Текст книги "Alphas burden"

Автор книги: Luna lark

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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

“If this goes wrong, I need you to make sure they’re safe.” She nods. “Thank you.”

Liam moves the second both their backs are turned, bolting up the steps and knocking their heads together. Dane and Trent stagger with shouts of anger as he shifts, biting Dane’s leg.

The rest of us make our escape while Liam fights the guards. Taryn and Callie take off, watchful for others that might hear us. I’m right behind them with Jade and my sisters.

“Go get them!” Dane barks.

I push the girls in front of me. A determined grunt sounds behind me. Arms lock around my waist.

“I’ll make you pay for stealing my mate!” Trent yells.

“No!” I fall under his weight bearing down on me.

“Avery!” Lena slides to a stop.

“Go,” I yell. “Get out of here!”

Jade, Callie, and Taryn don’t stop. Lena fights them, struggling to breathe.

“No! Stop! We can’t leave without Avery! Avery!”

Her screams crack my heart open. Beatrix picks her up, casting a terrified glance back. Tears sting my eyes. It doesn’t matter what happens to me. They’ll be safe.

Pain pricks my neck. I struggle against Trent picking me up with a ferocious growl, shifting to my fur. My clothes tear and he buckles under the weight of my massive wolf. He drops a needle when I sink my teeth into his arm and wrench, breaking bone.

Fuck. He injected me with something.

It’s fast working. My head spins, vision blurring. I stagger, losing my shift. My knees hit the ground hard.

I try to call out for Liam, panicking as Dane knocks him out when he shifts back. I’m going to be sick. My wolf rages, barreling against the veil to come back out. I can’t feel her, going numb all over.

Everything mutes. My senses. My strength. My wolf.

And the bond. My heart lurches because I can’t feel Caden. Can he still feel me? The world dims to blackness.

38CADEN

Rage simmers in my blood, but this is no time to lose my head. I need to fight for my pack. Root out my cousin and uncle for good and stop their absurd bid for power. They’ve waited all this time believing they can be brazen now. That they’re strong enough to steal my rank and my pack from me.

They haven’t won. Not by a fucking long shot.

My wolf is restless and ready to take my skin the moment I give him control. He’ll bring every shifter on this mountain to their knees and have their submission to him as the rightful Alpha.

“Where are the enforcers being kept?” I demand as we swiftly make our way across the perimeter.

“Patrol cabin,” Hodge answers. “They rotate the guards every few hours.”

“We should be catching them near the end of a watch,” Ford says.

“Let’s be quick, then,” I decide. “We’ll free Gabe and the others to have more numbers on our side if the next guard change comes when we’re breaking them out.”

The packlands are eerily still and deserted except for the pair of scouts we come across when we cut through the lower ridge line from the south to get up to the commons. I signal Hodge and he shifts, sneaking up on them from behind.

They’re not trained for the security team. That much is obvious from their lack of awareness that wouldn’t fly for one of my enforcers entrusted with the safety of the pack. One’s a Merryweather from maintenance group C that caused the fuss several weeks ago. The other’s one of the younger Hooper brothers who’s flunked out of enforcer tryouts three times.

When Hodge attacks, neither of them sense him coming. Hooper’s head cracks on the ground, knocking him out. Merryweather tries to run, scrambling away. He trips on a divot in the path and Hodge tramples him.

He screams. “I surrender! Oh, gods, I surrender! Please don’t kill me!”

This is the best my cousin could do? It’s a fucking insult.

“Knock him out,” I direct.

One of the witches with us steps out to the path, bending over Merryweather. He startles at her entering his periphery, squirming with renewed distress. She whispers something to him, then he relaxes, going still.

“He’s subdued,” she calls.

The witch casts the same spell on Hooper and Ford drags them into the woods, hiding them in a hollow under a jutting rock. We continue on, not encountering anyone else before we finally reach the patrol cabin. Kip’s hanging out front, leaning next to the door with a bored expression.

We stay downwind, creeping into the cabin’s back entrance. The annex is empty. Someone’s talking on the other side of the door. I scent Weston and Abbott with a frown. One of the witches casts a spell over us.

