The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  "This isn't good," he says. "Remo should have smelled this."

  "He hasn't run into this guy before," I say. "And he smells like a normal human. Remo maybe thought a hunter took this cabin."

  "Good point," Cayden says, marching up to the front door of the shack-sized structure.

  "Don't open it," I warn. "We don't know what kinds of magical traps can be in there. Can warlocks put curses on places?"

  "Possibly," Cayden says. "We can't have him so close to the pack. He came after you."

  And then he kicks the door in.

  It's not locked and creaks as it opens inward, revealing a dim space with the faint glow of an iron stove in the corner. Warmth flows out of the cabin as Cayden pokes his head inside.

  "Cayden!"

  "It's okay. If he were here, we'd have heard him."

  "But still." I need to do more work on him.

  Cayden ducks into the cabin. When is he going to learn?

  But I go after him. The floor's dirt, which absorbs our footsteps, and the cabin itself must only be ten by ten feet. An old mattress with an ugly green blanket rests against one wall. A backpack lies beside it, made of leather and brand-new. I can smell the material just fine. A rickety old table holds a cracked dinner plate and crumbs left over from what might have been a sandwich. I pinch one. Hardening, but still with some softness.

  Someone was here just minutes ago. The embers in the stove tell me that, too.

  Cayden sniffs the blankets and frowns at me. "The creep slept here. I smell more than one person on this blanket, but his scent is the newest. He might have commandeered this cabin from a hunter to get to us."

  "A hunter who's spending the holiday with their family," I say.

  My words thicken the air in the room. A flash of pain sweeps over Cayden's face as he throws the blanket down. I don't mean to remind him, but the holiday rubs scabs off wounds and makes everything raw again.

  Cayden nods at the backpack. "We know he's coming back. Now is the time to ambush him and arm wrestle out information."

  "Will he expect us?" I ask. "There's something weird about him. He walked into Teeyah's out of nowhere. And I didn't see him following us before that. What if he can track us?"

  Cayden lifts an eyebrow at me. "That is strange."

  "Magic?"

  "I ask Leonora if tracking spells exist. My family's never worked with witches before."

  "Don't you need like, something of the person's to do a spell?"

  "That's in the movies."

  "Aren't we in the movies, too?"

  "Good point." Cayden lifts the backpack by one strap as if there's something dangerous in it. "We can take this back to Leonora and see what she has to say, too. At the least, we're taking supplies from the guy. Smells weird."

  I pick up a myriad of herbs and wax. Magical stuff, all right. But then a faint sound meets my ears: soft footsteps, crunching fresh powder. Something brushes a shrub and sends more snow to the ground.

  "Someone's coming."

  Cayden pauses and drops the backpack. He molds his face into a scowl, but it's directed at the door, not at me.

  The protective alpha is here.

  "I'll make sure he doesn't come back."

  "But we need to question him," I say. "He wanted to talk." I don't want Cayden to get hurt. We don't know what we're dealing with.

  But the guy's with the Savage Wolves and with the pack that killed half his family. It's a done deal.

  Cayden removes his coat and unbuttons his shirt as I reach for him. He sidesteps away with a growl and throws it down. Shirtless and with those perfect, sculpted muscles, he looks like a wild god in jeans. But even his amazing body can't distract me from what's about to go down.

  "We can overtake the guy without shifting," I say. The guy's footsteps keep approaching at a steady rate. He hasn't detected us yet. And then the scent hits, washing over the burning straw one already on the cabin.

  Cayden crouches. The look in his eyes tells me there's no stopping him now. Tensing every muscle, his skin ripples as his joins snap and change shape. Black fur sprouts. Two seconds later, the wolf steps out of Cayden's jeans and snaps at me. Stay back, it means.

  Cayden's still-hazel eyes lock on mine. They say everything I need to know. He'll destroy the guy who stalked me.

  And I need to give that to him.

  As much as I want to run over and stop him, I force myself to step back.

  But the guy might have a trick up his sleeve.

  The black wolf darts out the door, leaving the comforting glow of the iron stove behind.

