The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  “We can't waste any more time,” I say. Though I know I'm drifting away from my friends, I'm diving into a new family, and the pull from that is something I've never experienced. But there's a definite bond between members of the pack, as Cayden puts it. It's hard to describe—an undercurrent of warmth keeping the five of us together (including Aunt May.)

  But the sense of isolation from everyone else is real. There's an invisible social wall between us and the theater table, where I want to take Cayden and socialize with the familiar.

  “We can't,” Cayden says. “Olivia acted in the play, so maybe she only sustained scratches and is playing up her injury, but we have to find out for sure. A bite can be bad. Deadly to others. A new Savage Wolf presence could spread through Breckenridge. And that's without the others returning.”

  “I'll ask Noah how she danced in the play,” I say. “Again.” He won't stop talking about how he landed somewhat of a real kiss on her during the final acts. Olivia let Noah guide her along. I didn't see it. I spent that weekend trying to stop Cayden from facing down the Baltic Wolves by himself, watching his little brother and parents die, and becoming a werewolf myself.

  “Or,” Cayden says, “You can talk to Olivia yourself. She might open to you after you gave her the lead back.”

  I swallow, throat dry. “I don't know if that will work.” Then I eye the Shallow Table. Olivia sits with Bonnie and Stephanie, who giggle about Rachel's acne. I can hear them from four tables away.

  “I might have to do that,” I say, admitting defeat. Cayden could speak to Olivia, but she's too angry with him for resisting her advances. “What do I tell her? That she might grow extra body hair in a week?” A part of me relishes the idea.

  Cayden grips the table and takes a breath. “Maybe just asking her about how her injury's healing will work.”

  Though Cayden and I have decided we're equals, his words feel heavy in my mind. After the death of his parents and taking down the alpha of the Baltic Wolves, he's become alpha of the Breckenridge pack. The one meant to make all the decisions. Though he suggests ideas and tries not to sound forceful as his father always did, they still feel like they carry weight.

  “That might work,” I say. “I have to get her alone. And if it's a bite? What do we do after that?”

  Cayden lets out a breath. He and Everly exchange a glance and grimace as if they don't want to tell me the next step.

  Remo speaks. His blue eyes fill with sadness. “We must do something about it before she becomes a threat to everyone who lives here.”

  “Which is?” I gulp.

  Cayden leans across the table. “If she turns into a Savage Wolf, we must drive her out. But if she refuses to submit, we'll have to kill her.”

  * * * * *

  “Cayden, there has to be a better way,” I say, slamming my locker.

  “We can't allow another Savage Wolf pack to form here in town,” Cayden whispers, leaning against the lockers. “I promise we won't hurt Olivia if we don't have to. She might not even turn. But if she does, we have you on our side.”

  His words weigh me down again and I feel the power behind them though I know that's not Cayden's intent. As time goes on, his presence as alpha strengthens.

  I shudder when I think of how well I fought the Baltic Wolves after transforming for the first time. We've come no closer to solving the mystery of a new wolf with the fighting skill of an alpha. “I hate Olivia, sure, but I don't want to help kill her.” Can I hold back? While transformed, that fighting instinct takes over, leaving no human in its place. Though I haven't shifted since the Baltic Wolves as things around town have stayed quiet, Cayden and the Lowes guarantee me I won't have a choice in about a week.

  Just like Olivia if she's infected.

  I might have changed, but right now, I'm still Brie.

  “I know you're worried. You shouldn't have to be. Want to walk home together?” Cayden asks, cutting into my thoughts. “We'll cut through the woods. Make sure none of the Baltic Wolves have come back into the area. It's our turn to patrol. Everly and Remo did yesterday. We--" He stops, looking over my shoulder.

  “Brie!” Noah says from behind me. He taps on my back. “Want to hang out with us tonight?”

  I whirl. I can smell the faint pork on Noah's breath. He also carries the scent of old books, the musty props room, and Teeyah's, the coffee shop where we theater people hang out. A wave of nostalgia sweeps over me. Noah has a different scent than Cayden's—which is forested and wild—but it fits him.

