Alpha King's Lost Luna | Night Vow Books

CHAPTER ONE

Emergency

CASSANDRA

CASSANDRA

“For the glory of Wegalla Empire, you must die!” Intruders snarled at me as I knelt on the floor.

“Please let me see Asher. Please…” I begged.

“How dare you speak the name of our king!” The soldiers growled and grabbed my hair, forcing me to raise my head. They were like shadows towering over me.

“Please. I need to talk to him. I’m pregnant. I have his baby!” I cried.

The head soldier snorted. “Baby? You think you’d be qualified to deliver a baby for our king? Filthy whore! He won’t come to you anymore. Don’t you understand? He’s with Lady Adalyn. Now drink it!”

“No!”

He pulled me harshly, gripped my face and pried my mouth open. Mysterious liquid flew down my throat.

Burning. I began to gag.

“Die! You wretched moron.” They spat at me before slamming the door. And I heard the click of the lock.

I struggled to move, but my eyes felt swollen, and my legs were strengthless. The smell of smoke quickly filled the room.

Fire engulfed me.

*****

My mind wandered as I stared out the window. The sky was a perfect clear blue, and the air was filled with the sound of children’s laughter. A smile formed on my lips at the sound.

Far beyond me, the pups, accompanied by their parents, made their way toward the forest not too far away from where I sat. It was finally time for the annual hunting festival, and the pups chattered and giggled with excitement as they tugged at their mother’s and father’s sleeves.

I remembered their innocent happiness well. When I had been a pup myself, I’d been infinitely impatient and raced far ahead of my father and brother, urging them the entire way to move faster. I’d been so excited to get a glimpse of the hunting group I wished to one day be a part of. I was eager to find my place amongst the Pack.

I’d been grown for a long time now, and yet, these pups had more freedom than me.

Ever since the deadly inferno, I’d lost the ability to shift into my wolf form, my life had changed completely.

I lost everything. My wolf, my name, my identity, and all I used to love and cherish. I’d moved far away and came to the Wild Crawler Pack, where I’d lived as someone else ever since.

Just as I was starting to feel the familiar ache of loneliness, the sound of footsteps rang out behind me. I snapped out of my stupor and turned to see Marley behind me.

“Sheesh, Cassandra, I almost fell asleep at my desk.”

Marley paused for a breath. She ran her hands through her thick dark hair. Her light green eyes were slightly bloodshot, but her small smile offset her tired aura. “It’s been such a crazy day. I couldn’t help but doze off after seeing patients.”

“I understand completely,” I agreed with her. “Here, come sit down. "As soon as we sort out patients' records, today’s work will be done."

Marley was my assistant here at the clinic. Fiver years ago, when Emmett saved me from the fire and brought me to his pack, he taught me how to be a healer. And Marley had been my first patient. Shortly after I helped heal her, she decided she wanted to help others as well, and now she was my right-hand woman.

Marley took a seat on the stool beside me and then glanced out the window.

“I can’t believe it’s already time for the hunting festival,” she sighed, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “The kids have been going crazy for days. I swear, they’ve been driving me absolutely insane, Cass.”

“I’m sure,” I mused. “The village has been loud all week.”

“So is your sweet boy also part of them?” Marley wondered with a curious expression.

“Maybe...But I think he’s with the Luna and her children,” I replied.

I was grateful that the Luna of the Wild Crawler Pack had been so generous as to offer to watch my son while I ran the clinic. The hours were incredibly long, and my patient list had grown endless recently. Marley and I were busier than ever.

A sickness was running through the Wild Crawler Pack, one with an unsure origin I had yet to place. It was accompanied by a peculiar mark on different parts of the patient’s bodies, each slightly raised, red, and warm to the touch. I’d biopsied several of them, and yet, I hadn’t found an answer that made any sort of sense.

“That’s a good place for him,” Marley interrupted my thoughts again, and then beyond us, bells rang out.

"We don't have any more patients today..." I said with confuse.

