Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

Epilogue (Breyona & Giovanni)

Five Years Later – Breyona’s P.O.V.

I appeared in a plume of inky shadow, emerging from the darkness like I’d been there all along. If there were any humans nearby-which my hearing told me there wasn’t-they’d see nothing more than a lingering shadow dancing along the brick walls of the abandoned store front I lurked outside of.

This wasn’t my ideal hangout spot, but for whatever reason, this was where Freya had chosen to hide a bunch of magical texts and artifacts. I absolutely adored my job of traveling the country via shadows, collecting information that was thought to be lost among the witches.

It was similar to what my parents had done, a realization that never failed to bring tears to my eyes.

Even after all these years, I missed them so much.

I slinked along the back wall, past the rusted dumpsters that hadn’t been used in Goddess knows how long, to the backdoor Ember’s source promised would be unlocked. Sure enough, when I tugged the handle, it swung open with a metallic gr0an.

The inside of the abandoned store was far worse than the outside led me to believe. Judging from the discarded mildew stained stands and faded posters, this place used to be some kind of cellphone store.

That was long before the Blood Witch-may she not rest in peace-turned this place into her own personal hiding spot.

Lola and Clara had been furious when they found out how much information Freya had been hoarding, keeping it for herself to hold over the heads of young witches everywhere. This was exactly why I signed up for the job.

If there was one thing my parents believed in whole heartedly, it was that knowledge should not be kept hidden. Knowledge was meant to be shared with the world.

I tiptoed inside, keeping my ears peeled. There was little in the way of light, but I expected as much after eying the blown fuse box outside. A quiet scuttle just inside alerted my attention, but as I crept closer, past clusters of soggy boxes and overturned displays, I realized it was a very chunky rat.

“If I were an evil Blood Witch with a superiority complex, hell -bent on destroying the world, where would I hide a bunch of dusty magical texts?” I asked myself, lowering my voice halfway through. She had a way of making the smallest of sounds seem louder, and the last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself if any rogue witches were nearby.

Starting my search, I thought back to last month and how drastically things had changed.

This was my first job since returning from my honeymoon with Giovanni. His parents had this incredible villa in Italy, set in the Tucson country side. It was surrounded by rolling hills and a vineyard as far as the eye could see. There was even an olive grove, whose owner was more than happy to give Giovanni and I a tour.

It was Lola, and her crazy ass magic, that made all of this possible. She’d given Giovanni and I a wedding present, something we could’ve never expected.

For those two weeks in Italy, she’d made Giovanni impervious to the sun.

We were able to visit all of the monuments and do all of the wonderful touristy things I had on my list. A dream vacation after a dream wedding.

I kicked open one of the soggy boxes, wrinkling my nose at the stench that wafted out. Wet, mildew-covered paper had a stench that was eerily similar to rotting trees. Moving on, I followed the dull tingle of magic in the air, and began searching one of the overturned displays. Grabbing a shard of broken wood off the floor, I nudged one of the display’s doors open, humming the first song to pop into my head.

The sweet and soft melody that had been frequenting my head the past month was none other than the song played at my wedding. I shared the day with Mason and Clara, a decision I didn’t regret in the slightest.

with fresh roses and orbs of starlight that Lola herself had conjured. Even Ember and Tessa had a hand to play in the wedding. There were floating sconces with cobalt flame that flickered the breeze. A breeze which carried the scent of wildflowers

while also watching my best-friend marry the love of his life, was by far the best part. Well…almost. It was a tie, actually. The

when Clara stood to give an impromptu speech, only to reveal the secret she, Lola, Holly, and I had kept for almost two months, was a moment I’d never forget. In fact, I had a picture of said

arms, tears cascading down his cheeks,

life after enduring so much. The light in his eyes sent me reeling

talking. It was their hushed tones that prompted me to stop, while a tingle in my gut told

she clearly likes you. What’s the problem, man?” Sean

several seconds to respond. “You don’t think it’s Wrong of me to want

could it be wrong?” Sean

and I lost her. I-I can’t replace her with Clara.” Mason’s voice cracked, a shard of it ricocheting off the wall

sharp clap, and I assumed Sean had patted Mason on the back. “This is going to sound harsh, but I think you need to hear it. Your mate died, yes. But she also chose to reject you. Spending the rest of your life alone and hurting for a person who couldn’t see your worth is a terrible waste. You deserve happiness, even if it’s not with the one the Moon Goddess paired

out a long, shaky sigh, followed by a halfhearted chuckle. “You sound just like Lola,

completed the bond. Part of you dies

to think that Lola’s brother was responsible for Clara and Mason getting

I gasped, kicking open yet

time, instead of old phone cases and corroded wires, I found a box completely untouched by the water damage infesting this place. After a quick victory dance that resulted in me kicking

of magic or another. I scooped them into my arms and made quick work of slinking back into the shadows, willing the slippery little bastards to transport me somewhere else-to the very person who sent me on this

snarky voice permeated the room I teleported into. The stone crafted fire place to my left was the only source of light, casting a number of shadows along

the box of spell books onto the nearest table before

to say.

smirk twitched onto her

in my chest, leaving my mouth the same time it

me into a hug that all but enveloped me in her cinnamon-apple scent. It’s good to see you, Ember.” I stepped out of her grasp, eying the emerald-green pants suit she had on. It was adorned with golden buttons that matched the dainty

absolutely no attempts to understand

too. I’ve been swamped with work, and I’ll admit, it’s nice to see a friendly face.” She

all about my honeymoon and the adventures Giovanni and I shared, while she both complained and bragged about her hectic schedule

was already acting as Ambassador to the Witches. The only thing keeping her from prematurely greying under the work load was the fact that both jobs often went

Ember asked offhandedly, as she always

sat on, I shook my head. “Nope, sure didn’t. From what I could pick

the Tower, but I

and a few of the others had created. It

in both Asher and Zeke’s packs. As the only

so much effort and energy into the Tower that she was out of commission for over two weeks. Asher still hadn’t let her live

of snow-white brick, so pale that one could see their reflection in it’s surface, perched out in the middle of the ocean. Once inside

even my shadow abilities-which was scary