Alphas burden

“It doesn’t matter. Come with me.” I drag her inside, grip firm around her frail wrist. “They know we’re here. They sent her as bait to trap me.”

Liam unfolds his arms with a growl, hauling Sylvie off her feet by the collar of her jacket. She wails, kicking her legs.

“Stop,” I order. “She’s not important right now. I’m going to get my sisters.”

He grits his teeth, setting her down. “No. Caden gave me an order to stay put and keep you safe.”

“And I’m telling you I’m not staying put and waiting for him to handle this.” I bare my teeth. “I’m Alpha female. Either you’re with me or you’re not.”

“I’m with you,” Callie says.

“Me too,” Taryn chimes in.

Liam sighs, outnumbered by three willful females. “Fine. Only because I know if I refuse you’re going to do something anyway. If we’re doing this, let’s be smart about it.”

“Tell me where my sisters really are,” I growl. “Are they with everyone else?”

Sylvie cowers. I signal Liam with a glance. His violent rumble makes her balk and bare her neck.

“They’re not,” she stammers. “I bring their food. They’re being guarded in a basement. It’s a cabin near the back of the compound. There’s a hatch to it from the outside.”

My stomach clenches. If Caden’s taking Lorne on, he won’t know where they are. I have to get them out of there.

“You’re not going run back to give us away,” I say. “I’d rather keep you here.”

“No, no. I’ll help. A distraction—You need a distraction, yes? I’ll bring some food for the guards,” Sylvie promises.

“I’ll help keep you properly motivated,” Jade interjects. “Just in case.”

She whispers an incantation, fingers tracing a sigil in the air I’m only able to make out faintly. Sylvie sways against Liam, eyes going glassy and unfocused for a moment.

Liam grunts. “What the hell did you do to her?”

“She’ll seem like she’s sleepwalking until I release her,” Jade explains. “She won’t cause any problems.”

I give her a grateful nod. Sylvie blinks, her demeanor serene.

“Let’s go.”

We leave Liam’s cabin, sneaking through the packlands. We avoid the few scouts we encounter by following Liam’s direction to stay downwind. I spot larkspur growing on a hillside, gathering as much of it as I can.

“We can take out whoever’s guarding the basement with this. If we slip it into the food Sylvie gives them, it’ll be easier to overpower them.”

“What does it do?” Callie leans in to sniff it.

“Careful. We have to ingest it for it to have an effect on us, but larkspur is toxic. When they eat it, they’ll lose control of their motor functions.”

Jade gives me an approving once over. “You’ve learned well.”

Sylvie takes us around the outer stone wall Cormac built around his compound years ago. She shows us a part covered by a blanket of ivy overgrowth where there are footholds. Liam climbs up first, checking if the coast is clear before hoisting us up one by one.

“Take us to the basement,” I order.

Sylvie leads the way. The cabin she stops at isn’t much bigger than my cottage, the wooden logs suffering from dry rot. I send Sylvie for food while we hide out of sight. The guards watching the basement hatch are playing cards. One groans, complaining that his partner is cheating.

“Can you cast the same spell on the guards?” Liam asks Jade.

“I need to be able to touch their aura to cast it. They’re too far away,” she says. “I’ll do it when we’re closer.”

When Sylvie returns with two bowls of stew, I break up the larkspur flowers and grind the rest of the plant with two rocks, mixing all of it into their food.

“Lunchtime already?” The lankier guard pats his stomach as Sylvie approaches. “I could eat.”

“Stew again,” the other says with a sigh. “Don’t you know how to cook anything else?”

Sylvie shakes her head. “Stew is what Cormac likes.”

They exchange a look at her dreamy tone, shrugging. My heart doesn’t stop thudding until they’ve taken a few bites of food.

“Is yours, like, really spicy?” asks the lanky one.

The other one shrugs. “Kinda. My throat burns. I like it, though.”

I hold my breath. The poison’s taking effect. It doesn’t take long for one to start coughing and gagging. They both pass out, slumping off their chairs. Sylvie stands off to the side peacefully.

“Now,” Liam urges.

We rush to the basement hatch. Callie picks up the padlock while Jade casts a spell on the guards.

“Check one of them for a key,” she says.

“On it.” Taryn pats them down, deftly finding it looped around one of the guards’ necks on a length of twine. “Here.”

“How long will that keep them out?” Liam toes the closest guard.

“Long enough with Avery’s poison. As long as I need with my spell,” Jade answers.

Relief spirals through me when Callie gets the door unlocked. I race down the steps into the dank, dark basement. The girls are huddled on a cot shoved into a corner.

“Avery!” Lena covers her mouth to keep her voice down. “You came for us.”

My sisters rush me. I catch them both in a tight hug.

“Of course I came for you. I’d never leave you behind. Did they hurt you?”

“No,” Beatrix answers. “They just tried to scare us.”

“Dane said really mean things.” Lena whimpers into my neck. “Like how he wanted to make us his personal maids.”

A growl flies out of me. I’ll cut off his tongue.

“Let’s get out of here.” I take my sisters’ hands and hurry to the steps up to the hatch.

Liam curses under his breath and yanks us behind him. Male voices come closer. We peek around the corner. Dane ambles around with Trent.

“Hey. No sleeping on your watch. And why’s this door open, you idiots?” Dane and Trent nudge the unconscious guards. “Oh, fuck. I think he’s dead. What the hell?”

“Shit,” I hiss.

“Shh.” Liam edges back, shooting Jade a questioning look. She shakes her head and he exhales heavily. “I’ll attack. You all run.”

“By yourself?” I bite out. “Dane, sure. But Trent’s huge.”

He levels me with a firm look. “He’s also an idiot and he swings wide. Trust me, I know how to handle them. Your job is to get yourself to safety, okay?”

“Got it. Girls, stay close and be ready to run. Lena, if it hurts to breathe you have to keep going. Promise me, buttercup.”

“I’ll carry her,” Beatrix says. “We look out for each other, right?”

I squeeze her hand. As Liam watches for an opening, I whisper to Jade.

“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.