The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  The walk across the two miles of virgin forest is uneventful. Karina stays quiet as I maintain my grip on her arm. Brett doesn't make any sarcastic remarks. But once we close in on the border, I smell them.

  And stop.

  "It's the pack," I say. "They're looking for me."

  Brett frowns. "I was afraid that would happen. You and Karina will have to continue by yourselves from here. Keep her safe, will you?"

  "Why do you trust us?" I ask.

  "Why do you trust me?"

  I roll my eyes. He's frustrating. So frustrating, he should be the hero in a romance novel. Girls would swoon over him.

  "It's a legit question."

  "Because you didn't try to kill me back in town," the guy says. "You could have, while I was running. But you decided to scare me instead. My father sent me to look for you, and I was ready to face more of the same that I've seen all my life."

  Until now, I hadn't thought he realized I was only trying to drive him away. "Still a stretch," I say. "If you'd hurt my friends, I might have."

  "What about the rest of her pack?" Karina asks. "Awesome brother you are. Say you want to protect me like I'm a baby, and then literally throw me to the wolves. At least make up your mind."

  "The Nobles don't like to hurt humans," Brett assures her. "Lay low once you're over there. I'll come for you once Matthew's gone." With that last line, he eyes me. He still expects me and the pack to take care of him. And right then, I know this is just the first phase of his plan.

  "Since the pack smells like they're on the other side of the border," I say, "You're going to give me answers right now. Why do the Savages want me, and who is this alpha king?"

  Brett sighs. "I guess fair is fair," he says, eyeing the trees. "The Savage King is descended directly from the first Savage Wolves to come into existence. His line is the purest of the Savages. All other Savages, like Matt, became the way they are through infection, or from being descended from those who were infected. They aren't considered as pure as the King's line or pack. Therefore, they have to submit to the Natural Wolves."

  "The Natural Wolves?" I ask.

  "It's the name of the royal pack, from what I overheard," Brett says. "And they have my father and Matt reporting to them.

  The wind blows from the direction of home, carrying Cayden's scent. Footfalls close in.

  "Brett?" Karina asks.

  I know what's happening. My heart races as I step away from Brett, pulling Karina with me. "So what about me? It's obvious they want me. And this town. Are you saying—"

  A growl sounds from the trees ahead.

  I whirl. A black wolf with beautiful red highlights stands fifty feet away, glaring at Brett with protective hazel eyes. Behind him stands the large blond form of Remo, the grayish-blond form of Aunt May, and a smaller, black wolf who is Everly. The entire pack realized I was missing. And now they've come for me.

  Cayden growls again, snapping at Brett.

  It will be death.

  I can't let him attack.

  But before I can shout a warning, Cayden bolts forward, teeth bared, hazel eyes locked on Brett.

  Chapter Thirteen

  "No!" I shout, running in front of him with my arms spread. "Don't attack! It'll kill you. Brett can help us!"

  Cayden slides to a stop as I stare down the wolf. His hazel eyes burn with a ferocity he only reserves for when I'm in danger. My heart races. He's out of control. Those emotional scars still sting and burn. Even though he's slapped a bandage on them, they still hurt, and they will for a long time to come.

  The warlock knows this.

  And so does Brett.

  They know our weaknesses.

  "Brett here can help tell us why the Savages keep trying to get into Breck," I say. "If we'd just let him talk—"

  Everly growls a warning and charges.

  I've released Karina. Metal scrapes leather as she draws her silver dagger. I whirl. She holds it in front of her and points the weapon at Everly, who stops and growls. The whole pack is ganging up. This isn't going to work.

  "Stop!" I yell.

  Cayden growls again. Though I'm not in wolf form, I know what it means. He doesn't trust these two. I don't, either, but we need them. Karina might even be able to help Cayden remove the curse.

  "I mean it," I tell him. I hate that I'm talking to him like he's a dog.

