Alpha Asher by Jane

Read Alpha Asher by Jane Doe Chapter 169 – “Did you seriously stop for coffee?” Tristan deadpanned; his expression unamused as he stared down at me.

I shrugged and pushed past him. “Not all of us are used to night shift. Judging from your grumpiness, I’d say you’re not used to it either.”

“I am not grumpy.”‘ He huffed, blinking at me a few times before regaining his composure and leading the way through Asher’s maze-like dungeon.

The network of underground tunnels wasn’t known to anyone in the pack but a select few that Asher trusted. I’d been more than reluctant to venture down there the first time Asher brought me. The entrance was in the basement of a local bar in town, part of the roadways that would allow alcohol to be smuggled in during the human’s insane prohibition.

There was a slight sting of alcohol and fermented fruit that lingered within the tunnels, which helped to dull the scent of blood, sweat, and p**s.

Thankfully, having the Vampire placed in one of the nicer cells turned in our favor. The stench was far less noticeable in this part of the dungeon.

The walls were made from smooth stone, and there was actually a toilet and small stall that served as a shower, though privacy was an impossibility.

Beneath the dim light protruding from the ceiling, swaying slightly though there was no breeze, was the Vampire whose life I had saved.

She was propped against the wall, perched on the metal bedframe that sat in the corner of the cell. With the barest hint of light, I could see that her mane of curly hair wasn’t black but a rich shade of caramel with blonde highlights dispersed throughout. Her deep-set cheekbones casted shadows along her jaw. It was that and the slant to her sculpted eyebrows that made her appear both grim and gaunt.

A pair of eyes the same shade of caramel as her hair darted up to meet my own. She had asked for me, yet her expression seemed to worsen as I walked into the small circular room.

Her cell was the only one occupied, the other four were vacant.

voice reverberated off the stone walls and

the room with Tristan and I, each one standing rod-straight on either side of her cell. One of the guards slid a

before saying, “…didn’t think

make me appear strong and above it all-above the chaos and h**l the witches had put us through this past

I didn’t bother trying to conceal it. I was every bit as human as I was witch,

their species.” I kept my voice neutral, lowering myself into the fold-out

and glanced up at the two guards flanking her

She said, narrowing her eyes until the swirls of caramel brightened to a warm gold. “If I decide to give anything up, it won’t be with them in the

whip through the silence that encased us. “I didn’t call her here

a bit more watered down. It was a look of assessment, one that threatened to slice me in two, flesh and bone, to what

what type of person I am.” I murmured, inclining my head in the same way I’d seen Asher do hundreds of times. “What

far, just enough to give us the barest hint of privacy. Tristan, on the

call its darkness our home…” She spoke only when the two guards’ footsteps silenced. The words emerged softly, but despite the delicate tone

my

to go back to sleep. Even more than any of that, I want peace.” I exhaled sharply, forcing the words out in a rush that made my chest feel as though it were caving in. “I’m fighting an impossible war, trying to keep both sides alive long enough to realize who the true enemy is. It doesn’t matter how far things get, how b****y or horrific. I’ll never be able to stop, because

was rarely easy, rarely subtle in its explosion into existence. Short of breath was an understatement. It felt as though the walls were crumbling, like the stone were giving away to damp earth that piled up around m e and threatened to s*****w me whole. Every slow breath I took eased the feeling of claustrophobia but did nothing to ease the weight in

before she stood and approached the iron bars that kept her contained.

rose from the chair. “There’s rumor of a town, a place where Vampire’s are free to live…where we’re

“It’s true.”

Vampire’s on our side, was a relief she’d never known. Her shoulders sagged and lips parted, a million questions bubbling

She breathed, leaning forward on the b***s of her

can’t tell you that, but

face. “I apologize for

she had left behind when a small coven of witches

many of the Vampire’s scattered across the country, slowly gathering to form families of their own. They sought