Alpha Asher By Jane Doe novel Chapter 21

Read Alpha Asher [by Jane Doe] Chapter 21

Little did I know, no one in the pack would be getting restful sleep tonight.

Another one of our own was d**d. M******d in the same exact fashion as Katie.

The first thing I did was alert Alpha Asher and his men.

There would be no explaining this way, no keeping the scrutinizing looks from falling on my shoulders. The coincidences alone were too much.

First, Tyler vanishes with his mate. It was common knowledge that Tyler and I were together. Second, the position of Kanyon’s body was too perfect. It position and the m****r was simply too close to home, literally. The nature of Kanyon’s d***h brought Katie’s into question. There wasn’t a chance in h**l a rogue would m****r Kanyon and position him outside someone’s house. Rogues simply didn’t do things like that.

The second thing I did was wake up everyone in the house. It was bound to happen eventually once Alpha Asher and his men filtered into the backyard.

And here we were, ten minutes later.

Sean sat on the couch, his head in his hands. Kanyon had been a friend of his.

I was in the blissful stage of trauma where you became numb to everything. The scarlet blood staining Kanyon’s body and the earth had little effect on me. The glassy look of h****r in his eyes couldn’t reach me, nor could the petrified look on his face.

Grandma did what she does best, she tended to the rest of us. Even though it was one in the morning, Grandma set to work pulling out some baked goods and handing us each a mug of hot cocoa.

“How-” Sean finally spoke after what felt like hours of silence, “How could a rogue do this?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I frowned, trying to keep my tone gentle for Sean’s sake. “A rogue wouldn’t do this.”

Grandma’s lips were pursed, something she only did when stress began to eat away at her. Dad had a similar expression on his face, but he was many shades paler than usual.

“I need to take a look at him.” Sean huffed, standing from the couch.

Sean was clearly in the denial phase. I did what I could to keep Sean and Grandma from looking at the body. Dad insisted seeing it for himself, resulting in his pale and pasty complexion.

“No you don’t.” I shook my head, “Seeing him won’t change anything.”

“Listen to your sister.” Dad huffed, his voice deep and rough with sleep. “You’ll be better off not lookin’.”

“What else am I supposed to do?” Sean let out a frustrated growl, “I can’t just sit here while someone- while something is k*****g off our friends.”

“There’s nothin’ you can do at this moment to fix anything, Sean.” Dad mumbled, not meeting our eyes. “Sometime’s you just gotta be angry and leave it alone.”

I had almost forgotton Dad had lost his wife, our mom, just a few weeks ago. I had been so caught up in my own life, I hadn’t paid much attention to his.

“Why was he sitting there like that, Lola?” Sean mumbled dangerously, “Why was he sitting just outside your window?”

“How am I supposed to know that, Sean?” I frowned, “I don’t know any more than you do.”

“Are you sure about that?” Sean grimaced, putting the pieces together. “Tyler magically f**king disappears and people start d***g. Then one of them- my friend’s corpse was sitting outside your window.”

“Sean, you need to calm down.” Dad barked, getting up from his recliner in a huff. “The only one at fault is the d**n thing doing the k*****g.”

“You should’ve never come back.” Sean growled, his eyes darkening.

I flinched, feeling a blow to my stomach. What hurt the most was the fact that I believed him. The pack was in mourning before I had come back, and now they were in mourning again.

“Enough of that!” Dad growled, “Don’t put the blame on your sister.”

Sean stormed out the front door, shooting one last rueful glance at me and Dad.

Something wet hit my face and my Grandma pulled me into her arms. I hadn’t realized I’d been crying until a small sob wracked my body.

“He’s angry and hurt.” Grandma murmured, “He doesn’t mean what he’s saying.”

Dad patted my shoulder awkwardly, “He’ll come around Lola. Just give him some time to process what happened.”

“He’s right though, isn’t he?” I murmured, wiping the stray tears from my eyes. “Kanyon’s right outside my window Dad.”

I wiped my tears away and composed myself in time to see Dad shoot Grandma a weary glance.

Something bubbled inside of me. Irritation, stress, fatigue. I was tired of the hushed conversations and secret glances. Dad and Grandma were keeping something from me. It could’ve had nothing to do with the murders, but tonight everything was beginning to weigh down on me.

I pulled out of Grandma’s arms and glanced between the two of them.

“Make them tell us.” Maya grumbled, “If it has anything to do with the murders, they can’t keep it to themselves.”

I opened my mouth, determined to finally get the truth. I could see the weariness in their eyes, and for just a moment I felt guilty. That guilt vanished when I remembered the body sitting in the backyard.

