Alpha Asher By Jane Doe novel Chapter 120

Chapter 120 – “Of course, I’ll let you know.” The lie felt wrong on my lips, but the fleeting sense of guilt had nothing on the feeling rolling through me right now. Like a landslide, boulders tumbled and collided in the pits of my stomach. I had never been exceptionally skilled at lying, so I added on a few details to make it more believable. “Breyona’s parents are scholars. They’re working with a few of…” I paused and the phrase ‘vampire henchmen’ came to mind, “…my men to search through my father’s family tree.”

“By your men I assume you mean the vampire’s currently on your side.” She shifted in the armchair, crossing one leg over another. Her sculpted lips tilted up in a knowing smile, “I don’t fear vampires, Lola. Our ancestors had no reason to fear other species, not when their numbers rivaled the vampire’s kingdom, and the werewolves’ packs. It’s a mindset I try to keep alive, even though things are drastically different now.”

“Trust me, they’re in there. Names and details were changed, but I bet you there’s a handful of witches in your history books.” She said matter-of-factly, her whimsical voice taking on the tone of a schoolteacher. As she glanced down at her forgotten teacup, her mouth popped open. “Oh, how rude of me not to offer. Would you like any tea? I actually ran into your grandmother today, managed to take a bushel of lavender off her hands.”

“Grandma gave you a bushel? She must really like you. She wouldn’t even let me pull up the weeds from her garden.” I chuckled, but politely declined. “Given, I wasn’t the most gentle.”

I’d always be grandma’s number one fan with her lavender cookies and loaf cake, but hot tea just wasn’t something I could get behind. I opted for a bottle of water and tried not to stare open mouthed at all the jars, plants, and questionable containers in the refrigerator, most of which couldn’t possibly be food.

“I’d have never known you were related if she hadn’t mentioned how much her granddaughter loved her lavender cookies, and that she had even gotten the Alpha himself hooked on them.”

“She’s earned her bragging rights with those cookies she mentioned.” I snickered, but found myself stopping short, thinking back to what Rowena had told me. I sank into the armchair, taking another long drink of water to s*****w the lie I had told. “How did you learn about our kind’s history? When I needed to learn about vampire’s, I started in the past. This time, I feel like I’m stumbling around blind.”

“There’s much history even I don’t know. I’m sorry to say that everything I’ve learned has been passed through my family, or through witches I no longer have contact with. As a child, we lived next-door to another house of witches. Their daughter was my age, and we’d often teach one another what we learned.” A hint of nostalgia mixed with the sympathy in her mossy eyes, dimming the color into a light sea green. “I made the mistake of teaching her about blood-magic. I knew no actual spells, but the topic is taboo in our world -especially back then. I never saw her again after that, but I still think about her from time to time.”

“That’s horrible, it wasn’t your fault.” I frowned.

“No, it wasn’t. Still, her mother did what she thought right at the time.” Rowena shrugged her narrow shoulders, then leaned forwards to top off her tea. A dash of cream and two sugar cubes later, the light scent of lavender filled the air. She grew quiet for a few seconds when a flash of determination crossed her eyes. “With your permission, I’d like to get a read on you again. That girl I told you about, she was three years older than me, and much more skilled than I. When I was seven, she used her magic to coax mine out.”

I glanced down at her hands, feeling that flicker of excitement at the thought of using actual magic. The harsh gut feeling that had prompted me to keep my mouth shut was gone, d*****d by the white noise in my mind.

I couldn’t help but think of Rowena and the girl next door, two young witches. They had both been born into this, trained as soon as they could walk and talk. There was a chance that the witch or witches involved in Carson’s d***h had the same life-long training, and that alone solidified my decision.

“This time around you’ll feel my magic. What I’m doing is no longer passive, not when I’m actively using my energy to get a rise out of yours.” She said, eyes sparkling as she took a few slow breaths. Her slender face held an almost excited expression. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never done this before. Perhaps it’s the preschool teacher talking, but I’ve always wanted to train a young witch. I’m far too skilled to unintentionally harm you, so you needn’t worry there.”

I jumped when her hands met mine, though not because they were cold. This time around they were incredibly warm. They formed a vice grip around my own, not tight enough to harm, but enough to where I couldn’t yank them away without a struggle. Even as she leaned over me, emerald flame flickering in those eyes of hers, I felt no warning or hesitation.

I watched with wide eyes because I could see her magic as it radiated from her hands, like thin vines that made my skin tingle as they grew. It felt playful and curious as it curled around my fingers and hands, inching its way up my wrists.

The vines that now reached my forearms slowed, becoming so still that I wondered if they had stopped altogether. I made no moves, still locked in place by Rowena’s ironclad grasp on my hands.