Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

Chapter 211

I was so unfathomably tired of death.

The pale rider and I knew each other intimately. We were partners in a dance I no longer remembered the movements for, one I wished would end already but knew never would.

There were so many fallen wolves. So many families to contact, so many devastating blows to land.

Just as many, if not more, witches littered the ground.

They had friends, I‘m sure. Families that would wonder where they were or if they were ever coming back. They would be mourned by someone, somewhere.

It had taken me months to no longer have nightmares of my father‘s severed head tumbling from his shoulders, rolling across the ground in a sea of blood. Every

time I escaped the pull of a nightmare, a new one sprouted in its place, brought on by all of the death and carnage.

Even now, after all these months, I couldn‘t even look at grass without seeing flashes of it covered in blood.

I kept to Asher‘s side, shifting between human and wolf as I killed in both forms. Each life I took broke something inside of me that could never be fixed.

Asher was horrifically elegant in his wolf form, slashing throats and sinking his teeth into anything that wielded magic. He knew the dance moves, knew death much longer than I had. There were rare beings in this world born and bred to send people to the other side.

Asher was one of these beings. The more ! killed and slaughtered, the faster I realized that I was not.

So, I piggybacked off his strength and ferocity, letting his one–track mind

smother my feelings of regret and doubt.

We searched through the sea of crimson high and low looking for Ember, but she wasn‘t here.

I used my magic sparingly, diffusing some of the more powerful witches before they had a chance to kill any more of our warriors. I‘d just slashed through a miniature fucking tornado when I hesitated.

The witch that had conjured it was a child, barely a pre–teen.

Her face was round, her cheeks plump and flushed with blood. The rise and fall of her chest were heavy, spattered with blood that could‘ve easily been hers or someone else‘s. Seeing my hesitation, she blinked in surprise. Her lips opened to form a small‘o,‘ and her fingers twitched like she wasn‘t sure what to do next.

Staring at her through Maya‘s eyes, all I could think was that she wasn’t supposed

battlefield against trained warriors. She should be starting high–school, frantic and on the verge of tears as she tried again and again to pick the perfect outfit for her first day. Worried about crappy boyfriends and finding a best friend

my hesitation almost cost

from her face as she twisted it into a sneer. Asher‘s voice bellowed through the mind–link just

‘Lola, watch out!

into the witch creeping up

cry out or tell them to stop, a wolf with wheat–colored fur tackled the young witch and crushed her neck in its maw. The warrior dropped the dying girl and was onto the next

air from his snout. ‘You would‘ve died if I hadn‘t warned you

laying there, gurgling as she choked on her own blood. Within seconds the light

at her, Asher.‘ I whispered. ‘She‘s a

as he saw the truth for himself. Despite his strength, he had a heart just like anyone else, and I could feel it ache for the girl. It was his nature as an Alpha

his spine and hold

replied softly. ‘A child

of killing.‘I closed my eyes, hearing nothing but the carnage that surrounded

no choice but to face him when he brushed his snout along my neck. His voice circled my head, full of such warmth and understanding that

the power,

been waiting for permission, or perhaps support, because the moment I had Asher‘s approval, magic crackled and

the killing to stop, and I knew just how to end

to mind, and I used the image of her locked away in

directions. It stung as it pelted my face and arms, but the clothes I kept

propelled upwards from the ground, twisting as they climbed higher and higher above our heads. Each one moved on my command, an extension of my body that reminded me of having over a dozen extra limbs. I swung my arms

right witches were lifted into the sky, their

them, securing each one tightly.

to escape the roots I commanded left and right. I began to tire so quickly that I had to bite my tongue to keep from crying out when they

on until the witches were driven back into

were turned towards the sky and victories were

Asher, losing myself in the proud smile that graced

it.” He said, his voice

capture. There had been a few that managed to escape with the help of the others, but it didn‘t matter. The point of this was to end the fight, to stop

my magic was supposed to get easier.” I grumbled.

a lot lately.”

to keep using it.

chuckled weakly, “Tell Cordelia we‘re going to need more

my body felt like it weighed a ton, there was still work to do. Once the Hemlock was delivered, we administered doses to the witches and brought them