A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Alpha Huntress (The Alpha Huntress Series Book 1)

by Neo Edmund

  “Why are you two crying? Where is he?” Red asked.

  Dote whimpered and pointed to the stairs.

  Red was so overwhelmed with mixed up emotions that she couldn’t find the words to ask if her father was still alive. With each step up the stairs, her concern for his well-being faded away and turned into anger. It didn’t make a bit of sense that he had hidden the truth from her when they had first met. All the deceptions that she’d been dealing with had about pushed her to the limit.

  “If I find out one more person has been holding back on me, there’s going to be serious trouble.”

  Red’s anger faded as soon as she reached the door to her parents’ bedroom. For a tense moment she stood petrified, holding out a hand an inch short of the doorknob. There was no way she could have prepared herself for what might await on the other side. If her father was no longer among the living, it would be the first time she ever had to endure the loss of death.

  When she finally found the courage to open the door, she was startled to find Grenda standing on the other side. Her complexion was ghost white, and she was so groggy with exhaustion that she could hardly stand up straight.

  “Is he …?” Red couldn’t get the rest of the words out.

  Grenda took off her glasses and wiped the lenses clean with her dress. “Your father is still with us. It took a mighty powerful spellcraft to undo the damage. I was just able to drag his tail back to the world of the living.”

  Red took a deep breath of relief. “Then why do you look so grim, Granny?”

  Grenda stepped into the hallway and closed the door. “Your father blames himself for your mother’s death. He feels if he had been a stronger warrior, he could have saved her life and not been forced to abandon you to be raised by strangers. He believes he failed you, Red.”

  Red nodded in understanding. “I would like to talk with him, if I can.”

  “That will be fine. Just know that his grip on this world is not strong right now. If you hold any grievances against him, this is not the time to voice them. If he’s pushed too far, he could slip away, and I won’t be able to bring him back again.” Grenda stumbled away and entered her own room.

  As Red stepped into her parents’ room, she saw her father lying on the bed with his eyes closed. A strange blue aura emanated from bandages wrapped around his massive chest. Each breath he took sounded like it came from a snoring grizzly bear. For a lingering moment, Red tried to find the words to speak, but couldn’t come up with a thing to say.

  “Red Riding, I know you’re there. Step closer, so I can see your eyes.” Ethan’s voice was frail and distant.

  Red took another step into the room. She was startled to see Ethan had pasty white skin and eyes that were hollow and lifeless. She took a deep breath. “Granny told me about what happened with my mother and the choice you had to make to save my life.”

  Ethan looked away in shame. “I’m so sorry, Red. If I had been stronger, she would still be here with us.”

  Red sat on the edge of the bed. “You don’t know that. If you had stayed, we might all be dead. I don’t think we can know one way or the other.”

  Ethan strained to pull himself up to a sitting position. He gazed at Red with great pride. “You look so much like your mother. If she could see you now, she would be glowing with joy over the young woman you’ve become.”

  Red shamefully frowned. “She might not think that if she knew how much trouble I’ve been. I’m not always the most agreeable person. I get into a lot of mischief.”

  “If you told me any different, I wouldn’t believe you were a true Riding.” Ethan let out a belting laugh. It made him cough from the pain it caused in his chest.

  Red began to weep a little. “It’s been so hard not knowing where I came from. Until a few days ago, I had no idea if I had any family, or if my parents were alive or dead, or that my last name was Riding.”

  “Red, you have to understand, I didn’t want to have to leave you. I didn’t know what else I could do. I had to get you as far away from this place as possible. Everything had to be left behind. Not just your name; your memories would also have put you in danger.”

  “My memories were taken from me?” Red asked.

  “Not taken away. Buried down real deep. There are forms of spellcraft so vile that we can be hunted down through our feelings. Specters called Soul Hunters will search the world over for you. All they need to know is what you love the most, hate the strongest, or fear more than anything. They’ll hunt for years if it takes that long, but they will find you.”

