Chapter 38
you a healer? I ad my mind reeling with the revelation “You’re a mant It’s not possible”
Kasene aremu zaidared by my exclamation Perhaps for the same reason that us shifters are the way we are, a blessing from de Moon hell”
“Regardless of why in how, Duke Castor is a healer and a powerfid one at that,” Ethan adds, “A secret kept only between us… and now you”
“Yes and while I would like nothing more than to pour us all a donk and welcome the newest member to our secret little chat should get to the issue at hand
ver
Fir grips my hand tighter, the flow of magic intensifies
“Hmmm yes I we
“See what feeling anxious beneath his penetrative stare.
is
“A part of you that as powerful, wild and yet sleeping with no signs of waking up. Your wolf, I assume?” He turns to Ethan
asks, “Your Majesty, did you bring the book?”
Ethafi nods, producing The Lupine Genesis from beneath his coat and handing it to Castor.
“Tirs addition no less,” he mutters, flipping through the pages, “Yes, yes.. I see
1 remain quiet, afraid I might interrupt whatever process Castor is going through. Ethan, however, is not as patient.
“Will it work, Castor?” he asks firmly.
“I might, troonstones are rare, but thankfully there is one that lingers in this area. With the Harvest Moon rising soon, it will be empowered and made visible. The princess needs to just do her part.”
I notice he uses the word “lingers“. So it can move or what? Isn’t it just a stone?
“And what is my part?” I ask.
“Find a moonstone when the moon is risen. It will be in liquid form which makes it quite difficult to handle. But not to worry, I am in possession of a special artifact, a family heirloom, that will allow you to contain the moonstone and use it safely.
“After that you Hum. Kill. Remind your wolf of the thrill of fulfilling its primal urges with the guidance of the moonstone, Castor closes the book. “Doing so beneath the Harvest Moon should awaken her, or begin the process at the very least.”
“That’s very generous of you, Duke Castor. I will make sure that your family heirloom is kept safe while I use it. However, I don’t see how I’m supposed to hunt while I’m stuck on two legs and pregnant, I almost add.
“I have some weapons stored in the castle. I’ll be more than happy to go over them with
you-
–
Tll help her figure them out, Ethan interjects.
Castor shrugs with a smile. “Too bad that I’m not given the opportunity to serve such a lovely princess.”
Ethan glares at him, “You are going to wake up her woll. That’s the service we’ll need from you. The only service.” Castor just lets out a knowing chuckle.
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Chapter 88
KNOCK KNOCK
Kyle pokes his head through “Sorry to interrupt. Alpha, I just refrived some updates from the palace. Would you like the
Phan doesn’t look happy, but he tell Kyle,
The two of them exit the room and I see this as my que to leaves well but for some reason my legs don’t seem to want to
“Sorry about that, Caster says. He gets up, pours a glass of wine and a glass of water. “Healing takes energy from both the healer and the person being healed. Youll be able to walk again in a few minutes.”
He hands me the
of water and sits down.
seeing as I’m not going anywhere for a few minutes, I decided to question the enigmatic male healer. I have so many questions I want to ask about his powers but Tim afraid of offending him if I pry.
So how do you know Ethan?” is what comes out of my mouth instead.
Castor smiles and sips his drink. “The short answer to that would be he’s the king, everyone knows him. But I assume you mean on a more personal level
“Yes, that is what I meant. You seem to know each other quite wdl
Castor chuckles. “Well, we are childhood friends. We grew up together and competed a lot. As we went through our teen atan, there was a bit of rivalry that reared its head between us.”
“Really? On sports and study?”
It’s hard to imagine a younger version of Ethan.
“On everything. For example, there was one time we both wanted to ask the same girl as our Winter Ball dance partner, but she happened to come to me before Ethan got the chance to ask her. For a while, he insisted that I stole her from him.”
I laugh a little. That probably explains his expression when Castor kissed my hand earlier.
“King Erhan is a possessive creature,” I admit.
That he is, but he knows I want what’s best for the kingdom, plus I give him absolute support when the other Alphas step out of line. So he overlooks that little hiccup in our past”
I take a sip of water and feel strength come back to my legs. I am about to get up and thank Castor when I realize something
The host always pours wine for his guests by default, that is our culture. If the guest does not want the wine he or she still accepts it, but will ask for something else.
Castor poured wine for himself but not for me, he gave me water without me having to ask
I stare at him. Castor merely smiles.
No, he couldn’t know about the baby, could he?
“Yes, I know your secret” he says as though he’s reading my mind.
“Erhan
Chapter 38
“You’re on edge. Alpha–s Cater getting to you already?” Kyle ass casually.
can handle the Duke,” Imter “Tell me what you found out
“Two things. First, take a look at this Kyle hands me his phone. This was taken from surveillance footage the night before
the attack”
I take the phone and swipe through the photos. Images of Cassandra and Lilith having conversation in the streets of town. The expression on Cassandra’s face was anxious.
“She’s having a conversation with her sister,” I say. “That is not enough to condemn them as responsible or complicit.”
“My thoughts as well. But I needed to be thorough so I kept digging. Kyle then pulls up an audio clip. “I thought that if Lilith and Cassandra were involved, then Cassandra would have messaged her afterwards to let her know what happened. I went through her phone and found this voice message.”
Kyle presses play and Cassy’s voice comes through:
“Li..“her voice is shaky – know you her? They beat her so badly. You said they weren’t going to hurt her. Please tell me this have nothing to do with you. I need
you said not to message you about this but I have to. Those rogues. what did they do to
to know.”
I snarl. This is clear proof.
What do you want to do?” Kyle asks as the voice note ends
I punch the wall behind me.
“Is this all the evidence you have?” I ask him
Kyle shakes his head.
“No” he says. “It’s just the most damning. There are some eye witness accounts also.
“of what
“A couple of people saw Ariella pass out, Kyle explains. “And then some guy caught her and lifted her into a car. They say they saw Cassandra just standing by and watching, and then getting into the same car.”
I rub my temples.
“Damn it, Cassandra,” I hiss.
Kyle sighs, putting away the phone and folding his arms. This is enough evidence, this is more than enough and he knows it. Cassandra is undoubtedly involved in Ariella’s kidnapping.
“It also explains how she managed to get away,” Kyle says again. She was so unhurt, we hailed it as miraculous when it was just suspicious. She didn’t escape, she wasn’t coming to get help. Her part was just done and she was walking away”
Her guilt at how badly Ariella was hurt. Her fear of the palace spy. Not fear of someone, but fear for herself.
“She did know that something was going to happen to Ariella, but she didn’t expect they were going to get this violent,” he sighs. To her defense, Princess is spoiled, but we both know she isn’t a vicious soul deep down.”
into the shed, I saw her
Of course I know that I still remember when Cassandra was twelve, once she found that wounded bird in the garden. She turned the garden shed into a little infirmary and forbade anyone from entering until the bird was healed. When I broke
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Chapter 38
weeping and crying for that Jinle bird.
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I watch her grow up and I know her. I can see her playing pranks or even getting into fights, but conspiring with rapists and murderers? That’s just not in her.
So what, she still must be punished. She needs to know that actions have consequences”
“Understood.”
“But wait until the festival is over. I don’t want to stir the pot yet. As for Lilith and Marcus, bring them into custody for questioning.” I order.
Kyle doesn’t reply to me immediately this time, so I ask, “Something’s wrong?”
“That’s the second news, Sir. Both Lilith and Marcus are missing