  He growls, trampling powder and darting at the guy.

  "No," the creep says, maybe fifty feet away. "No! It's not what you think—"

  The real terror in the man's voice draws me to the door. My eyes adjust again and I focus on the outline of the guy in the woods ahead, grasping a pine trunk. His leather jacket quivers as he scrambles up the tree, Cayden snapping at his heels. He climbs fast, vaulting himself up branches beyond a wolf's reach. Cayden claws at the trunk and growls in frustration as bits of bark fly and hackles rise. He looks like a predator, not a defender.

  A branch snaps as the guy loses his footing. His boot flails, hits the trunk, and finds its place on another branch. His sunglasses train on the black wolf.

  "It's not what you think," the guy repeats in that same deep voice.

  "Cayden!" I shout, running out of the cabin.

  He snaps at me again, warning me to stay back as he renews his assault on the tree. The man remains above, hugging the trunk. The branches hold. He won't be coming down soon. I wait for him to draw an herb bomb, or even a gun, but he stays still, waiting out the attack.

  "Stop!" the man warns Cayden. "The more you protect her, the closer you get to death!"

  Cayden pauses as I reach him. I put my hand on his back and grip wolf fur, but instead of calming down, he bucks, casting off my grasp. I step back, catching my balance as Cayden warns me away with his eyes again. I can't hear his voice in my head while in human form.

  And then Cayden yelps, flinching as if someone's stuck him with an invisible bullet.

  My mate lashes his body against the tree as if trying to dislodge an arrow. But there's none. Panic seizes my chest as he falls to the snow, rolling in pain from an invisible force. Cayden lets out another whimper and pants, trying to soothe the agony. Paws flick and lash at air.

  "Cayden!" I shout, throwing my body over him.

  He might be dying.

  And I'm alone with this warlock who might have cursed him.

  Chapter Seven

  I throw my body weight over Cayden though it does little good against a wolf who weighs at least as much as me. He thrashes again, scratching me by mistake, and goes still. I keep myself over him. A low growl emerges from his throat as a sigh of relief. Then he settles into a steady rhythm of breathing as I keep my ear on his side, listening to his strong heartbeat. The pain attack is gone.

  This is like the first jolt of pain he had right after pushing me away from that exploding bomb of herbs.

  But this one lasted longer. Hurt more.

  Cayden growls again, weak. His whole body trembles. Branches crack above me.

  "I tried to warn you," the young man says.

  I snap my gaze up at the creep, keeping one arm around Cayden. He looks down at me with those sunglasses and from another tree. He's limber and a good climber.

  "What did you do to him?" The animal within me begs me to give in, but with this guy playing monkey, it won't do any good. Shifting will just make me more sensitive to whatever herbs he can light. "Tell me. What did you do?"

  "I did nothing." He grabs another tree trunk and continues his journey, dropping a curtain of snow. He must be twenty feet above my head. I have no hope of reaching him unless I want to climb in human form.

  But I keep one arm around Cayden. He still trembles. And a new smell rises from him, a musty one like dust. My instinct tells me what it is: weakness. He's
vulnerable. He continues to lie on the snow, weak. Cayden moves a paw, forming a track as he turns one hazel eye up at me. Terror and helplessness fill the dark inside. The pain attack has weakened him. He might not recover for minutes.

  He will recover, right?

  A distant howl sounds in the air. Cayden shifts and growls as if trying to respond. The Savages are out there, beyond our borders, and if they detect Cayden in his weakened state, they'll cross the border. They'll kill. And I can't let that happened.

  Crack.

  The guy continues to climb from tree to tree, plotting his escape. If he reaches the border, he might summon the Savages. I won't be able to hold them all off by myself. Matt alone is too powerful.

  "Cayden," I say, leaning close to him. "I'll cover you in snow so they don't smell you. Recover."

  The glare he gives me says it's not a good plan, but I don't care. Waiting is worse.

  And is protecting me hurting him?

  The guy knows why he's having attacks of phantom pain.

  And maybe how to stop them.

