Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

As Asher’s snarl bounced off my skull and left my ears ringing, I feared he’d already discovered the truth. The tidal wave of worry I’d been seconds away from d******g in fell flat when he snarled. ‘Lola, pull the d**n car over. Now.’

I let out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t figured it out yet.

A single tap to Tristan’s shoulder told him we were in the clear-for now, anyway.

Since the helmets we wore left us unable to communicate, the tap system I made up on the spot was what I used to keep him up to date. One tap meant we were safe, and to keep coasting down the backroads at normal speeds. Abiding by the speed limit was slower than simply taking off like a bat out of h**l, but there was always a chance it would keep us from being discovered for just a few seconds longer. Two taps told him to speed up, and three…three meant we were out of time.

‘You know I can’t do that.’ I told Asher, forcing to the very back of my mind the loud snarl of the motorcycle’s exhaust and the pressure the helmet exerted on my temples.

Cassidy’s head was much smaller than mine. Sean had been right when he said I had a big head, even if he’d only been teasing. Thankfully, adrenaline was much more potent than Tylenol. I’d certainly feel it in the morning, though. If we managed to live that long.

‘Oh, you’ll live that long. Not even d***h can keep you from me, not with how much trouble you’re in. You won’t make it far, Lola. The warriors are gaining on you, and they have instructions to stop the vehicle at any cost.’ Asher’s gristly voice circled my head, picking up on snippets of my thoughts, little fragments that managed to slip down the mind-link. ‘I highly doubt you’d mow them all down.

The confidence in his voice and in the dry laugh he sent down the bond tinted my vision in an unsettling shade of red. It boiled the adrenaline in my veins and made my muscles go rigid with fury.

As Tristan finished speeding around a curve and brought the bike back into its upright position, he turned his head ever so slightly in my direction. He tapped once on the top of my hand, the one clutching his leather jacket to keep me from flying off the bike. Though I couldn’t hear him or communicate mentally like I could with the pack, I knew he was asking me if I were alright. I tapped once in response, wondering if I’d hurt him when I clenched my fists and inadvertently tightened my hold on his torso.

‘You remember what happens when you underestimate me, Asher?’ I asked, my voice venomous.

At the moment, there was no trace of the she-wolf he loved, only the unforgiving nature of a Luna crossed by someone she trusted. The bond between us was still there, still intense, and unbreakable, but the stress of our circumstances forced us down opposing paths.

I was to the pack. Perhaps this illogical, overprotective side of him had always existed, but was buried beneath the unwavering strength of an Alpha born and bred from polished steel. I wasn’t sure what specific moment triggered this side of him, but he’d slowly been spiraling these past few months, sinking to the bottom

with the barest hint of disbelief. ‘You’d risk k*****g your own people to

I think it pales in comparison to you trying to force me into compliance with an

darkness, the emerald greens and rich browns stolen away by night. Silence radiated down the bond, vibrating the mind-link constructed between Asher and I.

a full minute

sliding off the back end of the seat. I tightened

that a motorcycle?’ Asher asked, his voice

by the wind that tried so desperately to hold us

to the left as Tristan hit a sharp curve without breaking speed, managing a glimpse at the GPS in the

So close.

the area, but they had no clue who we were or

of the engine and the sound of wind whooshing in my ears to the back of my head, and somehow managed to conjure a response out of thin

by and my stomach

‘You clever little brat.’

S**t.

to ring. Saying to h**l with the system I created, I tapped Tristan’s abdomen in rapid succession. I squeezed my eyes shut to keep

down. I think they know you’re not in

Two things happened simultaneously.