The Alpha Legacy Boxed Set 1-7

by Holly Hook

  "That's the victory site." I can barely get the words out.

  The wind shifts, and the stench of Savage Wolves meets my nostrils again. There are a few of them somewhere ahead, probably guarding the clearing. But as if the dark spirits around us have sensed that we're spying, the wind shifts again, carrying all the scent away. Here, the Russells' protective magic isn't working. We're too deep in the dark, just as I feared. What do they think they're doing?

  The warlocks speak up ahead, their voices barely audible. They must still be half a mile away, even though we've left the house well behind.

  More twigs snap ahead, and I see two dark shapes bounding through the trees. They're about to run ahead of us, cutting over our route like they're on patrol around the clearing. Savages. I backpedal into Everly. "Callie. Alex. Incoming," I hiss.

  Alex and Callie both step ahead, weapons raised, though Alex reaches out and pushes down Callie's pistol. It would make noise and alert the cult. So Callie pockets it and snatches her crossbow off her back instead. The pair of Savages, both dark gray Wolves with deep, ugly eyes, stop two hundred feet away and eye us. From here I can see the boiling red evil in the depths of their pupils and the rippling muscles on the beasts. The sight fills me with a primal terror and an urge to fight. My skin itches, begging me to give in to the animal within, but fear wins and I instead grab Remo's arm.

  These are Savage Wolves descended from Romulus. They're pure beast with no sign of human left. As one turns and surveys me with hunger, slobber runs down its lower jaw. These monsters will eat us alive.

  "Don't shoot yet," Alex tells Callie.

  She's shaking. "They'll kill us."

  "Don't shoot until they're closer. Save your bolts."

  "What do we do?" Everly asks.

  "Back up," Brett tells Karina.

  The two Wolves growl and slowly approach as if relishing the hunt and our terror. Nostrils flare and growls rise along with hackles. These creatures are pure survival of the fittest. Stupid. All muscle. And they don't care about the cult's plan.

  "Aim at their skulls," I say, body tensing. "Between the eyes. You have to kill them in one shot."

  The first Wolf, though I'm sure it can no longer understand human speech, lets out a snarl and bolts straight towards us.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Callie fires. A bolt zips through the air, landing inches from the first Wolf. It closes the distance between her and Alex as she reloads.

  Behind me, Remo pops and snaps as he enters a shift. He has no time to tell me to pass any messages to Leonora if he doesn't make it. A second later, a huge blond Wolf steps away from ripped clothes, charging past Callie and at the first Wolf. But Alex fires at it, and the bolt whistles and then lodges between the Savage Wolf's eyes.

  The monster falls and thrashes as if it's struck a wire. A yelp escapes as the pure Savage rolls on the ground, trying to dislodge the bolt with its massive paws. The creature continues to roll as Remo pounces, snapping for its throat. The Savage isn't dying. It's like Matthew. Hard to kill, even with silver. And it's fighting Remo, pushing him off as he tries to get to the vulnerable, soft flesh of its chest and throat.

  I have to jump in.

  But Callie steps in front of me as my skin starts to tingle and burn, stopping my shift in its tracks. She fires two more bolts at the second Savage, which is cutting around the first without regard for its friend's life. She fires a third and a fourth, both of which impale flesh with disgusting wet thunks. The Wolf collapses, wrestling with pain, as Callie looks back at me with a confident grin. "Remo's holding them off. Come on."

  Alex and Everly cut around me and run around the struggling Wolves, the second of which has two bolts sticking out of its throat. But the monster is still rolling around, reeking of blood and rot, trying to dislodge them. As I run around the pair, the darkness around me dances, and I say, "The other Savages in the area will smell this. Go!" I shove Callie forward to join the rest of us.

  Remo, the blond Wolf, looks at me for a second. His eyes are full of hard, noble sacrifice. Then he turns to the first Savage and digs his teeth into the weakening Wolf's throat.

  I turn away, leaving him to finish the first and move on to the second.

  When the rest of them get here, Remo won't be able to hold them off.

  He might die.

