~Alaya
I’m stunned by how striking Asher is, despite having met him before.
The calibre of power in this room is immense, yet everyone seems uneasy of him. Death turns away, while Aspen folds his arms over his chest, looking down at his feet. I can’t take my eyes off him. I’m fascinated. He radiates power, filling the room with the invisible force.
“Home,” I say lightly, testing the word he had easily thrown around. I can’t say this looks anything like home to me. Before this, I never believed the immortal lands existed until now.
Asher shrugs his coat off. I watch the movement, as he rests it on the bench.
“Aspen,” Asher says carefully. I can hear the tone of his voice; hear why his brother seemed so afraid of him. “What is Alaya doing here, away from where she belongs? And out of bed, too.”
The mention of bed brings my mind back to my aching stomach, and I quickly rest a trembling hand on the wall for support. The last thing I want to do right now is collapse in front of them. I need answers, from Asher, and now that he has arrived, I’m going to get everything out of him. That is, if I can speak to him alone… he doesn’t seem too happy to see me.
“You know we couldn’t send her back and risk her being seen again by Shanae. She doesn’t have a clue that we saved Alaya,” Aspen reminds him, his tone shaky, as if standing up to his brother is the most terrifying endeavor.
Asher’s jaw clenches. “You should have send her to another Pack. Changed her name. Dyed her hair or something.”
I frown. They are talking about me as if I’m not standing here.
“I don’t agree with that,” I say, and Asher drags his gaze over to mine. Those impressive golden eyes pin me down, stripping my bare with his full attention. I take a deep breath, trying not to show him that I’m intimidated.
“It’s not about what you agree with,” Asher tells me. His tone is smooth, as if he was agreeing with me, despite his words. “It’s about what will keep you safe.”
A surge of anger filled my veins. He’s an Alpha, yes, but he has no right to dictate what my life is like. If I woke up in another Pack with a new name and different hair, I wouldn’t have taken it lightly. Never to Sky and Carter again? Even now, I’m missing them. I’m going to make sure that I see them again, away from this nightmare. I go to open my mouth to echo my thoughts, Aspen cuts me off.
“And she’s not safe here? With us?” he questions.
I’m glad Aspen talks back to Asher. If it was just myself and the Alpha left to discussing, I would be out the door trying to find my way home out of frustration. I’m not sure this is going to go Aspen’s way.
Or my way. I’m not even sure what I want from this, but I know going home is part of it. My emotions are all jumbled and dulled down by whatever magic is put over this place. Either that, or it is being in the immortal lands, as a mortal with absolutely no power to speak of. If the rumours are true, I know Asher must have some.
“You know the immortal lands are no place for her,” Asher mutters in reply, turning his back as of to expel all of the conversation. It left an awkward air between us, even as Aspen continues to fight his brother, who has walked to a cupboard hitched up on the wall.
He opens it, pulling out a small crystal glass and an unfamiliar type of alcohol in a blue bottle.
“She can help us, you know that,” Aspen exasperates. Asher doesn’t say anything, as he pours a drink, and turns back around. His persona from serious, has molded into one of amusement, as his eyes gleam testily.
“I’m aware of how much she could help, brother. That’s not my point. My point is that I don’t want Alaya here, where creatures like Sinful have full control,” Asher states, then he looks back at me over the rim of the glance. “People here would eat you alive, beautiful. In more ways than one.”
I’m not sure what he means by the exactly, but I’m repulsed either way. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard the name Sinful, but I’m going to listen to Death when she told me I don’t want to know about him.
“I think I just want to go home,” I say uneasily, resting my entire body against the wall for support. Asher seems to notice, his eyes darkening.
“Not an option,” he says, draining his glass. “Now you have to give your consent to be sent back, and the only way that can happen, is if we completely change your life situation, job and… looks.”
“You’d know a lot about my life, wouldn’t you,” I snap.
I almost flinch at my own words. I was referring to the letters, the money, the gifts. The ridiculous, expensive gifts. Asher knows that. His eyes blaze at my attitude, bright with a challenge. He made that year of my life hell, as I wrestled with how to get rid of it all. I felt extremely guilty.
“I think that’s something we should discuss privately,” Asher practically purrs. My teeth grit together.
