The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  "Brie, slow down." Noah holds up a hand. "I won't bail out of the car. If you wanted to hurt me, you would have on the street."

  Emotion chokes me. For a moment, I can't breathe. Leave it to Noah to see past the worst to find the best. Hey, he believes Olivia is still a nice person. And maybe she is, buried underneath the layers of unbearable sour candy.

  "But you still freaked out."

  "That's because despite being a man, I have emotions."

  I want to collapse with relief, which is hard as I'm already sitting. "I love you, Noah. If you drive me back to my house and Aunt May can't listen to us, I'll spill." The weight lifts. "And I'll even tell you why Olivia's leaving me alone."

  He steps on the accelerator. "I knew something was different about her. Now I know why she doesn't bother you anymore. She knows, doesn't she?" He pulls into my driveway.

  "Promise to tell nobody." The circle of people who know my secrets grows bigger all the time.

  "Promise."

  Aunt May's home. She peeks out the window and I mold my face into a neutral expression. She can't know I'm spilling all to Noah. I'll break her trust, but I can't shoo my friend away, either.

  So I take Noah inside, pour him a glass of water, and let him follow me up to my room.

  * * * * *

  Noah takes it well. I tell him about the Savage Wolves trying to invade Breck over and over, and how both sides of my family fought them, and how my parents married and my father held back his transformations with a silver pendant just like mine. We sit on my bed and play low music as we talk, which does wonders at calming my nerves. And it also keeps Aunt May from hearing us.

  But I have to tell him about Cayden.

  And he takes that well, too.

  "Wow," Noah says. "So do all werewolves take center stage like him?"

  "Well, I don't know if his singing comes from that," I admit. "But the way he pushed Matt down does." Then I tell him about the fiasco at the Spooktacular Dance.

  "You thought they infected Olivia?" Noah asks.

  I remember my promise to Olivia that Cayden and I wouldn't tell anyone she tripped while fleeing the wolves. "Turns out she wasn't infected," I say. "But don't mention I told you this. Please."

  "I won't. Wow, Brie, this explains a lot. Like why you didn't worry about Matt before he turned into that thing and ran off."

  "I tried to kill him before he turned."

  "Because some part of you knew?"

  "I don't know why my instincts are better than Cayden's." Does it have to do with why the Savages keep trying to come here? Am I the main target?

  "Thanks for letting me in on this," Noah says. "Why don't we talk about normal stuff now? Calm our nerves? I'll see if your aunt can make us some hot cocoa."

  "Sounds good."

  Noah and I shift our conversation to school and plans for the New Year as the night wears on. At last, we empty our mugs. "Be careful driving home, will you?"

  "I'll be careful. You still have that gun with the silver bullets?"

  "Since I don't need it anymore, you can have it." I glance outside. More big flakes fall. "Take it. Let me clean off the car. I'm not comfortable carrying it around anymore."

  "But it belonged to your mother."

  A familiar pain twists my insides. "Belonged," I say. "As in past tense." I forget how painful holidays can get without my parents.

  "Oh." He doesn't understand, but I don't want him to.

  * * * * *

  I don't see Cayden for the next couple of days and I'm bummed. A pair of winter storms descend on Breck, making the roads impassible until the plows get through. It's not as if I can't traverse the snow if I shift, but after what happened with Noah and the creepy guy, I don't think it's a good idea to try it. I'll stand out too much in the snow. And wolf tracks will be easy for anyone with snowshoes to trace.

  But as I sit at my bedroom window and look out at the pure white field, curling my sweater around me, I know Cayden's way out in the woods, patrolling with his siblings.

  Take it easy, he tells me over text. Enjoy your holiday with your aunt.

  You, too.

  You don't have to help patrol.

  I want to.

  But someone will see your footprints leading from your house. You're not living in the woods like we are.

  He has a point. I'd have to cross the field and make it to the cover of the trees, leaving tracks. Even with my skilled gait, I can't avoid it.

  "Did you get me snowshoes this year?" I joke with Aunt May when I descend the steps on Christmas morning. I feel bad about asking. Aunt May's not made of cash right now.

