The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  “You don’t want him in the house,” I say. “Take him to a shed somewhere and don’t stay around him too long. We’ll rotate pack members. Brett here is more dangerous than we thought, even if I’ll have some power over him within hours.”

  Brett rolls over again and groans.

  Remo frowns. “I took about six hours to turn.”

  “Then we have to secure him before then,” I order. “The faster we get information out of him after that, the better.” I try to think of where we could take him. I don’t want him near any of the pack members for too long, or near anyone else, for that matter. “Does anyone know of a good makeshift prison cell?”

  “I don't want him here,” Mr. Russell adds.

  “Neither do I,” his wife adds. “Edwin, you know this town better than we do. Where's a good place to keep him?”

  Edwin scratches his chin. “My landlord never comes around to my rental. We can store him there, as I'm not there most of the time. Can you handle it?” He faces Leonora's parents. This is a test. The air in the room thickens as I realize that.

  Brett curses and rolls over again. I hear his muscles pulling at his bones. The sound is maddening. I doubt Remo and Everly can even hear it.

  “Then we take him there. In a car,” I say. “We need more silver chains that Brett's going to use as a fasion statement.”

  “What about the pair Callie was wearing?” Edwin glares at me.

  Uh, oh. “They're out in the woods, secured to the cement we poured. We can't get them out.” Everly still doesn't know about Callie's problem. Edwin needs to shut up.

  “Unless you have some pickaxes?” Leonora adds. I could thank her.

  We don't have time for this. My rage grows, making my pulse roar in my ears. It might be Brett's presence. Can he really take my lifeforce?

  “Then I will spare some,” Edwin says. “These are chains that took me years to obtain from the Hunters even though we were always good friends.”

  I don't miss the threat. Edwin's told me many times he has longstanding ties with the Hunters of the Noble Order.

  We gather Brett, which is no easy feat since he's still thrashing and cursing every second. But at least they're regular curses and not the ones designed to do harm. But the more I hold Brett's shoulders, the more I think about having to order Cayden away. I reach for him, but I can't feel him anymore. He's nowhere within a few miles.

  Was that a smile from Brett?

  Before I can tell, he lifts his head away from my view. He wants us torn apart. He wants me to face loss and go into the night, as Cayden says. Maybe this is it. I might have to choose between him and saving the Nobles.

  We load Brett into the Lowes' minivan. Everly and I sit in the back with him. Remo gets in the drivers' seat and Leonora sits in the passenger. Brett still thrashes in the backseat, so we have to put him on the floor in a laying position. I force myself to breathe and ignore the mild pressure in my chest, but with Cayden gone, it's not as intense. Cayden's darkness is no longer flowing into me. We're not hurting each other.

  Edwin gets into the minivan with us and instructs us to drive to the other side of Breckenridge. While we do that, I text a couple other pack members—Don and Nan—and order them to meet us at Edwin's address. I hate throwing myself around like this, but right now it's necessary.

  “We'll do guard duty,” I say. “No Wolf or even human will be around Brett for more than a couple hours at a time. If he's in silver chains, he shouldn't be able to break out of them like the Savage King can. And no, the Savage King can't possess him. Brett bragged one time about not having his blood.”

  “That's now to our advantage,” Edwin admits. At least there's not that I'm going to kill you undertone to his voice anymore. But the killer will return if he needs to. And Brett will help that, too.

  “I agree with the plan,” Everly says. “I feel terrible when I'm around him. Like I want to lash out at everybody.” As she speaks, she balls her fists.

  “Isn't that normal?” Remo asks. And he's not joking.

  “Remo, you're always picking on me.”

  “Stop,” I say. “Brett's bringing out the worst in us. The two hour limit. And that might even be too much.”

  Chaining Brett up in Edwin's basement isn't easy. He kicks me twice in his throes and nails Remo, who has to do most of the work. We leave him under the stairs to seethe and swear, and when Don and Nan arrive at the old house, the rest of us leave as fast as we can.

  Chapter Seven

  “I've been reading about vampires.”

