CHAPTER 85

"And that's the fucking truth!"
Asher was at the end of his rope.
Why was everyone antagonizing him?
Even a freaking wolf who wasn't a member of his pack and he didn't give a fuck about.
It was like a conspiracy against him.
"I agree with the Alpha. It's the truth," Mark interjected. "Of course you would," came Cole's mocking reply.
Asher's gaze flew to him to thank him but Mark wouldn't look at him.
Asher hated the turn in which their relationship had taken. He treated Mark with utter indifference. Asher couldn't help it and as much as he didn't want the coolness between them.
Mark on his part had become distant, making it really easy for Asher. He could count the number of times they've spoken to each other since after Rose's burial on one hand.
He had been surprised to see him in his study.
"It's the truth but Mila just doesn't dissapear. It's not her thing and I'm worried because I tracked her scent out of the territory and you might want to know where it led."
"Where?," Mark couldn't resist asking.
"Towards my territory."
Mark couldn't resist the laughter that bubbled up within him.
"My exact reaction," Asher said, throwing Cole a look that said, "You are out of your mind."
"How is that even funny?," he asked Mark, taking a threatening step towards him.
"Easy big man. Did it ever occur to you she didn't eventually end up in your territory? She could have gone anywhere else."
"I'm sure she didn't," Cole replied stonily. "I can feel it, she's in danger."
"Stop freaking out. She obviously left willingly. Maybe she went to see a lover," Mark said carelessly.
"First, I'm not freaking out. I'm worried," he said taking another threatening step towards Mark. "Second, she doesn't have a lover."
"How do you know that?"
"Because she's my mate!" Cole had moved to stand right in front of him and he yelled the words in his face. Mark gaped at him, then dropped his drink and moved further away from the wolf.
He was there to see Elise, not get into a fight.
Watching Cole, it was obvious it was the first time he was admitting the fact that Mila was his mate to himself.
It appears there was more than one knucklehead male in the room.
"That changes everything," Mark intoned at the same time Asher mumbled "That changes nothing." Both clashed gazes.
"You don't mean that," Mark said with a shake of his head.
"I mean everything I say. The fact that she's a woman tells you everything. You could be right and she's probably fucking the brains out of her lover's skull at this moment," Asher said crudely.
"Don't you ever speak about her that way. You have no right judging her based on what your whoring mate did!" Cole yelled.
"I told you never to speak of her again!," he yelled back as he pounced on Cole, going for his throat.
Again, Mark didn't try breaking up the fight and when both men finally were spent, more than just the study was broken.
Asher had come away with a nasty black eye and busted lips. Marely watching the swollen and cut up lips made Mark wince. And he had more than one broken rib as he held on to his side, panting on the floor.
Cole had it worse. He laid there like drawing his next breath was a pain. His whole face was swollen and battered, even his nose looked broken.
Thank God for their race speedy metabolism. If not, both of them would need about two months of bed rest to get back on their feet.
"I'll leave you gentlemen to your games," he mocked as he left them still panting on the floor.
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Asher's head hurt like hell but not as bad as the hurt that was really tearing his heart apart.
He missed her.
No matter how hard he tried to forget her, put her memories out of his head and move on like she never existed, she still came back to plague his thoughts.
She owned his days and she tormented his nights. She had left a void that could never be filled.
He loved her, just as hard as he hated her.
"I'm sorry I said that man," Cole said from beside him. The words had sounded jumbled, as he had forced them through his swollen lips. "I didn't mean any of it. I've heard nothing but good about her from Mila. She believes she she didn't do any of the things Elise accuses her of."
Asher scoffed. "Elise witnessed it all, not your Mila."
"My Mila is very perceptive and she sees more than you think. She thinks Shana is in danger and if my guess is right, she's taken it upon herself to rescue her."
"Shana is in no danger. I'm sure she's living like royalty itself with your brother."
"You are so stupid that I sometimes wonder if you actually have a brain. Has it ever occured to you that something doesn't add up about your housekeeper's story? Have you ever asked her about the event after you stormed off like a raging bull when she told you about your mate's involvement? Have you ever wondered how a mere minion managed to sneak her out from under my brother's watchful eyes? Why had he kept her instead of killing her? She's just a mere Omega who saw what she shouldn't have. She was of no worth to him. And knowing my brother, he would have finished her on the spot instead of keeping her. And why was she so persistent about you making that phone call, like the receiver had nothing to do but wait for the call to come in?," Cole paused then turned his head, pains shooting up is neck as he looked through swollen lids at the still form beside him. "Aren't you curious about all this or is it so much more convenient to think you've been wronged?"
Asher had gone still, the throbbing in his head had also cleared momentarily as his thoughts raced.
What if Cole was right? What if Shana was at this very moment going through things he couldn't begin to imagine? She could be waiting for him to come for her but all these while, he had been....
No, it couldn't be true. Elise had no reason to lie to him. Like she had said, she had loved Elise like a daughter. She had protected her and stood by her.
He wasn't going to have his hope raised then shattered. He was done with the Crier and that was it.
But it was the first time he had ever spoken about her or the events since it happened. Everyone had tried to avoid the topic as much as possible around him.
He turned to see Cole gazing at him steadily, even though he could barely see his eyeballs through the swollen slits of eyelids. "Your nose is broken. I should set it before it heals," he said moving to sit up. It took a lot of effort as he was in so much pain.
Before Cole could protest, the nose was back into position and he gave a loud yelp. "A broken nose and that scar would scare away any sane woman," Asher said mockingly.
"It only adds character to the beautiful face," Cole answered. He tried to sit up himself but gave up and continued to lie on the floor. He just needed a moment more. His body was healing already.
"I don't like knowing she's out there and she probably needs me but I can't help her," Cole said. His anguish was evident in his voice.
The chance that Cole could be right didn't sit well with Asher but he made no comment.
Minutes later, Cole was finally able to struggle to his feet. "You've known your housekeeper longer than I do and you are in a better position to judge what she does and says. You also know your mate to an extent, even if she had lied to you. But what I do know is that, no one kills without a motive. What could have been Shana's motive for killing Rose? She could have left without anyone being the wiser. She didn't have to kill Rose if what she really wanted was to cry Adam's message. She could have done that without shedding a drop of blood." he paused and straightened himself.
"Evil people don't have boundaries," Asher replied dryly, trying so hard to deny Cole's rational words. He could never live with the guilt if it all turned out to be true.
"I would never argue that point with you but ask yourself, if the Shana you knew was evil, if she could have really hurt Rose. From all Mila told me about her, I don't have to be a mind reader to know the answer is no. Something is off and the sooner you let go of your rage to see what's right in front of you, the better."
As the door closed silently behind Cole, Asher's head began to throb like crazy.
The Shana he knew might have lied to him but it had been to protect what they had.
The Shana he knew had been the only good thing about this world. She had had not a single evil bone in her body.
The Shana he knew would rather hurt herself than see any harm come to Rose.
"God please, let her be safe," the cry bubbled up in him.