  And I feel worse when I find the pile of gifts under the tree and Aunt May sipping her coffee, waiting for me. Bows and wrapping paper shine under the light. The scent of the pine needles—she cut down a real tree this year—mixes with Aunt May's meadow smell. The strange combo of an open field of flowers along with the tree sap fills the room, promising a memory for a long time.

  "You didn't have to do this."

  Aunt May stands. "Brie, you've done so much for me. You deserve it. Now get over here and unwrap your presents. I'll take pictures just like I used to when you were in elementary school."

  "No!" My cheeks flush.

  She grins. "Yes."

  If it makes her happy, I'll do it. "Okay. Just don't make it too embarrassing."

  "Let me grab the camera. And when Cayden and his siblings come over for dinner, let me show them."

  My heart leaps. "They're coming for dinner?"

  "I thought it would be a surprise. Don't you want something nice to wear for Cayden?"

  It's official. I want to open presents even if she takes the most humiliating pictures of me with my messy hair and my worn pajamas. I'll see Cayden for the first time since Leonora's house. And I'll tell him how well Noah took the news about me. As my mate, he deserves the truth. Hiding the incident where I wanted to kill Matt did no favors.

  I open my gifts to find that Aunt May has bought me several cute tops, including a blue one that might make my eyes look brighter. I find two pairs of curvy jeans—not for days I have to shift—and two warm, fuzzy sweaters that are functional. And I find a Cats poster that matches the one Olivia had in her room the night I invaded.

  "Is something wrong?" Aunt May asks me as I eye the poster.

  "Nothing," I say. I think about how Olivia must spend this morning. She might open gifts alone while her mother works in the ER and her father stays scarce. That sounds almost as bad as not having parents at all. But how will I know? I haven't spoken to her in two months. Olivia's been hanging with Alesha and Tiffany as usual, gossiping about everyone else to make themselves feel better.

  "And thanks," I say, rolling up the poster. "This is awesome, and you didn't have to do this."

  "I wanted you to have a nice Christmas," she says. "All you do is give, Brie, and you deserve to take occasionally. If you don't take sometimes, the world will eat you."

  Aunt May gets serious with that last sentence. The air in the room thickens as I face her. "Great choice of words. I can take care of myself."

  "I know you can. But I worry about your future."

  My thoughts go from Olivia to the creepy guy. I've told no one about that yet but I don't want to ruin the mood. "Why don't I help make dinner?"

  I wait for her to reject the offer, but instead, she shakes her head with a smile. "That would be great. We're feeding the whole pack. This is one case where you should give, give, give."

  Chapter Six

  I shuffle to the door as fast as I can when Cayden knocks. I smell him before I open it. His scent alone sends my heart racing.

  Adjusting my cute blue top and making sure it accents all the right curves, I open the door to find him standing in the late afternoon sun, dark hair speckled with snowflakes. He grins, opens his arms, and invites a kiss. We mold together in the doorway, lips pressing against while Everly sighs behind him and mutters, "Really. Get a room already."

&
nbsp; "Are you always unhappy?" I ask her in a teasing tone.

  But the scowl she gives me says she's not joking.

  Cayden and I stand aside to let Everly into the house. She walks into the kitchen and asks Aunt May if she'd like help.

  "She doesn't like it when we kiss," I whisper.

  "Everly doesn't like to see other people having fun," Cayden says. "She's the chaperone. I got her a ruler for Christmas."

  "Really?" I ask. "She might use it, you know."

  "Hey," Remo says, filling the doorway with his big frame. He flashes me a warm smile. "Something smells great in here. What chemical concoction is coming to fruition?"

  "Venison we got in the Grocery?" I ask. "So what's the chemical formula for deer?"

  "Everything's made of chemicals," Remo says.

  I wonder if he'd rather be with Leonora.

  I finish setting the plates out and we eat in silence though Cayden slips his hand under the table and tickles my arm occasionally. So far, so good. He's not showing any signs of pain. Maybe Leonora cured whatever it was or maybe it was just a passing thing. I relax as I eat, filling up on the venison and mashed potatoes. Even Everly lets her scowl drop away as she eats. We're enjoying a relaxing moment together where we don't have to patrol and watch the borders.