“They won’t sense our approach,” she explains. “We’ll appear like ripples in the air at the corners of their eyes until you touch them. There aren’t any witches here, either. Only shifters.”

I nod in thanks, delegating to my lieutenants. “Get our people out of the holding cells. The rest of us will take care of the ones on watch.”

I’m the first one through the door. Weston glances up from one of the logbooks, brows furrowing. He shakes his head and bends over the desk again. Abbott paces lazily at the other end of the cabin. I wave Ford out.

He scans the holding cells and goes to the second one where Gabe is. Gabe jolts, stifling his surprise. He peers at Weston with a disgusted glare, then puts a hand on the bars. Ford squeezes it. Gabe’s eyes fall shut, a wobbly smile stretching his mouth.

Weston jumps up. “We’ve been through this, Gabe. Go sit down. You’re not tricking me again. Nothing you say will get you out of there unless you’re ready to come to our side.”

“You’re an idiot,” Gabe mutters.

Abbott laughs, coming this way. “We’re not the ones behind bars.”

Tobin grabs the back of his shirt when he passes his cell, yanking him in. “Won’t be that way for long. When Caden finds out what you did, you’re all dead meat.”

“Caden’s a weak fucking pussy who isn’t fit to call himself Alpha. A real Alpha⁠—”

I cut off his words, grabbing him by the throat. The spell hiding me from them sloughs off like water trickling down my back.

“What were you saying?” I seethe.

“Oh shit,” Abbott chokes. “A-Alpha.”

I slam him against the bars with a snarl. He grunts and swings his fists at me. I block one and catch the other in a punishing grip, flinging him aside like a rag doll.

“Weston has the keys,” Gabe shouts.

Ford whirls on Weston. He takes a fighting stance, attention on me. His bravery crumbles at the sound of Ford vaulting over the desk to get to him. When Ford shoves him against the wall, he drops the keys on the floor. Ford punches Weston and retrieves the keys.

Weston covers his nose and shuffles into a corner once Ford goes to let Gabe out. Abbott gets up and jumps on my back. He thumps my head and winds an arm around my neck to choke me out. I grunt, driving him into a column repeatedly until he lets go. He staggers to the side, then comes at me again.

“Get him, Alpha!” Tobin cheers.

The commotion draws Kip in from outside and two more guards from the security team from upstairs. Jordan flies down the steps with a curse, Lyle on his heels.

They pass by Hodge, still hidden by the spell. He snags Lyle by the scruff of his collar, dragging him backwards. Lyle compensates, throwing his weight to jerk Hodge to the floor with him. Hodge doesn’t let him get away, wrestling him.

Gabe emerges from the cell, blocking Kip’s charge. Ford tosses the keys to one of the witches and joins the fight.

The other witch shoots magic at Jordan. He dodges, clothes shredding as he lets his wolf out. Jordan leaps at her and attacks her shoulder, biting down. She screams, wrenching his fur in her grip to get him off. His bites are brutal and relentless. Fuck, I need to get over there.

I shove Abbott against the wall with all my might. He hits it hard and collapses with a groan as he loses consciousness, taking the chair he reaches for with him. I’m too late to help the witch. Her hands loosen, falling away. Her blood coats Jordan’s snout and the floor.

Weston pushes away from the corner with a yell. To my surprise, he doesn’t join the fight to attack my loyal guards. He goes for Jordan’s wolf, shifting as he tackles him.

His wolf’s a scrapper, smaller than his older brothers, but a cutthroat fighter. Jordan’s a fast wolf, yet in a confined space like the cabin, he can’t outwit Weston when he clamps his teeth on his back leg, rending it with a hard toss of his head. The bone fractures and Jordan’s wolf screams in agony. Weston wastes no time breaking the other one, then goes for his throat.

“Stop,” I command.

Weston freezes. I push him aside and drag Jordan by his scruff into an open cell. The remaining witch closes it.

Ford and Gabe have Kip beat. Hodge is up. He hoists Lyle off his feet, glowering.

“Enough,” he barks.

Kip struggles, but Gabe doesn’t let up, twisting his arm to the breaking point behind his back.

“It’s over. Give it up,” Gabe bites out. “You lost.”

