The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  But Abigail is still part of my pack. The protective drive sweeps over me again. It's my job to protect her.

  “No!” I shout at Callie.

  She stares at me, silver dagger in hand, confused. What am I doing? She wants to kill me.

  Cayden recovers and tackles Abigail from the side. Both go down, leaving me and Callie standing there. Cayden's body snaps and pops. He's shifting.

  And so is Abigail. Her form twists and contorts as white fur sprouts over dark skin. She growls, snapping at Cayden with her elongating snout. They roll around each other, hands turning to paws as clothes fall away. He's still protecting me. The whole world turns to battling light and darkness. The dark spirits are trying to crush Cayden. All they have to do is punch through our protectors and he's done.

  Callie hovers the two of them, now full Wolves. Fur flies. Claws draw droplets of blood. Cayden growls with more ferocity than I've ever heard. Callie trembles as she holds the silver dagger over the Wolves, waiting for a good strike. Tears gather at the corner of her eyes. She didn't imagine things turning out this way.

  Neither did I.

  “Get back!” I wrap my arms around Callie, leaving Cayden to hold his own. Pulling her into the trees, I prepare to shift and join the fight. The protection on Cayden won't last forever. Dark pulses race under my skin as Mr. Hayde's spirits try to strike. Warmth battles for space.

  And then air zips as it parts. Before I realize what the sound is, I yank Callie back even farther. We fall back as a bolt impales the tree where I stood a second before. Alex. He's seen us.

  And then, human footfalls follow, cutting over the growling and snapping. Neither Wolf is coming out on top.

  If I shift now, I'll spend valuable seconds in pain. Alex will shoot me. And then it's all over.

  He already knows what I am.

  “What's—” Callie starts, but then she looks at the tree. “Uncle Alex!”

  He could have hit her.

  And as I rise, I see him running towards us, crossbow loaded and ready. And with a hardened scowl, he raises the weapon to point at my heart.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I dodge behind the tree as the crossbow clicks, sending another dagger of death straight towards me. At the same time, Abigail yelps as Cayden bites into her.

  The bolt thunks into the tree.

  “Brie!” Callie shouts, running behind me.

  “You asshole!” I shout at Alex, even as Cayden and Abigail continue to fight. Alex can't hit my mate. He might hit Abigail. He won't shoot at Cayden. I hope.

  Cayden yelps in pain. The dark spirits. They're dealing punches through the protective spirits now. But he keeps fighting, pinning Abigail to the ground and tearing into the back of her neck. She bucks him off. Cayden takes a breath of relief as the darkness backs off. I beg Alex not to shoot him.

  His target is me.

  Me, and Callie.

  I can't see Alex past the tree we stand behind. Callie, panting in terror, fishes inside her Hunter coat for another weapon. A silver dagger isn't likely to take down a human.

  Cayden and Abigail bolt into the trees, Abigail snapping at Cayden. The sounds of their fight continue, farther away, as they collide again.

  “You can't shoot us!” I shout. “I'm the last Noble Royal.”

  “You are not,” Alex shouts. “Your aunt remains. She will carry on the Nobles.” He steps closer. Alex doesn't fear his niece, but I hear regret in his steps. He doesn't want to shoot us, but the strong, determined tone of his steps tells me he will. "Callie. I know about your injury, and you know the Hunter law."

  My chest fills with hollow terror. He figured it out anyway?

  And with his words, Callie seizes my arm.

  “Let Callie leave,” I demand. I won't step out from behind the tree. The creaking of his crossbow tells me he already has it aimed at my location. He'll shoot, and he's not likely to miss. “You can't kill a human. It's wrong.”

  “She won't be human much longer.”

  I mutter a curse. Abigail and Alex planned to catch us both here. They know we're working together.

  “I'm fine!” Callie shouts, drawing her own crossbow from her coat. “It was just a scratch! Not a bite!”

  “You know the rules, Callie. We can't take the risk.” Alex's voice drops to the center of the earth. “I'll make it fast.”

  To the left, Abigail bolts deeper into the woods. In her desperation, her limp vanishes. And Cayden, bloody around the ear, gives chase. And as he does, I sense the warring light and dark go with him.