  I let go of Cayden and shovel snow over his dark form with my bare hands. He growls again and kicks his legs—he's bouncing back slowly—but I put my hand on his side again and keep him pinned.

  "We can't waste time," I say, plunging my hands into icy pain.

  Crack.

  The man climbs down from a tree fifty feet behind me. Bark rips out from under his boots and a fresh piney scent fills the air. The musty smell fades as I add to Cayden's white blanket. He breathes out and closes his eyes as I cover his face, leaving only his black nose on the surface. His smell vanishes. The snow's doing its job.

  Now I'm going after the warlock.

  The man runs into the cabin and grabs his backpack. I charge after him as a lighter flicks. He appears in the doorway, holding another cloth bag of reeking herbs. It already gives off smoke.

  I can't shift now, or the fumes will take me down and make me worthless. So I stop and face the guy who scowls at me.

  "What did you do to Cayden?" I ask, keeping my voice down. Twigs snap as the Savages approach.

  "Nothing," the man says.

  "Then what did your wizard friend do?"

  "Your mate's cursed," the guy says. He maintains his scowl as another howl rips through the air, low and mournful. The Savages are close now, within a mile of our borders. "I would have explained it to you, but you chased me. So I acted."

  He turns away, holding the toxic bag of herbs. Even in human form, the reek of wolfsbane and who knows what else makes me gag and cough. The man doesn't seem to suffer from it. Humans must not be as susceptible.

  "Wait," I shout, pain rising in my chest. What if Cayden's curse worsens? What if every time he tries to protect me or anyone else— "Explain! Stop walking towards those Savages. They don't care about you or anyone else."

  But the man doesn't look back. He runs to the border of our territory, vanishing into the trees. If I follow, the Savages will tear me apart. I hear their intentions in their howls. It's in the plodding of their feet. Twigs crunch under snow. There are five. And the rotting wood smell hits me all at once.

  And this guy might tell them Cayden's here in a weakened state.

  I back towards the black wolf and lean down, crouching in the footfalls I've left. "Get up," I say. "We have to go. Don't protect me. Now!"

  Cayden grunts and casts off the white blanket which turns to dust as he struggles to his feet. Hackles cast off the last of the powder as he faces the border. The man's steps blend with them as he continues towards the false safety of the Savages.

  Did he come to warn me about something? Did I stop him before I could?

  He warned Cayden about the curse. He could have stayed silent and let the alpha die.

  Cayden plods forward, away from the border and deeper into our territory. I run beside him on two legs, leaving the Savages and the man just outside our border. I wait for them to run, attack, rip, and kill. If Matt's with them, he could break the law and destroy us, no problem.

  Far back, the man mutters something. The breeze blows from the Savages' direction, taking our scent away from them. We're alive because of the weather.

  Cayden's able to up his pace as we backtrack through the woods. Once it's clear the Savages aren't chasing us, we slow. Cayden pants. I wish I could run on four legs beside him so we can communicate, but I need to tell the others about this right away when we get back to the house.

  But I can still get what he's thinking.

  As he walks over boulders and through the deepening snow, Cayden keeps his nose and his eyes trained on the ground. It's not an alpha stance. It's almost as if he's submitting.

  And the look in his deep hazel eyes destroys me.

  At last, the lights of Aunt May's house peek through the tree trunks. We plod into the field. I eye the neighbors' houses to make sure no one's at the windows to see a girl and a black wolf walking just outside their backyards.

  Cayden just waits.

  "We're clear," I say, trying to break the tension.

  But it's no use. The man's words stay in my head.

  If Cayden protects me, it'll kill him.

  And Cayden can't resist.

  He climbs onto Aunt May's porch, still in full wolf form, as if he doesn't want to shift back and face the music. I open the door and let him into the living room. Cayden keeps his tail down as he walks into the kitchen, interrupting a full Scrabble game in progress.

  Everly rises from her chair, eyeing Cayden. "What happened?"

  Cayden looks at me for a second before facing the hallway. Everyone goes silent.

  "I'll tell you," I say. I hate that the three of them had fun while we brushed death.