Ford holds the cell door open while his mate shoves Kip inside. He slams it behind him with a scowl, surveying Kip and Lyle’s cells.

“Get comfy. We’ll be back to deal with you assholes later.” Ford points at Kip with a deadly glare. “Your days are numbered. You never should’ve touched my mate.”

“Ford, I’m fine,” Gabe mutters.

Ford releases a rough noise, pulling Gabe into his arms and tucking his nose into the crook of his neck. Gabe clutches him, murmuring to his mate.

Weston’s wolf crawls on his belly to my feet, whining. His tail is tucked between his legs and he covers his snout, muscles twitching continuously with how hard his wolf shakes. At my booming growl, he shifts back, remaining crouched and bowing his head. The others watch in silence.

“I’m sorry,” he pleads.

“You turned against your brother,” I say.

“He’s not Alpha. You are.” He bends his neck, shoulders quaking as hard as his voice. “I’m sorry. I failed you. I should’ve been stronger. I—I was afraid. I didn’t know what to do.”

I grit my teeth. “Did you join the security team so you could feed them information?”

“I—” He gulps, forcing out the words shamefully. “Yes. They made me. I didn’t tell them everything—only the patrol schedules and the route map.”

He cuts off as my wolf makes himself known, my hands beginning to shift. “You betrayed the pack. Betrayed your alpha. I should kill you for that.”

Weston presses his face to the floor with a fearful noise. “I know. It’s what I deserve.”

I work my jaw, staring him down. He’s no threat to me. He might’ve been swayed down the wrong path by pressure from his family, but he doesn’t smell like trouble or lies. When it came down to it, he did the right thing.

“Who do you pledge loyalty to?”

“You,” he answers immediately.

“Not your brother? Your father?”

“No, Alpha Blackburn,” he declares. “They’re traitors. I give my life to serve you.”

My gaze narrows. “You have one shot to prove I can trust you. Understand?”

He nods quickly, uttering a relieved cry. “Yes. I won’t let you down. We have to get to the compound. Lorne’s waiting for you there. He knows you’re coming back today.”

My lip curls. The smug bastard expects me to go to him? I want to rip his spine out by his tail.

“Get up. Help Tobin unlock the other cells and meet us there.”

We check the entire patrol cabin. There aren’t any other guards under Lorne’s command here. The witches ward the entrances and windows to keep out anyone who would help the traitors we captured escape.

“You three come with me,” I tell Hodge, Ford, and Gabe. “Tobin and Marissa, meet up with the group that made it off the packlands. Keep an eye out for any runners. Let’s go.”

I vault off the front steps of the patrol cabin, relinquishing control to my wolf. The transformation ripples through me before my paws touch the grass. His senses sharpen, listening for any signs of enemies. None are near, the stench of a threat wafting on the breeze from the opposite direction.

My lieutenants follow my lead, shifting to their wolves right behind me. My chest reverberates with a dominant rumble and they paw the ground, licking their jowls.

We take off for the Blackburn compound to the western slope of the mountain. It looms from the trees as they open to the wall he built around the territory he claimed for himself. I growl at the affront, not stopping my charge. I crash against the barrier to knock the outer wall down with a forceful blow of my shoulder. The stone gives. It’s no contest for the Alpha power flowing in my veins, giving my massive wolf immense strength.

The courtyard is empty. No guards. No one inspecting the unsubtle entrance.

Offense roils my stomach and ruffles my wolf’s fur as we careen through the compound. No one stops our group from busting through the doors to Cormac’s massive lodge set at the edge of a cliff face.

Power driven by my fury radiates from me with every bounding step. I shift back mid-leap, landing in a crouch at the center of the great room.

Lorne sits in a regal chair with my uncle at his side on the raised platform backlit by windows overlooking the valley like he’s won. Like he’s the Silver Falls Pack alpha.

I’m pissed as fuck, furious growls tingeing every panting breath. Outrage rockets through me at the sight of females cowering behind the males who all wear self-important expressions. At how many of my pack has accepted Lorne’s takeover. At my beta in Dane’s headlock near the front of the crowd to my left.

My heart stops. An unconscious female is sprawled at Lorne’s feet.

