Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

Chapter 146 – The moment the caution tape fluttered to the ground, Sean and Mason were at my back. Breyona was there too, and I had to resist the urge to raise my eyebrows when I spotted the knife she had hidden in her hand.

I noticed the resemblance between him and Devin the moment he came up close. They had the same arched eyebrows and thin lips that made them look perpetually angry all of the time. When I first found out Devin was the son of a judge, I had hoped the p**s poor attitude wasn’t genetic.

“I know who you are.” Judge Clint Armstrong snapped, his voice sharp like razor blades. I held back my irritation since it was his son that was m******d, but the venom in his voice sounded far beyond that of a grieving father. “I asked you a question, girl.”

I had seen d***h’s many faces, suffered through so much loss, and stepped into a role I wasn’t sure I could handle, all to be called a girl. It was Maya that couldn’t bite her tongue and s*****w the insult, because for her there was nothing more abhorrent than disregarding a werewolf’s title. It grated on her nerves, and my willpower alone could only do so much to hold her back.

“Only because I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child will I ignore the ridiculous amount of disrespect you’ve shown me, but I trust that in the future you’ll show some restraint and never do that again.” I kept my voice low, because the last thing I wanted was an audience looking in on this man’s pain.

His eyes grew bright with murderous rage, and within an instant the emotion was smothered by a mask of civility. I couldn’t help but wonder if he had been a lawyer before claiming the role of a Judge.

“Of course, Luna.” He corrected himself, his tone flat but civil. It wouldn’t have raised anyone else’s alarms, but mine were playing a steady tune that reminded me of a f*****l dirge.

Both Mason and Sean nodded as I met their eyes, picking up on my silent command. “I’ll have my friends here take you where you need to be, and either Asher or myself will be in contact with you today.”

The three of them walked off, but the sting of Clint Armstrong’s anger still lingered in my bones.

“Hey, Lola!” I heard Cassidy shout from the street, but another man had also chosen that moment to speak up, and he was much closer to where I stood than she was.

“What did you do to his son? I saw that d**d boy over there. That how you vampire’s feed? No one started d***g here till you came around.” A middle-aged man whose scowl was framed by rectangular glasses and a patchy beard shoved to the very front of the crowd. I couldn’t help but notice that even though the caution tape was shredded in half, he didn’t dare step past where it lay on the ground.

Others in the crowd shifted uneasily, but all stood silent and watched. This wasn’t unusual, having to defend yourself in front of the pack. There would always be other wolves picking fights for dominance, just like there would always be a victor.

“Don’t be-” Breyona came to my defense, but the man wasn’t having it.

“Why the f**k should we listen to you? You’re one of their whores. After you’re done giving them your blood, do you give them your p-“

I made no effort to stop Breyona as she cocked her fist back and punched him in the face.

Blood erupted from the man’s nose, coating his shirt and the grass at his feet. A string of curses and insults spewed from his mouth, and his eyes glittered with unrepressed hatred. Instead of making him back off, he made a wild grab for Breyona.

A hand clamped down on the man’s shoulder making him wince. Attached to that hand, with a bored and irritable look on his face, was Brandon. He dug his fingers into the man’s shoulder and spun him around.

my brother comes back and you join today’s list of dearly departed.”

slipped when her eyes focused on the crime scene in the background. Her cheeks lost their rosy

I nodded,

in telling her, not when the entire pack

It’s the start of the new season so were getting assigned our partners for the summer-” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean…if

anything other than teasing. She looked at me

and adding training to my already hectic schedule looked to be a terrible idea, but it was the one thing other than lying in bed all day with Asher, which relieved any sort of

there. I just have a few things to do today.”

Devin lost his life was deep within the forest. An obvious trail of blood, guts, and disheveled dirt led us

to join the warriors setting up a perimeter around the patch of forest, to keep any curious wolves from venturing too far. Mason told him he’d catch up and followed Breyona and

and Cordelia, who were both hovering around the giant patch of blood on the ground, most likely searching for the barest trace of magic. As she and Zeke get to talking about magic, I focused

get yourself into trouble.” He shook his

the one who punched him in the face.” I snorted and jabbed my finger into left pectoral. Breyona’s conversation with Zeke came to a halt, and she stared at me with surprise in

about Clint Armstrong?” Asher asked, his

of animalistic fury in his eyes made me pause. The strange emotion made his pupils grow and the golden tones shrink. I narrowed my eyes,

I thought that flicker might turn

smirked softly,

and

gave him a look I knew he

broad chest as he watched the witches at work. His eyes veered down to my level and softened. “I planned on running this by you later, but it looks like we’re both going to be busy today. Zeke and I were talking about getting a small group of warriors together and heading up to where I lost track of the witch. There has

curled around mine, soft

you asking me for permission,

what would you say?’ He

say yes…under one condition. If you find their hide-out, you don’t go in

He nodded. ‘Observation only.’

go with Asher and needing to remain here. There was so much that needed to be done, especially now that I had my magic. Cordelia and Rowena both warned me it would start

by the police station to watch the traffic tapes. Care to tag along?” Asher asked

I sighed, trying not to think about my full schedule today. “After this I’m meeting with a couple therapists for Holly, and I have training today-witch

therapist for Holly.” He frowned and his

that much.” I admitted and watched as he visibly smothered the reluctance hidden in