Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 154 Water sample

BECKY

Angela stared at me in disbelief and her eyes widened in surprise.

“What do you mean?” she asked confusedly, and she glanced over at Marina. Her daughter shrugged

and stared at me with the same expression.

“The water in the lake,” I clarified, and when she still didn’t seem to understand what I meant, I took a

breath and then relayed what her friend had told me about the water and its supposedly healing

properties.

“Did you know anything about this?” I asked once I finished.

Angela shook her head slowly. “No, I didn’t. No one ever said anything about it, especially not her.

Besides, when I was there for a visit… Pauline just kept crying. She was so upset about her health and

her husband’s that I was hardly able to get a word in otherwise. All I could do was try to soothe her.

She used to be so happy before, but since the illness set in, she hasn’t been the same.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I remarked.

I couldn’t blame Angela’s friend in the slightest. Any person would feel the same in her situation, and

my heart ached at the thought of so many citizens in Wegalla suffering a similar fate. This feeling

motivated me as a researcher and healer in training. I would do all I could to help Ca ssandra cure the

mysterious disease.

Suddenly, an idea crossed my mind.

“This might be a silly question, but did you drink anything there?” I wondered. “Anything in your friend’s

house? Either of you?”

Angela frowned but nodded as if it were completely obvious. “Of course. I was there half a day. Pauline

made me tea.”

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Of course. Tea would have been made with water, which meant there was a strong chance its source

was from the lake. I had a bold suspicion.

The disease could be spreading from the water in the lake.

Of course, I wasn’t entirely positive that this was the case. It was a bit of a long-shot and I had little to

no evidence, but I decided I would run the idea by Dic kson first.

I bid goodnight to Angela and Marina and then quietly returned to the office. Dic kson was there waiting

and once the door was shut, I told him my idea.

He was a little surprised by it, ut agreed that my suspicion had a point.

We hadn’t suspected the water because we had all assumed that the Wild Crawler members drank tap

water, which should be from the same source. But if the villagers in the mountain area drank water from

the lake, it could be the source of the disease.

I thought then of the sorcerors.

Did someone poison the lake?

A chill traveled down my spine at the idea.

Di kson and I spent the rest of the evening speaking with the many patients in the clinic, conducting

interviews about what they knew to see if my theory had any legs to stand on. Luckily for us, many of

them were native to the districts near the mountain area.

Some remembered they took water home with them after a visit because the lake was clean, and they

believed it represented good luck. Others couldn’t remember if they had consumed or gotten wet from

the waters at all.

Unfortunately, these varying stories didn’t make much of a difference. My suspicion couldn’t be proven

by mere conversation alone.

If I wanted to know more, I had to test the water sample.

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***

I went to the Pack House with Dic kson. Once we arrived, we were greeted by some guards who

immediately escorted us to Alpha Rayden. I was tired from my visit and longed for a nap, but I knew my

business took precedence. I could sleep later once my findings were made known to the Alpha.

But just as we were about to meet with him, Dic kson touched my arm.

“I can handle Alpha Rayden,” he decided. “I’ll update him on everything we’ve learned. In the

meantime, why don’t you call Cas sandra Keller in Anemond? I’m sure she wants to know what’s going

on and she might have some insight that could help us.”

“Good idea,” I said, and I offered my fellow healer a smile. “Thank you, Dic kson. I appreciate all of your

help.”

“Of course, Becky,” he replied.

A se rvant escorted me to an empty office, and once the door was closed behind me, I dialed the clinic

in Anemond’s number. As I waited for an answer, a lump formed in my throat. I was experiencing some

lingering nervousness about all of this and was worried about what Ca ssandra would say about my

theory.

Luckily, she picked up quickly.

“Cas sy?” I prompted her. “It’s Becky.”

“Becky?” Cas sandra said in surprise. “What’s going on? Did you visit the mountain area?”

“I did,” I confirmed. I told her everything about our visit and our working theory about the lake water.

Cas sandra was silent for a little while and then cleared her

throat.

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“Becky, I think it’s time for you to return to Anemond,” she said reluctantly.

I frowned. “What do you mean? I want to stay here and help-”

“I know you do,” Cas sandra interrupted gently. “But-”

“Alpha Rayden is going to be visiting Anemond soon,” I spoke quickly. “He cou. take the sample back

with him.”

“The sample needs to be tested immediately,” Ca ssandra insisted calmly. “And I can’t find another

trustworthy healer as excellent as you, Becky. I need you. Besides, I spoke with the Alpha King and he

said he’s going to send more healers to Wild Crawler. He also said that more soldiers will be sent to the

Pack to keep things

under control.”

I fell silent as her words set in. I wanted to argue and remain here. But she was right. We needed

Anemond’s equipment to test the sample.

“Okay,” I said. “You’re right. I need to finish some business here and then I’ll return as soon as

possible.”

Once the conversation concluded, I left the office and when I stepped out into the hall, Dic kson was

waiting for me. He frowned slightly. His expression told me that he’d likely heard what I’d said to Cas

sandra about returning to Anemond.

But the healer didn’t say anything. Instead, we left the Pack House quietly and started walking back to

the clinic.

After a minute or two, I spoke up.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I said I would stay to help and now I can’t keep my promise.”

“It’s okay,” Dic kson replied, but his eyes remained fixer on a point beyond us.

“Cas s andra told me more healers are on the way,” I continued. “So you won’t have to fight this alone. I

know I’m leaving, but I’m going to do everything in my power to find a cure.”

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This time, he finally looked at me and his lower lip twitched.

“I believe you,” he said.

We fell into silence again until we reached the clinic.

“When are you leaving?” Dic kson asked.

I I

“Maybe the day after tomorrow?” I guessed. “I want to get organized and check. the patients’ data once

more before I leave.”

He nodded.

We didn’t speak for the rest of the day. I could tell as we worked that Dic kson was distressed but I

couldn’t figure out why. I wanted to ask him outright, but like always, we were extremely busy.

So, I put my head down and concentrated on my work.

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