CHAPTER 62

"You should know me better than that Asher Anderson," Rose said in a no nonsense voice, her face going hard in anger. She could understand that he was hurting but it gave him no right to think any less of her.
"I thought I did Rose but I'm not so sure anymore," he answered with a dejected shrug.
He regretted stepping foot into her house that morning. He should have travelled without the knowledge of her betrayal. But all he had wanted was someone to talk to about Shana and the pack. He had been so eager to tell her he already knew who Thomas ally was and he was going to entrust the pack to her while he was gone because he still could not trust Mark. But now, he did not even want to say another word to her.
She had chosen who to side with and it should have not come as a surprise to him since Adam was her son. It was only logical that she would want his death to be avenged. But still, he had believed she loved him.
"Don't be blinded by the pains from your past son. You need to let go of all the hate and insecurities that vile woman planted in your heart. Only then can you see what you are missing out on and I would never be a party to anything that would hurt you," Rose stated heatedly.
Rose kept mentioning his past like that was all his life was about. But she was wrong. He was his own man and he could choose to hate her for her part in Shana's deceit. "Goodbye Rose."
Then he left without a backward glance.
"I just hope it isn't be too late before you realize how wrong you are," Rose sobbed as she watched him go.
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"What do you want?"
Mark expected Shana to be unfriendly and hostile,so her tone was no shock to him. He had put her in the mess she was in and it had been too late before he realized he opened his mouth too soon.
Now,she and Asher were estranged. His friend was back to his old, guarded and unhappy self. And it pained him he had been a party to that.
If only he had spoken with Rose sooner. She had been pissed when he paid her a visit after he spilled the beans to Asher. He had entered her house thinking so little of her and he had accused her of treason, and not deserving of a place in Asher's life. He had said all sorts of things to her and she had just sat there listening. Then when he was done, she had asked him if he had more to say, without the slightest bit of remorse he had expected from her.
Then, in her annoying mannerism, she had thrown her head back and laughed at him before she said, "Oh boy, you sound so stupid and you still don't know what trouble you have caused."
She had gone ahead to tell him the mystery about the Crier and why she had kept the inforamtion to herself. After, she had taken the pleasure in telling him who the real traitor was and she had not failed to insinuate he could be one.
Entering her house, he had felt like the best friend in the world, looking out for his friend and Alpha but he had walked out feeling so small, with his head bowed. Rose had done that to his self esteem, and his father had been the weapon she used to cut him to size.
The one Asher had to be weary of was not even his mate, it was himself and his father. The discovery, coupled with the fact that he had gone ahead to ruin his friend's marriage was eating him up.
He owed Shana an apology and he had a lot of talking to do with Asher. If Asher had not been avoiding him like the plague, he would have been able to talk things out with him. But then, he discovered there was a reason to all the hide and seek; Asher probably thought he was a part of his father's plans.
It was logical and reasonable for him to believe such but it did not make him feel better or hurt less that his friend had so little faith in him. But then again, it was Asher. He did not trust so easily.
"I came to apologize. I did what I thought was right," he answered with all sincerity.
Shana knew he was telling the truth. For a while after the incidence, she thought he had done it because he wanted the same thing his sister wanted; for Asher to get back together with her. It did not fit in with his character but what else could she think?
But now, she just did not want to think about anything, anymore. She sighed resignedly. "I accept your apology," she said with a tight smile.
"Just like that?," Mark asked surprised.
Shana shrugged her delicate shoulders. "You only did what any friend would have done. And I'm happy he has you by his side," she said with a bittersweet smile.
Her words poked at his conscience. No, she was wrong. He was not a good friend. He and his family had brought nothing but trouble to Asher's door and a lifetime alone was not enough to correct all they had done to him.
He gave no reply. Instead, he just gave Shana a little nod and a sad smile.
"I would never hurt him." Shana spoke the words as angry tears swam in her large, brown eyes but she did not allow them to fall. She had done enough crying. She had spoken the words because she realized how much she needed everyone to know she loved and cherished the man. And it was only right that they knew her intentions towards him. "I love him and I'll kill for him," she stated in a clear voice.
"I know that," Mark answered guiltily. His action had done so much damage to the innocent and bright secretary he used to know. He could barely recognise the grief-ravaged person before him. She looked just like Asher did the last time he saw him; empty and lonely.
"No," Shana answered sharply as she turned the full blast of her brown eyes on him. "You don't know how much I love him. How could you? How could any one of you understand what it actually means for your heart to beat just because of another person? You can never understand," she finished heatedly, her gaze going around the large room to encompass the two guards with them and Mark realized the speech wasn't for him alone.
He still could not believe Asher had gone to the learnt of placing guards on her. For what exactly? And he could not understand what the guards were there to do. If it was just to watch her and report back to him, one would have been enough but over ten? It was a little bit over the top even for him but Asher did what Asher wanted, anyone else be damned.
"I promise to make this right," he swore.
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That night, Adam came to her in her sleep.
It was no nightmare like the other times, when she woke up screaming and crying. This time around, he came to her like one of her trances in he past. The only difference was that no painful menstrual cramp accompanied it. Also, her sleep lasted for just hours instead of days.
She had fallen asleep almost immediately she hit the bed and when she woke up hours later, he was before her.
The Dead before her was no longer the pale, translucent one she remembered with his human form almost intact. Instead, the ghost in her sight had dark, spooky skin and his eyes were pitch black and ominous. If her limps were not paralyzed and her body partially unconscious, she would have ran from the room screaming.
She laid paralysed with fear as he drifted closer to her, the icy coldness of his presence making her skin crawl. She could not make a sound as he drifted over her.
"You failed me Crier," his scratchy voice said and Shana swallowed convulsively. "You ruined my only shot at vengeance. You ruined my chances of finding eternal peace," the demonic voice boomed close to her ear.
Shana gasped painfully, trying desperately to move from the bed but failing.
This was another situation her grandmother never warned her about. All she ever heard was what was going to happen to her if she failed in her duty. She never once was told there was a way to be free from the curse she had carried with her all these years and nothing had been said about what happened to the Dead whose wishes were never fulfilled.
The truth that had been kept away for so long was right before her. Adam was slowly turning into an evil spirit and it was all her fault. Shana wondered what was going to happen to her for the part she played in it all, Was her soul going to be taken?, or was the Creations going to totally forgive her?
A tear slipped from her eyes as she had no answer to those questions.
"Save the tears Crier. My tribulations are going to be nothing compared to yours, especially for the fruit of your betrayal," the drifting fiend said with a cackle.
He disappeared as her phone started vibrating. Her paralyzed limps regained their function almost immediately.
Shana reached for the phone, surprise widening her eyes when she saw the person calling her.
It was Asher. Was all forgiven and forgotten?
She cleared her throat and picked the call hurriedly. "Hello."
"Tell me, what were you plotting with my Beta?"