  An idea hatches. “Sure,” I say, winking to Cayden. “I want to talk to you about the play and how things went with Olivia.” Maybe Noah can help us find out more about her. “What time?”

  “Seven?” Noah asks. “We're going to Teeyah's. No auditions yet to practice, but we can brainstorm ideas on which play we'll do next. Mr. Saffron is open to suggestions after Beauty and the Beast. And you never got to celebrate at the after-party with us. What's wrong with you?” Noah keeps his tone light and wags his finger at me, but underneath, there's a legit question. As one of my best friends, I tell Noah almost everything, but there's one big secret I can never divulge, and it's me.

  Something new has separated me from my friends.

  “What am I?” Cayden asks. “Mystery meat?”

  “Can he come with us?” I ask.

  Though he's trying to hide it, the corner of Noah's mouth turns down in a frown. It's clear he's been hoping to get me to hang out, just like old times. “Cayden can come along."

  “I was just joking,” Cayden says. He rubs my shoulder, and his touch sends shivers of electricity down my arm. “I have to walk home and get things done, anyway. I'm sure you and Brie will have fun talking about the play and about Olivia.”

  Hint, hint. That's what I must do. Noah, with his major crush on her, can help us get close enough to uncover the truth.

  And Cayden will patrol while I'm at Teeyah's. Alone. With trying to get things done, he's no better than me with putting himself in potential danger. It's no wonder we're attracted to each other.

  “Are you sure?” I ask Cayden.

  He nods, confident and strong. “Sure. I'll see you later, Brie.”

  I hate I'm not patrolling with the Lowes as I should be. But Noah needs me back and so to Sarah and Ellie, or they'll force me to explain myself. And worse, I don't want them to think I'm turning into Olivia and ditching them for a new crowd.

  Cayden walks away without looking back at me. For a moment, I fear he's starting his old act and shutting me out again for the first time in weeks, but once he reaches the door, he turns and waves.

  I wave back and nod. I'll catch up later.

  "Ready to go?" Noah asks.

  "I'll drive," I say. "And you picked a good day to catch me. Aunt May doesn't need me at the store until Saturday."

  "Sometimes, I think you do way too much," Noah says. "You're always at the store. Soon you'll look like all the old ladies who come in. Is that a gray hair?" He pulls a strand off my head.

  "Hey!" I grab my hair. "I don't have grays."

  Noah holds the stand he pulled. "Are you sure this isn't one?"

  "I'm sure. And Aunt May isn't selling the store to that guy anymore, but we're still in the red," I say. Aunt May wants me to butt out of the store's situation, even though I work there and now realize how important it is we stay in Breckenridge. Protecting the people here depends on it.

  "I'll tell everyone I can to shop there," Noah says as we walk together into the parking lot. He waves to Sarah and Ellie, who stand on the green between the lot and the football field.

  And on the other side of the lot, Cayden ducks into the woods. Alone.

  If the Baltic Wolves return—

  "Where's he going?" Noah asks, following my gaze.

  "It's a long shortcut home," I supply.

  "A long shortcut? Isn't that an oxymoron?"

  "Well, yeah," I say, not feeling his sense of humor. Before, Noah would always make me laugh. Now that m
y world has changed—now that I've changed—that magical closeness we shared has faded. One world has opened, and another is closing.

  I listen to Cayden's footsteps vanish deeper into the woods. His woodsy scent blends with the rest of the wilds. I should be there with him, making sure he doesn't get into trouble. Alpha or not, he's not the best decision maker.

  Noah waves Sarah and Ellie over, and we all climb into my creaky car. The Beater starts on the first try (now that there isn't a Savage Wolf coming over to attack me) and I drive to Teeyah's, parallel parking in downtown Breckenridge. The building is two stories, brick, with string lights in the window. The sky's dark and spits rain as soon as I'm out of the car. Cayden's in the woods by himself in this weather.

  Inside, it's warm, and an escape from the autumn chill hanging in the air. We find a booth near the back of the place and Noah orders us all cappuccinos, which Aunt May says I'm not supposed to have. But I sip mine anyway. I'm tired of following the rules.

  Before the others can start a goofy conversation, I ask, "So, how did Olivia do in the play with her leg?"

