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.

before my brother comes back and you join today’s list of dearly departed.” He grunted; his lack of sensitivity

expression slipped when her eyes focused on the crime scene in

nodded, “Devin

when the

the start of the new season so were getting assigned our partners for the summer-” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean…if you can with everything going

all.” Breyona shook her head, her expression too serious to be anything other than teasing. She looked at me and excitement exploded in her eyes, “…maybe we can

going on 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

to do today.” I promised

where Devin lost his life was deep within the forest. An obvious trail of blood, guts, and

to join the warriors setting up a perimeter around the patch of forest, to keep any curious wolves from venturing too far. Mason

she spotted Rowena 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

trouble.” He shook his head, only half

came to

Armstrong?” Asher asked, his eyebrow

in his eyes made me pause.

when I thought that flicker might turn into a full born forest fire, it

softly, “…yes,

a beat, and some of my earlier

look I knew he

magic.” Asher grunted, crossing his arms over his 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

smirked as his thoughts curled around mine,

asking me for permission,

you say?’ He asked, tilting

find their hide-out, you don’t go in alone. You come back and get me, maybe even Giovanni and

He nodded. ‘Observation only.’

my magic. Cordelia and Rowena both warned me it would start manifesting itself

tapes. Care to tag along?” Asher asked minutes after we both had gone

sighed, trying not to think about my full schedule today. “After this I’m meeting

therapist for Holly.” He

the reluctance hidden