by Holly Hook
“Brett, how much can you...help us if we get your sister out of there?” I ask, heart racing. I never told Brett to keep his flap shut about the Savage King possessing me or Callie and the Colling Wolves don't know about that. The realization hits me like a truck of nerves and my mouth goes dry.
“High Priestess Artemis does most of the heavy duty magic. She used a piece of Callie's dried blood to bind Romulus to her. I know. Nasty. I don't know how she did it, but I think she used the aid of the dark spirits we've all been feeding, so if I can get them to back off, that might help.”
I want to slap Brett. Everly looks at me in shock. I ignore her.
“Callie?” one of the Colling Wolves, Natalie, asks Don. “The cult bound Romulus's spirit to her?”
“Earl said she went to visit her parents,” Don says.
Now I give Brett a glare, only to get a confused shrug in return. Or maybe it's just a cocky shrug. I don't know.
“Nobody is going to hurt her,” I say, trying to smooth over the situation. A ripple of nerves goes through the pack. Thanks, Brett. Next he'll mention how Edwin wants to kill me and how the Noble Order is falling apart. “Callie won't hurt us. She's staying away on purpose and will keep staying away until we can help her. Now, Karina. We get her to come over here with us.”
“She won't,” Brett says. “The cult is her life. Our best bet is to get my sister out so I can convince her she needs to be on this side of things. Because I'm not leaving her alone with those people.”
“You want to make your sister help us?” I ask. Brett has a better chance than I do.
“Well, with her talent, she has the best chance of standing up against Artemis's magic,” Brett says.
It's the best we have. I swallow. “I want every fully grown Wolf to participate in the distraction. Half of us will distract the Savages and half of us will go in and find Karina. Brett will come with the Karina group.”
“I can't go back there,” Brett says as if I'm a moron.
“I can't either,” I point out. “The cult won't know the difference in you if you're covert enough. And you know where all their meeting places are.”
Brett shuts up. No one protests but Allen looks at me like he wants me to step down. I don't care. After Wyatt, I will not risk his life. Seeing something like that again will tear Cayden apart. With that thought, I look at my mate, who still stands beside me. His eyes thank me. He was worried about the same thing.
“We need to set out before it gets dark,” I say, eyeing the sky. Late morning. “I bet those dark spirits are stronger at night.”
* * * * *
At least we have vehicles and the gas station is gracious enough to have a nice, big, old fashioned map. And better yet, the lady working the counter still finds her magazine more interesting than her job. Not that I can blame her.
Cayden and I study the map. I find Breck easily—its got a red sticker on it—and as I trace my finger to the west, to where the Savages have their camp, I find mostly just forest and mountains. For the first time I realize we've never determined how big the territory is, only where the border closest to us lies. Near where I think their territory starts, there's a tiny dot on the map—Windy Corner--and a few obscure roads through the woods. Nothing, really. And yet the Haydes have an old mansion there.
“Brett.” I wave him over from the other side of the gas station.
“Yes, your highness?”
I hold back my sigh. “How big is the Savage territory?” I inject plenty of command into my words.
Brett balks, but jabs his finger onto the map, tracing a circle maybe ten miles wide around Windy Corner. “Most of the people in that little town have been turned by now,” he adds. “Or killed.”
“That's nice.” I imagine Windy Corners turning into a ghost town in no time. Savages are so violent they usually don't live long.
“Some of the people there have been turned within the past couple of months, and they're still struggling with it,” Brett says.
“In other words, they're not completely bad yet,” I say.
“But they will be,” Cayden adds.
“Since when do you side with him?” I ask.
Cayden just shrugs. The air thickens again. “He can take some of those dark spirits off us, and that might help.”
“I'm not the one who put them on Cayden in the first place,” Brett says. “The cult did that. That's why Karina, if I can convince her, would be a big help getting them off permanently.” Then he lowers his voice. “And getting the Savage King off you and Callie, too.”
