The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  “Brett, I'm sorry,” I say.

  He sighs. “It is what it is. You got my sister out of there and now I need to return my end of the bargain. After you turn her.” Now, instead of concern, there's nothing but revenge in his words.

  I didn't want it to be this way. Brett was supposed to warm up but he's still a block of ice.

  “I hate you,” Karina says to her brother, still unable to muster the strength to lift her head. “You always wanted to stop me.”

  “I'll do it,” Cayden says.

  Whether it's an apology to Brett or his way of trying to be the fixer, I can't tell. But with Brett here, I can't risk the darkness taking Cayden back over again. He drops Karina to the snow, not bothering to be gentle, and she seethes in pain as her head hits the ground.

  And I'm not going to knock her out. I never thought I'd be angry for Brett's sake, but I am. And Cayden's sake, because he yet again has to commit an act that haunts him.

  But the alternative is worse. Cayden once again removes his jacket as we watch. Remo pulls Leonora to his chest, averting her eyes, and I almost do the same. While I've seen Cayden bare and enjoy the experience every time, this is different. Cayden turns away from me and removes his pants, throwing them to the ground, and then his shirt.

  And then he shifts, molding into the godlike form of a beautiful black wolf, in just a seconds' time. Cayden gives one angry growl and marches over to Karina, who tries to rise and escape, but it's too late. Her eyes cross. She's still suffering the effects of the concussion and might even have brain damage.

  Cayden bites into her shoulder with the crunch of teeth against bone, delivering a wound guaranteed to infect. I turn away as the black wolf growls at Karina one more time and Brett watches, absent.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Thoughts of Aunt May follow as Brett begins to carry his sister, now unconscious again, over our territory line. He still stays well ahead of us. My stomach turns and I grab onto Cayden, now back in human form. I lean over and dry heave, digging my nails into his flesh.

  “Brie. It will probably be okay,” Cayden says.

  “You think so?” I straighten up and face him as Everly, Remo, and Leonora stop. Brett continues straight ahead, a good hundred feet in front of us, because that's the distance he's not doing his life-draining magic on us. I almost feel bad that the guy can't help it. He sure can't draw any life or warmth from his sister or the cult he's called his family for a while. “The Colling Wolves--”

  “None of us felt the jolt of a Wolf dying,” Remo says. “Remember when our parents...I don't even want to say it.”

  “Your father was the alpha and we all felt that,” I say. “Aunt May is not.”

  Cayden takes both my arms and holds me in a warm gaze I'm shocked to see so soon after he's bitten Karina. “She's still a Royal Wolf. If any of the Colling Wolves died, we might not have felt that unless it was maybe Lawrence. I'm sure your aunt would have given off a strong signal to the rest of us.”

  “She faced those Hunters by herself!” I'm losing it. Though I'm supposed to be in control, I'm slipping.

  Ahead, Brett stops, still holding his sister, but he doesn't approach. It's not that I need him to make me feel any worse. The situation by itself is doing a great job.

  “Edwin wouldn't want to kill the only Noble Royal he considers pure,” Everly says. “It's clear he favors your aunt.”

  There's Debbie Downer again. “It's that obvious.” I should feel hurt, but relief courses through me, relaxing my muscles.

  “Sorry, but he's all into woo-woo tradition,” Everly says.

  “He has his reasons.” It hurts for me to say it.

  “Don't say that,” Cayden urges. He kisses me on the forehead. “You're not evil and don't let anyone make you feel like that.”

  I snort, remembering yesterday and our fight. But Brett helped that along, too. “We still have the problem of meeting the Colling Wolves and avoiding Edwin's assassins.” I blurt it out before I can think which just makes the punch ten times worse.

  Brett turns, still holding his sister. He averts his gaze from her bloody shoulder. But Karina is beginning to twitch as if she's just dreaming. I know better.

  “I can help you with that,” Brett says. “We may not have anything of Alex's or Edwin's, but we can try to get something of his. A hair would even work. Once we have that I'll be able to zero in on him a lot better.”

