Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

Chapter 156 – “Hopefully, Breyona makes it out before this all blows up.” Cassidy huffed, tightening her grip on the steering wheel as we raced down the winding backroads, closer to the center of town.

She seemed at ease behind the wheel, taking the sharp turns with a look of focus on her face. I jumped and clutched the seatbelt against my chest when the car lurched forwards, the exhaust snarling from the rush of power. Cassidy cursed, which was decidedly more surprising than the sudden acceleration, and leaned down to grab something off the floor.

We neared the trunk of a thick oak tree and just when I thought we were going to plow into it, she sat up with a fuzzy pink slipper clutched in hand. With the flick of a wrist we coasted around yet another sharp curve, back to driving smoothly even though the speedometer didn’t dip below sixty-five.

“You didn’t notice anything strange when she mentioned Asher and Judge Armstrong, did you?” I asked, forcing myself straighter in the seat.

Cassidy drove some sort of vintage sports car, and the expensive looking seats were all too easy to sink into. Maya had gone into full alert mode, scanning our surroundings even though there were nothing to see but trees. I had to force myself not to follow the bond between Asher and me. We could talk later about why he decided to block me out and exact punishment by himself.

“Strange how?” She turned her head and flashed a worried glance in my direction. “I didn’t notice anything, did you?”

“I…”‘ I began, but quickly realized the panic I’d spread if I were to say anything. “…I think I’m just stressed, and probably need a good nap.”

“No kidding, you were tossing and turning all night.” A puff of air escaped her lips in what would’ve sounded like quiet laughter if her face wasn’t scrunched with stress. The harsh blues in her eyes softened when she said, “I can only imagine. I’m drowning midterms and piles of homework, but you’re fighting against what could become a full-blown war.”

I paused, feeling my heart skip a beat as I was thrown through space and time, reeling back to the day the earth ran red with blood. Only a split second it took to dredge up the screams, snarls and sounds of d***g breath from my memory. Stars danced behind my eyes a s I got whiplash from returning to the present so soon.

“A war, who said anything about a war?”

Cassidy shrugged one of her shoulders but worry remained painted across her face as she said, “First with the Vampires, and now the witches…Everyone in towns saying it. That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

A cold sweat broke across the back of my neck, and this time I let myself sink into the expensive leather seats. Not even the sudden flush of Asher’s rage reverberating down our bond, could distract me from the sinking feeling in my gut that told me everyone was right.

“No amount of damage control can fix this.” Cassidy said under her breath, sending the car screeching to a stop in the middle of the busy street.

A couple blocks away from the University was Town Hall. Only a sprawling garden and a few skillfully placed fountains blocked the pedestrians on the sidewalk from the main entrance. It mirrored a famous human building located in the capital of the country and stood tall with its four large pillars and abundance of square windows. Rather than a white-turned-eggshell sandstone on the exterior, there was slate grey paneling.

Traffic had already slowed due to the crowd outside and the number of people swerving to the shoulder to catch a better glimpse at what was going on. My heart hammered at the thought of Asher causing this spectacle, and I leapt out of the car ready to plow through a hundred people. When the crowd parted and my brother’s face appeared on the other side, I stopped in my tracks.

you so long?” He huffed, keeping his

glares with one of his own, while I kept my eyes trained in the direction we walked. Without realizing it, I’d been holding my breath waiting for their stares to turn into something more. Not a single person uttered a word, but I could tell by the number of newspapers held in clenched fists that more than

the insane amount of traffic?” I muttered and was preparing to say more when

the arbors of blooming roses and sprawling vines, to the small wrap around porch that surrounded the place. A sign on one of the pillars showed that following it to the back of the building would lead to the parking lot,

first thing that struck me as odd. The second was the way he placed all of his weight

ceremony honoring the sacrifices of the wounded. Just a single letter saying ‘thanks for contributing’ was all dad received. Two if you counted the one his job mailed out two weeks later letting him know he’d been replaced

The day he made it halfway up the stairs was the day Mom forbade any other attempts. He stumbled on the next step and woke up three hours later in

when I turned to Sean and asked, “Why is dad here and what happened to his

he’d been eavesdropping by the way he turned his ear in our direction and lowered his voice, obscuring the words he said to Flora. My question had him looking over here, only it wasn’t me or Cassidy he focused on,

dare,’ dad’s

down to the splotch of green-ish yellow above his

Dad was talking to Rowena when he heard them. Tried to pull them apart and

she let out a low whine that made my ears ring. I felt the instinct to defend Asher rise in my throat, along with the cruel words

all my allotted restraint for the day to clench my teeth and keep my mouth shut, but the action had an unintended effect. Rage poured into me, tinting my vision

to defend him, his face pale as though he actually thought

that left my lips came in the form of a snarl. I didn’t wait for Sean to escort me or for Cassidy to follow, even though I could hear her cautious footsteps trailing a few feet behind. Dad cursed under his breath but didn’t dare try to

focused on my surroundings, I would’ve been able to hear the

The people lingering in the parking lot, watching protectively by

they doing this outside?” I hissed at Zeke, who remained stoic on the porch, his eyes glued to the two wolves battling it out in the parking

towards me, doing everything

murmured, toying with her dainty french tip manicure. The tendons in her slender throat stood out as she swallowed and said, “…he didn’t want

other employee that needs it, take a paid week off. It’s

lips lifted for half a second, but

one of her loose curls behind an ear before making a beeline

nothing on Asher. What skill he might’ve possessed dried up when he chose to sit behind a desk for the last two

scented it in the air. I could see where some had dried along his cheeks