Alpha Asher by Jane

Read Alpha Asher by Jane Doe Chapter 200

There wasn’t much of a sleepover after that, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

Cassidy and Clara could feel the tension in the room and knew from the looks on our faces that what we talked about hadn’t been good. Soon after wrapping up, Breyona came downstairs, her eyes raw and red with the opened envelope clutched in her hand.

I knew Breyona needed space, but I also knew that leaving her alone wasn’t the right thing to do. It didn’t take much convincing to get her to say, but I think deep down she wanted someone to confide in, someone who understood.

After promising Cassidy I’d show up to training tomorrow, she and Kendrick left, following Mason and Clara. The four planned on going out for drinks, and I was glad they were able to continue their night. Staying here would’ve just meant d******g in all of our foul moods.

Holly decided to stay, and I found I was genuinely glad she did, even if she had to leave early the next day for a therapy appointment.

Late in the night, Breyona, Holly, and myself curled up on the massive bed Asher had made for us, swapping stories in the dim lights draped around the beds canopy.

Breyona talked about the letter her parents had left her, breaking down halfway through as sobs wracked her body. I’d been stunned when Holly wrapped her arms around Breyona and I, hugging us both. I’d never gotten close enough to her to notice before, but her scent was light and held hints of elderberry and rose.

The letter written by her parents was a goodbye of sorts, a piece of themselves too sad to dare read out loud. Just hearing about it made my eyes water and fill with tears. I pictured my own mom, and all of the good and bad memories between us.

They had told her how much they loved her, how proud they were, and how she’d never be alone, not for one second. Every step of the way, every milestone in her life, they would be there.

Hearing Breyona talk about the letter prompted Holly to mention her own parents. I’d never pressed the topic with her out of fear that she’d shut down and close me off even more than I already was, but as she talked I listened with unbridled interest.

It had been a padded, golden-plated prison she’d lived in during her time with our father, and while she’d grown to hate every second of it, there was a time where she wanted nothing more than to make him proud. Only when she realized how impossible that was, did she finally crave true freedom.

She had a longing for the mother she’d never met, the one currently trying to enslave me, but it was tainted with disappointment. Nothing would change the Blood Witch’s path, not even the daughter she’d never met.

and pain, I felt I trusted her enough to talk about what I’d just learned. I hadn’t realized how

thing I had because this week had barely

all of us going back to our normal routines as if everything wasn’t falling apart. Between the lingering stares and whispers whenever I went out in public, it felt like everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the next shoe to drop—or the

training, spending what little time I could manage with friends and family, and stuck in meetings with Zeke, Asher, and a few others as we tried to figure out

witches had once occupied, but none had showed up since. Just yesterday, he’d sent his Beta, who had been on leave taking care of his mate and newborn son, to Alpha

of them, mainly because of Clara’s ability to tell if there was any magic cast on the

I was still utterly exhausted after every attempt. I’m sure it didn’t help that there was

me that I’d know if I were drawing on dark magic, but the fear still

up. Per our old tradition, I stayed hidden as he entered the training room, greeting an entire class full of students.

fifteen minutes, neither one of us yielding until Emilia came in and began clapping. A truce

night when something changed—when the other

had been restless for hours, thrashing and writhing in the forest the moment the sun had gone down. I could hear

his arms wrapped around my waist, his damp hair tickling my cheek as he spoke, but I wasn’t

I’d learned it was my family

on, began to flicker. When it sputtered out, cloaking the room

the carpet, writhing and twitching as it condensed into the form of

waist as he stared at the shadows. He was suppressing his surprise, but I felt it seep through the bond. It was still jarring, even after all this time, seeing them up close and hearing

Newcomers, they have arrived…

of voices overlapping one another as they spoke almost in

narrowing his golden eyes

not ssspeak to you,

body tensed, right down to my fingers and toes. I locked eyes with my mate, both of us wondering if we’d heard the same thing and if we

asked

Vampiressss.