  Brett wants revenge on Edwin, too. He's the one who crushed his hand, even if Cayden and I suggested it. Maybe after that he'll want revenge on me but we have to go with this right now.

  “How do we get something of Edwin's?” Leonora asks, shifting leg to leg.

  Brett shouts from his place a hundred feet ahead. “Easy. Steal one of his hairs out of his favorite old dude chair. Or get some blood. Anything.”

  “Good luck on that,” I say.

  “Edwin will expect that. And he doesn't have much hair,” Leonora says. “He always vacuums the chair after he sits in it, so I doubt we'll get anything useful.”

  “Good point,” I say. “Leonora, if you want to step out of this, I get it. I know he's your great uncle--”

  But Leonora hardens. “The more I'm around him the more I hate him. And I don't care that I'm related to him.”

  Ahead, Karina groans and thrashes in Brett's arms.

  He offers no soothing words.

  A lot of families might be falling apart today.

  “Well, we can try. Even some of the fibers might have traces of his skin on them. But there's always the chance I could get someone else's skin by mistake,” Brett says.

  “My parents never use that rocking chair,” Leonora says. “And I don't.”

  “Then it's our best bet,” I tell her. “I might be able to smell the difference. The Russell cabin. I'll know ahead of time if anyone's there.”

  * * * * *

  It's dangerous to go back to the Russell cabin. I know that. But the only saving grace to the plan is that Edwin probably won't expect us to go there unless he expects Brett to side with us. He could predict either one, I guess.

  Once we're two miles away, sniffing tells me nothing since I'm sure the Hunters are using that cloaking spray that Alex always carries. Maybe Edwin is, too. He always smells like stale, dried herbs (and Leonora laughed when I told her this.) Neither does my hearing.

  “Brie, we might need to get away from each other again,” Cayden says as we find a narrow trail through the woods. “If we have to work with Brett.”

  I look ahead. At least Brett is staying well ahead of us, too far away to draw on our lifeforce. But if we're going to work together, keeping that hundred feet between us isn't going to work. Brett continues to carry his sister towards the Russell cabin, his torture site, and he hunches his shoulders even though it's still a couple of miles away.

  “Stop,” I order Brett.

  He whirls. Karina thrashes in his grasp and bites her lip so hard that blood runs down her chin. It's gross, but after what she did I have no sympathy for her, unlike Alex. Karina has no redeeming qualities.

  “Put her down somewhere safe,” I say. “You're going to stay here with her and the rest of us will head to the cabin and see if we can find anything of Edwin's. Leonora's parents might be there and they'll help us if we give them the deal.”

  “What about the Colling Wolves?” Everly asks.

  Even Cayden looks to me with questioning. I sniff again, trying to find any trace of them in our territory, but nothing. Not yet.

  “They'll take longer than we did to get back here,” I say. I hope. Pulling out my phone, I check it for something, anything. None of the Colling Wolves have texted me yet, letting me know the other half of the pack is okay. What if I really did--

  “Brie. You're screwing up your face like you're having those thoughts again,” Cayden says.

  “It's that obvious.” I face him.

  “Yes. That obvious. And I can feel that shadow growing in you when you do that. If you're
thinking about your aunt, know she's capable of dealing with things herself. You don't give her enough credit.”

  I'm glad he's here to stop me from jumping on that dark spiral at least when we're not near Brett. “You and me should go ahead to the cabin and leave Brett here with the others. Everly and Remo will stay just in case Karina wakes up or tries something.”

  I know Brett can hear me but he doesn't protest. Instead, he puts his sister down underneath a pine tree, where she lies on a bed of brown, dry pine needles. Karina rolls over in pain while Brett turns away, sits, and stares into the trees. Even though I'm too far from him to feel the effects, I can almost feel the storm raging inside of him.

  “Come on,” I say. “We can't linger if we're going to do this.” I know if I stand here worrying about the others, we're doomed, in more ways than one.

