealing his features to | everyone in the room.

“I don’t think Councilor Karsh has done anything to demean you, Adalyn,” he said, his voice radiating power.

Everyone in the meeting room uttered gasps and stared at the Alpha King in shock, Adalyn especially. Her pretty face turned ghostly white and those catlike eyes of hers widened so much they appeared as if they were about to fall out of her skull.

Though the moment was tense and the air was palpable, witnessing the expression on her face amused me greatly. I wasn’t one who found satisfaction in other’s misery, but she was so arrogant and full of herself that it was admittedly nice to see her so shocked.

For a moment as Adalyn blinked at

Asher, I thought she was happy that he was alive after all, but the tiny trace of happiness on her face faded quickly when she caught my eye. Her lips curled into a snarl and her nostrils flared.

“This is some kind of trick,” she | growled at her soldiers. “This king is a fake one, I can assure you. This evil healer is trying to pull off some sort of scheme!” As her soldiers glanced between us and her, it was clear they weren’t convinced by Adalyn’s words. Asher remained silent but his stance was regal and unmistakeable. They recognized the Alpha King for who he was, which only agitated Adalyn further.

«geize him!” she demanded again, her

volume louder and angrier than before. | The soldiers reluctantly moved forward, but suddenly, the councilor who had been firmly on Asher’s seat rushed over and knelt before my mate.

Karsh and Jacoby followed suit, pushing their chairs aside so they could approach him.

My breath caught in my throat as I tried to predict what would happen next. It was no surprise that those councilors would know Asher for who he was, but the rest of the men in the room could be a different story. The Moses family had their fingers in everything and there was no telling who would fall for Adalyn’s deception.

Just as I whispered a prayer to the

Moon Goddess, the sounds of shifting chairs filled the meeting room, and suddenly, the councilors rose to their feet and walked toward Asher. As they approached, they knelt on the ground and bowed their heads in respect to their Alpha King. None dared to support Adalyn anymore, not in the presence of the true king.

“Daddy!” I heard Prince Marco gasp, and my heart ached for the poor child.

He had been misguided and used as a pawn for all of his life. All he’d wanted was love and he certainly hadn’t gotten that from Adalyn.

She ignored her son’s utterance and shouted at the soldiers.

“1 told you to seize him!” she cried, a vein in her forehead jutting out as she yelled at the men. “He’s not the real

king. The Alpha King is dead!” But no matter what she said, the soldiers didn’t dare move. Despite their loyalty to the Moses family, they wouldn’t challenge their true king under any circumstance. They soon followed the lead of the councilors and bowed to Asher.

Asher, meanwhile, fixed his gaze on Adalyn.

“It’s time to stop, Adalyn,” he said calmly but firmly. “Where is your father?” “Shut up!” she snarled back at him as her nails sharpened into claws at her side. I remained in place to not escalate the situation further, but I was prepared to launch myself at her if she tried to harm my mate.

Adalyn suddenly glared at me and then looked back at Asher.

“Why are you still with this nasty, vile woman?” she demanded. “And why did you come back to Wegalla? Things would have been just fine if you’d stayed away! We were doing just fine without you, Asher!” She sounded crazed, more so than usual, and I'd half-expected Asher to be more intense as he stood against her, but instead, he merely frowned and looked concerned for her.

His lips parted to speak, but before they could utter a word, Marco sprang up from his chair and ran toward Asher.

“Daddy!” he called out again, his big eyes full of tears and confusion. He was clearly freaked out and upset at his

father’s return, and it seemed that all he wanted was a hug from Asher.

Asher stepped forward to receive the little prince but Adalyn swooped in faster and grabbed Marco instantly.

Her grip was strong enough to elicita gasp from Margaret.

“Adalyn, let him go-" she started to say but Adalyn hissed at her.

“Shut up!” she snarled and then she turned back to Asher. She placed both hands around Marco’s neck as if she intended to strangle him.

Asher froze and his gray eyes widened at the same time mine did. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

How could a mother threaten to hurt her own son? Asher stopped and held his hands up as

if in surrender. “Adalyn, let Marco go.” “Don’t tell me what to do,” she hissed at him as Marco squirmed. She tightened her grip and the little prince began to weep.

“If you stop now, I'll spare you and give you a chance to live,” Asher pleaded. “Please, Adalyn. There's no need to hurt our son.” She laughed, a cruel sound that sent a chill down my spine. “A chance to live? Oh please. That's the kind of bullshit a captor tells their captee. I know the consequences of my surrender, Asher.

There’s no way back, not after everything I've done.” “What did you do?” Asher asked her cautiously. “What is so terrible that you can’t come back from it?”

As he spoke, he slowly took a step closer, but Adalyn caught on quickly and tightened her grip on Marco’s neck.

“Back up or I'll do it,” she threatened as Marco whimpered.

Asher’s cheeks paled and he obediently retreated a few steps. The councilors in the room remained frozen, their expressions as nervous as mine likely was.

“I need to go back to the House of Moses,” Adalyn continued. “If you want to talk, we'll talk there.

Otherwise, there’s no way I'll let him go. If you try to kill me, Marco will die with me.” My jaw tensed. This was a cunning proposition. If we went to the House of Moses, we would be surrounded by

As he spoke, he slowly took a step closer, but Adalyn caught on quickly and tightened her grip on Marco’s neck.

“Back up or I'll do it,” she threatened as Marco whimpered.

Asher’s cheeks paled and he obediently retreated a few steps. The councilors in the room remained frozen, their expressions as nervous as mine likely was.

“I need to go back to the House of Moses,” Adalyn continued. “If you want to talk, we'll talk there.

Otherwise, there’s no way I'll let him go. If you try to kill me, Marco will die with me.” My jaw tensed. This was a cunning proposition. If we went to the House of Moses, we would be surrounded by