  The clearing gets closer and the trees farther apart. I smell the cult's presence here once we leave the dying Savages behind. Lots of poison, and not all of it comes from them. The clearing ahead is large, and almost takes me back to that vision. There are posts in a ring around the center of the field, closing in a stomped-down area. A central post rises from the center of the ring, a large wooden one with a figure chained to it, shirtless and bruised. His arms are chained together over his head with bright metal manacles. A glint comes off the metal and I know I'm staring at silver.

  I sniff.

  Adrenaline mixes with pure wilderness, fresh air, and spring leaves and I stop as an invisible boulder strikes me in the chest. I take a sharp breath and breathe, "Cayden."

  He's against post in the like a sacrifice, with scratches crisscrossing his chest and bruises of every color on his face. My mate is breathing, but he hasn't healed from the injuries he's sustained. Boiling rage pumps through my veins and I tense. The cult have used silver weapons on him and the chains are weakening Cayden, leaving him unable to heal.

  And then I notice the two warlocks standing before Cayden, about ten feet away, and one of them is holding a dagger that carries that terrifying glint.

  They've come back to hurt him some more, to drag out the physical and emotional pain as much as possible. As if she can sense when I'm about to do, Everly grabs my shoulder again, squeezing so hard it numbs my shoulder.

  "Let go," I tell her, pulse roaring in my ears.

  "You can't go out there yet."

  "The cult's done a number on him," Brett says, joining me and raising his hand to his face. "They've been torturing him."

  I want to vomit as my ears ring, seeing my mate staring down at the dusty ground like he's given up. Cayden's arms slump against the silver chains as his body hangs there, legs free but weak and shaking. As I watch, he swings back and forth, unaware that I'm here. The cult has taken everything that makes Cayden who he is.

  He's going to be Allia and I'm going to be Remus. Callie will be Romulus. I look to Brett, Karina, Callie, Alex, and Everly. No one speaks. I will fight for Cayden and I'll die for him. I know it.

  But if I leave Cayden to die, I'll still fall. Already the chest pressure starts setting in at the thought.

  Either way, the Savage King wins.

  I take a breath and let it out slowly, despite my body wanting to kill those warlocks for doing this to him. The one with the dagger circles Cayden now, surveying the prisoner like a hungry shark. Even from here I see the wicked smile on the man's scarred face. He has a bruise still from where I hit him, spreading from his temple down to his eye, but it only adds to his terrifying appearance. This man is pure dark. He's too far gone to save.

  "Let me go," I tell Everly, injecting as much authority as I can into my words. I can't let that piece of garbage cut Cayden.

  And then Karina joins in, grabbing my other shoulder.

  "Do not go yet," she says. "There are a lot of dark spirits up ahead. I can almost see them. There's a powerful one hanging over the warlocks."

  I face her, breathing in her face in my silent demand for her to let me go ahead already. Karina, for the first time, has concern in her brown eyes and I watch as her pupils widen. I've forgotten. I have her on my side now.

  And the powerful spirit is waiting for me. I know who it is.

  "Please, do something about them," I say. "Hurry. They're going to cut him."

  The scarred warlock shuffles his feet. "Looks like they left you, wolf," he says with a sneer.

  Karina and Everly maintain their grasps on me. I pull against them it's one against two. All I can do is watch the horror
.

  Cayden doesn't lift his head to face the guy. His skin is sunburned, his scent wavering and weak.

  "Aw, giving up, are we?" the warlock asks. I don't miss the disappointment in his voice. I take a breath, commending Cayden for not giving him what he wants.

  "Let go," I repeat to Everly and Karina.

  Shaking, they continue to hold on. They're fighting my authority.

  Far behind me, Remo sinks his teeth into the other Savage Wolf's throat, ending its life with the crunching of teeth against bone. I cringe, thinking Cayden will hear it and lift his head in our direction, but he remains still.

  The warlock's buddy circles around. "I think those Nobles know what we're trying to do," he says. "Those traitors tipped them off. So much for choosing death over weakness."

  Karina tenses, digging her fingernails into my flesh, but I barely feel it.

  Cult members are supposed to pick dying over defecting?

  "Why don't we just end this?" the first warlock asks.

  "No," I mouth, screaming terror filling my chest.