  The protective spirits are leaving me here with Alex. It's me and her against this lunatic.

  I eye Callie.

  She nods.

  We have to kill him. I have to help kill a human. Already, I feel the curtain of night descending again. Romulus is back. He didn't leave forever, and now he's salivating at his near victory.

  I smell my own metallic adrenaline.

  “We have to run,” I rasp at Callie.

  She nods, chin quivering.

  We dart away from Alex.

  A click follows and another bolt flies, splitting the air. I tilt my head to the side, and the bolt flies between me and Callie. It sails through quivering pine needles and vanishes.

  Alex gives chase.

  In the distance, Cayden continues to pursue Abigail. He'll kill her for me. And he might suffer or even die for it.

  “I'm delivering a mercy,” Alex forces. “Either one of you could kill. We can't allow that. You know the code—”

  Callie pants as she runs, bogged down by her leather jacket. She's not gaining distance on Alex and I have to slow down so she can keep pace. “Let me carry you,” I hiss.

  I let her cut in front of me and I pick her up, throwing her over my shoulder so she's facing behind us. “Go!” she screams.

  Even without looking, I can tell Alex is readying the crossbow. Bolts slither against each other as he loads them. I hear at least five, no, ten. He's going to shoot and then he's going to kill. And it won't be an easy death for either of us.

  But if I kill him, Romulus returns. He takes over. And Callie still dies. I run, but I can't move at top speed while carrying her. Alex gives chase. The trees are thin here, separated by boulders and expanses of rocky ground.

  “Keep going!” Callie shouts. She struggles to dig in her coat for her weapon, but that's impossible while she's slumped over my shoulder. We need cover, like the crater that led to the pond—

  The ice.

  The thin ice, that a human can't see. If I can kill Alex without actually being the one to kill him—

  I make a sharp left, carrying myself farther from Cayden and Abigail. It pains me to leave him where the dark spirits can attack. Dread fills my body. But I push through it. I can't help Cayden if I don't help myself first.

  “What are you doing?” Callie asks.

  “You'll see. Trust me.”

  I wait for the dark curtain to come down over me, but it stays away. This might work. I repeat the mantra in my head as I run. We're escaping. I won't kill a human. I'm good. It has to work. The ground slopes down ahead. Shelter.

  Alex fires. “Stay still! I'm giving you both a mercy!”

  “You don't want to do this!” Callie shouts.

  But Alex fires. I bank to the right, taking her with me, as the bolt misses us by inches. And then he fires again, but I'm at the pond. Callie screams as I run down the steep hill at full force, approaching the ice. My legs protest as I struggle to keep my balance. Callie's throwing me off. The ice ahead is several inches thick still, but a dark spot to the left reveals a weak area. Alex might not see it.

  “Do what I say,” I tell Callie. Reaching the bottom and the edge of the pond, I stop. It's a big pond, fifty feet across. I hope it's deep enough to swallow a man. Even I can't see through to the bottom.

  “What are you doing?” Callie asks, pointing her crossbow at the top of the hill. “We need higher ground. Alex could snipe us.”

 
“I need him down here,” I say. But Callie has a point I hadn't thought of. “I'll listen and point to his location. He'll try to circle if he's smart, and then when I say, you shoot him.”

  Callie trembles. “I don't want to do this. What did I get into?”

  I lower my voice to what I hope is a soothing tone. “Hey. I understand."

  She smiles at me. We'll go down fighting together. But then a new idea hits me. “I have to look weak and do something dangerous.”

  Even now, the Hunter's footsteps approach. As I predicted, he's circling the pond, staying well back. Alex wants to surprise us from the opposite angle. I turn and point, and Callie swings the crossbow in that direction. I wish her vision was as good as mine. Then we'd have a good chance.

  “What are you doing to do?” Callie asks.

  “Hide,” I order her. “Behind that boulder.” I spot one sticking out of the mud and melting snow beside the edge of the pond. The whole crater's made of them. “I'll lure him down. He has to get on the ice. It's the best chance we've got.”

  I hope Callie can hit him but I know the chances are slim. While Alex continues to circle, I walk out to the thin ice, knowing he could shoot me any second.

