Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 46 Do you care?

CA SSANDRA

As I stood outside Asher’s study, my heart beat like a drum. I was there to ask the Alpha King for

permission to both visit the royal library and take a day off of my duties to show Finnick Anemond, and I

was incredibly anxious. I had no idea if Prince Marco or Adalyn had come to him to report what had

happened between the boys yesterday, and I wasn’t sure how Asher had taken it if they had.

I took a long, deep breath and then knocked on the door. A moment or two passed and then the door

creaked open. Asher stood on the other side.

“Ca ssandra,” he greeted me calmly. “Come in.”

and

He inclined his head toward the study and held the door open for me. I crossed the threshold carefully

and glanced around the room. Everything seemed as normal and there didn’t seem to be any

weirdness in the air.

Once the door was closed behind us, Asher took a seat at his desk and turned his attention to a stack

of documents in front of him. I’d half-expected his steel-like gray eyes to glare at me when I entered,

but the Alpha King didn’t seem all that interested in my presence.

“Take a seat,” he instructed absently. “I need to finish some signatures.”

I did as I was told, and as I sat there, I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Did I need to speak up about the

incident or should I wait for him to bring it up? Which option. would be perceived better?

Asher got up and left the study before I could make that decision. My foot -bounced as I waited for him

to return and I carefully folded my hands in my lap. I

needed to calm down if I was going to handle all of this professionally.

The Alpha King returned five minutes later and then sat back down at his desk.

“My apologies,” he said as he swept his dark brown hair away from his

handsome face. “Now, why are you here, Ca ssandra? Health checks aren’t until next

week.”

“I’m here to ask you a couple of favors, Your Majesty,” I replied politely, and Asher raised a dark

eyebrow.

“Oh?”

I nodded. “Yes. First of all, I wanted to ask if I could have access to the royal library. For a visit,

anyways.”

“The royal library?” he repeated back. “What ever for?”

I quickly explained Becky’s findings about Udosyn, and as I shared the story, Asher listened intently.

His frown only deepened with every sentence and heat rose to my cheeks in anticipation. Did he think

we were speaking nonsense? Or that Udosyn was a fairytale meant to stay hidden?

“Okay,” he remarked, and his expression softened as he gave me a thoughtful nod. “You have my

permission. I’ll let the librarian know you’re coming.”

“Thank you,” I said in surprise. I hadn’t expected that to go as well as it did. Normally there was

resistance or further questioning, but Asher seemed perfectly calm.

“Now, you mentioned you had multiple things to request,” Asher brought up, and he smirked. “What

else can I do for you, Ca ssandra?”

My new name on his tongue sent a tingle down my entire body, and for a moment, I had to remind

myself to behave. He was looking so incredibly handsome in his sapphire blue button-down shirt, and I

couldn’t help but notice the way the color set off his eyes.

I cleared my throat and my mind. I needed to focus.

“I also would like a few days to explore Anemond with my son,” I stated. “He’s never been to the city

before and he asked if we could go. Is that alright?”

Asher considered the idea and then nodded. “Yes, that’s fine by me. You could use some days off after

how hard you’ve been working. Feel free to travel the city.”

For a moment, I was a little shocked. I expected more resistance, but he seemed perfectly fine with my

requests, and on top of that, he was giving me a little praise?

What was going on?

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I said again, and then we fell into silence. I wasn’t sure what else to say.

Lately, every time I was around him, I was reminded of our passionate kissing session. His sighs, his

groans, the way his mouth had felt on my neck, my breasts… it was hard to push out of my mind.

“Is there anything else?” the Alpha King asked finally.

I snapped back into reality and considered my next move. As much as I didn’t want to, we needed to

acknowledge the incident between our sons.

So, I cleared my throat again and told him everything. I tried to remain as

I

neutral about the matter as possible, and as I explained what had happened, Asher simply nodded his

head.

Once I was finished, he smirked.

“I already knew all of this,” he admitted.

I gulped. “You… you did?”

Was he going to punish us for what Finnick had done after all?

“Yes,” he replied, and then he frowned. “Why were Finnick and Marco together in the first place?”

“It was Lady Margaret’s idea,” I explained. “She generously offered for Finnick to join Prince Marco’s

studies.”

“Ah,” Asher murmured, almost as if he already knew. His eyes dropped to the

floor for a moment and then went back to me. “Ca ssandra, I have another question for you, one I don’t

understand exactly. Was it you who told Finnick about Marco’s background? And if so… how did you

come by this information?”

My heart stopped in my chest. I had no idea how to answer him without incriminating Erika and I didn’t

want Finnick to get punished after all.

But I had to be truthful.

“It’s my fault,” I said, and Asher frowned.

“Why did you tell Finnick?” he asked. “And how did you find out?”

His eyes held mine, and for a moment, I thought my breath would stop. Before I could utter a word,

Asher rose from his chair.

“Ca ssandra, do you really care if Marco is my son?” he asked.

My eyes broke contact with his as I searched for the right words to say. How could I handle this without

offending or hurting someone?

“I just heard the information from someone else,” I admitted vaguely. “But I don’t care, Your Majesty,

that Marco is adopted.”

chin.

Asher approached me slowly, as if he were stalking his prey, and raised his

“Do you care about what goes on between me and Adalyn? That the child isn’t biologically ours?”

A lump formed in my throat.

Did I care about it?

My brain spun in circles as I tried to make sense of all of this. Maybe I did, maybe not. I wasn’t sure.

But there was one thing I knew for certain, I had to answer the Alpha King. I couldn’t refuse him, not

any longer.

So, I raised my chin.

“I was just surprised, that’s all,” I remarked. “You and Lady Adalyn make the perfect couple. I assumed

that Marco was yours.”

My lower lip trembled but I managed to keep calm as Asher stared into my eyes. He held my gaze for

what felt like an eternity and then waved his hand.

“You’re free to go, Ca ssandra,” he murmured.