  Cayden eyes me with those hazel orbs and shakes his head, ordering me back into our territory. It's the first time he's gotten commanding since October, and the alpha's influence washes over me as he does. An urge to run around him and cross the territory line sweeps over me, but I grab a tree trunk and resist. I won't let him boss me around, even if he has the right. "We need these two," I say. "They can remove your curse. If you attack them, you might die."

  Then Brett does the worst thing he can.

  "That's right," he says, folding his arms and grinning. "You attack me, you die. The curse will kill you eventually if you keep trying to protect your girlfriend."

  Cayden's hackles rise. He growls at Brett and he scrapes his feet along the snow, making gouges. He can barely control himself. Karina keeps the dagger raised as she stands against a tree, holding Everly in her glare. "You want me to go with this pack?" she asks Brett.

  There's no time for conversation. My heart races. Cayden's too angry and protective for us to sit in a circle and talk. Brett's too antagonizing. I know what he's doing. He's egging Cayden on, making it impossible for me extract answers, either about the curse or the history. He wants to make double sure his sister is safe before he pays his part of the debt.

  "Guys," I say. "We need to take Karina into our territory. Brett here wants to guard her from Matthew, who tried to molest her not long ago. He knows the Savages will turn on his family as soon as they have what they want. And if we take Karina and keep her in our custody or whatever, we might learn how to reverse Cayden's curse." I cough. "Sorry for the rhyme."

  Aunt May shakes her head and steps forward. Her bright blue wolf eyes lock on Karina. She snorts. I can read what it means. Aunt May is skeptical about bringing a girl from the Savage territory into ours.

  "We'll make sure she can't work any magic," I say, standing between Cayden and Brett. I put myself between Cayden and his dying. "We can keep her in the Lowes' basement. That's one less person helping the Savage Wolves. And then Brett here has to keep up his end of the bargain."

  Remo steps forward and studies the two of them. Karina keeps her gaze hard while Brett sidesteps to stand next to her. He's still protective. "My sister," he says, "is full of herself and needs time away from our father, who cursed your alpha. She needs to realize that working with the Savages won't get us anywhere but dead. They're as much of a danger to us as they are to you."

  Remo doesn't believe them, either. I have to step forward.

  "Brett hid me from the Savages when he could have turned me over," I say. "We take Karina and then he explains to us how to fix this mess."

  "Yes," he says.

  Cayden looks at me, gaze softening. Hope fills the blackness in his eyes. But there's also confusion and fear. Should we? He means. I can't hear his voice in my head while in human form, but I can sense that's what he's asking.

  "We should," I say. "There's nothing else we can do." I still don't know Brett's entire story, but I'm right about us having no other options.

  Cayden snorts and nods, keeping his gaze on the Haydes.

  I march over and extend my hand to Karina. She holds the wicked dagger in front of her and she shakes so much I fear she'll stab me in panic. "We don't like to hurt humans," I say. "Unless they attack us first. Then we have no choice. You're not going to get far with just a silver dagger. You might injure one of us, but it'll be the last thing you do. Cooperate, and we'll protect you from the Savages. Now hand it over."

  "Hand it over," Brett tells her.

  "We can't trust them," Karina blurts. "We can never trust Wolves." A dam of emotion breaks and she lets grief spill o
ut, something I haven't detected in her before. "Our mother trusted them—"

  "Shh," Brett says. "She wasn't careful. She worked with the Savages. We're being careful. The Nobles are different. I saw proof for myself. They aren't like the Wolves we're used to."

  The air thickens. I'm in a delicate situation. "We won't hurt you unless you try to hurt us first," I promise Karina. "I promise that double if you hand over the dagger. We might even cook you some food. And we have a warm house we can hide you in. Once you're with us, the Savages won't have their bargaining chip to make your brother do what they want."

  "Don't leave me," she tells Brett.

  Karina has gone from a confident, snooty girl to a vulnerable child in a matter of seconds. Guilt fills me at the thought of how I treated her. I even threatened to break her arm. Not good. And this whole time, these two have already lost their mother to Savages. Or worse.

