Alpha Asher by Jane

Chapter 216

I woke to the tang of blood in my mouth. and the stinging pain of something sharp prodding me in the ass.

“Agh.” I hissed in pain.

Turning onto my side, which wasn’t any better, I felt around blindly for the perpetrator. My fingers froze when I registered the gritty substance covering the floor-the ground, I mean.

It was dirt, scraggly and moist as it became compacted under my nails. Just about every muscle in my body ached like I’d ran a marathon. I tried to push past that pain, stretching out my senses until my eyes decided too corporate. 1

Cold lapped at my bare skin, grazing places that should’ve been covered by clothing but most definitely weren’t. If I had to guess, I might’ve assumed I was outside somewhere but that couldn’t be possible.

Other than the heavy pants of my breathing, there was nothing but silence. If I were outside, I should’ve been able to hear crickets chirping and leaves crunching beneath the feet of the smaller forest dwellers. There was none of that, not even the whoosh of wind passing through treetops.

My fingers trailed over something long and hard, and I grunted as I finally found the object that had been jabbing me.

“What the hell? Is that a twig?” I grunted, smacking my lips as I struggled to speak.

The tang of blood coating my tongue felt… off. There was something abnormal about it, but I couldn’t pinpoint it at the moment. 2

It was a stick in my hand, I was sure of it.

The surface was rough like bark, but damp as though the early morning mist had already passed through.

Finally, I was able to crack my eyes open. The only source of light was the silver marble hovering in the sky, making it easy to adjust to my surroundings. My eyes latched onto the stick in my hand, only it wasn’t a stick.

I gasped, flinging the jagged femur bone into a patch of brush.

Bits of bloody flesh clung to my fingertips, picking up dirt as I scrambled onto all fours and whipped my head around.

No, this can’t be what she saw. 1

They were everywhere, scattered in a perfect ring around where I’d woken up. Animals, dead animals. Their blood watered the earth, soaking it in a sea of crimson so severe that even the starving soil failed to soak it all up.

most sickening part-the part that twisted my stomach into knots and filled my mouth with the acrid taste of

been torn to shreds, limbs ripped from torsos and heads clawed from the rest

deer, elk, foxes, even a couple of bears.

shards of broken bones. Among the

I saw. The information simply wasn’t registering, smothered by shock and the realization that the blood in my mouth wasn’t human blood.

the taste, it had come from more than one.

its milky eyes burning into me. Its stare felt accusatory, like it knew what I had done before I did. The

were coated in blood, matching the jagged piece of its spinal column that protruded

begin shaking until a flash of red hit my peripheral and I dared to look down.

into a panic wasn’t that I was naked, but that I was covered in blood. My neck, all the way down to the pads of my feet was coated in the flaky,

called out on instinct. ‘Fuck, Asher. You need to answer me, you need to answer me

but there was nowhere to go without stepping over

smothered by a wall of pure agony, of horror so strong that my body chose to revolt and spew every vile thing I’d eaten onto

cried out, staring at my blood-covered face in the pool of

truth, and there

and

Asher wasn’t answering. My words weren’t even getting across. I knew if I didn’t do something soon, I’d be so inconsolable that I’d no longer be able to

the next face that crossed my mind and cried out to them, praying they would answer.

I need

clasped my hands over my mouth to hold back another

Oh my Goddess-oh my goddess, where are you?’ My best-friends voice echoed in my

where I am. What happened? How did this happen? I-I was with Asher, we

Okay, Lola? I’ll be able to tell where you are, and

to come to you. It’s- it’s going to be okay. It’s all going to be okay.’ She chanted,

nodded even though she wasn’t

please.’ I whispered, shutting my eyes, and succumbing to the maelstrom

could’ve been minutes or even hours that passed before I felt the air cleave in two as my best-friend appeared in her shadow beast form. Her paws slammed into the ground, kicking up tendrils of shadow that evaporated into thin air. The sound of flesh tearing in two was abrupt and made me

they darted around the ring of slaughtered animals. “…what happened?”

I don’t fucking know. I can’t remember. Goddess, why

me forward into