The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  "We'll hold them back. I'm strong. Cayden's strong. We promise. Don't worry about being on the wrong side." Now I see who Karina is. She's just a girl trying to stay alive in a world not made for her.

  Everly opens the basement door. "Stop trying to chat with her," she says. "I say we should bring her upstairs and keep an eye on her twenty-four-seven."

  "Leave her alone," I say. "She's grown up around horrible people."

  "We really need to keep her under constant watch."

  "What is she going to do down here? Conspire with the bricks and the floor?"

  Karina shoots me a fearful look. "I don't like her."

  "Everly's like that with all of us," I assure her. "Everly. She can't get out of this basement and her hands are tied. Are you going to watch her go to the bathroom, too?"

  "Heck no. Yuck," she says. "But we're going to stay outside the basement door. There will always be one of us stationed here." She speaks to Karina with that last line.

  "We'll give you some time to think," I say. Having Everly stand over her won't be good for that, and it won't help bring her over.

  "Sure. If you need to think, that's fine." Right now, that's all I can give her. Karina needs space. "Are you willing to tell us ways to help Cayden in case your brother takes a while to get back? If your brother can, so can you."

  Karina looks up at me and smiles. "I have to think. And I'm worried about him. He's not as good at magic as he thinks."

  "I'll check the area for him when I leave in a minute." I say, though I doubt it. I rise, leaving the plate of bacon on the chair for her to reach. "Enjoy breakfast. Maybe it'll help you feel better." I climb the stairs, leaving Karina with the plate.

  Everly glares at me as soon as I get back into the kitchen and the aroma of food. "What are you doing?"

  "Gently wrestling the cure out of her?" I ask. At least Karina won't hear me up here.

  "She won't give it to us."

  "Maybe she will. We help her, she might help us. It's worth a shot in case Brett doesn't get back here. I hope he does."

  "Why? He's obnoxious," Cayden says. "Even as a wolf, he bothered me."

  "He bothered me, too," I say. I think back to the legend. "I'll fetch Leonora and see what she has to say. We're close to getting a bunch of answers. Did you hear what she said?" I speak to Aunt May more than anyone.

  "Yes," she says with a sad nod. "I did."

  The look on her face brings me down to earth, killing every ounce of excitement I had about being from some royal Wolf line. Royalty means danger, even in human societies. It means others try to kill you for power. Taking Mythology last year taught me that.

  It means so long as we live, the danger won't end.

  "I can go get Leonora," Cayden says. "You should st—"

  "No!" I shout before he can finish the sentence. "I'll go alone."

  Cayden opens his mouth to speak, but closes it again. He looks like a fish out of water. "Fine," he agrees. "Just so you know, I hate this."

  "I hate this too."

  So with a nod, I gather my coat, wrap it around me, and head out.

  The roads are plowed, so I jog along them to Leonora's hidden drive. Smoke drifts up from the chimney as I approach the cabin, betraying that her parents are home. But Leonora is outside, shuffling around the greenhouse. She walks out with an armload of cut herbs—cilantro and dill, judging from the strong pickle and salsa smell—and pauses as she watches me coming up her drive.

  I motion for her to approach.

  She looks to the house and nods, showing she'll be back. Leonora gives off metallic adrenaline as she runs inside and tells her mother she has to go back out and cut more herbs. She's nervous about whatever I have to tell her. Her mother tells her it's fine and to take her time. Leonora comes back out a few minutes later and walks up. The two of us duck behind a clump of pines to talk.

  I tell her the happenings with Brett earlier that day and my conversation with her parents. Her eyes widen.

  "You think you might be a lost royal?" she asks.

  "Maybe descended from the first Noble Wolf, making me and Aunt May from a pure line," I say. "Most Wolves became that way through infection, or from being descended from an infected person. But not us. That makes us both targets even if we are powerful."

  "I agree," Leonora says. "This Karina girl. I might be able to talk to her." A need fills her eyes, a need to learn about her heritage, even if it's from a dark source.