“Speaking of that, we don't want everyone knowing she has that spirit attached to her,” I say. “Or me. If the Noble Order falls apart, it's over. Do you got that?”
Brett pales. “Got it.”
I turn away, trying to cast off the sense of satisfaction I'm feeling. Bossing others around isn't something Remus would have smiled on. So I nod to Cayden and put my finger on the map. “We'll put half the pack on this side of the territory. There's a road over here.” I trace my finger along a narrow, almost invisible line.
“That's a hiking trail,” Brett says. “The Savages patrol around there, too, looking for victims.”
“Then we'll send half the Colling Wolves there. Minus the kid. That works out well. The rest of us will go in through the usual way past that fallen tree, get Karina, and get out. Brett, is the cult meeting today?”
“I don't know,” he says.
“Do you have any clue, man?” Cayden asks.
“I went missing, so they might have interrupted—no, never mind. I'm sure they're functioning just fine with the twelve members that are left.” He stalks away through the aisles of snacks, lifting his leg like he wants to kick the display of beef jerky. But he holds back and heads to the bathrooms.
Cayden leans close to me. “I guess the cult doesn't favor him much, either. He mentioned something about that. Her sister is the prodigy.”
“Brett's been hurt a lot,” I say. “Well, he has the chance to strike back at them. He has to take it. I say so.”
Once Brett returns from the bathrooms, composed, we all head outside again and gather near the picnic tables. I ask Natalie if she knows where that hiking trail is.
“I used to hike there with my husband years ago, before some Savages tried to close in on us,” she says, gray eyes clouding with the memory. She motions to Ron. “I didn't know my husband at the time was a Noble Wolf, and to keep me from getting infected by them, he shifted and bit me. And then we barely escaped.”
“It was fourteen years ago, wasn't it?” I ask.
Natalie nods sadly. “Yes. It would have been at the time your parents were killed.”
I leave it there. The new pack members don't know I'm from a Wolf and a Hunter. It's bad enough Brett's accidentally blown Callie's cover.
Instead of sitting, everyone stands in place around the tables, watching me, while Noah and Olivia hang back. “Okay. Those of you from Colling will circle around the Savage territory to a hiking trail near the back. That's on the west side. The rest of us will go after the cult and get the girl out.” I wave my hand and divide the group with a hand motion, pointing to the side. Most of the Colling Wolves step to the left as Everly, Remo, and Aunt May step to the right. Brett bites his lip and shuffles to the side, too.
“Good,” I say. “We leave now. You guys distract the Savages however you can. Without them we'll have an easier time finding the cult. Once we're done, we meet somehwere. We'll take vehicles as close as we can to the border, so we can all have quick getaways--”
“It's Edwin!”
Leonora raises her hand and points to the road.
I've been hearing cars all day and haven't paid any attention to the traffic, mainly since Edwin doesn't own a car and walks everywhere in Breck. People have even gone in and out all morning. If anything, I expected the head of the Russell Coven to arrive on a bicycle or even on foot. But as I turn, I see that Edwin has commandeered one of the buses from the bu
s station. He's in the drivers' seat, and seated behind him are several dark figures in brimmed leather hats. Edwin has taken time to tell the Hunters about the danger I pose. This is an assassination.
Chapter Twelve
My knees buckle and all the spit leaves my throat. Cayden reaches out and grabs my arm, pulling me close to him. He'll jump in front of me as a shield and die, even if the curse doesn't attack him.
But Aunt May bolts in front of me as Edwin seems to see me for the first time. He slams on the brakes and drives into the parking lot. “Brie! Run!”
I might be alpha, but she's still my only parent, and she's going to put herself between me and those silver weapons so I can live another day. “No!”
But I can't command her. Aunt May drops in the parking lot and kneels, removing her coat. She'll be even more vulnerable in Wolf form and I can't stop her.
“Come on!” Cayden yanks on my arm so hard it hurts.
The bus blocks off all but a small exit from the parking lot. The SUV and the van won't get out. The door swings open. Instead of Edwin a few of the Hunters from Colling get out. In the driver's seat, he reaches into his pocket.