Avery.

Something’s wrong with the bond. I can’t sense her.

I’ll fucking kill him for this. He’s harmed my mate and my pack. My wolf surges forward to take my skin again, ready to destroy everyone in the damned room to get to our mate.

My outraged roar rattles the glass and sends half the room to their knees cowering. Those that manage to remain standing look to my cousin.

Lorne gives me a vicious grin.

“Cousin.” He rises, spreading his arms. “I’ve been waiting for your return. I challenge you for the title of Alpha.”

39CADEN

“Good, because I’m going to kill you.” My wolf is evident in every word. “Come down here and face me.”

Lorne doesn’t move right away. The disrespect and disregard for my authority rakes over my patience, stirring the need for retribution and my impending rampage until I’m strung tight like a bow ready to snap.

He doesn’t realize how much danger he’s in. My wolf won’t be satisfied until he spills blood.

At last, Lorne rises, coming off his false throne with measured steps that make my skin prick with the urge to punch him repeatedly and squeeze his throat until the light goes from his eyes. I force out a breath to remain in place. He’ll come to me.

I’m not giving up a fucking inch for this sniveling cocky little shit that thinks he’s beaten me without earning my rank from me.

He keeps his distance, faking me out a few times. I don’t fall for it.

When he’s within range, I attack, going for the opening with a brutal punch that snaps his jaw to the side. He bites back a groan. I rear back and throw another. He blocks poorly, but manages to slip away and dance around me, bouncing on his toes in a fighter’s stance.

“Have to be faster than that,” he goads.

Lorne wants to draw this out. My lip curls at his insolence. I’m going to smash his face into the ground and paint the damned walls and floor with his blood.

My gaze cuts to Avery for a brief second. She’s not waking up. I don’t like how little she’s moving. How I can’t sense her properly. Even though I can’t feel the bond, I reach for it anyway, using it to urge her to open her eyes and escape to safety. It doesn’t work.

I block Lorne’s sloppy left hook, stepping inside his guard to jab him in the stomach. He keels over with a grunt, then slashes at my stomach. His claws slice my torso. I back out of reach with a scowl.

The cut isn’t deep enough to slow me down. It tingles, the skin knitting back together until it stops bleeding and only angry pink lines remain. My gaze narrows, attention darting to check on Avery. She hasn’t moved.

For a harrowing second, I fear her heart’s stopped, grabbing hold of the bond blindly. The shroud ebbs away, the connection pulsing warm and steady in my grasp. I blow out a breath, swinging my focus back to Lorne.

I’m done. This ends now so I can get to her.

“Stop running,” I grit through my teeth when he evades my advances.

“I’m not, you’re just too slow.” He smirks, wiggling his fingers. “Your instincts aren’t as sharp as you think. It’s why you’re a lousy alpha. You’re too blind to wield the power the way it’s meant to be. To rule absolutely.”

I don’t bother responding, swinging my fist just to shut him the hell up. I don’t give a shit about what he’s saying. He sounds like he wants to run my pack like the alphas of the Original Pack. He doesn’t care about the people in it, all he wants is power and to be on top.

He shoves me back, sneering when it does little to upset my center of balance. Mistake. I grab him by the throat, squeezing. His eyes bulge and he knees me in the groin. I stumble back, clenching my jaw as pain burns through me.

Lorne’s nerve boosts again once he’s out of immediate danger. “I’ve waited so long for this day,” he taunts. “Once I’m finished taking this pack that should’ve always been mine by birthright, I’ll be taking your mate, too.”

I see fucking red, roaring. He’ll never have her. My wolf charges, bursting from me with immense power. He’s done waiting.

Lorne doesn’t shift immediately. His mask of confidence cracks, his smile and the corners of his eyes tight. He knows he’s no match for me. I’ll end him here and now.

Fight me, my wolf howls.

He glances at my uncle, earning a glare. I toss my head. There’s no interference in a fight for rank. He issued the challenge and he needs to see it through. There’s no tapping in a second.

I prowl the floor, inching closer to Lorne each time I circle him. His throat bobs, eyes skittering about the room.

Shift. My wolf’s snarl carries Alpha power.