“Who is that-” Marley began to say, and suddenly, a tall man burst into the room.

His dark clothing and the sword at his side indicated his rank. I recognized him immediately.

It was Jasper, one of the Alpha’s guards. I knew him very well, as he was often sent to collect me on behalf of the Alpha’s family if medical attention was needed.

“Hey, Jasper,” I greeted him, and I flashed him a smile, assuming it would be returned. When it wasn’t, I knew something was wrong. Jasper was always friendly with Marley and me when he came to the clinic, but today, his expression was deadly serious.

“The Alpha needs you right away, Cassandra,” he addressed me hurriedly. “You must accompany me to the Pack House. It’s an emergency.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, and worry painted my tone.

“There isn’t much time to explain,” Jasper replied. “Long story short, a prestigious guest of ours has been bitten by a viper and needs medical attention immediately.”

Panic flooded through me. Snake bites weren’t anything to mess with, and we needed to act fast.

“Marley, I'll go check it out first,” I directed my assistant. “Join me once you’re prepared the kit.”

Marley nodded. “Go ahead, I’ll arrive as soon as possible.”

I followed Jasper down the hall and through the door. We raced out into the village and toward the Pack House. We sped in silence, and after a while, I decided to ask for more information.

“Who is this prestigious guest?” I wondered.

“I cannot say,” Jasper said curtly. “It’s confidential.”

“Where did they come from?” I pressed.

He said nothing at first, and then sighed. “Anemond.”

I flinched instinctively.

Anemond was the capital of the Wegalla Empire. It resided at the heart of the Crescent Pack, the biggest and most powerful Pack that ruled our empire. It was also where the Alpha King lived, along with the higher-class werewolf families.

I tried to maintain an air of normality, and yet, my heart sank in my chest.

I hadn’t heard the name Anemond in the five years. The memories began to flood back through my mind before I could stop them. Images danced in my mind- the fire, the grins of the soldiers, and the poison that’d been forced down my throat.

Anemond was the place of my birth, and in the end, had been my nightmare.

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CHAPTER TWO

Viper Bite

CASSANDRA

“Cassandra, Hurry up!” Jasper’s voice back my mind into reality. He looked at me with concern. “Are you okay?”

I gulped, and then nodded as I pushed away my memories of Anemond. “Yes.”

I managed to pull myself together. I needed to be level-headed if we were going to heal this patient.

It didn’t take us long to reach the Pack House. The enormous mansion wasn’t far from the clinic.

When we reached the end of the busy hall, a pair of people were waiting for us. One of them was Gareth, the Alpha of the Wild Crawler Pack, and the other was his eldest son, Rayden.

We bowed respectfully when we stopped in front of them.

The Alpha of the Wild Crawler Pack was a stern man, yet fair, and he was well-respected amongst the Pack. He was normally quite calm, but today, his brown eyes were wide with concern. Rayden wore a similar expression.

Rayden was tall, with big, dark brown eyes, and black hair that glinted blue in the light, and his perfect teeth were white as pearls. He was slim, but covered in exotic tattoos, and girls in the pack admired his high cheekbones and fit frame.

When I first arrived here five years ago, Rayden had been a young man of sixteen. Now he was all grown up, and it likely wouldn’t be long until he took his father’s place as Alpha of the Wild Crawlers.

I was a little surprised to see him here at the Pack House. The last time I’d seen him was two years ago at a dinner hosted by the Alpha’s family. It’d been a farewell dinner to celebrate Rayden’s departure for the Wegalla Empire’s army- an elite group known as the Myriad. It was an honor to be recruited, and so we’d honored the young man accordingly.

He offered me a kind smile as we approached.

“Cassandra,” Gareth greeted me in a relieved tone, and then looked at the young male servant standing politely in the corner.

“Please escort the doctor to the second floor,” he ordered in a stern voice.

Surprise flooded through me. The second floor of the Pack House was usually reserved for the Alpha’s family and their servants. It was considered private quarters while the first floor was used for meetings and dinners.

