Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 311 Doomed ADALYN Ada.

How long had it been since I'd heard that name? My parents had never referred to me as Ada. They had never given me a single nickname or pet name. Mother had always said it was improper to call a child by anything other than their name and Father had never given me enough affection to bother.

There were only two people in this world who had ever called me Ada.

Asher.

And Cora.

[tensed as I tried to understand how

Cassandra knew this. Had Asher told her about our close friendships when | we were young? No, there was no way.

Suddenly, I was hit with a realization, one I couldn’t ignore. I stared at Cassandra and studied her carefully. I searched her features, scrutinizing her nose, her mouth, the shape of her eyes.

| None were familiar, but as I stared at her deep emerald green irises and recognized the hue of them, it all began to make sense.

I'd never understood how Asher could fall in love with a common healer.

Cassandra wasn’t ugly by any means but to care so deeply about someone lowborn from a Pack on the border of the country had never made sense to me. Nor did the strange feeling in my stomach whenever [ was near her.

But as I stared into her eyes, I realized that Cassandra Keller wasn’t just an ordinary healer from Wild Crawler.

“I never expected this,” I uttered as I shook my head slowly. “I don’t understand. How are you alive, Cora? Do you know how desperate Asher was after your death? He nearly killed himself out of grief. How did you survive the inferno?” “Someone saved me,” she said softly.

For a moment, I wanted to give up on my plans altogether. I wanted to drop my weapon, set Marco down, and hug my oldest, dearest friend. Tears clouded my vision as I remembered playing with her all those years ago, how I would braid wildflowers into her long golden hair and act out imaginary

stories with her.

But as I stared into those green eyes, all of my sadness at her loss vanished.

We weren't little girls anymore. She, along with Asher, had betrayed me time and time again.

“You were always lucky,” I remarked as anger swelled within me. “But you won't be so lucky this time. You stepped right into a trap. The House of Moses is full of soldiers and the councilors are old and useless. Asher is strong but he won't be able to fight my men on his own. As for you... you were already dead the moment you followed me into this room.” Much to my annoyance, Cora didn’t seem affected by my words at all. She didn’t look scared or even nervous.

Instead, she continued to stare into my

eyes and regarded me as if I were some poor, pathetic little thing.

“You won't kill me, Adalyn,” she repeated herself and my rage exploded.

“I'wouldn’t be so certain,” I growled, and then I gestured at her with my weapon. “This knife is soaked with poison. I would only need to break your skin to take your life.” I wanted to point it at her to further emphasize my point, but just as I went to do so, my wrist began to ache. It was as if the knife were a heavy hammer and I struggled under its weight. My brain spun in circles as I tried to figure out what was happening. I frowned and looked at my hand but nothing appeared to be wrong with it.

I turned to look at Cora. Her chin was

raised slightly, as if she knew something I didn’t.

“You're not going to hurt me with that,” she said firmly. “You're not going to do much of anything.” I glanced down at her clenched hand and then frowned further.

“What did you do?” I demanded, and moments later, remembered her trip to Yurene. The land of magic. “Did...

did you use magic on me? How do you know sorcery?” Cora didn’t answer and when she stepped forward, I reacted quickly. I lengthened my nails and held them to Marco’s neck.

“Take one more step and I'll kill him!” I shouted, and Marco trembled in my arms in fear, but I didn’t care.

Cora stopped at once and held her arms up. “You can’t kill Marco, Ada. I won't let you.” a | My nostrils flared and I felt as if I had gone mad. I was tired, angry, and confused, and my thoughts were like a storm within me.

“Why didn’t you use magic on me when I took Marco in the first place?” I wondered but my question answered itself. She wouldn’t have done that, not in front of the councilors. If they’d seen her use magic, she would have been named a witch and would be sentenced to death.

My anger grew. Knowing she could use sorcery meant I couldn’t use Marco as a bargaining chip anymore but I had another one ready.

“Don’t be too confident,” I warned her. |

“Becky is still in my grasp, in case you've forgotten. Your poor little assistant is in the House of Moses, If you make even one false move, I'll see to it that she’s brutally killed in the most painful, agonizing way possible.

Trust me, I have plenty of methods in mind. That little redhead will pay for your mistakes, I'll make sure of it.” Cora’s lips parted and a smile formed on mine. It felt good to watch her squirm for once and I wasn’t finished with my threats.

“And don’t forget about Asher’s beloved best friend, Silas,” I continued as her jaw tensed. “My brother’s life is in my hands, Cora. He only lives because I allow it, and you would do well to remember that. All it takes is a snap of my fingers and then poof. He's

| gone and in the ground. The Pack will be without a Beta and Asher will be crushed knowing his ally is gone for —— | good. I don’t care personally, but I know the country will mourn his loss.

It will be your fault that he’s gone. Do you want that on your conscience?” Finally, my words seemed to have some weight. Cora swallowed hard and blinked at me, clearly trying to find the right thing to say. Little did she know there was nothing that would soften the anger and emotions within me. I was too angry, so much so that my body began to shake.

As I glanced at the knife, I began to wonder if my trembling stemmed from fear instead, not that it mattered. 1 took a breath to steady myself and then concentrated on being calm. I had a |

plan. I had waited for this day for a long time. The soldiers in the House of Moses answered my orders. .

Cora was doomed.

Asher was doomed.

Silas and everyone else who dared go against me were doomed.

I would win this. I was more than capable of winning this.

Just as I began to feel better, the door flew open, revealing Becky and the man who had tried to rescue her. Much to my dismay and shock, they weren't alone.

“No,” I whispered. “I don’t understand.” My fear increased tenfold.

Silas stood behind them.