  Or do we?

  Cayden wipes his mouth at the end of the dinner. "Delicious," he says. "I'm glad you invited us last minute."

  "You could have warned me," I whisper in his ear. "She has...photos."

  "Photos?" Cayden smiles. Warmth fills me. He's relaxed and happy. A family atmosphere fills the place, chasing away our mutual sadness.

  "I'll get my phone," Aunt May says.

  "No! How about that dessert you made?" I rise from the table and open the fridge, pulling out the enormous chocolate pie.

  "Not before the photos. And I was thinking we could start board games." Aunt May beams.

  Behind her, Cayden mouths, "Bored games," and pretends to sleep. Remo holds back a laugh as Aunt May whirls on them.

  He's thinking what I'm thinking, and it involves being alone. "Is it okay to have a party? The Savages might expect us to abandon the borders on a holiday."

  Aunt May frowns. It's clear she's been thinking of just having a night to relax.

  But Everly nods. "Brie has a point. The Savages aren't that smart, but they'll recognize a hole they can use to sneak into our territory."

  "It's marked," Remo says. "I went around the border yesterday. And they're breaking the law if they cross right now."

  I think of Matt, who won't care about the law. He might be a Savage like the rest now, but he's still above everyone else. Stronger. Far more terrifying. And I know their human helpers aren't subject to those laws, either. "Maybe Cayden and I should patrol for two hours. We'll come back as soon as we know the area's clear of Savage stench. If we smell no rotten wood, right back." It's an excuse, but I need to talk to Cayden alone.

  Aunt May screws up her face. "What if Matt comes back?"

  Cayden gets out of his chair. "It's snowing, so any tracks we make will get covered in no time. The neighbors won't see. I think our secret will stay safe." He parts the curtains to let everyone see the curtains of flakes now falling through the fading light. It doesn't look like it will stop soon.

  His words make nervous butterflies hit the walls of my stomach. I must tell him the truth about Noah. If Everly hears about this, she'll go through the roof. She may not be alpha, but we both know she'd rather take that spot. She and Aunt May are the only good ones and Everly is the babysitter.

  Everly gives her brother a nod of approval. As if he needs it. Cayden turns away from her and gathers his coat.

  "We'll be back," I tell Aunt May.

  "But it's Christmas," she says in protest.

  "It's a human holiday," Everly says.

  "We're human enough to celebrate it," Aunt May says. "Come on. I'll get out Scrabble. We'll have fun."

  "Thank you for getting me out of there," Cayden says once we're on the snowy back deck. "You don't plan on shifting in that top, do you? It looks amazing on you." He does a fake growl that's both sexy and hilarious, considering the circumstances.

  "It's just an excuse to get us out of the house," I say, linking my hand with his. "I doubt the Savages will come out in this storm. Let's walk to the woods."

  The smell of venison fades as a rabbit bolts through the deepening snow and into the woods. I have to lift my boots out of the snow each time we take a step across the field. Though I can keep my pace faster than a regular person's, it's still work to trudge through the winter landscape, and I imagine it won't be too much easier as a wolf. Not, of course, that that's the plan tonight.

  "So," Cayden says. "I'll tell you about that rite Leonora did."

  "She already gave me the rundown," I say, rubbing my thumb over the back of Cayden's bare palm. Neither of us wear gloves—just coats and boots. We enter the woods together, and the silence and lack of Savage scent is calming. My eyes adjust to the gloom. Occasional flakes make it down through the thick, blanketed pine needles. "I have to tell you something."

  Cayden stops in the woods. "You can tell me anything, Brie." He faces me and takes my arms, rubbing his thumbs over my biceps. Even through my coat, the sensation sends electricity up to my shoulders and down my back. "Remember Matt?"

  "I know. I should have told you. But I thought attacking him meant I might be Savage. Oh, never mind. Noah figured out what we are."

  "Noah?" Cayden's eyes widen. "We've been careful around him."

  "He didn't buy our story about what happened at the dance, or how we threw our costumes at Matt the wolf. That was a lame story."