  At my words, Cayden stalks down the hall and towards the bathroom. The wolf vanishes inside and I turn away.

  He needs alone time. Even I can't help him right now.

  If the curse is true, all I can do is make things worse.

  Panic rises in me as I clear my throat. "Cayden's cursed to suffer horrible pain every time he tries to protect someone. Me."

  Aunt May's jaw drops and she slaps her hand down on one of the Scrabble words. "That's what the warlock did? How do you know?"

  I tell the others about how we tracked the other guy in the woods, and of his warning.

  "That guy wanted you to follow him," Remo says. "It sounds like he was trying to manipulate you."

  "Don't follow him," Everly says.

  "I wasn't planning on it. The Savages were right outside the border. It was just me and Cayden. We couldn't fight them."

  Popping sounds follow from the bathroom as Cayden shifts back to human form. He groans, pained and tired, and hits the cabinet door with his palm. His perfect form crouches in the dark of the bathroom as he pants, bare and vulnerable.

  "Cayden." He looks like a broken Greek god. I rush down the hall and leave the others behind.

  "Brie." Still crouching, he turns his gaze up. His eyes fill with worry and rage. "I'm the alpha. I'm supposed to protect you and the pack."

  "And—" I start, but I can't finish.

  "That's the pain I felt after the clearing," he says, "and the pain I felt tonight. I tried to protect you both times, and...and I think the Savages lured us out there with Alesha so their warlocks could curse us. They want to tear us apart." Cayden grits his teeth. "If they do that, the pack breaks apart. And they're free to return to Breck."

  Everly runs to stand behind me. She's heard every word. "But I thought Leonora fixed you?"

  "She did a banishing spell," Cayden says, gripping the sink. He tries pulling himself up, but a joint pops. He moves like an old man. The last attack of pain hasn't worn off all the way yet. "It must not have been strong enough to counteract the curse."

  "Let me help you," I say, reaching for his other arm. I wrap my hand around bare skin, giving what I hope is a reassuring touch.

  But he yanks his arm from my grasp. "I can get it."

  "You don't have
to snap at me," I say, regretting it right away. Cayden's just had his sense of control taken away. For the past months, he's been working on protecting us to honor the memory of his fallen family, and now he's back in that dark place. "We can talk to Leonora again and see if she can try another spell. Even her parents will have to agree."

  "I'm sorry," Cayden says, standing and reaching for a bath towel. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. But if I can't protect any of you—"

  "We'll help you," I say. Savage Wolves might not be that intelligent, but the warlocks have figured out Cayden's weaknesses. They know the Savages killed half Cayden's family. And what must make him tick.

  And now every time Cayden cares for me in battle, I'm going to put him through immense pain.

  Or worse.

  "I think I'm feeling better," he says, wrapping the towel around his lower half and tucking it in. "I felt like an old man when I shifted back. The effects of this voodoo curse are worse in human form."

  "Are you sure?" I lean forward and plant a kiss on his lips.

  Don't leave, I plead. You deserve happiness.

  "I'm sure." Cayden eyes the mirror and slaps his hand on it like he wants to break the glass. "If Leonora can't remove this curse, I don't know what to do. And I'm the alpha. I was just getting used to it!"

  "We'll figure it out," I say, thoughts turning to the mystery guy again. "For now, don't get into any fights. Four of us can still battle."

  "Listen to Brie," Everly pleads. "If she's right and this curse worsens each time you protect someone, well, we can't lose you."

  "But I'm the alpha," Cayden says. "No alpha lets their pack do all the work. The position has to be deserved. Even the Savages believe that." I've never heard so much determination from Cayden and that terrifies me.

  He's risked his life before and he'll do it again. The Savages know this, too.

  They've killed him with a bag of cursed herbs.

  "We talk to Leonora as soon as morning arrives," I say. "I don't care how much snow is on the ground. She will try again and again."

  "But she's not an expert on the craft."

  "She's better than nothing. Maybe she has connections." I think of how she keeps all the herbs in her locker. Does Breck have more witches? But if they could help Cayden, wouldn't Leonora have summoned them already?