Alpha Asher and Lola novel Chapter 227

Chapter 227

‘Let’s take a minute. I need a breather before I tear her heart out.’ I hissed over mind-link.

The darkness in my veins was crooning, ‘kill her, kill her, kill her.’ The possibility that she’d open her mouth again and say something that eroded the last shred of my willpower was terrifying enough to make me want to run.

Still holding Asher’s hand, I pulled him away from Rowena. The traitor was reclined in her seat, lazy smile on her face. She could act like being here was her choice, like this was some five-star resort, but I had a feeling she’d quickly change her mind once Asher began drawing blood.

The mere thought of hearing her screams had my hands shaking, twitching with the urge to let my magic take control.

There was clear reluctance on Asher’s end, but he relented and let me lead him into the observation room. As Rowena’s cell door swung shut, I closed in on my mate. The others in the room faded into the background, the prickling sensation that was their eyes smothered by fear.

I fumbled to grab both of his hands, capturing them with my own so that he had no choice but to stop and listen to what I was saying. There was no time for his stubbornness, not when his life was so clearly on the line.

‘You better wipe that look off of your face, and don’t act like I don’t know what it means.’ I snarled, sucking in deep breaths to calm my frantic heart. ‘You’re not sacrificing yourself. It’s not an option, you hear me? I will lock you in one of these cells. if it means keeping you safe, and I’m willing to bet anything that Zeke and the others will help me.’

‘What kind of Alpha would I be if I didn’t do this?’ Asher’s voice was lower than normal, thickened by grief and guilt.

More than anything, I wanted to wash it away. I wanted to be the balm that soothed his soul and the rock that the waves crashed against, but some things couldn’t be fixed. I knew that firsthand, because the hole in my chest where my brother once was would never close-never heal.

I hated that he had to throw my earlier words back in my face. He knew I couldn’t argue against it, not when I was so willing to do the same thing. It was pure selfishness that kept me from backing him up, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t seem to change my own mind.

‘Asher, I’m not living a life without you in it.

I won’t do it. I don’t care if it makes me selfish. Becoming a Luna was never something I wanted, not until I met you and realized what you are to me. If I lose you, I lose my reason for everything.’

Flecks of shimmering gold filled his eyes, warming my cold and clammy skin.

‘You’d take care of this pack, I know it. You’d be alive and breathing. That’s all I want.’ He finished; his voice filled with such absolution that a shard of panic pierced my chest.

‘No, no I wouldn’t.’ I closed my eyes, facing the ugly truth behind my many flaws. There was such rage boiling beneath the surface, staining my soul, and turning it black, feeding the darkness that poisoned my blood. When I opened them, I let every bit of that anger show, praying it would be enough to deter him. ‘If I lost you, I’d lose myself. The darkness would take over, and I’d let it. Asher, I’d kill every last witch that walked this earth. I’d kill every single person that led to me losing you.’

Surprise and dread flooded the mate-bond in chords of steel and silk, rippling across Asher’s rugged face until his guilt and grief morphed into sheer determination. The sea that was his thoughts began to churn, kicking up into a hurricane that caused the waves to funnel and whirlpool.

‘Then there has to be another way. Rowena was far too enthusiastic telling us how to break the spell. She wants us to focus on what she said, rather than what she didn’t.’

He said, eyes darting over to the far wall, through the window that gave us a glimpse of Rowena in her cell.

An idea popped into my head; one I’d thought of weeks ago but hadn’t given much thought to. It was nearly impossible, but it beat losing Asher or someone else I loved. The smallest glimmer of hope filled my body, smoothing over the ragged edges of the hole in my chest. I couldn’t embrace the emotion the way I wanted to. There was no telling if this would work.

‘We could kill the blood witch…’ I said after several seconds of silence. ‘She’s the one casting the spell. She’s the one trying to control me. If we kill her, then the spell is broken and the only person capable of controlling me is gone.’

Asher’s eyebrows slid closer together, his face pinched in a grimace. ‘It would work, but we have no idea where the blood witch is.

They could be in any town, and we’d never know. Even if you found a way to break through the illusion magic Rowena was talking about, we don’t have the time to go through every single human town within a two-hundred-mile radius.’ 1

He was right, but there was another option- a faster and much more satisfying one.

My attention drifted over to the observation window, to where Rowena sat. Her eyes were locked on my own even though there was no way she could see past the two-way glass.

‘Let’s see how enthusiastic she is when pain is involved.’

While Asher went to grab a few things, I stayed put with the others. I didn’t need a cart full of instruments to peel her flesh from bone. Even without the aid of my magic, I’d much rather use my bare hands.

Tristan and Giovanni were both leaning against the wall. Neither acknowledged the other, but they didn’t seem to be fighting anymore. I hoped whatever feud they had going on had come to an end, because we needed all hands-on deck to get through this. Breyona, Zeke, and Tessa were huddled around the single table in the room, exhaustion clear on all their faces.

“The sun will be coming up soon.” I warned both Tristan and Giovanni. “You guys might want to get out of here.”

“We’re staying.” Giovanni grunted in his thick accent, staring at me with eyes even as dark as his shadow-wolf mate.

Tristan nodded, still not looking at Giovanni, but said nothing. Just then, Asher returned to the observation room, pushing a large metal cart in front of him. The blades, drill bits, and various vials of chemicals

rattled as they hit one another. From where I stood several feet away, I could make out the subtle tang of old blood coating many of the instruments.