  "And you might get some hints on how to help Cayden," I say. "In case Brett doesn't come back. We need all the help we can get."

  "I need to improve," Leonora says. "I can't quite hit that altered state of consciousness I need to work real magic."

  "I thought it was all just supposed to be a play?" I ask.

  "Yes. It is. But all the magic happens within a person," Leonora says. "Some witches and warlocks don't even need equipment to work magic. They're that good, but it takes years of practice to reach that point. I feel like I'll never get there."

  "Anyway, your parents are hiding that there are royals here," I say. "They're afraid if they work magic, it'll attract the Savages and dark witches. They're hoping the Savages will move on if we all stay quiet. But it's already too late. The Savage King knows we're here. You need to convince them to come out of hiding and help."

  Leonora gulps. "I'll try."

  "But come with me first," I say, a sense of dread exploding in my gut. "See what you can do. Maybe learn from Karina. Maybe—"

  I sniff the air.

  Burning wood and money float on the breeze.

  A breeze that comes from the general direction of the Lowe cabin.

  The warlock. Karina's father.

  "Brie?" Leonora asks.

  "He's here," I say as the animal within tries to stir. "He will find Cayden and the others." With a lightning bolt, it hits me. "You said witches can do magic without equipment?"

  "If they're advanced, they should. That's what the books say."

  Karina held a hair and focused on it.

  My hair. What else could she have plucked from the cot? And after I said I used it once? It's just like a movie.

  I curse. "Karina might be one. She could have summoned her father. And I left her alone and let her."

  Chapter Sixteen

  "Stay here," I tell Leonora.

  "I'm coming with you." She eyes the greenhouse where I suspect she's keeping her magical equipment in secret.

  "No. You're staying here. You know basic stuff. This warlock has been around Savages for years."

  Hurt flashes over Leonora's features. "I can do something."

  I back away from her. "Not now. Maybe later when you're trained."

  "You shouldn't go, either." Her expression hardens.

  She's right. The warlock is dangerous. I think of those shadows around the trees with Brett's rite, the ones that were only there at the corner of my vision, and shudder. The warlock can do more damage. I suspect he wants to use me to end Cayden. And then the Savages are much closer to destroying me.

  But I won't leave him or the rest of the pack. Maybe Aunt May's right I'm too nice, but it's wrong to leave them.

  "I'm...I might be a lost Wolf royal," I blurt. "I'm powerful and they want me. If I meet the warlock, Cayden won't have to die."

  Turning and bolting, I leave Leonora standing in front of her cabin. She's silent as I run through the woods and the snow, taking a shortcut that leads to the Lowe cabin. She can't catch up. Even in human form, I'm fast.

  "Brie!" Leonora shouts, blowing my cover to her parents.

  But it's too late. I don't care about them anymore. I screwed up. Now I have to fix this before Cayden loses his life. And confront Karina. She must have led the warlock here.

  I find the game trail that leads behind my street. Cayden's house is at the end. The warlock's scent vanishes for a second before returning. He's somewhere ahead and within a mile of the Lowe cabin. I don't know if he knows just where it is, but given Brett's
ability to find me with ease, the father should have no problem.

  Why didn't he track us before?

  I continue down the trail, but no one confronts me. The smell stays the same and I eye the trees for any human figures. With many of the leaves gone, it's easy. My ears pick up every little sound in the woods, every bit of falling snow. A large clump of it topples to the ground.

  I shake my head, refusing to look at it.

  Brett used magic to sneak up on me. The warlock might do the same, and the magic will work through mundane means. A running deer or a flock of birds to distract me.

  Or a passing airplane.

  One flies overhead, lower than usual, and the sound of its engine cuts over everything as it navigates the pale blue sky. I curse under my breath and whirl. I'm alone with this guy out here, and the wind changes direction every second, confusing my sense of smell.

  "Where are you?" I shout. "I won't fall for your games."

  No answer.

  My heart races with panic at the thought of someone stalking me. It's not right. I'm supposed to be the hunter, not the other way around. I can't see the Lowe cabin from here and I don't hear the Lowes coming out to investigate the man's scent. Either the wind carries it away from them, or they're affected by whatever magic Karina worked.

