Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

Chapter 240

“My Queen.”

Tristan, my first in command. The man I considered both a friend and a worthy enemy. A Vampire I had once hated with every fiber of my being, only to now trust him with every beat of my heart.

He was dead.

Cold. Unmoving. Not a spark of light in his eyes.

He pushed me out of the way. He took the blow that was meant for me. He gave his life for me and its broke Freya’s spell.

Tristan loved me.

Holly’s head was bowed, her hair a dark veil that covered her face as she wept. Her hands were stained red with Tristan’s blood, but she didn’t seem to notice. She continued clutching at his shirt, whimpering, and whispering under her breath.

Without warning the blood ruby unleashed a blast of light that left me seeing spots. Holly ripped the blade from Tristan’s unmoving chest, dropping it as though it were poisonous.

Freya’s face had lost its triumphant luster, taking on a more sinister expression. It looked like her skin had been pulled too tightly

over her bones, stretching across her face in a way that emphasized every dip and curve. Her cheeks were just a touch too hollow, her eyes bulged from their sockets ever so slightly. Her teeth pressed at her lips, pushing them outward.

Her eyes flickered from the dagger to where I sat in the grass, the start of some sickening plan or idea taking form in her head.

Before she could react-before any of us could react, Holly stumbled to her feet.

I should’ve noticed something off when she went silent, no longer crying or whispering under her breath.

Long strands of inky hair hung over her face, partially shielding it from view. From where I sat, I managed to catch a single glimpse of her eyes. My stomach plummeted as I took in the haunted light that filled her entire being.

Holly, the sister that betrayed me, the one I craved since I was a little girl, unleashed a wail that made my hair stand on end.

For a split second, I thought she was going to attack me. After all, it was my life Tristan died for. Never could I have anticipated

Holly charging at her own mother, grabbing onto her dress with blood-stained hands as she screamed and snarled like a wild animal.

“You killed him, you killed him, you killed him! Holly wailed, her voice cracking several times over.

Freya’s lips pulled back from her face in a distasteful sneer. “Get off of me, girl. Have some class. We do not cry over men.”

She shoved Holly away, who stumbled backwards but didn’t fall. Her shoulders were hunched as she took in breath after breath.

Bloody handprints littered Freya’s skin from where Holly had made a grab for her.

Digging my fingers into the dirt, I pushed myself off the ground and onto my feet. I inched closer to Breyona, hesitating when I caught the unearthly glow of magic in Holly’s eyes.

Suddenly, the bloody handprints on Freya’s body began to smoke.

Freya noticed the same time as I did. Her bulging eyes went wide, so wide that I could see the network of veins running across them like spider webs. Unlike normal veins, these ones were black-tainted with darkness.

“You... You dare use blood magic on me?”

She scoffed at Holly. “l am your mother.”

Holly didn’t so much as blink at her mother.

Her lips barely moved, forming words that came out as a cold whisper.

“You're nothing but an empty vessel.”

make of the sound. It was the crash of

or a bone that created that

It was Freya.

skin in two, began to widen. Like the brittle edges of a chasm, her flesh began to crumble. More and more cracks formed, each one stemming from the bloody handprints Holly

cleavage. A third inched up her neck, cleaving

looked down at her hands and the widening cracks flooding her body, a look of bewilderment on her face.Something in my gut told me this emotion was

it’s not possible. You're nothing! You're not powerful enough to kill me!” She half- shouted at Holly, who stood there impassively, a look of detachment

as powerful as you, mother. You killed him, and it's his lifeblood

I stared down at Tristan’s body, noting how even in death his eyes were trained on my younger sister, I realized she was right. As disturbing

felt like Tristan was here with us, dealing

her mouth and let loose a furious scream. Her jaw opened wider than it should have,

into my head. I barely noticed the difference as I slammed my hands over my ears. Breyona's wolf was several feet away, writhing in pain as tendrils of shadow danced off her fur- covered

at Holly with

raining down into the grass. Freya screamed a second time, but this sound was one of agony. Everything from her kneecap down was gone, even the gown she wore had crumbled. Her arms went next, showering the earth and

when her face caved in, her jaw becoming just as brittle as the rest of her. Her eyes sunk into the hole in her face, followed by her nose

seconds, there was nothing

Witch

Holly had killed her.

barely seemed to notice, turning so quickly her hair was ripped from her face. There was only one

was empty. His blood staining the grass was the only

the only thing that passed between us was panic. That panic quickly turned to grim realization when Breyona let out snarl that froze the blood

we turned to face the

like Tristan,

on two feet as he scanned his surroundings, but it wasn't him. The way he moved was off. Many times he'd look down at his hands, spreading his fingers before

of air that fractured into a sob, one that caught the attention of Tristan

They were my father’s.

shades darker than Tristan’s stared out at us. With the slickness of oil, they slid to Holly's face, registering the grief that painted her delicate features in deep

do, Holly?” The voice that emerged didn't belong to either

her body coiled, seconds away

she mouthed the words, but it wasn't until the last time that they finally managed to

thing.” She

out a furious roar that sent the

from the tree’s, melting into the night to escape

deep blue fading in and out like an old radio that couldn’t quite settle

their life forces

a hand raised in her

no good, not when he

head in my direction. A rueful

help but

the power in the world, and

stumbling as he did so. The light in his eyes flickered once again, his voice growing weaker with every breath that rattled in his

in the same

“Such a disappointment.”

flickered once, then twice, before sputtering out completely. Tristan, his body once more an empty vessel,

and trembling, a broken sob tore itself from her

Goddess...” Breyona

The sensation of someone standing close by was like an electrical pulse to my already shot nerves. Tree's blurred into one as I spun around, only to find myself steadied by a familiar face. Asher.My mind

of it had dried. It ran

sight of him warmed me from

certain blonde

struggling to find the

smeared across his cheek, there was a look of peace on his face that I hadn’t seen in months. He held my face in his hands, running

He replied, not an