  "Artemis says he's no good to us dead," the second tells the first.

  "I don't care what she says. She's in that house living the high life while we're out here all the time." The scarred warlock is about to snap. He's shaking with the dagger in hand. Cayden still won't look up from the ground, like he's just waiting to die. I can't feel his emotions from here. Maybe there's nothing left. Our connection weakens by the second.

  I watch the second warlock push the scarred one away from Cayden. "You don't want her angry at you," he warns in a low voice.

  Every and Karina let me go. It's time.

  Creeping forward, first through trees and then under open sky, I tense and prepare for the shift to overtake me. The darkness intensifies, like there's a wall of it around Cayden, guarding him, but I'm past caring about it. No matter what we do, we're in for a fight.

  Cayden takes another breath, almost like he's asleep. Callie appears beside me, crossbow raised at the scarred warlock. Alex stands right behind her, a dagger held to the back of her neck. He trembles, eyes shining. The three of us advance together.

  The warlocks stand with their backs to me. The first one shakes. He wants to cut, to hurt. The second seizes his arm. "Easy, partner."

  I cross a wall of invisible darkness as I step between posts and onto dust. The most horrific darkness I've ever felt crawls under my skin like a monster trying to eat me from the inside. Karina was right. The victory site is well-guarded, and now that I'm here, the awful pressure in my chest surges back. I'm twenty feet from the warlocks. Fifteen. Ten...

  "He's useless," the first warlock says. "I say we just throw him in the pond." He waves the dagger at Cayden's form.

  The pressure intensifies. He's here. The Savage King, waiting to pounce and waiting to eat.

  I freeze, taking a sharp breath as the sky deepens to an almost-purple again. Callie steps into the clearing beside me, arms trembling as she aims her weapon at the scarred warlock's neck. She could shoot and kill him now. They have no idea. I can't take my eyes off Cayden. Why won't he look up? He has to be able to smell me.

  All at once, our connection snaps back into existence at full strength, and I gasp at the shock. The barrier had been blocking most of our link. A roaring sound fills my ears as Cayden's inner darkness and turmoil flow into me, inky and pained. A physical ache paints my muscles and my pulse pounds with that same chest pressure. I've never felt this before. Something's off.

  And then Cayden, as if sensing my presence for the first time, snaps his stare up at me. Our stares meet and thunder passes between us. My mate has slash marks across his face. Bruises around his eyes. His unfocused eyes struggle to train on me.

  Something's very wrong with them.

  Callie fires at the first warlock as he follows Cayden's gaze, whirling on us.

  He has no time to react. The bolt rips through his neck. Blood flies. His buddy, a younger man in a hood, lets his jaw drop as the scarred warlock reaches up and grabs the shaft of the bolt, which sticks out of his neck. The scarred man's eyes widen in shock and horror.

  The darkness, as if lapping up the blood and carnage, intensifies. I can't breathe, even though the golden warmth remains around my heart, forming a bubble of safety. The pressure on my chest goes from a single boulder to a mountain.

  The scarred warlock collapses, the life vanishing from his eyes.

  Callie backs away, open-mouthed like she can't believe what she's done.

  "Get out of here!" I shout at her, just as Alex wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her out of the clearing.

  The second warlock runs for the cover of the woods. But a large blond Wolf--Remo--darts out and collides with the young man. The warlock grunts and struggles to get free from under the huge Wolf, and a horrific biting sound follows. More blood flies. Remo's killing him. We're all becoming murderers.

  "Remo!" Everly shouts, bursting out from the weeds.

  The man manages one final scream and then silence falls.

  "Get out of there," Brett shouts from the tree line. "It's a trap. Look!" He points to my mate.

  I take my gaze off Callie as my thoughts fill with Cayden. The pressure crushes my ribs, making breathing impossible, but the world stays in place. Romulus is here. Stronger than he's ever been. But something still feels off. He should be taking me over at this point. This isn't the normal, awful feeling I've had.

  Then I lift my gaze to Cayden and my stomach fills with nauseous horror as we stare at each other. Cayden moves his lips like he's warning me back, but his eyes aren't his. They're dark, almost obscuring the hazel, and when I look closer, a deep, savage red fills them. This isn't Cayden before me. This is the Savage King himself.

