“It’s happening again?” Sean frowned, emerging from Claire’s kitchen with a plate of sandwiches in his hand and a bag of chips in the other.
Sean looked better than he had these last few weeks. He was eating again, and the dark circles around his eyes had faded almost completely.Moving on from a fallen mate was impossible, but finding a way to live despite the pain, only the strongest could do such a thing.He took a seat beside dad on the couch, setting the plate on the table for the two of them. Dad and Sean needed to keep their hands busy when they were stressed.It was exactly why grandma was out back right now, pruning Claire’s rose bush. I knew she was listening in on us, because every so often she’d throw a comment of her own through the sliding glass door.The breeze that wafted through was pleasant, at least. Even though the room was heavy with emotion.
“Exactly li
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Alpha Asher Chapter 118
I had never been good at sugar coating things, but I tried to tone down the details as I told her what I knew. There was a nervous flutter in my chest because she hadn’t turned and bolted up the stairs. She was still here, listening even though her eyes were somewhere far away. “Her name is—was Carson, she went to the University in town and ran one of the sororities. She had friends and a family.” I explained, “I know it’s a long shot, but I had to ask. I know you weren’t aware of our father’s plans, but this was how it started before. She’s the first, but there’s too high a chance she won’t be the last.” Holly was silent for so long that I wondered if coming here was useless. She was unnaturally still. Tristan was the only one who wasn’t on edge, leaning against the wall as if this was common occurrence. “I don’t always see things, sometimes its sounds or feelings.” Her voice was soft and a few octaves higher than mine. I met her gaze unflinchingly,
Alpha Asher Chapter 119
“You’re sure?” I asked Mason, my irritation increasing with each missing piece thrust in front of my face. Mason met Asher and I on our way to Carson’s parent’s house. My stomach was rumbling from the lack of food, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep anything down if I tried. Just the thought of facing the shattered remains of her family, it left my nerves frayed and exposed. He nodded, just as perplexed. “Positive. Not only was Carson the only one with access to the sorority’s social media account, but the picture was also posted from her phone.” “Thanks, Mason.” I sighed, feeling that familiar pang of guilt as I looked into his mossy hazel eyes. Asher’s phone began to ring. He frowned at the screen and turned away, placing the phone against his ear. The voice on the other end was muffled, but it was Mason I had my attention on. “Don’t feel bad, Lola. We’ve both been busy these last two weeks.” His easygoing smile gave me some reassurance,
Alpha Asher Chapter 120
“Of course, I’ll let you know.” The lie felt wrong on my lips, but the fleeting sense of guilt had nothing on the feeling rolling through me right now. Like a landslide, boulders tumbled and collided in the pits of my stomach. I had never been exceptionally skilled at lying, so I added on a few details to make it more believable. “Breyona’s parents are scholars. They’re working with a few of…” I paused and the phrase ‘vampire henchmen’ came to mind, “…my men to search through my father’s family tree.”“By your men I assume you mean the vampire’s currently on your side.” She shifted in the armchair, crossing one leg over another. Her sculpted lips tilted up in a knowing smile, “I don’t fear vampires, Lola. Our ancestors had no reason to fear other species, not when their numbers rivaled the vampire’s kingdom, and the werewolves’ packs. It’s a mi
Alpha Asher Chapter 121
“When you called me saying you needed my help with ‘magic stuff,’ this wasn’t what I had in mind.” Breyona frowned; her eyebrows gnashed together. She had a gentler version of Asher’s expression, who stood a few feet to her left, so still he looked carved from stone. Her eyes flitted down to the dark bra and underwear combo I wore; the one Asher had picked out just a few weeks ago. “…I really need to start training again. I never realized how many calories shifting burned.”“I hear you and Giovanni train pretty hard already.” I replied smoothly, my lips twitching as I resisted the urge to laugh.She flicked her chestnut hair over her shoulder and scoffed, “Tristan’s an asshole.”Rowena flitted into the room, a blur of auburn hair and pale skin. Like a hummingbird, she was light on her feet. She rummaged through trunks, glass bottles clinking and papers scratching against one ano
Alpha Asher Chapter 122
“You’re sure you’re alright?” Asher asked for the second time, the only sign of his worry was the crease between his eyebrows and how his attention kept drifting from the road to where I sat in the passenger seat.Cordelia had taken a couple of photos of the sigil on my chest, the one now hidden by the oversized t-shirt I wore, to investigate herself. An ‘x’ with frayed ends like fletching of an arrow, with a long slash that went vertically through the center. I tried not to worry too much that this one had left her stumped, and instead tried to stay optimistic. Breyona had sent the pictures to her parents, who would now be on the lookout for any texts or relics that matched.“It doesn’t hurt anymore, but it is strange…now that I can see this thing, it feels kind of familiar. I’m positive I don’t have any memory of it though.” I wished I could fully reassure him, but the strange feeling bubbling i
Alpha Asher Chapter 123
“You handled that well.” Asher chuckled, his laugh deep and rich like liquid amber. His breath was hot and curled in the air between us. The cold metal of the car chilled my back, easily seeping through Asher’s sweatshirt. His hand rested on the roof of the car and his eyes were devastatingly serious as he said, “I was going to tell him to take his questions and fuck off.”I always took the chance to toy with my hot-headed mate, especially when he made it so incredibly easy.I gave him a petulant look and tried to push past him, “you never did have any manners.”My back hit the side of the car with a little more force this time. Rather than hurting me, it brought a twisted smile to my face. My head swam with his earthy scent as he leaned in close, always hovering over me. I could feel his fingers tangling in my hair where they hadn’t been before.“You’re wrong, I have some manners.&rdquo
Alpha Asher Chapter 124
“You’re absolutely positive?” I asked both dad and grandma, who were locked in a staring match that was now going on two minutes.“She never brought Lola to your cottage?” Dad’s lips fell, and everything inside of me regretted bringing this up.From her leaving him years after having Sean, to returning with me in her arms and a shadow hovering over her shoulder. They had been through more than most mated couples, and somehow managed to make it work up until her death. Uncovering her secrets felt like peeling back the layers of my memories until the woman who had raised me was almost unrecognizable.“No, not once.” Grandma replied. She and mom had never gotten along, and it was mom’s refusal to let us see her that drove a wedge in between her and I. Dating Tyler only wedged that chasm open even more.“How old was I when she took me? When she came back, did she act any different? Did I act any diff
Alpha Asher Chapter 125
It took another hour to fall back asleep. Standing out in the early morning chill, talking about a dead man whose presence still made me shudder, it had chased away the remnants of sleep that weighed my eyelids down. I stayed curled in Asher’s embrace, enjoying the warmth and his woodsy scent as sleep slowly reclaimed me.That morning I was out of bed bright and early, driving to a coffee shop just outside of town but still within the pack’s boarders. We had stopped there on our way in, and Breyona fell in love with their caramel macchiatos and bear claws. It had been a last-minute decision to drive the extra fifteen minutes and grab us one since we’d both be spending the morning with Cordelia.Asher and I had been working on my driving for the last few months, and I’ve improved drastically despite his hesitance on letting me go off alone. Coasting down the winding highway, seeing nothing but dense forest and a few cabins, was much less exhilara