  "I'm here."

  The man's voice, as deep as Brett's but older and more mature, rings out behind me.

  I whirl again.

  The warlock, still wearing his black robe with the red trim, stands fifty feet away, leaning against a tree like he owns the forest. Now that I see him in the daytime and up close, I can see he's an older version of Brett, only without a trace of mercy in his dark eyes. The wind blows from his direction, ruffling his dark hair and blowing his money smell right in my face.

  "You have my daughter," he says. "In a basement, with her wrists tied."

  A chill runs down my spine that has nothing to do with the winter cold. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

  "She's in a dark room, sitting on a mattress," the man continues. "Her wrists are tied with an old rope. I would like to take her back before she comes to harm."

  Now I can speak. "You want to take her back to where Matt can put his hands on her?"

  "Matthew," Mr. Hayde says, "is an idiot. I'm sure we agree on that."

  "Well, yes," I say. I study the man's robe. It could hide weapons. Silver daggers. Toxic herbs. I catch a whiff of them from the robe's deep pockets. The scent wafts out of his left one. I can't smell metal, but I'll assume he has a dagger, too.

  He nods. "Taking Karina was a mistake. She was able to lead me to you. My daughter is a magical prodigy."

  Now I realize. Mr. Hayde sneaked up on me, not the Lowes. Karina had my hair. He wasn't heading for the cabin to begin with. He's asking me where his daughter is. Something doesn't add up.

  "Well, where is she?" Mr. Hayde asked. "She's led me to you, hoping you could tell me her location. Unfortunately, visions are just that. They're not phone calls."

  One of my hairs helped Karina do this. She led her father to me without the use of candles and daggers. She's dangerous, then. Very dangerous.

  "I'm not releasing her to you," I say. Karina's still delusional if she thinks she'll have a good life around the Savages. "You work with Matt and he'll go after her the first chance he gets. The second he doesn't need your help anymore, he'll hurt her. Do you want that for your own child, you sicko?"

  Mr. Hayde balks. "Do you think I'd let the Savages hurt my children?" he asks. "What kind of man do you think I am?"

  "But didn't the Savages kill your wife?"

  "Yes," he says, hardening. "She feared them and tried to curse them away. They found out and destroyed her before she could complete the spell. So I helped the Noble Wolves and the other witches at the time to drive them away from Breck. Without me, you might not be alive today."

  I grasp the nearby tree trunk. "You helped to drive the Savages out of Breck thirteen years ago?"

  "I acted out of revenge at the time. That particular pack would have killed my children next. We had angered them."

  "Then why are you helping the Savages now?" I ask.

  "The Baltic Wolves are not the same pack who destroyed my wife. Matthew is not as intelligent as the old alpha. I can tame him," the man says.

  "Sounds like you're making old mistakes," I say. How could Mr. Hayde have sided with my family in the past? This man is a walking monster. His eyes betray an evil gleam. This is someone who acts for himself. Any alliance he formed with my family thirteen years ago was temporary. Now he's my enemy.

  "I am not," the man says. "The Royal Pack is once again stirring, and it is time to be on the Savage side. They thought the pack they sent here had taken out the last of the Noble Royals thirteen years ago. But through Matthew, the King's human descendant, I could tell them otherwise and win their favor. And if I deliver you to them, I will forever be on the Divine Pack's side. They will protect my children and we will not have to suffer any more deaths. My daughter knows this, but my son is not on the same page."

  "Sounds like a bad plan for both of us," I say. "And your children. What happens if my line dies out?" He's confirmed my suspicions. Aunt May and I are lost royals from the Noble line.

  The man frowns. He almost looks sad. "Then all Nobles will die out. They will lose the fabric holding them together and the ability to infect others. Nobles will lose the ability to shift and will become just like regular humans within a few generations. The only werewolves left in the world will be the Savages."

  "And you want this?"

  "My family has become too intertwined with the Savages escape them," Mr. Hayde says. "You don't understand how much death we've suffered."