  * * * * *

  The Russell cabin is quiet when we get there. Cayden and I have left Brett behind with the others watching over him (from a distance) and gone ahead to the cabin. Despite the meditation session earlier that day, the place is empty and dead, and I don't even smell Leonora's parents inside. But that doesn't mean anything.

  “It's too quiet,” I say from our hiding spot just off the yard. I inch closer to Cayden, who once again gives off warmth and energy. Just being away from Brett is making a huge difference.

  “I don't like it either.”

  We look at each other, wondering what the heck to do. None of the birds are even chirping in the trees, or around the greenhouse, which is so usual around here that the absence of it puts me on edge. The circle of logs, which we stand behind, stand empty and the fire pit still gives off traces of smoke. Beyond it, the cabin lies low in the trees like it's hiding. A tiny bit of smoke rises from the chimney. I can still pick up traces of the people who sat here earlier today. Noah. Olivia. And of course, Cayden.

  “I don't think we should stay here,” I say.

  “Where else can we go?” Cayden wraps his arm around me and pulls me to his body. “None of us can go back home and if we leave now, we'll have no real way to fight Edwin.”

  He wants to go in there. I can't believe it. Well, yes I can. This is Cayden and he'll do anything to keep me out of danger. But just silence and the faint sound of dying embers floats out of the house. I don't know what the deal is in there.

  But I know what I need to do and it's to give Cayden his purpose back. It will help us both survive what's to come when we work beside Brett, who won't get better any time soon.

  “Cayden, maybe you should go in first?” I ask, forcing the words out.

  “I will,” he says, stepping forward. “Brie, stand back, and if something gets me, you need to run. You need to get out and get everyone out of town.”

  “That's asking too much.” We're stalling, staring each other in the eye.

  “Okay. Maybe it is. I'll let you know if it's safe to come in.” He steps ahead, crosses the circle as quickly as he can, and moves around the cabin.

  One hair. That's all we need. But a sense of panic sweeps over me so fast I move before it fully hits me. I'm letting my mate walk into a dangerous situation while I'm just standing here. It's my job to protect Cayden. If I don't and something happens--

  I can't see him now. He enters the house, pulling the front door open with grace.

  Immediately, before the door even has the chance to shut behind him, feet shuffle inside the cabin and Cayden grunts. Someone throws a punch and Cayden curses.

  “Who's with you?”

  “I'm alone,” Cayden says. “What are you doing back here? The punishment is death.”

  “Your alpha isn't here.”

  I freeze at the back of the cabin. Two figures draw closer to Cayden inside, but these aren't human footsteps. These are graceful steps that even I can barely hear, and all at once I get what's happening.

  It's not just the Hunters working with Edwin. He's somehow brought in Lawrence and his traitor grandmother, Abigail, and stationed them here to deal with us.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As I stand there, frozen for a moment, my blood begins to boil.

  Lawrence and Abigail were banished. We chased them out of the pack. But Edwin brought them back. Maybe they all knew each other to begin with. The Noble Order has split in two.

  They'll kill Cayden. Why not? Lawrence and Abigail are no longer part of the pack.

  Rushing forward and berating myself for not hearing them, I charge through the back door of the cabin. I enter the storage room, pass the Russells' closed bedroom door--

  “Umph.”

  A faint groan comes out from behind the closed bedroom door and all at once I get what's happened. Lawrence and Abigail have bound Leonora's parents so well I couldn't hear them until I entered the house. They're prisoners in their own home and trying to warn me.

  But I'll deal with them later. Everyone's stopped out in the living room and I step out to confront who I need to confront.

  Cayden stands at the front door, keeping just enough room to open it back up if he needs to. An exit strategy. Good, because Lawrence and Abigail turn to face me as I enter the room. My pulse roars in my ears as I face the two of them.

  “What are you doing back here?” I ask.

  “It should be obvious,” Lawrence says. “You shouldn't exist.”

  I feel no authority over the two of them. They're no longer part of the pack.

  Cayden mouths, run. His hazel eyes widen in terror for me. We expected Hunters. Edwin. Not two Guardian Wolves almost as strong as me.

