Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 77 Her explanation

CA SSANDRA

I gulped involuntarily and searched my mind for the right words to say. The scar on my inner thigh? I

knew the mark all too well, but I’d never expected Asher to see

1.

How had it come about? Had I been undressed for the royal healers? Had he stayed here to watch

Erika change my clothing?

I felt a little violated, but at the same time, there was a strange feeling knowing that Asher had seen my

body like that.

As I trembled, a puff of air came out of Asher’s nose. He lifted away from me and the air suddenly grew

a little colder around us. The Alpha King seemed to be suppressing a laugh, but his lips were still

curled into an amused expression.

“I didn’t mean to see it,” he revealed. “I wasn’t purposefully looking there. But your maid let out a small

gasp when she noticed it and I was worried that something was wrong, so I went to check.”

Suddenly, the smile left his expression and he studied me seriously.

“Ca ssandra, where did you get such a scar like that?” he asked, and my heart pounded in my chest.

The truth was going to be too impossible to explain.

The scar that ran all the way up my inner thigh had come about when I was Cora.

It had been my first time entering the hunting zone of the forest. I’d been extremely nervous but also

incredibly excited. Unfortunately for me, I’d been too excited to really pay attention. Little did I know,

there’d been a notice placed. outside of the forest that mentioned the traps that had been set within the

hunting

zone. The traps were meant to capture some of the many beasts that lived within the woods, one that

would bring harm if they made it out of the forest.

I’d been too careless to read the notice. I was too preoccupied with my excitement for the hunt to pay

attention to the things I should have.

I made it out into the hunting zone and found myself running at full speed when I suddenly tripped. I

flew through the air and fell right into one of the elaborate

traps.

The wound on my leg had been incredibly deep, so much so, that despite a werewolf’s natural ability to

heal, a long, gnarly-looking scar was left.

Even when I’d sustained my burns and then been treated by Emmett, the scar had still remained.

I was so used to the sight of it that I rarely thought about it. But now… now it was a cause for suspicion.

Asher had seen the scar before, back when I was Cora. He’d seen every inch of me back then. He’d

even kissed it before, when we were young and deeply in love. I’d always been so self-conscious about

the scar, but he’d told me that it was beautiful. That I was beautiful. His voice back then had been so

sincere and kind that I truly began to accept all of my faults, even such a nasty scar.

As the Alpha King stared at me now, I wanted to tell him everything. Every inch of me wanted to give

into the impulse and stand on top of this bed and announce that I wasn’t in fact Ca ssandra Keller, but

actually Cora Felix. I wanted to proclaim that I was once the woman he’d vowed to share his life with

and watch his face light up when he realized it was me.

I was tired of hiding my real identity from him.

I was ready to let go.

But I couldn’t.

There were too many factors keeping me from revealing the truth, and the most

important one was Finnick. I couldn’t risk his safety any more than I already was. There was too great

of a chance that he would get hurt.

So, I took a long, deep breath, and did my best to remain calm. I had to play this a certain way if I didn’t

want to give away my real identity.

“Ca ssandra?” Asher prompted me with narrowed eyes. “Are you going to

answer me?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” I replied, and I quickly came up with an excuse. “Sort of. It’s a story not worth

getting into, honestly. The wound reminds me of bad times and I’d rather not get into it-”

“I asked you for

dancing around such a ssandra,” he practically growled. “Why are you

dancing around such a simple question?”

I gulped.

“I sustained it when I was young,” I said carefully, and after I glanced at the ground, I stared directly into

Asher’s eyes. “It was an accident, you see.'”

“An accident,” Asher repeated back, and his eyes narrowed further. “Go on.”

I

an

“Yes,” I replied. “It happened to me when I was out traveling. It’s super common to get injured when

you’re constantly moving around as a nomad. In fact, I was pretty clumsy. Managed to fall and hurt

myself pretty badly. The scar is just a remnant of an accident. It never healed correctly and probably

will always remain a blemish.”

The Alpha King remained silent and watched me. I did my best to sustain his gaze, but after a while, it

was no use. I had to look away.

I had never been a good liar, even when I was a child. These days, all I did was lie, and they were

beginning to stack up. With every falcity I told, there was another I needed to create to support it. I was

tired of all of this pretending.

As I studied the tapestry again, I could feel Asher watching me. He was still so suspicious, I knew it,

and I didn’t know how to handle this. Would he call me on my

bluff? Tell me he remembered the scar that he’d kissed so long ago? Would he reveal that he’d known

my identity this whole time and was just waiting for the right. moment to say so?

When I gathered up the courage to do so, I turned back to the Alpha King. I waited for him to press

further, but much to my surprise, he didn’t make any such demands. Asher straightened his posture

and released a sigh.

“I see,” he remarked simply.

He stretched his arms above his head and rolled his shoulders back. As he took a long, deep breath, it

took all of my effort to keep from sighing in relief. I’d miraculously gotten away with it, at least for now.

Though I still wasn’t feeling my best, I considered leaving and heading back to my own chambers. I

liked the idea of sleeping in my own bed and checking to make sure that Finnick was alright after all.

Finnick was probably at least a little worried about me. I had no idea what I would tell him had

happened, but I’d come up with

something on the way there.

Just as I was about to swing my legs over and climb out of the bed, I noticed Asher’s bare forearm. The

Alpha King had rolled up the sleeves of his dark gray

shirt.

I gasped in surprise when I saw it.

There, running down the length of his exposed skin, was a deep black mark.