  "I won't be far," Brett promises her. "I'll be back soon, but first I have to make sure the Savages and our father don't realize what's happened. I'll tell them you ran away to the city. I'll even pretend I tried to stop you. And I'll do everything I can to hide the scent we might have left. Trust me."

  Karina's chin wobbles.

  She hasn't had a great life.

  "Come on," I say, voice soft. I nod to Cayden, who now stands beside me as a black, graceful wolf. "We'll shelter her and make sure the Savages don't find her. And Brett? Why aren't you coming with us?"

  "I told you I'd come to the border for now, but no farther," he says. "I have to make sure they don't suspect what's happened. I'll slow them down and throw off our trail. Our father isn't subject to Wolf laws like you are. He can cross the border at any time and get the Savages' bargaining chip back."

  Karina hangs her head and lets her dark hair hang in her face for a moment. I can tell what rank she's had in the family all her life. If humans had an omega, she'd be it.

  "Come on," I say, shooting a glare at Brett. "We'll take care of your sister. And Brett? I know what you're doing."

  He molds his face into a neutral expression and nods. "You understand why I have to do this."

  "There's no reason you have to go back."

  "She's right," Cayden says, stepping forward. "You can follow us right now and then you can tell us how to remove this curse."

  "Only I can't." Brett doesn't grin now.

  "Why?" I advance on him, leaving Karina as Everly takes her arm.

  "Because you need me to throw off my father's trail. He trusts me more than he trusts my sister. I've worked beside him. I'll tell him Karina ran in the other direction or was talking about heading to a city."

  "But the Savages don't trust you," I say.

  "I know they don't. That's why I have to go back and throw off their trail. If my father comes this way looking, and he will if I don't throw him off, he's going to be very difficult to deal with. The border won't stop him."

  Cayden steps between me and Brett. He growls at the newcomer. Get out, it means. Get out and divert their path right now.

  "Stop," I tell him. "Don't hurt your—"

  But before Cayden can pull back, he whimpers.

  His body flinches as he backpedals from Brett and back into the trees. Licking his side, he turns in a circle and then looks up at me, helpless. The pain isn't even delayed anymore. Now it's instant. Stabbing. It's as if Cayden is a rat in a maze who can't figure out how not to get shocked.

  "Cayden!" I shout, leaving Brett and Karina standing in the snow. I leave them able to do something to fight back, but I don't care. Everly, Remo, and Aunt May surround them, making sure they do nothing.

  Cayden stops and stretches as his joints pop, but it's not a sign of him changing back. His joints are just stiff, hardened from the newest pain attack. This one might not have lasted as long as the other, but there's no doubt things will only get worse.

  And the more he tries to protect me, the worse it'll be. His pain will be proportionate to whatever he does to do so.

  "Brett," I say, giving him a look of death. "You had better return in twenty-four hours to give us the instructions on how to fix this. If you really don't want the Savages to overtake this area and destroy the human world, you had better listen. You've got to be on our side. Same for you, Karina."

  Brett, with sadness in his eyes for the first time, nods.

  But he doesn't follow me into the trees. Instead, he gives his sister a shove, an almost playful one, towards me. She steps into Everly, who instead of attacking, backs away as if Karina is poison. And she could be.

  Cayden looks up at me with sadness and helplessness in his hazel eyes. It's a look I never want to see again.

  "Come on," I say. For now, I have to be in charge. I have to protect him. "Let's get Karina some shelter and out of the cold while we figure out what to do next."

  Chapter Fourteen

  The walk back to the Lowe residence takes a while. I remain in human form, keeping my grip on Karina's arm again. She's surrendered her silver dagger to her brother, who has long since walked back into the trees with his leather bag of magical supplies. I hope he knows a spell to keep his father's suspicion off him. A part of me worries about the guy, even if he is infuriating.

  But on the walk back, Cayden glares at Karina more than once. He still walks beside me as a wolf because shifting back to human form and walking through the snow naked isn't a good option for anyone. It seems the whole pack has left their clothing back at their houses.