  "Why did you give her the lead back?" Sarah asks. "You traitor." She pokes me in the arm.

  "Because my Aunt May was in the hospital," I lie. "I had to. Mr. Saffron yelled at me afterwards, but I think that was because I left half an hour before opening without telling him."

  "She was fine," Noah says. "Her leg bothered her, but you wouldn't believe how we soldiered through it."

  I've heard this before. "Have you talked to her?" I ask, steering the conversation in the direction I need. "Did she get a bite on her leg?"

  "With Olivia, you never know," Ellie says. "I think she's faking it myself. She danced okay in the play. You could see her cast under her dress a little, but I don't think the audience minded."

  "Is the bite still her official story?" I ask. "The terrible, terrible bite she bravely suffered?" Olivia talked about it for a week with her shallow girlfriends. And every time she had to carry a bunch of books and there were cute guys around, she'd mention it even louder. She ran. A wolf sunk its teeth into her leg, breaking her bone. She managed to stagger to the police station. The last part's a lie for sure—her brother said a police officer drove past and scared the wolves off.

  Noah takes a big gulp of his jittery drink. "I don't know, but she broke her leg. The cast is real. We can never say break a leg again to her or anyone else. She showed me the X-rays. Her tibia got destroyed in one spot. Broke in half. The doctors had to put pins in her leg and I had to hold her up while we were dancing. My arms were raw hamburger for a week after that." Noah sighs, crushed, and pauses a moment before speaking again. He leans close to my ear. "I kissed her, but she turned her mouth away when I did. At least I got to write my name on the cast though there was only space on the heel."

  "Oh," I say. "Oh. I'm sorry." Noah's dreamed of kissing Olivia since junior high. He's had to endure watching her chase Cayden and then he had to watch his one chance fly out the window. I'd known Noah and Olivia kissed, but not like this. Now I know why he's wanted me to hang out with him. Noah needed to vent and for the past two weeks, I haven't been available.

  Ellie and Sarah stay silent as if they already know. Noah told them before me.

  "Do you have a copy?"

  "Of the fact that she steps on my name every day? Unless she sends her cast to a molding place when she gets out of it--"

  "I mean the X-ray."

  Noah looks at me, lifting his eyebrows like I'm crazy. "Do you have an obsession with seeing Olivia hurt or something? I know you don't like her, but sheesh."

  Heat rushes to my cheeks. My body still betrays me. And now Noah's smell changes. Instead of old books and the props room, he's metallic. Cayden tells me it's adrenaline, pumped through a human or animal when they feel fear or anger. Noah's angry.

  "Just curious," I say. "Look, I hope she gets back to normal and stays that way. And you know I gave her the lead back. She auditioned and she earned it to begin with."

  "Did I mention you're a traitor?" Sarah asks, slapping her hand over her mouth.

  Noah turns away and gulps his drink again. The adrenaline smell lingers and upsets my stomach. How does Cayden cope with this? Now I understand why the Lowes have pulled away from human society all their lives. Knowing what everyone's feeling is sickening.

  "Well, it's not fair she got hurt," I finish.

  Noah lowers his shoulders. The smell dissipates. "It's not," he agrees.

  It's clear I won't get answers from Noah. I allow the conversation to steer away from Olivia and to some of Noah's jokes. Now it's time for an act. I pretend to laugh. Darkness covers the outside world and deepens, letting the lights cast a warm glow on the wooden walls of the coffee shop. But I can't have fun. I want away from Teeyah's. An invisible wall separates me from my friends.

  And it's clear I won't get any farther here. I check the calendar on my phone. Seven days before the full moon. Then me, Cayden, Aunt May, and the other Lowes will get forced into a transformation, and we might have to kill Olivia before she can infect anyone else.

  There has to be another way.

  I gulp the rest of my cappuccino and thank Noah for the treat. The adrenaline doesn't return for the rest of our time at Teeyah's. By the time we leave, full dark has fallen over Breckenridge and I have to zip up my jacket to shut out the damp chill. I smell the air, trying not to make it obvious. Nothing unusual comes—just countless dinners cooked by tired workers at the ends of their shifts—but as I open my car door, an idea hits me.