Before my poorly rehearsed demand could leave my lips, a hasty knock sounded on the front door.

Dad rushed over and opened it, letting Alpha Asher and a few of his men come in.

Asher’s eyes flickered from my Dad and Grandma, finally settling on my face.

“We’re gonna look over the body.” Alpha Asher informed the three of us, “I’ll be back to ask some questions.”

I had half hoped Asher would leave me alone with my Grandma and Dad, giving me another opportunity to demand what they know. Unfortunately, two of Asher’s men stayed behind.

“Long night?” One of his men commented.

It took me a minute or two, but I recognized the guy. He wasn’t originally from Asher’s pack. He was one of the few people who openly thought Tyler was a sh*tty Alpha.

Logan was someone who typically kept to the background, especially after making it known he didn’t care for Tyler.

There had been many times where Tyler wanted to throw Logan and his family out of the pack, but his Dad wouldn’t allow it.

“A very long night.” I nodded, leaning back on the couch.

Another knock sounded on the door and Dad silently went to open it. Mason’s frantic face was the first thing I saw. Dad grumbled something unintelligible and let Mason inside.

“I just heard what happened.” Mason grimaced, “You don’t mind if I stay, do you?”

Mason’s eyes flickered between me, Dad and Grandma. I was the first to speak up.

“Not at all.” I shook my head, “I could use the company at the moment.”

“I let Breyona know what was happening, she said she’ll be over soon.” Mason frowned, walking over to where I laid on the couch.

Without hesitation, Mason lifted my legs and sat down, placing my legs on his lap.

“You said he was sitting right outside your window?” Mason murmured to me quietly, his fingers tracing patterns on my calves.

“His eyes were looking right at me.” I mumbled in the same hushed tone.

“This isn’t just a rogue a****k anymore.” Mason frowned, “Something serious is going on, isn’t it?”

“How long had you been home until you noticed the body?” Alpha Asher continued his line of questions.

I paused for a moment, “Maybe forty five minutes. I hopped in the shower and changed my clothes before I noticed the body.”

“Did you see anyone else outside?” Alpha Asher asked, his dark eyes never leaving my own. “Anything strange?”

“No.” I shook my head, “There was nothing else, just Kanyon.”

“Very well.” Alpha Asher nodded, “I’m sure Breyona and Mason can conform your whereabouts and the time you arrived home?”

“They can.” I nodded, “Breyona drove Mason and I. She dropped Mason off first, then me.”

“Thank you, Lola.” Alpha Asher nodded, his tone was the softest I had heard in the short time I’ve known him. “I have one last question. Is there anything else you feel the need to mention?”

I paused for a minute, and that’s where I made my first mistake.

“What is it?” Alpha Asher’s attention was fully on me now.

Two things ran through my head. One, the strange notes that continued to find their way to me. While I figured the notes had nothing to do with Katie’s d***h, I was beginning to think I had been wrong. Two, my impromptu meeting with Brittany. If I mentioned the meeting with Brittany at Haze, there’s no way Alpha Asher would let us return. Breyona would be out of luck at finding her mate. That was something I refused to take away from her.

“I didn’t mention this before because I thought it had nothing to do with Katie’s d***h.” I frowned, “We all thought it was a rogue a****k.”

Alpha Asher’s lips were pressed tightly together, “Continue.”

“But like you said, Kanyon being placed right outside my window wasn’t a mistake.” I paused, my entire body stiffening.

My mouth dropped open as I locked eyes on a crisp index card, laying gently on my pillow.

I had managed to shower, put pajama’s on, and notice Kanyon’s d**d body without once glancing at my pillow.

“I’ve been getting notes.” My voice was soft and small.

Alpha Asher turned to where my frozen gaze was and tensed as he noticed the note.

“They were harmless at first.” I murmured, “I thought it was some stupid joke Ethan was playing on me. He was Tyler’s best friend.”

“These notes mentioned nothing about Tyler or any of his plans?” Alpha Asher asked, anger was evident in his voice.

“Not at all.” I murmured, “They were just cryptic little notes about me.”

Alpha Asher turned to me, “Lets open this one.”

I nodded and approached my bed slowly, as though the note were some kind of time-b**b.

The two of us were eerily silent as I lifted the index card, every little sound was loud in my ears.

Asher’s shoulder grazed against my own as I flipped open the card, pulling out a note and a single photo.

The picture was of me.

I was in my bedroom, pulling a t-shirt from my head. The picture was from days ago. I was completely oblivious to the person standing just outside my window, a camera in their hand.

Alpha Asher’s body stiffened at the sight of the picture, and I thought he might truly lose it when his eyes grazed the delicate writing on the note.

‘We are always watching’