"When my assistant Marley gets here, please bring her and medical kit to the second floor," I added quickly, realizing the seriousness.

There was a bad feeling forming in the back of my mind, but I did my best to brush it away.

“Follow me,” the servant addressed me, and after Gareth nods toward us, I followed him down the hall and up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs was a pair of double doors, and on either side of them stood four guards. Much to my continued surprise, they weren’t a part of the Wild Crawler, but the Crescent.

I recognized the special crest on the guards’ shoulders, looking warily around the hall. “What’s going on here?”

The servant who led me upstairs did not respond, but I could see fear in his eyes.

And there were so many heavily-armed guards outside of the door, the guest of honor must have been very important

The moment the doors flew open, a chorus of sounds flew toward us. A tingle of anxiety moved through me, but I managed to remain calm.

The cavernous room was pure chaos. The curtains were closed, and the only light in the room came from candles and the fireplace that blazed with a crackling fire.

Servants rushed around hastily, a few with piles of towels, and others with trays of various foods, drinks, and other supplies. They all seemed to hover around a specific part of the room, and when a few moved out of the way, I noticed a large, canopied bed.

At the center of the bed was a young boy, around the same age as my Finnick. Servants attended to the boy, and even from across the room, I could see his lips were blue. Perspiration ran down his face and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. He was clearly in pain, and his expression broke my heart.

“The patient is on the bed,” After guidance, the servant left the room hurriedly.

When I got closer, I noticed the Luna of the Wild Crawler Pack, Sofia Bailey, stood beside the bed. She was just as beautiful as ever, but her short dark hair was a little out of place, and her skin was paler than usual.

When she heard our footsteps, she turned her attention to me and I noticed her eyes were underscored by light purple shadows.

“Oh, Cassandra,” she sighed in relief. “Thank goodness you’re here.”

The Luna’s beautiful face looked tired, but she managed to smile at me anyway.

I nodded. “How’s our patient?”

“Not as good, I’m afraid,” Sofia lamented, and she nodded her head toward the young boy. “Please, doctor, you must do something to help him. I fear he’s in a great deal of pain, and nothing we’ve been doing seems to be working.”

I nodded again. “Of course. You’re in good hands now. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to help.”

I crouched down beside the boy, and when I placed my hand gently on his forehead, I was surprised to find he was hot to the touch. He’d already broken out in a fever.

I turned back to the boy. My eyes traveled down until they reached his right leg. His trousers had been rolled up, and the skin of his ankles was ghostly white, except for a huge swollen area. Clear canine marks were dug deep into the tenser skin, and a low sigh escaped me.

“Poor thing,” I whispered. I retrieved a pair of gloves from my pocket and pulled them on.

As I carefully examined the bite marks closer, a string of thoughts formed in my mind. Where would the boy have encountered a viper? There hadn’t been any reports of serpents recently, at least not in the forests of the Wild Crawler Pack, and besides, at his age, he wouldn’t have been allowed past the safe zone. So where had the snake come from?

I turned to Sofia. “Did they happen to catch the viper that inflicted the bite?”

The Luna appeared unsure, and her eyes flicked over to a point beyond me.

“No,” a deep, smoky voice said behind me. “The guards are still searching the forest for the wretched thing.”

A tingle ran down my spine. I’d know that voice anywhere.

For a moment, I was frozen in place, but after a deep breath, I turned around.

A man stood in the darkened corner, tucked away just far enough that I hadn’t been able to sense him initially. He lingered in the shadows for a moment and then stepped toward me.

My heart skipped a beat when his rugged but handsome face was revealed. Though he’d changed a little with time, his cold gray eyes were the same, and they bore into mine with intensity as he advanced closer.

The tall man was none other than Asher Collins- the Alpha of the Crescent Pack and the king of the Wegalla Empire. But none of that mattered to me. He was much more than just the legendary leader of all werewolves.

He was my mate.

All those years ago, he’d left me in that house, pregnant and alone to face the inferno.