“What's going on?” Don asks.
I stand there, shaking in indecision. “Run!” I order.
I turn and join Cayden as we bolt into the trees. We're faster than the Hunters who are bogged down in leather coats and equipment. Aunt May pops and stretches as she shifts. I try not to think about what might happen. She might--
I have to go back.
“No!” Cayden shouts. He tightens his grasp until I can't feel the blood flowing into my hand anymore.
He's still trying to protect me. He's still there, trying to do the job I took away from him. So I let him.
A bolt fires and Cayden pulls me to the side just in time for the silver tip to jam into a tree beside me. The others run beside us. We're running down the trail now, out of our official territory, and into the neutral woods where anything can happen.
“Aunt May!” I scream.
But the pack runs beside us, all in human form. There's no time for anyone to stop and shift. Cries of confusion ring out around us.
“Stop!” Noah yells at the Hunters. He's far back. Still at the picnic tables.
“Stand aside!” That's Edwin.
“What are you doing?” Olivia yells. “I'll call the cops!”
Another bolt flies through the air. This one jabs into the dirt, just inches from my feet.
Even farther back, Aunt May growls.
“This way!” Cayden pulls me down the other side of a hill as another pair of bolts whistle through the air. The bolts fly into dirt and reverberate.
“Aunt May is back there!” I shout.
“We can't go back,” Everly says, appearing at our side as we crouch in place. Around us, the rest of the pack runs ahead into the woods.
Cayden still grasps my arm and pulls his jacket off with the other. “We should do the rest of the journey as Wolves. We can't come back here.”
“Noah and Olivia are back there, too.”
Cayden looks me in the eye, widening his own. “They're not after Noah and Olivia. They're after you. They might not even hurt your Aunt May.”
“But she's going to attack them!” I listen, panic pounding in my ears, but I hear nothing. Already we've put a good half mile between us and the gas station.
And then, shouts ring out back at the station. I look around into the trees, but the rest of the pack have vanished. I smell them some distance ahead. Leonora and Remo have also disappeared. Good. Who knows what Edwin will try to do to her?
“I'm sure they won't hurt Noah and Olivia,” Cayden whispers in my ear. “You have to leave. We both do. Because I'll tear out their throats myself.”
I know what that will lead to, so I rise and swallow down the painful lump in my throat. I hear nothing and I don't like that. Aunt May is back there. But she's the only other Noble Royal besides me. They won't want to shoot the last pure one standing. Will they? But she could attack them and then the Hunters would have to defend themselves.
“Come on,” Cayden whispers.
I have to do my duty. I bolt with him and Everly into the trees, following the rest of the pack as we run further into neutral territory.
* * * * *
Cayden never shifts into Wolf form. Neither do I. We won't be able to reach our clothes again with Edwin prowling around town. It won't do us much good to change back in the middle of the woods, away from the Hunters, butt naked. Without a word, we all seem to understand this.
We join the rest of the pack, following their smell until we reach a small clearing in the woods someone's used as a party spot, judging from the beer cans and the cigarette butts on the ground. The place reeks of booze and tobacco smoke, making me wrinkle my nose as I step into it. Remo stands with Leonora, holding her in both arms.
“Don't put me down,” Leonora begs as he does so.
I look at the others, the rest of the Colling Wolves. No Noah or Olivia have followed us. How could they? No one scooped them up to carry them here. I'm sure Noah will love that we've left him.
The Hunters wouldn't hurt them, right? In fact, the Hunters probably just told them to go home and keep their mouths shut. I know Alex would have.
But Aunt May--
“Did anyone hear what happened to my aunt?” I demand. I look at Remo and Natalie. Hayley, Allen, Don, Ron, and Marleen. “Tell me, even if the news is bad.”
“Why did the Hunters of the Noble Order attack us?” Don asks.
