Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Elope?

CA SSANDRA

Rayden suddenly grabbed my hand, and when I whipped around to stare at him, his eyes bore into mine intensely, so much that my heart began to race.

“Let me go with you, Ca ssy,” he insisted, and his eyes grew sorrowful, as if he was a young boy who’d lost something he couldn’t recover again. “Please.”

My eyes widened as I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening.

“Rayden…” I uttered.

As Rayden stared at me with his large brown eyes, a feeling swept through me. along with understanding. Asher’s earlier words in the meeting room played through. my mind. The Alpha King had quipped that the prince of the Wild Crawlers fancied me. At the

time, his words had been a ma*sive shock, but as I stood here in the garden, I began to suspect that Asher may have been right.

But I didn’t want to believe it.

At the time, I never could have imagined that Rayden could see me like that. I’d always been something of a friend to him, as well as a healer. Just as I’d done with countless others in the Pack, I’d treated Rayden once when he was quite ill.

I’d a*sumed Rayden’s outbursts in the meeting room were because he was worried about the Pack losing their healer. And I desperately wanted that to be

true.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I just… I just want to talk to you, that’s all.”

Suddenly, a clapping sound cut through the air, and when I turned around, Asher Collins was right behind me. The Alpha King’s face was cruel and mocking, and the expression on his amused face sent a pang of anger through me.

“How touching!” Asher laughed, and he continued to applaud. Just beyond him, Alpha Gareth and Luna Sofia stood with their arms crossed. Sofia’s cheeks were red with embarra*sment, but Gareth looked completely angry. Their brows furrowed as they stared at me.

“Are you trying to elope with the healer, Prince Rayden?” Asher continued. His tone was still amused, but his smile quickly faded.

A lump formed in my throat as I tried to find my words

“There’s b-been a misunderstanding, Your Majesty,” I spoke up. “It’s my fault.”

“What’s your fault?” Asher demanded through narrowed gray eyes.

“Prince Rayden was just trying to help me,” I managed to explain. “There is something I need to pick up at my house, and he was trying to accompany me…”

My words trailed off as Asher’s expression darkened, and for a moment, I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. This was bad.

Suddenly, the Alpha King uttered a single, dry laugh.

“Do you think I’m st upid, healer?” he asked, and then his voice deepened. “You must not have heard me earlier. If you want to run, run wisely. This… is not wise at all, is it?”

“I don’t want to run, Your Majesty!” I blurted out before I could consider my words. “I meant what I said, I have something important left in my house.”

“What is it then?” he demanded. “Why don’t you tell the guards to get it for you. I’m sure they would love to a*sist you. It’s their job, after all.”

I swallowed.

“It’s… it’s just something personal, Your Majesty,” I murmured.

Asher Collins practically stared through me and I felt trapped, as if he were the predator and I were the prey. Every inch of me was terrified, but I had to remain

calm.