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

she tried again and again to pick the perfect outfit for her first day. Worried about crappy boyfriends and finding a best friend to spill all

couldn‘t kill her, and my

as she twisted it into a sneer. Asher‘s voice bellowed through the mind–link just in time.

‘Lola, watch out!

partially thrown by Asher as he barreled into the witch creeping up behind me, a curved

neck in its maw. The warrior

Asher panted, letting out a huff of hot air from his snout. ‘You would‘ve died if I hadn‘t warned

Within seconds the light faded from her eyes, and the future she deserved was ripped

Asher.‘ I whispered. ‘She‘s

his massive head and stared the girl down, his tail twitching 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

spine and hold his head high.

child.‘ He replied softly. ‘A child

hearing

had 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 I wanted

have the power, Lola. Use

must‘ve been waiting for permission, or perhaps support, because the moment I had Asher‘s approval, magic crackled and filled my cells with

killing to stop, and I knew just how to end

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

of dirt and stone scattering in all directions. It stung as it pelted my face and arms, but the clothes I kept as I

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 to the left, and the number I wanted to follow obeyed. The rest I sent to the

were lifted into the sky, their arms

roots wrapped around them, securing each one tightly.

down to the ground where they remained pinned in place. Witches scrambled to escape the roots I commanded left and right. I

I‘d pierced my tongue, but I held on until the witches were driven back into the forest, chased far away

an orchestra of deafening howls. Snouts were turned towards the sky and victories were bellowed in the only song we knew how to

Asher, losing myself in the

did it.” He said, his

the witches I managed to 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 the senseless killing. We had six witches that would

supposed to get easier.” I grumbled. “It feels like it‘s getting

a lot

have to keep using it. I’ve got

going to

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 to their own holding cells in different