It forces Lorne’s wolf out. He buckles under the change, falling to his paws as he transforms. His tail tucks and he shuffles back when I stalk up to him, baring my teeth.

He lunges for me, too desperate and wild with cowardice. It’s stinking up the room, his scent unable to trick my wolf’s nose. I take him down with a precise tackle, scratching his belly when he rolls. He whines, kicking at me with his back feet. It throws me off, but not for long.

I twist, landing on my paws. He’s rolling to get up. I charge him before he’s on his feet, pouncing once more to keep him pinned. He goes down harder this time, clawing the floorboards for purchase. It’s no use. My wolf outranks him on every level, including size.

The challenge is over. He’s lost.

It’s time to finish this. My snarling maw opens to sink my teeth into his throat in victory, fangs dripping with saliva.

Before I can, a weight slams into me from behind with a ferocious growl. I roll, whipping to face the one who would dare break shifter law to interrupt an Alpha challenge.

It’s his father. My uncle. I should’ve known Lorne would fight dirty. He never stood a chance of winning any other way.

Cormac’s wolf joins Lorne’s, both of them attacking at once.

40AVERY

Something warm and familiar brushes me from within. I cling to it, following it from the dark abyss my mind is trapped in. The bond. Caden. I cling tighter to our connection, waking to the bond screaming.

I take in my surroundings, squinting at the crowd groggily as my healing fights to flush whatever I was injected with from my body. They’re in a circle around the edges of the room. They’re not looking at me, they’re watching a fight.

Ice drives into my chest. Caden’s here, circling his cousin. It’s a rank challenge.

Lorne’s gloating about taking the pack and me. My stomach convulses. I struggle to move my body.

I gasp, shivering as magic washes over me. Jade’s voice whispers through my head, her words too soft to make out. She’s here somewhere. I hope she got my sisters away before coming back for me.

I’m able to move, my senses coming back with a pop of my ears. Sluggishness leaves my body. The room grows loud with shouting and thick with too many scents at once. I clutch my head, curling on my side.

Caden’s worry flows inside me. I stroke it, tucking it close to my heart. The jangling bond smooths out, strands resonating.

When I turn my attention back to the fight, Caden’s wolf is a beautiful sight to behold, sinewy muscles rippling beneath his thick black fur with every step. He roars with command, forcing Lorne to shift with undeniable Alpha power.

Lorne’s efforts falter against Caden’s massive wolf. He’s outmatched, failing to gain an advantage in the fight. When Caden pins him, jaws going for Lorne’s neck, relief floods me. It’s over.

A wolf flies over my head, heading straight for the challenge circle.

No. Horror and wrath fill me at the sight of Cormac’s wolf attacking Caden’s unguarded back. Caden doesn’t see it coming, unable to escape the underhanded blow to keep him from winning.

This isn’t happening. I just got my pack back. They won’t take it from me again.

No one will take Caden from me.

Chaos breaks out all around me simultaneously. Those on Lorne’s side shift, clashing with Caden’s lieutenants.

Liam breaks free of Dane and melts into his fur.

He’s a blur of furious motion. Before Dane has a chance to become his wolf, Liam’s is on him, deadly and vengeful. Liam’s wolf snaps Dane’s neck with a fearsome clench of his jaws around his throat. Dane’s body jerks, then collapses with a hard thud against the floor.

My wolf rises to my call. Our sights are set on Cormac, blood singing with the promise of violence for touching our mate.

I leap from the platform, my wolf landing on Cormac’s back. He snarls, swiveling his head and bucking to unseat me. I sink my teeth into his fur, growling and shaking my jaw. A piece of his pelt tears off. He howls, rolling me to the ground.

He leaves Caden for Lorne to deal with on his own, turning his cruel gaze on me. His wolf isn’t as big as mine, but he’s built. Wiry gray fur shot through with silvery white covers him, tufting from his ears. One’s missing a chunk and his eye is clouded with permanent damage from a fight in the past.

He sinks low, then bolts for me faster than I expect for an older wolf. I sidestep him, my wolf vigilant, her gaze sharpening. He doesn’t put his weight on his front right arm where she bit his shoulder.