  Red shivered in fear. “Is that why you erased all signs of yourself in this house?”

  Ethan’s face tightened as he recalled the painful memories. “I used a spellcraft far more dangerous than the one we used on you. I had to purge myself of all my feelings, not just those for you and your mother. I was hollowed to my core. If I felt even the smallest emotion, they would have found me and done wicked things to force me to reveal what became of you.”

  “So that’s why you didn’t tell me who you were when we met?”

  “Believe me, Red, it was not easy to keep that to myself. A few days ago, all the old feelings started coming back. At first I feared the spellcraft had worn off. It wasn’t until I found you lying outside the Moon Temple that I realized it was because you had returned to Wayward.”

  Red thought about how hard it must have been for her father to make such an awful choice to ensure her safety. Though her life was terribly lonely, Ethan had had to live void of even a single emotion for ten years. It was a fate so grim that she couldn’t begin to imagine what it must have been like. It was certain that without his sacrifice, there was little chance she would have lived to see that day.

  Ethan finally broke the tense silence. “I’ve lived far too long without you, Red. All those years of knowing you were out there but not being able to feel anything has broken me. Is there any way you can ever forgive me?”

  Red stood up and looked her father in the eyes. “No, I can’t forgive you. There’s no need for it. You only did what had to be done. I have no more right to feel angry than you have a right to feel guilty. Let’s put it all behind us and start over.”

  Ethan’s eyes lit up with joy as Red threw her arms around his massive arm. A flood of lost memories filled Red’s heart and mind, reminding her that they were once a happy family with great love for one another. It had all changed for the worse on the night the werewolves had come to take her away.

  The terror she had felt came rushing back as she recalled a pack of black werewolves storming into Granny’s living room. The image that stuck out above all was a werewolf with glowing red eyes stabbing her mother through the chest. Red could hear the terrible screams of her mother as Ethan carried her away from the house.

  “Father, I have a question. I need you to tell me the truth, no matter how much you think it will hurt me.”

  “I am done keeping the truth from you, Red Riding. Ask me anything.”

  “Who killed my mother?”

  “You mean Grenda didn’t tell you?”

  Red’s face twitched with anger. “Don’t answer my question with a question. Just tell me who it was.”

  “Now I understand why you stopped me from killing him.” Ethan looked Red in the eyes. “The Helheim Clan attacked us that night. The werewolf who fatally wounded your mother was Wolfgang’s father. Or he was until I took his head off.”

  Red’s heart filled with rage darker than any she had ever known. “Does Wolfgang know about this?”

  “Of course he does. They had planned to kill you so they could steal the Alpha Power and give it to him.”

  Chapter 22

  Minutes after Red’s troubling conversation with her father, she was wearing a pair of her mother’s old denim pants, a tank top, and a light jacket. Over her shoulder hung a sheath made of old cloth and rope, which concealed her sword inside. Her hair had been brushed back into a sloppy ponytail, and she had wiped her face clean,
though she still felt quite dirty. Not that it mattered to her in the least; there were far more pressing concerns on her mind.

  “Wolfgang and I need to have a little chat,” she said aloud.

  Red spotted him on the far end of the clearing, crouched down next to her motorcycle. Without making the faintest sound, she walked up behind him. From what she could tell, he was making some sort of mechanical adjustment to the engine.

  “So is he running, or what?” Red asked.

  Deathly startled, Wolfgang spun around. “I see you’ve been working on those stealth skills.”

  “Yeah, it’s totally impressive. Now is my little man good to go, or not?”

  Wolfgang bit down on his lip, frustrated with the harshness of her tone. “I was just checking the intake valve, but yes, your boy is primed and ready to roll.”

  “See, giving me a straight answer wasn’t so hard. Try making a habit of it.” Red grabbed the handlebars of her motorcycle and rolled it toward the outskirts of the clearing.

  Wolfgang raced after her. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

  “For what exactly?”

  “What do you mean for what? Do you think the little guy there fixed himself?”

