Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

Chapter 222

Tessa and Zeke ceased to exist as my vision tunneled, completely centered on Rowena’s prideful expression.

“You killed my brother.” I barely recognized my own voice.

The savageness in it was foreign to my ears, a quality I’d only ever seen Asher possess. I never thought I was capable of blind hatred, the kind that devours everything good about a person until all that’s left inside of them is blackness, but I’d been wrong.

I hated Rowena. I hated her with every fiber of my being, with every breath I took and with every beat that shuddered my broken heart.

The edge was so close that my skin began to tingle with the familiar sensation of falling, but I didn’t lose my balance until Rowena opened her mouth and spoke.

“Well, technically your mate did that, darling. We did need another sacrifice, after all.” She rolled her eyes, inspecting her nails, completely oblivious that these were the final moments of her pathetic life. “It’s rather inconvenient your grandmother survived, though. I’ve never failed to stop someone’s heart before. It seems the old broad had more strength than I gave her credit for.”

My body moved on its own, disconnected from my head as I lunged at Rowena.

Rowena glided backwards, my claws missing her face by inches. She waggled her finger at me, smiling coyly like I was a child throwing a tantrum.

“Ah, ah, ah. Can’t have you doing anything rash and ending the fun.” She giggled, emerald eyes dancing in the darkness. Besides, there’s so much to tell you now that you know the truth. I’m going to savor that look on your face. You know the one I’m talking about, don’t you? When you realize how royally you messed up, and that every problem you and your pack have faced has all led back to you.”

One second I’d been drowning in rage, and the next I was struggling to breathe. A phantom hand clamped down on my throat, squeezing every drop of air from my lungs. I couldn’t gasp-couldn’t make a sound as I clawed at the nothingness choking me out.

“Don’t even think about it.” Rowena hissed at Tessa and Zeke. “I’ll kill her right now if either of you take so much as a step. Don’t think for a second that the blood-witch can’t reanimate her corpse.”

I didn’t look at either of them, especially Zeke. I didn’t want to see my friend, an Alpha whose strength nearly matched Asher’s, mourning my death with his eyes.

The phantom grip on my throat loosened, but only barely. I gasped loudly, sucking in just a pinch of air before it clamped back down again.

“So, Lola. Do you remember that story I told you about my childhood? The one with the little witch next-door that taught me everything I knew?” Rowena hummed, not bothering to wait for my response since it wasn’t coming. “You see, I never mentioned why she left. I woke up one morning to find that her family had moved away. As it turns out, they were running from something, from an Alpha the mother murdered many years ago. That little girl I was friends with,

Freya was her name, not only was she his daughter, but she also grew up to be the most powerful blood-witch our kind has ever seen.”

Freya, half-sister to my dad’s mate, Flora.

my face. She was soaking this up, every fucking drop. It’s why she kept loosening her

I bask in it.” She exclaimed, her head tilted back, and eyes closed as she breathed in deeply. Her eyes met my own once more and in them I saw fragrant disappointment. “If only you had such vision, Lola. You could’ve stopped all of this before it ever started. Oh, well. You’ll lose consciousness soon, and when you wake up, you’ll get to meet Freya for

in more ways than

their sharp edge, dulling like the blade of a knife. In a last- ditch effort for control, I scrambled to grab hold of my magic, but it felt like I was caught in a spider’s web. Every move

I would’ve cried out with relief had I any

off

air supply and squeezing the life from my body twitched. A numbing wave of exhaustion began to take hold,

my

a second. The

me, the one she said would strengthen my power and help me

thought there was something wrong with me. Every time

throat, trying and failing to pry her magic off my windpipe, and instead grabbed the amulet where it rested along my sternum. The gold-framed ruby was hot to the touch, stinging the palm of my hand the tighter I held

her voice cold and so very distant. “Don’t you dare,

a sharp tug, I ripped the amulet away from my chest, smiling as the thin

from my teeth smashing together, or from my body hitting the ground.

hand out

filled my lungs in a single great whoosh, sending the black spots scattering. The urge to cough and hack

noticed the hold that amulet had over my magic,

sheer power that crackled at my nerve endings and begged-

passing through the

blood, their bodies

but I was too fixated on every square inch of her face to miss even

a finger or speaking a single word, two shadows shot up from the ground, wrapping around her wrists and pulling her to the forest floor. Like chains of festering darkness, they

but anger and betrayal were louder than any voice, stronger than any

I alone made the decision, and I alone was

for me, but I’d happily take

for Carmen and Lars, for Cordelia and Breyona’s parents, for everyone hurt or killed at their

weapon they used to kill not one, but three

clicked together the moment Breyona told me it was Asher that had killed Sean. The moment she said his name, I was pulled back to what the Shadows had