  “You're an abomination. The Noble Order has decided to end your life,” Abigail says, turning away from Cayden. “It is for the best and it's the only chance the Nobles have of surviving.”

  All the wind's knocked out of me. “Without the Royals our kind will fade.”

  “Your aunt still lives. We will keep her safe.”

  “But she can't have children. You're just going to buy yourself a few decades.” I realize my mistake too late.

  “A few decades is better than nothing.” Abigail keeps one eye on Cayden, who remains by the door. I sniff them both, but they're covered in Alex's Hunter spray, so the room just smells of pine like the rest of the woods.

  My heart races. They're descendants of the first Wolves who served Remus. An ancient line. Lawrence could easily kill Cayden. He still looks like a bodybuilder. And Abigail, despite being old, is quite strong herself and a former alpha. Trying to fight them both will get us both killed, and maybe even the Russells as well.

  Mrs. Russell struggles to breathe through her gag in the other room.

  “I suppose you're going to kill the Russells, too? That's Savage,” I say.

  “We don't kill humans. We only kill Savages,” Lawrence says, whirling on me. His deep brown eyes are full of rage.

  Cayden growls, takes the chance to leap at Lawrence, and wraps his arms around the bigger man's throat. Abigail swears and swings at Cayden with her bare fists, striking him on the ribs. One cracks, but Cayden holds on.

  The only reason the curse doesn't descend on my mate is the fact that we're deep in the Russells' territory and their protective spirits are doing their job. But I rush Abigail. Cayden can't fight both of them. Wrapping my arms around her, I yank her away from Cayden and Lawrence and we both crash into the old couch. The rocking chair tilts into my vision as Abigail kicks it by mistake. A single gray hair sticks to the underside of the cushion. Rage overtakes me. Just the thought of Lawrence and Abigail breaking exile is enough to put me over the edge. I wrap my arm around Abigail's neck, squeezing, choking off her air supply. The instinct to destroy the threat sweeps over me like some ancient urge to breathe. They broke pack law. They know the punishment for coming back.

  What is wrong with me?

  “You don't hurt my mate,” I say, squeezing tighter.

  Abigail gags and thrashes in my grasp. She might be a Guardian Wolf, but she's still in her eighties and not as strong as she once was.

  And then
her entire form pops and changes shape. White fur bursts from her neck and clothing rips. I lose my grip on her neck as she slides out of it, now a pure white wolf with deep brown eyes.

  I have no time to react. Abigail isn't going to wait for me to shift to fight. She lands on the floor on all fours, torn clothing falling away from her, and turns on me. I backpedal into Edwin's rocking chair. I'll take a precious few seconds to shift, which will give Abigail ample time to tear out my throat. She growls, salivating at the chance, and there's nothing but death in her eyes.

  Instinct takes over, not an animal instinct but a human drive to keep breathing. Behind Abigail, Lawrence spins, trying to throw Cayden off. The room fills with growling. I reach for the fireplace and stagger back from the rocking chair, seizing a fire poker from the container.

  Abigail leaps.

  I might still be in human form, but I'm still Royal fast, and I swing the poker to face Abigail in far less than a second. The point aims at her throat, and Abigail's brown pupils widen in terror as she leaps straight towards death. I can't look, but I have to.

  The point rams into her neck.

  The force pushes me back into the brick of the fireplace. A disgusting squishing sound follows as Abigail's paws rake against my jeans, drawing new lines of pain. A half-growl, half yelp follows and the poker bends in my hand, warped down from the force of Abigail's body. The white wolf flails as the air fills with blood. Red blossoms around her throat around the point of the poker. Abigail draws back, grimacing in agony as the point comes out of her flesh. More blood gushes out as she backpedals in a circle as if trying to escape her own crimson flow. Despite the gore, my stomach rumbles. She shouldn't have come back into our territory after being banished. This is what she gets.

  “No,” Lawrence wheezes, facing his grandmother.

  Abigail whimpers.

  Why am I even remotely happy about this?