  “Where are my manners? Thanks for breaking my bike and then fixing it.” Red reached the path leading off into the woods and sat on the seat of her motorcycle.

  “You going somewhere?” Wolfgang asked.

  “No, we are.” Red hit the kick-starter. Her motorcycle started up with a roar.

  Wolfgang smiled with pride. “Now that’s what a well-tuned motor sounds like.”

  “You getting on, or what?” Red glanced back to the house and saw Ash and Dote were stepping out onto the front porch. She revved the throttle a few times. “I don’t got all night, Wolf Boy.”

  “Whatever.” Wolfgang climbed onto the back of the seat. There was hardly enough space for both of them.

  Red squeezed the throttle, and they sped off into the dark forest, kicking up a blast of mud in their wake.

  “It feels weird riding on the back. It’s usually the other way around when I’m cruising with a lady,” Wolfgang said.

  “That is soooo interesting.” Red bit down on her lip and glared straight ahead.

  “You’re a little intense tonight. Things work out okay with your old man?” Wolfgang asked.

  Red squeezed the throttle, pushing her little motorcycle even faster. “The Omega Gem. Tell me what you know about it.”

  “From what I hear, it’s a moonstone that’s supposed to give the Alpha some major butt-kicking powers. Most people say it’s just a myth,” Wolfgang said.

  “So then you wouldn’t have any idea where to find it, would you?”

  “Why would I?”

  “That was a question. I asked for an answer.” Red made a hard turn into a curve. It was so fast the she had to plant a foot on the ground to keep the wheels from losing traction on the wet dirt.

  Wolfgang tightened his grip around Red’s waist to avoid falling off the back. “Going a little hard there tonight. I gotta admit I’m liking it.”

  Red gritted her teeth. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

  “You mean about the Omega Gem?”

  “Of course I mean the Omega Gem.” Red pushed into another hard turn. She cut away from the safety of the path and headed off into the dark woods. Without letting up on the throttle, she maneuvered over the bumpy terrain and around the massive trees.

  “Red, I don’t know what’s going on with you tonight, but you need to calm down a whole lot,” Wolfgang said.

  “Maybe I’ll calm down when you answer my question. Do you know where the Omega Gem is?”

  “Why do you want to know so much?”

  “Why won’t you just answer my question?”

  “Maybe you need to start asking a lot nicer, Miss Riding.”

  “Maybe you need to start telling me the truth about some things, Mister Helheim.”

  “I’ve never lied to you about anything.”

  “Oh, that is it.”

  Red thrust her elbow into Wolfgang’s chest, knocking him off the back of her motorcycle. In the rearview mirror, she saw him slamming back first into the hard ground. She hit the brakes and skidded for several yards before coming to a stop.

  “I’ll show you how I calm down.”

  Red jumped off her motorcycle and let it fall into the mud. In a flash she pulled her sword and turned into her werewolf form. Before Wolfgang could catch his breath, she grabbed him by the throat, slammed his back up against a large oak tree, and jammed the blade of her sword up to his neck.

  “Red, what is your issue?”

  “Your endless lies are my issue.”

  “If you’re still talking about the Omega Gem, I don’t know where it is.”

  “Fine, then let’s forget about that and flash back to the night when your father killed my mother.” Red slammed Wolfgang into the tree.

  A look of guilt filled Wolfgang’s eyes. “So that’s what this is about. The big lug told you.”

  “So you do know. Why did you keep it from me?” Red again bashed Wolfgang into the tree.

  Wolfgang groaned. “It’s not like we’ve had a lot of time for meaningful conversation since you got to town.”

  Red’s eyes swelled with tears. “How can you look me in the eye knowing what your family did to me?”

  “Hey, it’s not like my old man didn’t get it for what he did. Your dad lobbed his head clean off, so maybe we can call it even.”

  “My father didn’t bust into your home with the intention of killing your family. Of killing me.” Red said.

  “If you think taking me out will make you feel better about it, then go ahead. I won’t even fight back.”