  Leonora pours herself some tea once we drop Edwin off and go to my house. I suggested coming back here for two reasons: one, Edwin wanted to go back home and two, Cayden just might come here. But he's a no show, leaving me filled with disappointment. I'm away from Brett now and starting to feel better. Twenty minutes ago, I sent him a text saying he's clear to come back. For now.

  “Vampires? Are you kidding?” I ask. I wonder what Everly would say, but she and Remo have run back to their house to check for Cayden.

  Aunt May walks into the kitchen, just home from her shift at the store, and eyes the kettle on the stove. It's been an hour since we chained Brett up and left him with Don and Nan, who have texted me, saying they're staying upstairs.

  “Not the kind that suck blood. I don't even know if they're real.” Leonora sips the steaming tea and walks across the kitchen to the table. “I've been reading about psychic vampires. When you practice magic, you learn a lot about, well, energy and spirits and stuff. That includes the energy living things have around them. And some books I've read says there are people who suck the lifeforce from other people. Some of them don't know they do it, but others train to suck energy from people on purpose. I think we just got proof of that concept.”

  “You're saying Brett's a psychic vampire?” I'm not shocked.

  “When I was around him, I felt drained. There was nothing good inside me. These people make you want to get away from them. I know my parents felt it, too. If anyone would train to do something like that, it's Romulus's cult.”

  “This is all very interesting,” Aunt May says. She leans against the counter and sips her own tea. “Leonora, is there any way to guard against this?”

  “There could be,” Leonora says. “It involves magic, of course. I've been texting my parents and it might be a good idea for the whole pack to meet at the cabin so we can do a rite that will protect us all. My mother says there are ways to put up barriers around ourselves. Edwin says so.”

  My stomach turns over. Edwin's showed his true colors. “No offense, but our sessions haven't even contacted Remus again,” I say. I've been trying every other night for the past two weeks, meditating in a circle with the Russell Coven, but that warm, altruistic feeling hasn't returned. Only pulling Alex out of the pond did it. Helping my enemy. What am I supposed to do? Help Brett?

  “This is different and something anyone can learn to do. I think.” Leonora looks at me and Aunt May. “It might even be a good idea for Noah and Olivia to come, too, just in case Brett goes after them.”

  “Cayden needs to show up, too,” I say. “If I can find out where he is.” I send him yet another text and tell him the deal in as many abbreviations as I can manage. Putting up a barrier around ourselves will help and we might not have to work apart anymore.

  Cayden texts me back. Guarding Brett.

  He's gone to Edwin's house. I should have known and not told him that part. And I know why he's done it. Cayden, despite no longer being alpha, still wants to be the protector. That's the last thing I need. Even while we're apart, Brett will do a number on him. Cayden and I are the most vulnerable to his ability to drain.

  What are you doing there?

  I saw what he did to you. Don and Nan are with me.

  “Is that Cayden?” Aunt May asks.

  “Yeah. We had to separate because when Brett was draining us, we were affecting each other since we're mates, you know. He made Cayden go back to where he was
mentally when he first lost his parents. And that almost made things go really bad for me.”

  “Well, mates always affect each other's moods,” Aunt May says, “and you and Cayden are very close.”

  “I don't feel anything at this distance, but I want Cayden away from Brett,” I say, texting him again. Step away from Brett. “At least it'll be hard for him to resist that.”

  Leonora peeks at my phone. “I'm not super close to Cayden, but I know he doesn't like being told what to do.”

  I can't win ao I pace around the kitchen. “Brett's making him act like a child.”

  “Brie, you need to breathe,” Aunt May says. “Some people know how to get under your skin, and Brett's one of them. I haven't seen him before and even I know that.”

  Fine, Cayden texts.

  And that's it. I wait for an update from Cayden, but the phone stays quiet. “Well, it's too late to do anything else today,” I say. “Brett will probably finish turning by morning. And...I forgot about Callie!” Panic sweeps over me as I fiddle with the phone again and find the answers I need.

