Chasing His Assassin

9. Take a break

Asher found himself gasping for air as he jolted it awoke. The first thing he noticed when he peeled his eyes open was Doran staring down at him with a blank look on his face.

Confused, Asher turned his head from side to side as he searched his surroundings. That’s right, they were at the witch’s house. The events before he passed out suddenly came crashing down on him and his hand instinctively went to his chest, just above his heart where she’d stabbed him.

The skin was still a bit raw but it had begun to heal. He winced when pain suddenly erupted in his arm, reminding him that he’d lost a limb. His mate had really done a number on him.

“Why are you here?” Asher asked, suddenly wondering why Doran was at the witch’s residence instead of Lustrum.

“You were gone for longer than expected with no contact. We were worried something had happened.” Ah, they thought Asher was dead.

“Aren’t you happy to see I’m still alive and kicking.” Asher chuckled lightly before regretting as his chest began to ache.

“I’m relieved but I told you so.” Doran stated plainly as he stared at Asher’s missing limb. “She really did a number on you.”

“You know, in my defense, I was skeptical about hitting her.” Asher answered, recalling those fierce eyes. “She didn’t seem to have any reservations with hitting me though.”

“I’m just glad you’re alive.” Doran answered with a sigh, before moving from his crouched position and standing up to his feet.

Why was he alive though? He was almost certain he was a goner but yet here he was. Missing an arm but alive regardless. She’d had every opportunity to kill him and yet she hadn’t. Stabbed him in the heart but left his head attached.

“How many casualties?” Asher found himself asking.

“You’d be surprised to find that there were none.” Doran responded shifting his gaze from Asher to men who were slowly regaining consciousness. Asher followed his gaze to see some wolves that weren’t a part of the initial mission tending to the injured ones.

Not a single death? Was Asher perhaps not understanding what an assassin was? He was definitely sure that killing was a major part of their job description. Not that he minded having all his men alive, it still made no sense.

“Seeing this got me thinking, the last time as well, the only casualties we had were two pups who hadn’t frozen into their immortality yet. They bled out from stab wounds. Its almost like she hadn’t intended to kill them.”

“Do you really believe that?” Asher asked curiously wondering what the little vemon had been thinking when she did this.

“Its probable. I can’t see any other explanation as to why everyone is alive.” Doran stated glancing down at Asher again. “It made me think that maybe Caspian still has some regard for his people.”

“That has to be the most stupid s**t you’ve ever said. With all the people he’s killed to get his way, it’s foolish to think he actually gives a s**t about the people he knocks down.” Asher was unable to keep the rage out of his voice. Caspian had no conscience. That was the simple fact. If he did then Asher’s family would still be alive.

“Your hatred is understandable but its a possibility.” Doran said calmly.

“It isn’t.” They had no idea why the vemon spared their lives. Sure, it was possible that she spared Asher because she felt the tiniest inkling of a connection to him but it wouldn’t explain why Everyone was spared.

“We won’t figure out why arguing anyway.” Doran said with a shrug. “We should be on our way now. I think we’ve stayed here long enough.”

Asher gazed up at the skies to see that the sun had slowly begun to ascend. He’d been out for a while. The vemon was long gone by now so there would be little to no chance of tracking her down. He let out a sigh.

One of his long time wishes finally came to pass but he couldn’t have felt more frustrated. His mate worked for his worst enemy and he didn’t even know her name.

On the bright side, he would certainly cross paths with her again if he continued to hunt Caspian down but when would that be?

Why did fate have to make this complicated for him?

Malcom literally had his mate chasing after him and Dion had it somewhat easy. At least Lilith hadn’t been Dion’s enemy. Why did Asher’s situation have to be so bad?

Once they returned, Asher would actively involve himself in the search for the witch. That was the best way to find his mate.

***

“Just take a break.” Vanna said not even glancing up from the mountain of papers that littered her desk.

“Pardon?” Asher asked confused. It almost sounded like she was telling him to take a break.

“You lost a whole arm, it’ll take at least a weak for that to grow back. Take the week off and focus on healing.”

“Did you just turn down free labor? I offered to help find the witch and you’re telling me to rest?” Asher was amazed. The number one slave driver was asking him to rest.

Vanna heaved out a sigh and slammed her pen on the table before glancing up at him.

“You’re disabled till your arm grows back. You’ll only slow down the team.” She said harshly. Her tone softened when she added, “I get that you’re eager to get your hands on Caspian but you can’t really do much in the state that you’re in. Rest up and get your body back in top condition then I’ll be sure to give you more than enough work to last you a lifetime.”

Asher knew a threat when he heard one and this one scared the living daylights out of him. He was already overworked as is.

“And be rest assured that I’ll inform you if we do get any leads on the witch or Caspian. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to work.”

She picked up her pen and began to furiously write on the paper in front of her. Asher sighed and turned to leave.

For the first time in his life, Asher was free when all he wanted was to work. So much for trying to find the vemon. He had nothing to do now. If he had nothing to do then he certainly didn’t want to stay in Lustrum. Sure it was home and he got to see friends but he could never be here for long without being burdened by his revenge.

The pack reminded him too much of his late family and with that came the need for revenge.

It was exhausting at times.

Asher decided he would pay Dion a surprise visit and maybe hit the club afterwards. Maybe it would distract him from all the crazy going on around him.

Maybe he could distract himself from the vemon. The mere thought of her had his body heating up in ways he hadn’t before. He reacted so violently to her.

When they fought, the majority of her body had been covered by the cloak so he found himself fantasizing about what she looked like underneath. He imagined peeling the bogus piece of fabric off her and revealing what laid underneath. He imagined the face she would make when he had her smallish body pinned beneath his much larger one.

He’d only seen her expression during a battle and craved to see what she looked like in the throes. What would her face look like when he claimed her body?

His c**k was rock hard. If things kept going like this he would become a frustrated mess of a wolf. As much as he never imagined himself seeking another woman out after meeting his mate, it was needed. Lest Asher might become a mass of rage if he didn’t relieve the l**t he was feeling.

As Asher made his way out of the house, he soon remembered that he hadn’t arrived at Lustrum with his car. That minor detail made him cuss out before he stormed back into the house to find Doran hoping to borrow the wolf’s car.