Chapter 120


    Chapter 120 Report


    CAS SANDRA


    The morning air whipped around me and made me shiver as I eagerly waited outside of the clinic. I


    wrapped my thickly knit sweater tighter around me. Not even the coldness of the day could ruin my


    mood.


    I nced down at my watch. Any minute now.


    Momentster, I heard the sounds of wheels against the pavement, and suddenly, a car appeared in


    the distance. Excitement raced through me and I bounced in ce as it drove up to the clinic. When it


    came to a stop, the back door flew open, and Marley practically flew out of the vehicle.


    “Cas sy!” she eximed, and as she barrelled toward me, my smile brightened. I braced for impact, but


    it did me no good. Marley ran right into me and wrapped her arms around me tightly. As we embraced,


    tears sprang from my eyes and I began to cry from happiness.


    you.”


    “Marley,” I managed through my trembling lips. “Oh, Marley, I’m so happy to see


    “You’d better be,” she joked, and after we shared augh, we pulled apart from one another just in time


    to see Jasper heading toward us.


    “Jasper!” I eximed. “I didn’t expect to see you!”


    “Someone had to drive,” he teased, and then his lips curled into a smile. “It’s good to see you, Cas


    sandra.”


    “Likewise,” I said, and then I gestured toward the clinic. “Let’s head inside and get out of this cold. The


    clinic is nice and warm-”


    “Wait this is your clinic?” Marley blurted out, and her jaw dropped in shock. “Cas sy, this ce is huge!


    It’s way better than the one back in Wild Crawler”


    1/5


    tour.”


    I grinned. “Just wait until you see the inside of it. C’mon, I’ll give you guys a Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Without further ado, the three of us walked up the drive and into the clinic. As promised, I showed my


    friends all of the different rooms and amenities of the new clinic, and they both seemed thoroughly


    impressed by it all.


    Once I finished showing them around, I ushered them into the meeting room in the back and started


    heating up some water for tea.


    “How is everything back in Wild Crawler?” I asked as I prepared my new tea


    “Everything is fine,” Marley remarked and her light green eyes glittered with excitement. “Better than


    usual, really. Rayden was crowned Alpha of the Pack yesterday. I wish you could have seen the


    ceremony, Cas sy, it was brilliant. Sofial and Gareth pulled out all of the stops and the banquet


    afterward… some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life.”


    “That’s great!” I said happily. “I’m d to hear it all went well. I’m happy for Rayden.”


    “I’ll be sure to tell him that,” Marley said with a wink.”He wanted toe with us, but he needed to take


    care of some Pack issues first. He still has quite a bit to


    learn.”


    ording to the Pack traditions of Wega, the new Alpha would have toe to Anemond to see the


    Alpha King within a month of his crowning ceremony, so Rayden would likelye to visit soon. I had


    to admit I was happy at the idea of seeing him, though I knew after theirst encounter, that Rayden


    and Asher being in the same room might spell disaster.


    It was strange to think back to the Asher I’d met back in Wild Crawler. He’d been so different then.


    Just as I was about to say something more, the door to the meeting room opened, and in walked


    Becky.


    “Oh,” she remarked in surprise, and she pushed her sses up the bridge of


    $75


    her nose. “Sorry to interrupt, Cas sy, I didn’t realize you were in here. Wait, are these your friends from


    Wild Crawler?”


    I nodded happily. “Yes, this is Marley and Jasper. Marley and Jasper, meet my assistant, Becky. She’s


    an absolutely brilliant researcher and healer in training.””


    “It’s so nice to meet you!” Marley eximed, and her smile brightened. “Come sit with us, Becky.”


    My assistant joined us at the meeting table, and after I finished preparing the tea and passed the cups


    around, I sat opposite of Marley.


    “Did you bring the forensic report with you?” I wondered. “I know you just got here, but I’m really


    curious about it.”


    “No worries, I have it right here,” Marley replied, and she reached into her bag and retrieved it. She


    handed me the stack of papers.


    I briefly scanned them and my lips parted in surprise.


    “We’ll need to look this over further, but I think this might be rted to the poisons,” I realized, and then


    I handed the papers to Becky. My assistant looked them over and then nodded.


    “I think you might be right,” she agreed. “We definitely need to study this thoroughly andpare it


    with our notes.”


    “Poisons?” Marley wondered with a worried expression. “What poisons?”


    “I’ll tell you all about itter,” I promised. “We have plenty of time to discuss it all. I had Erika prepare a


    room for you upstairs if you need some time to rx first.”


    “That might be good,” she agreed. “It was a long drive.”


    “Speaking of drives, I’m afraid I must return to Wild Crawler,” Jasper announced. “There’s a lot of Pack


    business to get back to. I’ll return in a few days to collect Marley.”


    3.5


    “It was nice to see you, Jasper,” I said. “We’ll escort you out.”


    We walked Jasper out to the car, and after he shared a small hug with Marley, I studied the two closely.


    It was clear that Jasper treated Marley differently. They had always quarreled, but I could see that he


    clearly cared for her.


    After he got in the car and drove away, I nudged my friend..


    “Is there something going on between you two?” I wondered.


    Marley’s cheeks flushed scarlet.


    “No,” she denied it immediately. “Besides, I’m not interested in men right now.


    “Fair,” Iughed and I smiled at her. I missed teasing my friend so much and wanted to spend more


    time chatting with her like this. But before I could visit with Marley, I needed to visit Asher first. I needed


    to see the man in the dungeon and see if he could figure out what the data on the report meant.


    When I reached Asher’s study, he was busy dealing with a stack of documents. His expression was


    worried, and I had a sense that he was dealing with something stressful.


    “Take a seat, Cas sandra,” he said without looking up from his papers. “I just need a moment.”


    “No problem,” I replied, and I sat down in the leather chair opposite him. Asher hadn’t given me any


    clues about what was going on, but I wasn’t going to press the matter. For now, I needed to focus on


    the business at hand.


    After Asher finished signing the document, he set it aside and looked at me.


    “Sorry,” he apologized. “It’s been a busy day already and it isn’t even noon. What’s going on?”


    I showed him the report and exined the situation. When I’d asked if Marley


    475


    could visit Anemond, I hadn’t given him any information about the forensic report. I hadn’t meant to


    leave it out or keep it from him, but I knew the matter would be easier to exinter on.


    Asher frowned as he looked over the papers. I told him all about the theory that the poisons had some


    corrtion with the mysterious illness and his eyes widened.


    “You think the disease may have some rtion to Dark Abyss?” he repeated back in surprise. When I


    nodded, he sighed. “Well, ording to regtion, no one should visit the imposter. But if you really


    think that it’s necessary to speak with him directly, I suppose I could grant you permission.”


    “Thank you-” I started to say, but Asher held his hand up.


    “I only have one condition,” he continued. “I need to be with you when you’re talking. I won’t risk you


    getting hurt.”


    I considered the idea for a moment and then nodded.


    “Okay,” I agreed. “Shall we go to the dungeon?”


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