  The cold will have a hard time killing me. I hope. I shudder an anticipation of what I have to do. This has to look real. And I could die doing this. Cayden won't be able to bail me out, but it's my job to protect him, anyway.

  “What are you doing?” Callie asks, but her tone tells me she already knows.

  I reach the dark spot. It reminds me of the darkness ready to consume me if I mess this up even a little. Alex has to kill himself. I can't take part. Not like I did with Mr. Hayde and Mr. Saffron.

  I jump on the ice. It cracks, sending deadly spider webs across the surface. I point my heels into it with my second jump, and the ice shifts under my feet. Water rises as chunks come apart like a deadly gate opening to an underworld.

  It takes everything I have not to jump out of the way. I could. But the ice opens, and the cold depths suck down my feet, stabbing into me like a thousand knives. I'm sinking into cold death and Cayden's not here to help. Callie has to watch. But she stays silent.

  I scream, hoping Alex hears.

  I plunge...plunge...my head goes underwater and the black and blue dark presses against my head, invading my ears with a demon-like gurgle. I kick, but I can't touch the bottom. The sun sparkles overhead, begging me to kick to the surface, but I hold my breath, hoping my body can withstand this. Cold stabs at me through every angle, seeping into my coat and covering my skin with pain. I thrash, trying to cast it away, but it's no use. Cayden screams in my head with worry. He knows I'm in danger. His panic flows into me. Mine flows to him. Closing my eyes for a second, I sense the wind from a chase. He's still pursuing Abigail.

  I wonder, for a second, if Romulus will come back after this.

  My fingers go numb. Warmth flees. The hole. I'm just two feet from it, and I can get out easily. It won't freeze over this late in the year. But I don't. Alex has to approach.

  And he is.

  Vibrations meet my ears, traveling through the ice and water, and I know he's running down the hill, salivating at his easy prize. Then his feet meet ice, and I spot a dark shadow approaching.

  My lungs start to burn.

  I might have the lung capacity of an Olympian, but no more. In a few minutes, I'll drown just like anyone else.

  Alex steps forward, slowing and using caution. I sense tension in his steps. He doesn't want to fall through, and that's what I'm counting on. Ten seconds pass. The burning makes me flinch. I can't do this. But I also can't leave Callie to deal with him on her own. My whole body starts going numb. If I don't drown, the cold will get me.

  He takes a single step forward. And stops again.

  I pump my legs, rising to the surface. The shimmering border waits, luring me to my death. Then I break it, gasping for breath, as Alex stands over me, stunned. His mouth drops open, but he's fast, and he raises his crossbow to point at my face.

  Chapter Twenty

  A bow clicks, and a bolt sails into Alex's chest. It impales leather and thunks into something hard. Alex is wearing a protective vest. He backpedals, glances at the bolt sticking out of his chest, and faces Callie's hiding spot.

  “Leave her alone!” Callie shouts. Her feet thud as she emerges from her hiding spot.

  “Callie!” I grip the ice, struggling to climb out, but even with my strength it's difficult. There's nothing to grasp. The ice continues to crack all around me. Everything blurs as I try to blink the cold water from my eyes.

  “Don't shoot her. We need the Noble Royals," Callie continues. She appears on my right, a pink and brown blob, aiming the crossbow at Alex's heart. Her expression is hardened. Confident.

  Alex steps forward, aiming at her in return. The air smells of adrenaline from them both. I scramble to get out of the ice, forgetting all about Romulus. Callie doesn't have a chance. More ice cracks, closer and closer to Alex, as his finger curls around the trigger of his crossbow. He screws up his face as if in pain. “Sorry,” Alex mutters, shaking.

  No.

  I splash frigid water on him. It pools around his feet. The distraction is enough to make Alex look down, and enough for me to throw my upper body down beside him. I'm trying to get out, I tell myself. Just trying to get out.

  The ground below Alex cracks.

  Callie shoots again. A second bolt lodges into his vest, and the force is enough to make him lose his balance. Alex goes down, and his fall finishes the job. The ice roars and breaks under us both.

  He goes down, flailing, and drops his crossbow.

