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.”

I hadn't witnessed it myself, I wouldn't have known what to make of the sound. It was the crash of a vase against a hard floor. The crack of

or a

It was Freya.

running down her arm, splitting her pale skin in two, began to widen. Like the brittle edges of a chasm, her flesh began to crumble. More and more cracks

across her chest and cleavage.

widening cracks flooding her body, a look of bewilderment

kill

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

words rang in my ears. As 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 as it was,

like Tristan was here with us, dealing one final blow before his soul

opened wider than it should have, more

as I slammed my hands over my ears. Breyona's wolf was several feet away, writhing in pain as tendrils of shadow danced

screeched, making a go at Holly

down into the grass. Freya screamed a second time, but this sound was one of agony. Everything from her kneecap

knee's, her arms gone and shoulders quickly eroding. The screaming stopped 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 and lips, melting

seconds, there was nothing

Blood Witch

Holly had killed her.

seemed to notice, turning so quickly her hair was ripped from her

empty. His blood staining the grass was the

thing that passed between us was panic. That panic

turned to face the source

looked like Tristan, blonde

but it wasn't him. The way he moved was off. Many times he'd look

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

They were my father’s.

us. With the slickness of oil, they slid

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

hackles lifted as her body coiled, seconds

them to her mouth. Several times she mouthed the words, but it wasn't until the last time that they finally managed to

thing.”

had done, our father let out a furious roar that sent the shadows scattering in

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

fading in and out like an old radio that couldn’t quite settle on one station. The answer drifted through my head,

had bound their life forces

a hand raised

him would do no good, not when he was already

his head in my direction. A rueful smile crossed his

that I couldn’t help but marvel at the

of the power in the world, and you’re too much of a

so. The light in his eyes flickered once again, his

fell to his knees in the same spot Freya

“Such a disappointment.”

flickered once, then twice, before sputtering out completely. Tristan, his body once

pale faced and trembling, a broken sob tore itself from her chest as she gingerly turned his body over and laid him flat against

Goddess...” Breyona

blurred into one as I spun around, only to find myself steadied by a familiar face. Asher.My mind was so jumbled, my nerves so raw, that I hadn't even felt

had dried. It ran down his sculpted cheek, past

him warmed me

certain blonde

stammered, struggling to find the

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 his thumbs over my cheeks. in slow circles, a glimmer of joy in his eyes

dead.” He replied, not an ounce of