Alpha Asher and Lola novel Chapter 139

Read Alpha Asher by Jane Doe Chapter 139 – “Spirits from the other side…

…hear my words, hear my cry…

Only one of you we do seek…

…a mother of two, whose secrets still sleep…

We ask you to cross the great divide…

…to share the truth you chose to hide.”

I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until I felt Asher’s eyes on my face. Still, I couldn’t exhale. There was this part of me that was terrified I’d be disappointed, that the worst would happen, and she wouldn’t come.

Through all the fights I loved the mother I knew, but I wished she were here to tell me this herself.

Cordelia repeated her chant a second time, and then a third. The air around us was thick and heavy, like a tangible substance that weighed us down. I watched as Breyona wiped the sweat from her forehead with the sleeve of her hoodie. She pointed at it and grimaced, regret in her eyes. Asher was stoic, his face a mask that revealed nothing. Even Rowena looked a bit flustered and was using her hand to fan her face.

Just when I thought she’d say it a fourth time and s**k the rest of the oxygen from the room, something happened.

They were too light to be shadows. More like whisps of smoke that rolled across the floor, gathering within the ring of candles at the center of our circle. They coalesced, swirling like smoke under glass.

First, the figure of a woman formed.

As the smoke faded, absorbed into the corporeal being standing feet in front of us, I found myself looking into the eyes of my mother.

She looked different than what I remembered, but it had been an entire year since I last saw her. We had fought tirelessly over Tyler, but she hadn’t argued with me when I told her I wanted to live with grandma-she hadn’t said much of anything.

Her hair was longer than I remembered it and curled softly at the ends. Sean had told me what she looked like when he went to identify the body, the wounds that she had. The button -down shirt she wore was spotless and held no evidence of the way she’d been k****d.

The longer I stared at her, the more I could’ve convinced myself that she was actually here-alive and safe. It was the translucence to her body that sent me hurtling through space, crashing towards earth as I remembered she wasn’t here, she wasn’t coming back. I would never get the closure I wanted, the answers to my thousands of questions but maybe I’d get this one chance at a goodbye.

I promised myself I’d stay strong, that my mask would be as indestructible as Asher’s, but something inside of me broke when my mom got down on her knees and said, “…you make such a beautiful Luna.”

She smiled at me, one of her genuine smiles I seemed to witness less and less as I aged. There was no anger in her eyes, no guilt or disappointment. They shimmered with happiness, filling with tears that refused to fall.

“Hi, mom.” I croaked, barely able to get the words out. The knot in my throat grew, aching every time I held back a sob.

Cordelia’s face was serene, but the intensity of her eyes and the sheen of sweat on her face served as a reminder that we were on borrowed time. I had to pull myself together long enough to ask the important questions, then I could break down.

“We called you here to ask you some questions …” I took a few seconds to find my voice, oblivious to the tears that trailed down my cheeks. Mom’s lips fell and she reached for me, stopping at the barrier of candles that separated us. “…there isn’t much time, but we need your help.”

“I’ll help how I can, I promise. I was supposed to tell you these things myself, Lola…” Her eyes held everything we had missed together. The conversations and secrets, even the arguments and silly way’s we would make up. “…you weren’t supposed to go through this alone.”

“She’s not alone, she never was.” Even though I had promised myself I wouldn’t take my eyes off her, that I’d memorize every detail of what she looked like, I couldn’t help it when my head turned towards the sound of Asher’s voice. “Me, Breyona, Mason, Sean, her dad and grandmother, we’ve all been with her every step of the way.”

He looked up at my mom with the confidence of an Alpha, but there was a softness in his eyes that rivaled his fierce protectiveness, one that showed exactly what he felt for me. She could see it; I know she could. It was one of the reason’s she had hated Tyler, because no matter how many cocky smiles he flashed, he never looked at me the way Asher did.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Alpha Asher.” Mom’s smile was knowing and gave me a look I had never seen before-one that said, ‘I approve’.

“Likewise.” He nodded stiffly.

“Mom…we need to know how to remove this binding spell you had put on me.” I wiped away the tears that fell, blinking past them until I could see clearly again. “…I need to know why you did it. Was it because you couldn’t tell Dad about me?”