  Cayden sighs and faces the ground. "My father never let things like this happen."

  "You're not your father. Don't compare yourself." I want to tell Cayden that his father made plenty of mistakes, mistakes that led to disaster, but smearing his memory tonight feels wrong on many levels. "If anyone let it happen, it was me. Noah and I were at Teeyah's with Ellie and Leonora, and a strange guy stalked us afterwards. It reads like a horror movie. Noah's car wouldn't start. Our phones went dead. So I led the guy away from the others—"

  "Smart," Cayden says.

  "—But Noah followed us. I hid, and the guy got closer, saying he'd been following me. Creeps never admit that, do they?" Why am I asking that question? The guy was a creep. Words don't change that. "And I think he was using magic. Everything lined up in his favor, and when I transformed and chased him, he had one of those burning poison bags."

  Cayden wrinkles his nose. "Then he must be with the Savage Wolves. Humans don't have to follow pack laws."

  "I wasn't able to get him," I say. "I didn't have the urge to kill like I did with Matt. So I just scared him and chased him off."

  "Then he wasn't infected."

  "And then Noah saw me. He said my name. I had no choice but to take him to my house and spill."

  Cayden bites his lip and swallows. We continue to stand in the falling snow, in the utter silence.

  "I'm sorry," I say.

  Cayden faces me. "He found out on his own. That happens sometimes. It's not like you walked up to him and told him the truth when his life wasn't in danger."

  "It still feels slimy, after all the stuff I did before."

  "You did what I didn't have the guts to do. Brie, you're a doer."

  "Aunt May says I'm too nice and give too much."

  Cayden pulls me close. "Well, sometimes I agree with that."

  "And you still beat yourself up," I say.

  "Fair's fair. Speaking of giving," he says, leaning close to me.

  I close my eyes, expecting the wild kiss. Our lips brush as I inhale, taking in Cayden's wild scent. I want to eat him up. Wrapping my arms around him, I pull his body to mine, crunching fresh snow as I melt into him.

  And breathe in the faint scent of smoke.

  I jolt and separate from Cayden.

  "What's wrong?"

&nb
sp; "He's around here."

  "Who?"

  "The creep."

  Cayden tenses and looks behind him. "In the woods?"

  "I caught his scent a second ago."

  Cayden sniffs the air. "I think I smell it, too. Like a bonfire? Burning straw?"

  "Yes."

  A faint breeze wraps cold air around my cheeks, chasing away Cayden's warmth. Everly's right we get no breaks. We need to patrol instead of going back to enjoy ourselves. I eye the trees for any sign of the guy, but he's not present.

  "I don't smell him anymore," Cayden says. "It must have been on the breeze."

  "I was thinking the same." If I knew magic, I'd curse that guy who ruined our moment.

  Cayden breaks into the trees, jogging through the snow and kicking up fresh white powder. I follow, not wanting to let him go off alone. Because he will. We might have grown closer since October, but his scars remain.

  The breeze stays dead, and the snow comes down with more intensity than before, but I can still see through the armies of flakes and the gloom under the trees. We cross over the trail we used to walk home and patrol sometimes, and the breeze blows again, bringing a stronger waft of the creep's smell. At least he doesn't smell like rotting wood and the darkest parts of nature. But that doesn't reassure me.

  I bound after Cayden as we run in human form. The smell fades and returns, stronger each time. We run around boulders and through snowy shrubs, casting off layers of powder from some. We run well off the trail, and I catch Remo's stale scent coming from maybe half a mile ahead. The territory border. My senses tell me he did it maybe six hours ago.

  "I'm not often in this part of the woods," Cayden says.

  "Neither am I. There's nothing out here." Leonora's cabin is in the other direction. All I've seen just south of my house are hunting shacks, abandoned tree stands, and wilderness. It's an area far away from the tourist attractions.

  A dark shape looms ahead, a brown and gray square that betrays a hunting cabin. I've seen it twice before and ignored it, but something's different this time.

  And it's the creep's scent. Every log seems to give it off. As Cayden and I approach, it gets so strong I'm almost sure the guy can't be more than feet away.