I charge, head butting that side. He goes for my tail, grabbing it between his teeth to drag me. Fuck, that hurts. I kick his snout until he releases me.

I swing around, ready for his next attack, but he’s not going for me. He leaps at Caden’s side. Caden growls, dropping to roll out of the way. I go for Lorne, knocking him off balance when he isn’t paying attention.

He flashes his teeth at me. I draw him away, switching opponents with my mate.

At last, I face Lorne one on one. This time he doesn’t have an unfair advantage.

He pins his ears, growling with bluster. My wolf thinks he’s a joke. She doesn’t want to play games, springing into the air with devastating speed and strength. He tries to avoid it, but I land on his side, taking him down. We skid across the floor.

I close my teeth around his throat, pinning him. He’s not going anywhere. I won’t kill him, only hold him for Caden.

He releases a violent bark. Calling for help won’t help him. He’s lost. I put pressure on his neck to silence his plea.

My jaw stiffens against my will. I couldn’t bite down fully if I wanted to. My limbs don’t obey, not working when my wolf struggles to move. She doesn’t like it. She feels trapped, jerking hard to free herself. A jolt of fire licks up my spine and she shrieks.

Magic burns in my veins.

I writhe, unable to fight it off. What the fuck is this? What’s happening and who’s causing it? My gaze darts around but all I see are shifters, unable to find the witch casting the spell.

It’s terrible. Pinning down my will, bending me to its command. Urging me to submit. No, no, no. I refuse to succumb, panting heavily. It gags me, twisting my mind.

Lorne knocks me over with much more force than before. I fly back, slumping motionless. The magic stops abruptly and something explodes overhead. My wolf shakes her head, scraping her snout with her arm at the intense taste of magic crackling on her tongue.

Someone screams. I can’t focus on it, returning my attention to fighting Lorne.

He tackles me when I stagger to my feet. I go down again, the wind knocked from me. Shit, how did he get that powerful?

Lorne stands over me, a murderous gleam of victory in his eyes.

I snap at him with my teeth, not giving up. He plants a paw in my chest, crushing me to the floor. I yelp in pain, clawing at him. It’s useless. I’m not able to get enough leverage to do more damage than feeble scratches. He tosses his head with a whuff, grinning with his maw like he’s laughing at me.

Fuck him.

I plant my hind paws in his stomach and kick with all my might, my wolf growling brutally. He doesn’t budge. Shit.

Changing tactics, I scratch his face, managing to catch his eye with my claws before he rears back with a bellow. He peels his lips from his teeth. My heart thuds.

A barbaric noise to our left distracts him before he attacks. Caden and Cormac are locked in a remorseless battle. Both of them are bleeding from bite marks and angry slashes on their flanks and sides. Cormac adds another to Caden’s chest, dragging his claws with a ferocious swipe.

Caden turns the tables, jumping on his uncle’s back, sending him to the ground. His jaws squeeze the scruff of his neck. Cormac wrestles to free himself, seizing when Caden jerks his head.

The snap of Cormac’s bones breaking resounds over the cacophony of fighting. His wolf’s eyes bulge, then fade to a dull gray as he falls with a resounding crash, lifeless. Lorne releases an enraged howl and goes for my throat, intent on taking me away from my mate.

Caden locks his deadly gaze on Lorne and charges.

His wolf tackles Lorne with a feral roar, getting him off me. I roll to my feet as they crash beside me, the floorboards splintering beneath Lorne from Caden’s force.

There’s no hesitation in him when his jaw clamps down. He’s merciless, tearing out Lorne’s throat with a wrenching bite. Blood pools beneath Lorne, matting his fur. He gurgles in agony and panic, limbs flailing as he struggles to breathe.

Caden growls thunderously as he bites down again, spitting mangled pieces of tendon and furry flesh aside, ripping Lorne to shreds. He’s unrelenting even when Lorne stops fighting for his life, eventually going still. He’s not satisfied until the head severs with a terrible crack of bone.

I have no sympathy for Lorne. He got what he fucking deserved. So did his father. Neither of them will ever harm my mate or my pack again. I bump into Caden’s side, resting my snout over his back.

Standing over Lorne’s dead wolf, Caden howls in victory.