I'm on the spot again. I look to Cayden, but he nods like he's out of ideas. And so am I. I'm tired of running from the truth and trying to hide it. Do I spill everything right here? The pack deserves to know how dangerous I can be before we go into the Savage territory, but if they do, we might never stay together. As I stand there, I sense my tenuous command over the Colling Wolves. It shakes like it's going to break apart at any moment. I take a breath. Winning the fight over Lawrence was legit. I earned the position of alpha and I need to hold this pack together, even if many of them don't trust me. I look at them all in turn. They're all looking at me like I should have all the answers. But without Aunt May, or knowing her fate, I'm just as lost as they are, in fact maybe more so.
Sucking in a breath, I prepare for the act of my life.
“The Hunters must think I'm trying to work with the Savages or something,” I say. “I don't know for sure what Edwin told them. If he's a spy for the cult, it must be his job to tear us apart from the inside.” That's the truth. Well, part of the truth.
“That Edwin guy gives me the creeps,” Cayden adds.
I nod and shrug. “Well, he uses dark magic.”
“He used dark magic?” The boy's mother, Marleen, steps in front of her son like she's protecting him.
“It looked like dark magic to me,” Remo says.
“Karina,” Brett says. He looks right at me, and I hate that I can't read his eyes well behind his sunglasses. But they're his only shield left and likely the reason he hasn't taken them off. “We need to get to her now. I wouldn't be surprised if that Edwin guy is secretly working with Romulus.”
He's on my side. Brett, whose father I had to kill to protect Cayden, is shifting over to my side and hiding my secret. But that thought just makes me feel slimy. Edwin is not working with the Savage King, of course, but he's made himself look that way. And I'm taking advantage of that fact.
But what else do I do?
“The plan, then,” Don says. “Is it still on?” He asks me with a mocking tone.
“Yes,” I say, injecting as much power into my voice as I can. “The plan is still on.” I gulp, thinking of Aunt May and where she could be right now. I'd feel it if she died, wouldn't I? “We need to get Karina. And if we can't deal with Edwin, we might have to leave the area.”
* * * * *
It kills me to continue walking, especially in human form, away from where Aunt May just might have attacked the Hunte
rs for me. Even hand in hand with Cayden, I feel out of control and helpless. It's an awful feeling, like I'm insufficient to protect the ones I love. At least we walk well ahead of the others.
“Now I know how you feel,” I say, watching my breath spiral in front of me.
“You shouldn't have to feel that way. I'm sure your aunt is fine,” Cayden says.
I keep looking back, trying to see her catching up through the trees, but she's not coming. And I don't detect her spring smell anywhere. Of course, I can't smell the Hunters, either. They like the shield themselves with that spray Alex always carries.
“Once we're out of here, we need to check on Callie,” Cayden says.
“That might be dangerous,” I whisper.
The two of us walk in the lead, with Everly, Leonora, and Remo right behind us, and then the rest of the pack walking behind them. Don shuffles his feet in ways I don't like.
“I agree, but it has to be done,” Cayden says. “Maybe the Savage King and the cult wanted her away from us because she's been nothing but a help so far. Brett might not have known the real truth. And maybe he even wanted Edwin to turn on us, which is why he attacked you when you were in the cabin with him. So far, he's proving to be a lot smarter than the Wolves he spawned.”
I shush Cayden, but he grins like the rest of the pack can't hear. Maybe they can't, with as far back as they're walking. I check to see the Colling Wolves walking a good hundred feet back. No one shows signs of having heard us. Don still walks with his head down like he's stewing over my decisions. I keep forgetting that not everyone has hearing like mine.
“We have to find my aunt before Callie,” I say.
“I know we do,” Cayden says. “We're getting close to the Savage territory line.”
That snaps me back to attention. “I can smell it,” I say.
The rotten wood smell overtakes me. As if noticing it for the first time, Brett catches up with us. The whole time, he's been walking between us and the Colling Wolves. Behind Everly and Remo, but in front of the others, like he's in a class by himself. And he is.
