Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 171 The final stage of the disease

CAS SANDRA

After spotting the mysterious dark figure outside, I meticulously inspected the entire lab. I searched

high and low and examined every surface to make sure that nothing had been stolen or removed by an

unknown intruder.

But much to my confusion, nothing was amiss.

My heart still raced in my chest from being startled, so I stood there for a second and forced myself to

breathe deeply. As the cold air flooded my lungs, I found myself finally growing calmer. Perhaps this

was merely a delusion, a residual effect from the unsettling dream. Clearly, I was still frightened and at

least half-asleep when I glanced out the window. Seeing shadows out of the corner of your eye at night

wasn’t out of the ordinary. It happened to just about anyone.

When I settled down, I turned on a lamp, and as its warm, calming light filled. the room, I pulled up my

favorite chair and picked up Becky’s report. I sunk into the chair and allowed the soft fabric to comfort

me before diving into the report.

Becky’s notes facilitated my understanding of the situation. She’d made comments all over the paper

and even added little sticky notes to expand on her thoughts. I scanned through her neat handwriting

and started to take in the report.

Becky outlined that the poison she uncovered in the water from the mountain area of Wild Crawler

could induce several physical and psychological disorders. Initially, patients who had fallen victim to the

poison in some manner exhibited physical deterioration. Then, the physical decay gave way to the

poison attacking their neuro system, which led to a sort of hysteria.

However, a question lingered in Becky’s explanation. Her words rambled on with the possibilities and

then led to a pair of sentences that she’d circled in dark. ink.

Does the final stage of the disease cause patients to lose their minds? Contact

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Dic kson for confirmation.

I frowned at the questions for a moment and clutched the papers tighter. Suddenly, I recalled

something Emmett had once mentioned. It had been the only time he’d ever spoken to me about

poison.

Since I’d grown up in Anemond, I’d had no formal education when it came to medicine. None of my

classes, in all of my years of high-born education, had anything to offer in the way of biology and

chemistry, so when Emmett had brought me to Wild Crawler and took me under his wing as a healer,

I’d had to start at the

beginning.

It was a casual conversation we’d shared in the beginning of my training. Emmett had lent me his book

of research and notes, and as I’d scanned through the pages, I’d come across the section that

mentioned poisons-both man-made and

venoms.

***

The healer had explained to me that poison was used not only to kill but also to control. When I’d been

confused by that statement, he’d clarified and detailed instances where poisons were employed

chronically, for instance, to render female wolves infertile or paralyze wolves’ bodies.

The ultimate aim behind such poisons, Emmett emphasized, was control, namely, the sinister prospect

of manipulating people’s minds.

At the time, that conversation had struck me as odd, but it hadn’t gone any further. My memory of the

discussion had been a little hazy, as Emmett had swiftly shifted the subject after mentioning “mind

control”:

But now, as I read Becky’s comments on Spi ke’s report, the memory resurfaced vividly. As I stared at

the pages of the report, I recollected Emmett’s somber expression during the conversation. His blue-

green eyes had been distant and sad, as if something deeply sorrowful had affected him.

As I pictured him sitting there in the clinic in Wild Crawler, my mind began to race. Why had he been so

upset? Had he known something then, something that

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related to our present situation?

I hated that I truly knew so little about the man who was at one time, my

husband. Though I owed him an enormous debt for rescuing me from the inferno and getting me out of

Anemond, there were so many questions I had about him and his background.

When he had disappeared all of those years from Wild Crawler, where had he been? And where did he

travel to on those mysterious journeys away from the

clinic?

I set the papers down and cursed under my breath. Though we were getting closer to answers about

the poison that was affecting a chunk of Wegalla’s population, there was so much that I desperately

needed to know.

As the confusion and frustration of the unknown started to consume me, I closed my eyes. I wanted

nothing more than to bring Finnick over to my bed and cuddle him close, but I knew that the moment I

did, I would likely be plagued with even more bad dreams. I didn’t want to upset my son, so I forced

myself to sit up in my chair and regain my composure.

I sat there until dawn, pursuing the report until I had the details memorized, and the phrase “mind

control” haunted my every thought. I couldn’t shake the notion that this might be linked to the poison,

though I had no strong evidence to support the theory.

As the golden rays of the rising sun streamed through the window, I rose from my chair, and decided to

get dressed. I resolved to eat a swift breakfast after getting ready, and then I was going to go to the

palace to visit Spi ke.

After I checked in with Erika, I left a note for Becky, who had requested a half day off, and then headed

to the palace.

But when I reached Merliscire, Lancel was nowhere to be found, and when I checked in with one of the

other higher-level guards, he reported that Lancel was unavailable. He explained that the older guard

was occupied with a task for Prince Marco and that he wouldn’t be back for a while.

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After I thanked the guard, I walked down the corridor and weighed my options. People went about their

business around me, and I was thrilled that no one seemed to notice me pondering in the corner.

I could always visit Spi ke unaccompanied, though I knew Asher or Lancel would firmly oppose that

idea. They had always been very insistent on one of them being. present on our visits, but as I recalled

our past encounters, I realized they’d always been unproblematic. I knew how to evade attention and

converse with Spi k e. Besides, Lancel merely stood by during our discussions anyway…

Moreover, the notion of visiting the strange imposter without the older guard’s presence enticed me. I

could potentially inquire further about my past or Emmett’s without raising Lancel’s suspicions.

It wasn’t that I mistrusted the steadfast guard, but rather that I believed he didn’t need to be privy to

matters concerning Emmett or the potential of him being a sorcerer. And of course, I couldn’t quite ask

Spi ke about myself either, not when I was still keeping my old identity a secret.

I couldn’t risk this entire thing falling apart, but I needed to know more.

So, I decided to visit Spi ke..

O