Alpha Asher and Lola novel Chapter 135

Read Alpha Asher by Jane Doe Chapter 135 – “Are we on the same page with this?” I asked Asher, holding back my third yawn.

One more and he threatened to carry me to bed, even though we both knew neither of us would be getting any sleep. The sun would be rising in an hour or so, which meant we had no choice but to start our day.

There was too much to do, but I refused think about that right now. I was happily curled up in Asher’s arms, surrounded by his scent and the soft material of the sectional we sat on. We’d been silent since getting home, both of us lost in our thoughts as we replayed the sad ending to Flora’s story.

Almost ten months Flora’s mother had until the witch gave birth to a little girl. One week later, Flora and her mother watched as their housed was engulfed in flames, destroying what sliver of home they both had. After that, life grew dark for the widowed Luna. Flora recounted the numerous times they moved over the years, always somewhere new. They stayed longest in other packs, but somehow the witch always managed to find them.

It wasn’t good enough that she had k****d Flora’s father. The witch was spiteful and wanted the life of the child she had helped create, and the mother that carried her.

Time dwindled as they ran from the witch, but over the years Flora’s mother learned to spot signs of her magic. Her taunting changed each time, always something horrible and new. Storms would blacken the sky, or rodents would scurry inside their walls. They’d wake up covered in spider bites, or find their dreams haunted by pale-faced figures with torn out eyes and distorted mouths.

The witch was toying with them, sending these things their way as a warning. Telling them to run before she got too close. Some nights Flora swore she could hear a voice laughing in the dark, whispering for her to hurry. That morning she woke up covered in deep scratches. They moved the next day.

After so many years on the run, Flora’s mother was growing tired. Just once, she let the witch get close.

She left Flora at a friend’s house under the guise of going on a date, but really she planned to face the witch head on. The mistake she made was thinking the witch was acting alone. Flora never knew what made her mother turn around that night and come rushing back to her friend’s apartment, but she had nearly been too late.

A fire took the lives of seven people that night, one of them the friend that had been watching Flora. Her mother found her running down the street burned and covered in ash, breathing so hard it felt like her heart was ready to burst.

It was another two years before the witch was able to get close again. During that time, her mother’s mental health was declining. She had only survived this long because of Flora, but the damage that comes with losing your mate is irreversible. She grew suspicious of everything and hateful towards the witch that had destroyed her life and taken her love.

Flora’s mother sought out countless witches, seeking answers on how they were found so easily. It felt like the time between moves was growing shorter and shorter. She never knew if her mother found what she was looking for, and just a few weeks later they found themselves approaching the borders of Alpha Killian’s pack.

It was the first time Flora let herself feel hopeful. She could tell the pack was well protected, that the people there cared about keeping one another safe. There were warriors everywhere. Children and teenagers training, boys and girls of all sizes and ages.

She’d been too excited to see the look on her mother’s face, dull and void of life as she pulled Flora towards a quaint blue house. That night was the last time she saw her mother. The words whispered in her ear, the hug that felt much too cold, it was her last memory of the woman that had lost so much.

‘This should’ve never been your life, Flora. Make a new one for yourself, make us proud.’

I shuddered in Asher’s arms, chilled even though the fireplace was running, and the heat of his body surrounded me like a cloak. Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and the weight of my emotion was lodged painfully in my throat.

While Flora’s mother never returned, the witch did.

The house Flora had been dropped off at was a children’s home. The owners, who were mates themselves but unable to have kids, promised Flora’s mother they would take her in.

Years passed and while Flora grew to love the kind-hearted people who raised her and treated her as their own, she missed the woman she had been through so much with. She spent those years wondering, staring at her curly blonde hair and soft eyes as she tried to pull up the fading memory of her birth mother.