  At hotel, Callie says. Staying away from the other Hunters. Staying away from Earl too.

  Is it working? I ask.

  Seems to be. Felt funny around Earl once I got home. Left.

  Callie's tougher than what I give her, despite being human. It's as if she's prepared for the idea of getting possessed since I told her about it. I just hate that now she has to deal with it alone.

  But I can't let the Savage King take me. He wants me to feel bad for Callie and take the burden on myself.

  Callie gives me the address to her hotel, but I can't go and visit her now. I resume pacing around the kitchen. “Callie's pretty much exiled.”

  “Brie, breathe,” Aunt May says. Her bright blue eyes are dulling with sadness. She never wanted this fate for me.

  “I am breathing. Or I'd pass out.”

  She walks over to me and wraps her arm around me. I eye her blue sweater and take in her comfort. She's the last person I have to lean on right now. Until we tame Brett, that is.

  Cayden and I can't truly be together until we win.

  “You need to sit down. You can't solve everyone's problems no matter how hard you try,” she says.

  “I don't really have a choice, do I?”

  “Well, things are complicated. If I could be alpha, I would do it,” Aunt May says.

  She's not fit for the role. Aunt May spent most of her life suppressing her real nature, just as my father did. “Then we gather tomorrow,” I say. She's right that I need rest or I'm going to make a stupid decision. And maybe Cayden, having spent time away from Brett, will feel better by then.

  What if I have to be cruel to Brett? What if I can't order him around even after he turns?

  I don't know if I'm good or evil anymore and that scares me.

  * * * * *

  “I did some calling around for you,” Leonora says through the dark beyond my eyelids. “And I brought a surprise.”

  I force my eyelids to open. I'm in my bed. It's morning. Leonora stands right there in my room. She's changed her clothes back to her old checkered skirt, as if she, too, has reverted back to her old, suppressed life. I sit up, blankets wrapped around me, and blink in the pink morning light.

  “How did you get in?” I ask.

  “Your aunt? She made me coffee and after I got done peeing from it, I called around to set up another meditation session. This time, we're going to protect ourselves from Brett. We all saw how he made everyone terrible yesterday.”

  “Leonora, you're awesome. I owe you more coffee,” I say.

  “No,” she says, holding up a hand and turning her freckles down.

  At least we seem to be in better moods today. “Brett?” I ask. “He's still in Edwin's basement?”

  “Well, maybe I should let you get dressed and not watch you before I talk, because that's creepy,” Leonora says. “I feel better after not being around him, but I took hours to get normal again. I agree with your plan about not being around him for too long at a time. Your pack members are all snapping at each other.”

  “No pun intended?” I have to call Cayden. Maybe the episode has passed for him, too, and he feels better.

  “None intended.” She leaves me to dress.

  I do and shower in a hurry. Once downstairs, Aunt May and Leonora, who are sitting at the kitchen table, give me the deal.

  “We meet at eleven this morning,” Leonora says.

  “But it's Monday,” I point out.

  Aunt May sips her coffee. The whole kitchen smells of it. “I think you can skip school for one day. I'll write an excuse for you.”

  I can't believe I'm still worried about school. “Guess we're all skipping,” I say. “I'll tell Noah--”

  “I already told him about the meeting. My parents think it's a good idea he and Olivia come, too, in case Brett tries to target them. Brett's seen them before and knows they're close to you.”

  “Oh. That's good.” Noah will be happy about that. If he and Olivia are around Brett at all, or if Brett somehow gets out, he could hurt them or make them turn on each other. And Olivia has lots of potential to go backwards. “Is Brett turned?”

  “He stopped thrashing and is asleep, so yes.”

  I don't know whether to feel relieved or disgusted that the pack is tainted with his presence now. Maybe he'll be like Mr. Saffron and not participate. That's fine.

  Aunt May and I cook breakfast, which does some good at calming my nerves. And better yet, Cayden knocks on the door once we're finishing up. By then, the sun is all the way up. Brett's stopped sucking the life from my mate, so things must be better now. I rush to the door and open it, but instead of a smile, Cayden's almost grimacing.

