Chapter 106- She Wasn’t There.

Just a snap of the neck, right?

Asher sighed and released Darian, pushing him to the floor, “I’m not going to kill you”, he just could not bring himself to do it. Like it or not, he and Darian had been best friends for many years and that wasn’t something he was ready to take for granted. After all, he also had his faults in this as well.

Darian turned to Asher, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, forehead creasing visibly, “Why?”, he breathed out, exhausted from having to fight the Alpha. What on earth was he thinking? That he could beat Asher?

Yes, Asher might be weak mentally and emotionally but he was physically strong and that was enough to crush anyone who dared to challenge him.

“Because you are my best friend”, Asher admitted, slumping his shoulders, “I want to kill you- I really do but I can’t “, maybe it wasn’t the wisest thing to announce that to the enemy but at that point, Asher felt defeated even though he was winning. This wasn’t the kind of victory he wanted- hell! He didn’t even want this fight.

“No!”, tears glossed over Darian’s eyes, “Kill me!”, he yelled to Asher, “I challenged you! Do not pity me! Kill me like you will kill another!”, he pleaded, “I will rather die honorably than live knowing that you spared my life because of our past friendship”. It was clear to Asher that the man in front of him was broken and wasn’t in a good place at the moment- it reminded him of himself behind closeted doors.

“Trust me, Darian. You will pay for your sins but not with your life- I promise you that your punishment will be much worse”, Asher took him by the collar and dragged him up, “Tell your men to surrender now”.

He used this opportunity to look around and the number of the rogues standing had lowered drastically- they were no longer a mighty number as the pack had successfully taken them all out.

Asher tightened his grip on Darian’s collar, restricting his airflow, “Call off your men… now!”, he gave a frantic nod and just as he was about to ask his men to surrender, they took to their feet, fleeing the scene before they could be dragged to the dungeon by the guards, “After them!”, Asher commanded, “Do not let them leave the pack borders”.

He relaxed his tense muscles and slightly released his hold on Darian, before dragging him towards the dungeon. Surprisingly, Darian was quiet throughout and did not even try to fight or argue as Asher walked him into the dark area.

Immediately Asher stepped foot in there, he noticed that there was something wrong. He listened- nothing. He tried to focus his mind on the sounds that surrounded the thick walls- no heartbeats.

He turned to Darian with an angry expression on his face, “You released my prisoners?”, it wasn’t a question, Asher already knew that Darian had done the unthinkable- how could he do that?! “Does it occur to you that they were there for a good reason?”, Darian gave him no answer and this managed to piss Asher off even more.

He threw Darian in one of the cells and locked the door before racing towards the one cell he could only pray hadn’t been infiltrated but of course, the moon goddess once again gave him a slap on the face.

The gate was widely ajar and there was no one in there, “Fuck!”, Asher swore as he hit the metal cell with his palms- Valkry was gone.

His brain was on overdrive as he hurried towards the secure door at the far end of the dungeon. He sighed in satisfaction and relief when he saw the gate was closed.

He unlocked the latch and pulled the heavy door open. The rogue he had left in there still sat at the corner with a frown on his face, he looked weak and frail- like he was going to pass out any second from then.

Asher took three long strides to the man and crouched down beside him, “Did you know about this?”, the man shook his head frantically,

“What do you mean? I heard noise and I saw that someone was trying to unlock the door but the yelled in pain and left. What is going on?”, the man asked, genuine curiosity in his eyes.

Asher sighed and slumped down beside the man, not caring that his bare ass was touching the dirty floor- that was the least of his problems right then.

“Darian, my Beta was the one behind all of this…”,

“I knew I recognized him from somewhere. He was at the bar once but I guess I was just too drunk then. He was the one who ordered the men to beat me up- that man is a lunatic”, Gerald stated and Asher stood to his feet before bending down to help the man out of his chains.

“I’m sorry for keeping you here and thank you for your help. I will make sure you see a proper doctor once this is all over”, the man nodded and Asher helped him up. He hooked the man’s arm on his neck and helped him out of the confining space.

Just as they were about to reach the main stairs leading to the trap door, the door was pulled open, letting sunlight seep through, “Asher!”, one of his younger brothers called, “Asher?”,

“Yes brother? I’m right here”, he trudged over to the door, the man on his side weighing him down,

“You need to come quickly! Viola was caught in a bomb blast”, Liam said. Asher was tempted to drop the man and hurry straight for her but he couldn’t, he had to keep pushing.

“Bomb blast?”,

“Yes, Addilyn planted a bomb on herself and when we tried to escape, she followed Viola- she was caught in the blast”, he reported.

“Is she injured?”, he asked as he began up the stairs, pulling Gerald up with him,

“Just a concussion but she inhaled a lot of smoke, she is already seeing the doctor as we speak”, Liam said, helping Asher lift Gerald up and out of the dungeon. Once they were out, Asher locked the door and turned to his brother,

“Addilyn is dead?”, he asked in confirmation and his brother nodded his head, pressing his lips together, “You want to say something?”,

Liam nodded and sighed, “The doctor said her mate has to be with her in order for her to heal properly”, he breathed out.

Asher nodded his head silently in acceptance- he would never forgive himself if something happened to her or if she died because he was too much of a coward to help and protect her. She was his mate and it was high time he started to accept that fact.

But one person still remained in his mind- Imogen, his first love that had left him when he needed her the most, his love that had dumped him in a fucking letter,

“She wasn’t there”, Liam said, shaking his head, “She was never there and they never kidnapped her. She was able to escape from them when they attempted to take her”, Asher felt relief wash over him. At least she was safe and he believed that that was all that mattered but he hated the fact that his father and every other person was right;

Imogen just didn’t want to be found by him and it made him feel like shit. It made him wish deep within that they had actually captured her and he had saved her- at least, she would be here with him and all the questions scratching through and bugging his mind would be answered.

He sighed, he was done looking for her. He had lost too much because of this wild goose chase and he wasn’t ready to lose any more. For all he knew, she could’ve gone back to her mate, leaving him with nothing.

He decided from then on that she was not worth looking for anymore- if she didn’t want to be found, he wasn’t going to bother looking for her.

Yes, he loved her but she had hurt him beyond repair. She had left a permanent scar on his heart and she had broken him.

“Where is Viola?”, his mate needed his help and he was going to help her. He had made a huge mistake from the beginning and he knew for a fact that these mistakes couldn’t be fixed or mended by any words or actions.

Liam helped Asher get Gerald to the infirmary where Viola and other injured men were being hospitalized and cared for by the pack’s doctor.

One of the guards walked up to them and stretched out his arms, “Alphas, I will take it from here”, the two men handed Gerald over and the guard lead him to one of the empty beds as the Doctor walked over to Asher.

“Alpha”, the doctor bowed his head in respect, “Please come this way”, he took them to a private room at the back of the main operating room.

The room looked much better and was far more quiet compared to the other room where more than fifty men were being seen upon. I’m the middle of this room was a large bed and in that bed was an unconscious Viola.

Asher felt his heart being ripped out of his chest at the sight and he took a deep breath, walking towards her, “How is it that you always end up in these kind of situations?”. It was clearly a rhetorical question as she could not speak to him.

He took her hand in his, rubbing soothing circles on her soft pale skin before turning to the doctor, “What do I have to do?”.