Alpha Asher and Lola novel Chapter 211

Chapter 211

I was so unfathomably tired of death.

The pale rider and I knew each other intimately. We were partners in a dance I no longer remembered the movements for, one I wished would end already but knew never would.

There were so many fallen wolves. So many families to contact, so many devastating blows to land.

Just as many, if not more, witches littered the ground.

They had friends, I‘m sure. Families that would wonder where they were or if they were ever coming back. They would be mourned by someone, somewhere.

It had taken me months to no longer have nightmares of my father‘s severed head tumbling from his shoulders, rolling across the ground in a sea of blood. Every

time I escaped the pull of a nightmare, a new one sprouted in its place, brought on by all of the death and carnage.

Even now, after all these months, I couldn‘t even look at grass without seeing flashes of it covered in blood.

I kept to Asher‘s side, shifting between human and wolf as I killed in both forms. Each life I took broke something inside of me that could never be fixed.

Asher was horrifically elegant in his wolf form, slashing throats and sinking his teeth into anything that wielded magic. He knew the dance moves, knew death much longer than I had. There were rare beings in this world born and bred to send people to the other side.

Asher was one of these beings. The more ! killed and slaughtered, the faster I realized that I was not.

So, I piggybacked off his strength and ferocity, letting his one–track mind

smother my feelings of regret and doubt.

We searched through the sea of crimson high and low looking for Ember, but she wasn‘t here.

I used my magic sparingly, diffusing some of the more powerful witches before they had a chance to kill any more of our warriors. I‘d just slashed through a miniature fucking tornado when I hesitated.

The witch that had conjured it was a child, barely a pre–teen.

Her face was round, her cheeks plump and flushed with blood. The rise and fall of her chest were heavy, spattered with blood that could‘ve easily been hers or someone else‘s. Seeing my hesitation, she blinked in surprise. Her lips opened to form a small‘o,‘ and her fingers twitched like she wasn‘t sure what to do next.

Staring at her through Maya‘s eyes, all I could think was that she wasn’t supposed

to be here, fighting on a battlefield against trained warriors. She should be starting high–school, frantic and on the verge of tears as she tried again and again to pick the perfect outfit for her first day. Worried about crappy boyfriends and finding a best friend to spill all her secrets to.

I couldn‘t kill her, and my hesitation almost cost me.

All of the innocence drained from her face as she twisted it into a sneer. Asher‘s voice bellowed through the mind–link just in time.

‘Lola, watch out!

I rolled to the left, partially thrown by Asher as he barreled into the witch creeping up behind me, a curved blade in her upraised hand.

Before I could cry out or tell them to stop, a wolf with wheat–colored fur tackled the young witch and crushed her neck in its maw. The warrior dropped the dying girl and was onto the next witch, going through the same motions as everyone else.

‘What the fuck was that, Lola?‘ Asher panted, letting out a huff of hot air from his snout. ‘You would‘ve died if I hadn‘t warned you in time.

I didn‘t look at him. I couldn‘t. The girl was laying there, gurgling as she choked on her own blood. Within seconds the light faded from her eyes, and the future she deserved was ripped out from beneath her feet.

‘Look at her, Asher.‘ I whispered. ‘She‘s a child.‘

Asher turned his massive head and stared the girl down, his tail twitching as he saw the truth for himself. Despite his strength, he had a heart just like anyone else, and I could feel it ache for the girl. It was his nature as an Alpha that led him to

straighten his spine and hold his head high.

‘Yes, she is a child.‘ He replied softly. ‘A child trained to kill.‘

‘I‘m tired of killing.‘I closed my eyes, hearing nothing but the carnage that surrounded us.

Asher‘s tail curled against mine, and I had no choice but to face him when he brushed his snout along my neck. His voice circled my head, full of such warmth and understanding that I wanted to cry.

“Then stop it. You have the power, Lola. Use it.

Some part of me must‘ve been waiting for permission, or perhaps support, because the moment I had Asher‘s approval, magic crackled and filled my cells with power.

I wanted the killing to stop, and I knew just how to end it.

“I‘m going to have to keep using it. I’ve got a town of Vampire’s to protect,