  "Then stop working for them." I have to plot my escape. Protecting Cayden is one thing, but going with this man to get handed to the Savage King, whoever he is, is another. We can't let the Noble line end.

  "I cannot," the man says. "I must protect my children, just as you want to protect your alpha."

  He lets those words hang.

  "Is that a threat?" I ask.

  The man nods. "Yes. I want my daughter back. You owe me after I helped drive the Savages from Breck before."

  "I owe you nothing. You voided that deal when you cursed Cayden. Scumbag."

  "You don't know us," Mr. Hayde says.

  "You're not going to hurt Brett, are you?" I ask. He already knows him.

  "I knew my son would try to send my daughter away. He's jealous that we're on good terms and he's not."

  "So she's daddy's little girl?" I ask.

  Mr. Hayde says nothing.

  "And what are you going to do when I don't cooperate and let you hand me over?" I ask.

  Mr. Hayde remains calm, which is what I dread. He reaches into his right robe pocket and draws out a leather bag, a different type than the poison bomb I expected him to have. "This," he says, "contains samples of various hairs I have collected over the years. During your attempted rescue of that ungrateful girl, you wolves left several in the snow for me to collect later."

  Dread curls in my gut like a dangerous snake about to bite. It rears back. "Hairs?"

  "They're useful in magical workings. Especially dark magic."

  "That's great," I say, trying not to gaze in the cabin's direction. So far, no one comes out to find me. The pack doesn't hear us. All I have now is Karina as a bargaining chip. If I lose her, then I lose everything I can use against Mr. Hayde.

  He opens the bag. I can transform and attack, but I won't get far. The scent of the toxic herbs waits. I smell the fuel of a lighter. He'll be able to draw both out in the two seconds it'll take me to shift. Then I have to cross the fifty feet between me and him. Why won't the pack hear us? It's my only other real hope.

  Mr. Hayde pulls out a paper pack big enough to hold a credit card. "I have collected a few black wolf hairs from the snow. There is a superb chance one of them belongs to your alpha. The black wolf with the red hi
ghlights. They could belong to his twin, too, but given I collected them from the spot where he landed, I'm willing to bet they're his."

  It's a threat. "You can curse Cayden even more?"

  Mr. Hayde smiles. "Yes."

  "We can hurt your daughter," I say.

  "But you won't. Not unless you find her first," he says. "You would have to leave me to do my dirty work to do that." Mr. Hayde reaches into the paper bag and draws out a few black hairs. The faint forest scent of Cayden hits me. They're his.

  "If you kill Cayden," I say, "then she won't survive."

  The man maintains his neutral expression. "Nobles don't like to kill humans," he says. "You cling to humanity too much."

  He knows us. He knows how my family is. "And humans don't ever kill people?" I ask.

  Then he flinches. I'm getting to him. I have an idea, and it involves the pack. If I lead him to the cabin, it might spell disaster, but going with him will spell even bigger disaster. Nobles dying out leaves the Savages free to ruin the world within just a few generations. If Mr. Hayde is right, then the Nobles depend on me, because Aunt May is too old to have children. I have to keep our line alive.

  "What will happen when the Savage King has me?" I ask. "I take it I die a horrible death? You know, I'm your daughter's age."

  "Better you than her," Mr. Hayde says.

  "You're doing this to save your own skin. That's how you work. You ally with whoever is the strongest so you can stay alive."

  "Isn't that how the entire world works?"

  I can't deny that. But it shouldn't be that way. Maybe it's the pure Noble in me.

  "Where is my daughter?" he repeats. "You're running out of time to tell me."

  "We have her," I say, "in a basement somewhere." I won't lead him right to Cayden or the others. Why? So he can hurt them? And he will. Karina's more dangerous than I thought and even worse than what Brett thought. She's more powerful than her brother gives her. She and her father might work together to destroy the whole pack.

  But I can lead Mr. Hayde past the cabin. The pack will have to smell him. Maybe he's using Karina to track me alone. She only has my hair.