“Aspen, this isn’t over. Alaya deserves some explanation, which I doubt you and Death could give aptly. Once I’m back, you’ll apologise to Alaya for forcing yourself and this situation on her, which she will be fully aware of once we have spoken,” Asher proclaims to the room, who all roll their eyes. He then turns and holds his hand out to me, which I refuse, tucking my hands into my pockets.
Shrugging loosely at the rejection, Asher turns, grabbing his coat before he opens the front door and steps into darkness. I pause.
Aspen perches on the armrest of the couch, wincing slightly. “You might want to follow him. He’s right when he says he’s the best at explaining things. At least we won’t be the ones to get on his bad side…”
I look out the door, the darkness swirling ominously, giving no indication of where it lead.
I go to leave, knowing I have nothing to lose at this point. If I fall into an endless abyss it will be a sweet release from this nightmare like reality. Aspen grabs my arm before I can do so. “Don’t let him tempt you. He’s manipulative, seductive and will tease his way into your pants.”
I flinch at how direct he was being.
“No one knows why he’s like that, but he is, and despite the situation, I doubt he will hold back from you. Trust me, I’m his brother, I’ve seen it happen plenty of times,” Aspen warns, and I shiver at how serious his tone is.
Pulling from his grasp, I nod in understanding, building a wall up against anything he could possibly stay to him. Without a second thought, I take a breath, and step through the doorway, into the darkness.
***
A hand was directly pressed against my chest the moment the darkness around me vanished.
I push back off Asher’s hand, seeing that if it hadn’t been there, I would have fallen off the edge of a cliff. Quickly, he grabs my arm and leads me away, until I almost trip of the lush grass at my feet and fall on my butt.
“Holy-” I gasp, “I could have died.”
“Such dramatics. I had you the entire time,” Asher comments, giving me time to brush myself off and look around.
How I had emerged from a small house to the edge of a cliff, I have no idea, but something tells me it’s magic. A world completely different to anything I have ever seen in my entire life stretches in front of me. It’s cloaked in darkness, but a mystical kind of darkness that lets me see the mountains after mountains capped in pristine white snow that glistened brilliantly under an oversized moon.
What I notice most about this night, is it’s hardly mortal. The darkness is a mixture of purple and royal blue, misting together with obsidian black to portray an exquisite canvas of colour. The stars that freckled the sky winked and glittered, adding to the splendour that I look up at.
“Thanks for grabbing my chest, of all places,” I say tartly, turning my gaze from the lights on the horizon, obviously making up either a small city or a large town.
Asher makes a scene of balancing close to the edge of the cliff, casting a gaze down below. “It surely would have been a long fall. And I think that’s a few sharp, pointy rocks-”
“I get it,” I growl.
Asher turns to me with a sated smile, glad to have riled me up a little. He advances on me, then brushes past, taking a seat on the grass below me. The grass is like stain, as I join him, letting it crept up my bare legs.
“All your feelings here, as a mortal, are heightened. Everything will feel softer, harder, taste nicer, and repulsive. Right now Aspen has a few dampers on your emotions, to help with how you cope. At least that’s what I assume he’s up to. Remember, they never consulted me with any of this,” Asher grumbles, looking out over the cliff.
“My heart bleeds for you,” I mutter sarcastically.
Asher shakes his head at me, his eyes blazing. “I see your attitude hasn’t been hindered at all. Unfortunate.”
I roll my eyes, ignoring him. Gazing out past the precipice, I know for a fact that he’s not lying. Someone has tampered with my emotions, making me feel light headed and susceptible. This place has magic everywhere. Clearly, otherwise the idea of that wouldn’t be fathomable in my mind. Ever since I stepped from that door, the pain from my stomach wound has vanished, and I feel like a new person floating around on a crowd.
“Why did you bring me here?” I question.
“This is where the strongest forces reside. Fate, Time, Death and so forth. There’s plenty to be seen. And if you’re wondering, this place is eternal night. The Moon rules here. No trace of sunlight will ever make it’s way in,” Asher explains.
I take a moment to consider that. “And do other wolves live here… or other immortals like Fate?”
“Other immortals with a lot less power. A completely different species,” Asher tells me, his eyes not moving from where they were trained in the distance. I’m curious to see what’s out there. Quickly, I scold that thought away before it can expand. Instead of staying, I need to go home to Sky and Carter, my family.
“If I stayed,” I say softly, “what would be my point here?”
Asher takes a long moment to reply.
“You would help us kill Sinful. You would help us take down the Devil forever.”