  Chapter Twenty

  I backpedal as the connection between us contracts and screams from the horror. My body fills with darkness, but still my mind remains clear. Cayden stares me down, no recognition in his eyes even though his lips still move in silence. Go back.

  Turning away, I dry heave, taking my attention off the others even as scuffling and backpedaling fill the background. The air reeks. Remo growls somewhere. Cayden remains silent, and that's worse than anything. He needs to say something. Anything.

  He can't be possessed. He doesn't have the right blood.

  "We have to go," Callie says, grabbing my arm.

  I look at her. She's normal.

  She was just a distraction. The real trap is behind me.

  But behind Callie, several robed figures emerge from the trees. I can't smell them from inside the clearing. The darkness has blocked them from our senses.

  And Artemis leads the way, a burning bag in her hand. She lifts her crooked witch nose up at us as Remo, still in wolf form, backs away from the fumes. This is just like the vision.

  "Shoot them!" I shout at Callie and Alex.

  Alex tries to fire.

  His crossbow sticks.

  Brett grabs Karina's arm. "Do something, sis."

  A low growl emerges from Cayden's throat, one he's never made before. Artemis closes in as Remo backs into Everly, pushing her down. Callie tries to fire, but her crossbow, too, refuses to work.

  Silence falls. The cult stops and Artemis lifts her gaze to meet mine.

  "Mates are connected," she explains in a dry, emotionless voice. "You have refused the Savage King, so you have instead infected yours."

  This is just like the twins. The cult knew I could overcome my guilt. They knew I could learn Mr. Hayde's disgusting secret.

  "I haven't infected anyone!" I shout as Cayden pulls against the chains behind me. She's trying to shatter my inner defense. That warmth is still there, around my heart though the chest pressure remains.

  Artemis surveys Brett and Karina for a moment, working her jaw. The wind blows the toxic fumes in our direction, and I breathe through my mouth as the Haydes move aside to avoid it. Karina remains silent. She has to do something to hurt Artemis along with the men and wo
men standing in a half-circle behind her. The darkness is back in her gaze.

  "You are refusing the Savage King's spirit. When you stepped into the circle, the pressure had to go somewhere." As she finishes speaking, a small grin creeps onto her face, turning her wrinkles up.

  Her words are too horrible to bear. She's blaming me. Blaming the victim. I whirl. Cayden's staring at me now, his eyes a mixture of hazel and reddish black. The agony and fight in them is clear. Cayden's whole body spasms now as the monster tries to come through. He groans and then a growl that is not his rips from his throat.

  Horror explodes, making my heart race.

  She wants me to fight Cayden, not Callie.

  And that will shatter my shield. Then it's over.

  "So what do you want me do?" It takes everything I have to turn away from my mate. Our connection tugs, begging me to look at him, to save him. "What's the point of this?" Dumb question. I know the point.

  Alex tries to fire again, but the darkness here is making the trigger of his crossbow stick. Callie backs towards me, fear shining in her eyes. I hyperventilate as Cayden groans again. Muscles pull and tendons pop against each other. The cult waits. Remo and Everly can do nothing but back out of the fumes. Brett and Karina retreat to the other side of the victory site, somewhere behind the post. And then I hear why.

  Low growls and footsteps approach from behind the cult. Grayish-brown Wolves, all with Savage eyes and bared teeth, fan out through the weeds, eyes hungry and watching. I count ten...no, at least fifteen, and as they stop behind the cult, I finally smell them as their stench breaks the barrier of darkness. Remo's fighting has drawn their attention. The cult's, too. The ugliest warts of nature stare us down. This isn't just a war between Nobles and Savages. It's a war between meaning and hopelessness.

  This is all on me now.

  "I'm not fighting Cayden!" I shout, looking to him.

  Cayden's still in human form, but he bares his teeth at me in a half-attempt to force me to run. "Brie, get out of here!" Then he looks down and trembles as another wave of pain overtakes him. It could be his curse. It could be possession. They look the same. "Urgh..."