  Olivia's mother is a doctor, and likely took Olivia as a patient at the local hospital. If I can get into her medical records, it might give us the answer we need. It'll be easier than asking Olivia herself, who will stalk away and tell me where to go.

  And then I'll know what to do.

  Chapter Two

  After I drop off Noah, Sarah, and Ellie at their houses, I linger in front of Ellie's, debating on what to do next. Checking my phone tells me the time's going on seven. Aunt May still wants me home at a decent time. I assume trying to impose rules on me is her way of clinging onto the old life we shared where we wore our pendants that prevented us from turning. Where I had no clue about my legacy.

  Pack rules say I should talk to Cayden before trying to spy on Olivia this way. He's the alpha, and the one meant to decide. And trying to uncover medical records is super illegal. I have nothing to do with the medical field, but Mr. Yugo, the Health teacher, drilled the fact into our heads last year.

  But after thinking, I reason that having to kill someone is worse. I grab at my neck and close my fingers on air. My hands close on air where my pendant used to hang, and Aunt May has assured me there's no going back. Suppressing our nature now would mean giving up Breck to the wolves who would destroy it. And once turned, Aunt May says, we can't become human again.

  But could a pure silver pendant help Olivia?

  As soon as I think of it, I start the car back up. The Beater coughs and sputters to life and the headlights fall on Ellie's old house. Pulling out, I punch in a search for the local hospital, Mountain Ridge, and activate my GPS. It's a twenty minute drive and I haven't had to visit, ever, so I need the help.

  Perhaps Olivia's mother is working tonight and I can catch her. Olivia used to tell everyone she worked in the ER, which means the ground level. And if she's not there, I must find where they keep the medical records—and hope they still keep paper ones.

  I take off after texting Aunt May and telling her I'm at Cayden's. She responds with a smiley face which makes me feel bad about lying to her. I'll be leaving our territory tonight. The surrounding areas are still open to the Savage Wolves.

  The drive to the hospital takes me along winding mountain roads with only a guardrail to prevent me from falling into the abyss. But whenever I take my gaze from the headlights, I'm able to focus and make out the outlines of each tree below. My vision has improved since the change, enabling me to see more detail at night. While t
he landscape is nowhere near as easy to study as in the daytime, I can navigate if my headlights were to quit.

  The GPS orders me to take a turn.

  "Yes, your highness," I say, obeying.

  Mountain Ridge is a small hospital on the side of yet another mountain, giving off a white glow and illuminating the surrounding trees. I park among other, more well-to-do cars after the gate rises to let me into the ER parking. I park. As I go to get up, my foot brushes something on the floor of my car.

  The pistol with the silver bullets.

  Someone must have returned it to my car after I took the bite.

  Looking down, a chill washes over me as I eye the weapon peeking out from under my seat. With my foot, I push it back into the shadows. While the weapon unnerved me before, the sight of it now sends an ice pick through my heart. Inside that pistol are silver bullets, capable of killing me, Cayden, Aunt May, Everly, and Remo. I wonder who put the weapon back in my car after I lost it at the clearing. Either Cayden or Aunt May must have. It's not as if I'll be using it to fight. Sure, it belonged to my grandfather and then my mother, so it's a family heirloom, but what place does the old pistol have in my life now?

  But as soon as I take my foot off it, the weapon slides back out, pushed by food bags and other junk already under my seat. My necklace sits on top like a tiny chain snake, coiled like it's ready to strike. The sword pendant points in my direction, daring me to pick it up.

  Cayden or Aunt May left my other heirloom here, too.

  For the first time in my life, the sight of my pendant sends a chill down my spine. Olivia returns to my thoughts. If the pendant suppressed my nature for almost my entire life, and stopped Aunt May and my father from transforming when they hit puberty, then it should work for Olivia, right? Why hasn't anyone, but me thought of this?

  Gulping, I pick up the pendant, not knowing what to expect.

  The metal carries a chill. No burn follows as I close my fist around it. But my next breath is dull and I can barely smell the motor oil and leather seats in the surrounding vehicles. The parking lot darkens as I hold the chain. My senses have weakened. Even in human form, the silver is affecting me, but it doesn't hurt to hold.