Alpha Asher by Jane

Chapter 176

“You must be awful stupid coinin’ around these parts, girl—even with a Vampire at your

side.” A loud voice snapped.

A woman came into view, emerging from where she blended in with the forest line. Her skin

was as dark as the bark that covered each tree, but that was where the similarities ended.

She swayed her round hips gracefully as she approached the bike, her full lips curled back

in a fearless sneer. She stopped five feet away, standing on the dual yellow lines that split

the road in two. The leather jacket she wore glittered under the moon, mirroring the light in

her dark eyes.

For a single fleeting moment, I wondered if they were oblivious to who we were. The

miniscule dash of hope fizzled out when the woman spoke a second time.

“And don’t expect me to call you Queen, you ain’t no friend of me or mines.”

Though I didn’t dare take my eyes off the Vampire, I could see in my peripherals that she

wasn’t the only one venturing from the forest to stand in the road. In all, I counted four

others. Two to our left and two to the right.

We were surrounded.

The humanoid shape at the far end of the road came closer, their features growing sharper

with each heavy footstep they took. When I managed to make out two pale-blue eyes, a

wide mouth, and a set of messy hair, I found myself stunned into silence.

“Go on, now. Take the helmets off so we can have ourselves a civilized conversation, yeah?

You can shut off the bike too, won’t be needing that anytime soon.”

The homeless man that had been sitting outside of the gas station came to a stop beside the

woman. He brought the can of beer in his hand to his lips and took a long drink.

“Oh, thanks for the beer, by the way.” He said, ignoring the woman’s scowl.

Several seconds passed and Tristan hadn’t moved. His position turned defensive, and I could tell by the way he

clenched his jaw that he had no intention on listening to them. I tapped his shoulder pointedly, once again wishing

Vampire’s had the luxury, and curse, of a mind-link.

He must’ve understood well enough because a second later he cut the engine and removed the key from the

ignition. The silence was deafening, but it was the eerie sense of foreboding that thickened the air and raised the

humidity.

“Now that that’s done with, what the hell kind of business you got in these parts?” The woman demanded.

Her eyes narrowed into small slivers, but I could still see the gleam dancing within them.

“Dina, just kill em’ and be done with it.” The homeless man said.

He flashed me a grin that might’ve seemed apologetic if he hadn’t chosen to belch afterwards. The sound echoed

across the pavement, sending the rancid scent of stale beer and sour breath in every direction. The woman at his

side wrinkled her nose but didn’t tear her eyes away from Tristan and me.

The man shrugged indifferently. “Sorry, doll face.

Buying me a beer won’t save ya,’ even if you are the Queen.”

His words stirred something deep within me, a feeling that unfurled in my chest like the blood- soaked petals of a

freshly plucked rose. I slid off the back end of the bike, feeling the Vampire’s on either side of us stir. Tristan didn’t

dare stop me, but instead followed my lead and lifted his leg over the bike before knocking the kickstand into place.

I took a few steps towards the man and woman, stopping at Tristan’s side.

“Clearly you need a Queen if you think killing me is a smart idea, but what do I know? It’s not like I’m the Luna of

the largest pack in the world. Oh, and laying off the beers might help too.” I replied, skewering him with my stare

for a couple long seconds before turning my attention to Dina, the female Vampire. “ I’m here looking for a

Vampire Lair, and it looks like I’ve found it.”

The male opened his mouth to respond but was silenced when Dina raised her hand. On either side of us, the

Vampire’s stirred and shifted restlessly. Clearly, Dina had some sort of sway here, but I couldn’t be sure how much.

“You ain’t found nothing, and if you’re smart you’ll take your little ass out of here before I change my damn mind.”

She snapped.

I wasn’t fazed, even if her voice was laced with fire. Something about her reminded me of a dragon, huffing smoke

into the air as a warning before it burned the forest to ash. Unlike the drunken Vampire at her side, intelligence

flickered in her eyes.

“You’re smart, I can tell. You don’t want the trouble of kidnapping or murdering me, not without knowing if my mate

and the rest of the pack know where I am— which they do. There’s a reason you didn’t join the rest of your lair and

help the witches when they sought you out, which is a good thing considering they infiltrated my pack. It’s

comforting to know Bridgette wasn’t lying, though she could’ve saved me some time by warning me about Frank

Gallagher over here.” I replied confidently, smirking when the male’s face reddened and contorted in anger. 4 “The

fuck is that?” He bellowed, crushing the beer can in his hand.

Dina whirled around with such fury in her eyes that I found myself waiting for her to breathe actual flame.

“Either shut your damn mouth or go the hell back to

Garret’s and keep watch.” She snarled, jabbing a finger into his chest. When he clamped his

lips together and tossed the crumpled can to the side of the road, Dina turned back to the

two of us. “What do you know about Bridgette? Where the fuck is she?”

She had the same fury raging in her eyes. It was powerful enough to make me doubt our

safety. Clearly, she cared about Bridgette. Did she care about her enough to try and harm

us?

“Bridgette is alive. Who do you think gave me the directions to your lair?”

Dina pursed her lips. “You torture her for the information? Bridgette wouldn’t give up our

location any other way.”

I shook my head, “She’s unharmed, but the same can’t be said for the other Vampire’s. I

defended myself when they attacked, but I didn’t kill them, and neither did anyone in my

pack.”

To the left of us, I heard what I thought was a choked sob. When a golden-haired Vampire

keeled over, clasping her hands over her mouth, I knew I’d been right. It brought me no

pleasure to see the agony on her face, to watch the shadows deepen along her protruding

cheekbones, furthering the darkness that already lingered within her eyes. The male at her

side, whose dark hair was slicked into a short mohawk, took her in his arms.

She trembled and shook but didn’t break her stare from my face. “If you aren’t responsible,

then who is?” “The witch they chose to follow.” I answered truthfully, “She’s the one who

killed them.”

Dina cleared her throat, suspicion burning in her eyes. “How the hell does one measly witch

kill that many Vampires?” She demanded.

“She wasn’t just any witch...but you should already know that. Wait, didn’t you know she

was the blood witch?” I frowned, running my eyes over each Vampire that surrounded us,

soaking in the confusion as it morphed into various shades of horror and realization.

Dina’s scowl darkened, turning so grim that I had to fight back the urge to shudder. She

turned to the Vampire that had been posing as a homeless man and said, “Royce, go pull the

car out. If what she’s sayin’ is true and Bridgette survived, Deacon is going to want to talk to

her.”