  Red looked Wolfgang in the eyes as she pushed her blade tighter against his throat.

  True to his word, he didn’t move a muscle. “Go ahead, Red. You deserve justice.”

  “I don’t want justice. I want my family back.”

  “I would give you that if I could, but I can’t change what my family did to yours. The best I can offer you is my life.”

  Red’s heart swelled with rage. She wanted nothing more than to unleash her desire for vengeance onto Wolfgang. He had been only a child when it all happened, so it didn’t feel right to hold him responsible. She lowered the blade from his throat and then bashed him across the face with the hilt.

  “That’s for not telling me you knew about this before.” Red then kicked him in the shin, knocking him to his knees. “And that’s because I just felt like doing it.”

  Wolfgang gasped to catch his breath. “You’re disappointing me, Riding. Don’t hold back now. I don’t deserve your pity, and I don’t want it.”

  Red paced around in a frantic fit. “The worst part of it is, I actually thought I felt something for you. How could I have been so stupid?”

  Wolfgang cracked a grin. “You felt something for me?”

  “It was only for one second, and it was a major mistake. Don’t go getting any crazy ideas in that big dumb head of yours, Wolf Boy.”

  “Why do you keep calling me that?”

  “Because that’s what you are. A pathetic little Wolf Boy.”

  Wolfgang clutched a hand over his head. “There’s more to it than that. When you say it, I see you, but it’s not you. It’s more like you, when we were …”

  A rather unsettling feeling overcame Red. “Time out. Back up. It was more like me when I was what?”

  “Little Red.” Wolfgang squinted in pain.

  “Little Red?” Red gasped nervously.

  Wolfgang again shook his head in pain. “I can’t think straight. It’s all mixed up.” He grabbed Red and looked her in the eyes. “Red, listen to me, you need to get out of here, right now. She must be nearby. You have to hurry.”

  “Who is this she you’re talking about?” He didn’t answer. “Wolfgang, tell me what’s going on here!” she demanded.

  Wolfgang dashed
over to Red’s motorcycle and picked it up out of the mud. “Ash was right about me."

  Red looked Wolfgang in the eyes. “You mean the part where you saved me from Ice for some secret selfish reason?”

  “That’s right. Only I was totally wrong. Now you need to get out of here before things get worse,” Wolfgang said.

  Red held the tip of her sword to Wolfgang’s throat. “I already know how they were going to kill me so they could give you the Alpha Power.”

  “It’s true. Just like Ice, I was also born at the exact same time as you. The thing is, with you and me it’s a lot more complicated,” Wolfgang said.

  Red lowered her sword as she considered this curious notion. “How do you mean?”

  Wolfgang hit the kick-starter on Red’s motorcycle, firing up the engine. “I promise to explain later, but for now you need to go.” He whispered, “She’s coming for you.”

  Red shivered as the temperature dropped, so much so she could see her own breath in the air. There was no doubt something evil was approaching from behind her. She turned around and gasped in horror.

  A middle-aged woman with glowing red eyes was emerging from the trees. She had ratty black hair and skin that looked as rough as sandpaper. From her waist stemmed six arachnid legs.

  “Hello there, little Alpha Huntress,” the arachnid-woman said with a wicked, high-pitched voice.

  Wolfgang was overcome with a look of guilt. “I’m sorry, Red. I was wrong about you.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about, Wolfgang,” the arachnid-woman said. “You did the right thing, leading me to the Alpha.”

  Red’s eyes filled with rage. “Wolfgang, you set me up?”

  “It’s not like that, Red. She put a spellcraft on me. But that was before I got to know you.”

  Red got onto her motorcycle and hit the throttle. “Stay away from me, Helheim. You’re a monster.”

  Wolfgang slumped over, devastated by her words.

  “Leaving so soon, Alpha?” The arachnid-woman fired webs from her fingertips, binding the back wheel of Red’s motorcycle.

  Wolfgang jumped between Red and the arachnid-woman. “Mother, please don’t do this.”