  I feel the darkness and the pressure too late. Cayden's still in a bad place. Standing in the doorway, I suck in a breath and try to dispel the pressure. Romulus is already perched above me, ready to strike. I can't let him.

  “What happened?” I ask, stomach dropping.

  “I followed your orders and got away from Brett, but I still feel like crap,” he says. “Everyone else felt better after getting away from him, but not me.” He flicks a hair away from his eye. Cayden's almost glaring. My throat dries as I read the look in them. He's resentful. Sad. Angry. And he smells of adrenaline, of that anger I fear.

  “Is it the curse?” I ask.

  “I bet that has a lot to do with why Brett affected me more than anyone else,” Cayden says. “Makes Brett more effective on me, or something.” He lingers there, shifting leg to leg on the porch.

  “Come in and have some breakfast. That might help,” I say. “Brett's taking your lifeforce and that's why you're dealing with this. Eating might restore some of that. And don't go near him again if he does this to you.”

  But Cayden balks and backs away. “I'm sorry and I know I'm not myself right now, but I'm pissed off. We're not supposed to order each other around in this relationship.”

  I suck in a sharp breath.

  This is about yesterday when I ordered him away from Brett. Cayden's dealing with all his insecurities all over again. Brett's wounded him severely. He knew which wound would hurt the worst.

  “It's the curse. You still have it and Brett had more of an effect on you because of that,” I say, throat dry.

  “Why are we even trying?” Cayden asks with a shrug.

  I can't believe this. “Don't start this again. Cayden, Brett's doing this to us.” The pressure increases in my chest as Cayden's despair and anger bleed over into me. Despite this, we're still mates. If we're around each other much longer, the Savage King will pounce. Then he'll destroy Cayden first, if his possessing me doesn't turn Cayden Savage right away. “You need to go to the session the Russells are having today. They'll help you feel better and get rid of his influence. Or maybe you need to eat and get your energy back up.”

  Cayden sighs and shakes his head. “Brie, I'm not doing well with all this.”

  I
'm shaking. I sense Aunt May and Leonora behind me, hanging back in the kitchen. They both smell of adrenaline, too. “You are going to the session this morning. Eleven,” I order. He'll thank me later. “Until then, we have to keep away from each other. Go!” My vision blurs as tears invade the corners of my eyes.

  “Fine,” Cayden snaps, turning his back..

  I watch Cayden stalk across the street, walking with almost no sound. He vanishes around the neighbor's house and disappears into the woods behind the building. As he leaves, the pressure in my chest eases bit by bit. I lean against the doorframe as Aunt May approaches from behind.

  “It's Brett doing this. This is not your fault,” she says, which is exactly what I need to hear. If I let myself think what may be the truth—that it's me—it's over for all of us.

  * * * * *

  “How's your shoulder?” I ask Noah. I meet him on the long, wooded drive that leads up to Leonora's cabin, a place he hasn't been too often. He walks with Olivia and his arm is out of that black brace for the first time.

  “Well, I can swing it a little. So that's good, right?” I ask. “So we're going to learn to protect ourselves from this Brett guy. Since I don't want another busted shoulder, that's a great idea.”

  “We should have brought Ellie, too,” I say, walking beside them. I sniff and smell Aunt May and Leonora walking well behind me. “And Mr. Saffron, but he's still freaked out over turning. He is not Wolf material.”

  “I think he's started drinking,” Olivia says. “The guy looks hung over when he comes into school every morning.”

  “Don't tell me that,” I say. Just thinking of what I've done to my Drama teacher will bring the pressure back.

  “Sorry. I forgot about that problem.” Though that snide tone is still there, Olivia's trying to control it. She gets an A for effort.

  The three of us walk together towards the cabin. My throat dries when I see Alex standing outside near the front door, decked out in full Hunter gear. He's donned his silver studded hat and leather coat today, and when he turns to face me, I hear daggers shifting in leather sheaths. Alex's gaze hardens and he gives me a curt nod.