  I'm just trying to get out.

  Alex splashes inches from me, leather coat billowing as he goes under. I kick and propel myself to the surface, to where Callie waits to help me out. My arms and legs have merged with the cold. I can no longer feel them. Behind me, Alex surfaces and splashes, his crossbow gone.

  “Callie. You don't know what you're doing,” he shouts, already hoarse.

  I reach up to her and she grabs my arms, pulling. Tears fill her eyes. She drops her own crossbow, which slides away as she digs fingernails into my arms. Pain comes to life. I'm still here. My leg cramps as I lift my knee out of the water and put my shoe on the edge of the ice. It cracks more, but Callie doesn't leave. She refuses to abandon me.

  “Callie,” Alex says, but the hopelessness in his voice hits me in the core.

  I'm just trying to get out.

  The dark curtain falls as I rise from the cold depths, and pressure builds in my chest. Romulus laughs. Callie should let go. She should run.

  I don't want Alex to die.

  He's not a bad man. He's just trying to protect the Noble Order. The Hunter is just trying to do his job. Callie and I will help him get out.

  The pressure eases as I push Romulus back. “Hold on!” Callie shouts, shuddering as she backpedals on the ice.

  I push with my foot and rise from the water, flopping onto the ice. Nerves spring to life, poking and stabbing at me, as the world turns a whole rainbow of colors. I catch my breath. “We have to help Alex,” I force.

  The dark curtain snaps back in disappointment and rage. But it hovers somewhere above me, waiting.

  Callie nods to me but doesn't rise from her crouching position. “He still might die.” Her chin wobbles. Alex might still try to kill us even if we save him. He grasps at ice with gloved hands, losing his grip and sliding into the water again and again. He pants. Splashes. Each breath takes a vicious wheezing tone.

  If we don't get him out, Romulus will take over. And he'll kill Callie, the new pack members, and Cayden. And then he'll move on to Colling and beyond.

  Shivering, I crawl in a circle, onto sturdy ice. My body's recovering. The nerves in my hand come back to life. Warmth pushes back the numbness. "We have to get him out."

  Alex slips under again. His hat floats on the surface. My heart aches as he reaches onto the ice, kicks, and break
s the water again. Already he's weakening. The metallic scent of terror fills the air. Alex looks at me, death already fading the color of his eyes. He's already given up.

  “Alex, hold on." I crawl towards him as Callie drops beside me, spreading out her body weight to avoid breaking the ice. But this part of the pond is still sturdy. Still safe. Whatever I decide, she's on board.

  The ice cooperates and holds. Alex watches us, unfocused and already losing his senses. A human, even a strong one, isn't nearly as resistant to the cold as I am.

  “Grab on,” I puff, approaching. “Grab on and I'll pull you out.” I extend my arms, and as Alex grabs on, holding on for dear life, Romulus growls in rage. The sound reverberates through my head.

  I can't resist a smile.

  “What are you grinning about?” Alex manages.

  I didn't realize he had a sense of humor until now.

  "Grab my arm," Callie says, offering hers. Alex does as he's told, anchoring himself to both of us.

  Digging the toe of my shoes into tiny cracks in the ice, I pull myself backwards, inch by inch, and Alex comes with me. I do most of the work, but Callie helps. My strength's returning. I won't let him go.

  "I've got this," I tell Callie. "We'll need your jacket."

  Without a word, she releases Alex once he's halfway out of the water. Callie stands and removes her Hunter jacket, ready to offer her Uncle Alex a blanket. He's not out of danger yet.

  But at least he'll be in no shape to fight after this.

  He emerges from the water, legs struggling to bend, jacket dripping puddles all over the ice. Alex's beard sticks to his flesh. Ice crystals cling to his mustache, shorn off the edges of the ice. He shivers uncontrollably. At least he's still doing that.

  I let him lean on me as we stagger to shore, and by then Alex is with it enough to seethe in pain. He flops onto the muddy ground, where Callie waits to throw her coat over him. She stands in her waitress dress now, and a few silver daggers are stuffed into her pockets. I stand and remove my own coat, throwing it over Alex as well. With gray eyes, he surveys us both.