  Karina doesn't say a word. She's now in enemy territory, at least according to her.

  "You'll be fine," I say, taking the role of the protector. It's my job until Brett can remove Cayden's curse. "Don't bother us and we won't bother you."

  Cayden faces the snow whenever he doesn't glare at Karina, not growling or whimpering. The silence makes the air heavy. Cayden's had everything taken from him. If I'm having to stand in place of him, what can he do? The warlock might as well have put him in a cage. He's humiliated on multiple levels, and I can't make him feel better. Even getting closer to him will only make things worse.

  "I don't know about that," Karina says. "I'm surrounded by wolves."

  "If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it out here in the middle of the woods," I say. "We haven't even tied you up or put a bag over your head. You're free to see where you're going and you're also allowed to talk. We'll just take you to the cabin, cook you some lunch, and then drill you for a way to fix Cayden. Do that and you'll be on our good side. And I'm powerful."

  Cayden looks at me like I'm crazy. His pupils widen as he locks his hazel gaze on me. It's the first time I've shaken him from his sad state.

  "She'll go in the basement," I say. "It's not bad down there. There's a cot she can lie on for now. Her brother comes back tomorrow. Though he didn't say where he would meet us." I'll be able to smell him coming. And I'll be able to detect the main warlock and the Savages if they arrive, too. Won't I? Brett knows magic. His dark spirits must lead him around.

  If Brett was great at using dark magic on the fly, then the warlock will be even better. He's already sneaked around undetected when my senses should have picked him up. And that thought makes me nervous.

  At last, the back of the cabin comes into view. The Lowe residence hugs the ground as if trying to hide. The wolves up their pace as they enter the open back door, a door I wouldn't have left open. Nails tap the linoleum of the kitchen.

  "In here," I tell Karina.

  But she hesitates, pulling against me. Though I feel bad about it, I yank her through the door and into the kitchen. Down the hall, in the bedrooms that the Lowes have split among themselves, joints pop and flesh pulls. I'm glad Karina doesn't have to hear all the details of shifting. The noises themselves are painful and make me wonder how I ever get the bravery to do it myself.

  "Down here," I tell her, opening the basement door. I know the others won't want to face her naked. While self-consciousness isn't a thing among other werewolves, it is in front of
regular humans, or even dark witches like Karina who are used to them. So I take her downstairs, which creak as I breathe in the smell of dust, old wood, and poured concrete. Karina doesn't even wrinkle her nose, but narrows her eyes as her gaze lands on the old cot on the other side of the basement. The chair Aunt May pulled up still sits there, and the sheets are still ruffled from my struggles when I turned. Nobody's occupied the cot since me. The memories hit, including the horrible pain that gripped my body during that time. Until now, that memory faded like a nightmare. Now it's raw again.

  "I'm staying here?" Karina asks.

  And I hate that there's relief in her voice.

  "Yes," I say. "You're staying here. The cot's not bad. I used it once and I promise I wasn't dirty when I did. We'll feed you and keep you out of sight so the Savages don't find you." Now's the chance to connect with Karina. She's not so bad. If I can get her on my side, she's less likely to aid her father when we let her out. "Did you know Matthew tried to rape me once? It was before he even became Savage. He was infected, so I shifted and attacked him."

  "Guys will be guys," Karina says.

  "Who the heck told you that?" I ask. "That's sick. That shouldn't happen, period."

  "Well, doesn't it happen in nature?" Karina asks, looking at me with confusion.

  "We're better than that," I say. "Most humans and Noble Wolves don't go around trying to rape and kill. You grew up in a sick environment." Getting to Karina won't be as easy as I thought. She knows no different, just as Brett might not have until I spared his life the night outside Teeyah's. I wonder what Karina grew up seeing. "You've never been, well, molested, have you?"

  "No," she says with a glare. "Not with my father on my side. He taught me, well, never mind. Will you let go of my arm now?"