Alpha Asher by Jane

Read Alpha Asher by Jane Doe 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 mindset I try to keep alive, even though things are drastically different now.”

“How were things back then? I’ve only ever read about werewolves and vampires, I’ve never read anything about witches in our history.”

“Trust me, they’re in there. Names and details were changed, but I bet you there’s a handful of witches in your history books.” She said matter-of-factly, her whimsical voice taking on the tone of a schoolteacher. As she glanced down at her forgotten teacup, her mouth popped open. “Oh, how rude of me not to offer. Would you like any tea? I actually ran into your grandmother today, managed to take a bushel of lavender off her hands.”

“Grandma gave you a bushel? She must really like you. She wouldn’t even let me pull up the weeds from her garden.” I chuckled, but politely declined. “Given, I wasn’t the most gentle.”

I’d always be grandma’s number one fan with her lavender cookies and loaf cake, but hot tea just wasn’t something I could get behind. I opted for a bottle of water and tried not to stare open mouthed at all the jars, plants, and questionable containers in the refrigerator, most of which couldn’t possibly be food.

“I’d have never known you were related if she hadn’t mentioned how much her granddaughter loved her lavender cookies, and that she had even gotten the Alpha himself hooked on them.”

“She’s earned her bragging rights with those cookies she mentioned.” I snickered, but found myself stopping short, thinking back to what Rowena had told me. I sank into the armchair, taking another long drink of water to s*****w the lie I had told. “How did you learn about our kind’s history? When I needed to learn about vampire’s, I started in the past. This time, I feel like I’m stumbling around blind.”

“There’s much history even I don’t know. I’m sorry to say that everything I’ve learned has been passed through my family, or through witches I no longer have contact with. As a child, we lived next-door to another house of witches. Their daughter was my age, and we’d often teach one another what we learned.” A hint of nostalgia mixed with the sympathy in her mossy eyes, dimming the color into a light sea green. “I made the mistake of teaching her about blood-magic. I knew no actual spells, but the topic is taboo in our world -especially back then. I never saw her again after that, but I still think about her from time to time.”

horrible, it wasn’t your fault.” I

what she thought right at the time.” Rowena shrugged her narrow shoulders, then leaned forwards to top off her tea. A dash of cream and two sugar cubes later, the light scent of lavender filled the air. She grew quiet for a few seconds when a flash of determination crossed her eyes. “With your permission, I’d like to get a read on you again. That girl I told you about, she was three years older than me, and much more skilled than I. When I was seven, she used her

gut feeling that had prompted me to keep my mouth shut was gone, d*****d by

and the girl next door, two young witches. They had both been born into this, trained as soon as they could walk

my energy to get a rise out of yours.” She said, eyes sparkling as she took a few slow breaths. Her slender face held an almost excited expression. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never done this before. Perhaps it’s the preschool teacher talking, but I’ve always

vice grip around my own, not tight enough to harm, but enough to where I couldn’t yank them away without a struggle. Even as she leaned over me,

see her magic as it radiated from her hands, like thin vines that made my skin tingle as they

that now reached my forearms slowed, becoming so still that I wondered if they had stopped altogether. I made no moves, still locked

eyebrows scrunched together, her calm and mature voice

“I’m not doing anything.”

more force, alright? It won’t hurt you. If anything, it’ll just evoke a

never met her before. My mom had that same kind of can-do confidence, which I had found infuriating during

“Do it.”

flicker and glow grew brighter. The vines that were wrapped

happened at once, all faster than I could process at the time. Looking back, I could feel the nanosecond where everything changed. Like a bottle of soda shaken past