Avoiding Alpha (Alpha Girl) (18 page)

“I don’t negotiate with monsters.”

Rage rippled along my skin. “You’re killing an innocent girl and you dare call me—
us
—monsters.” Three calming breaths were all I allowed myself. “Meredith Molloney is the true mate of Donovan Murrey. One of the Seven. Killing her will win you no friends. Are you and your people prepared to make enemies of all the wolves? Not just this pack, but
every
pack? You wanted me here, so here I am. I’m offering one day a week in exchange for you to release Meredith from the curse.”

“No.”

Murmers went around the group. Some of the coven members looked wary.

Daniel put his hand on his mother’s shoulder. “We should accept her offer. Having Donovan as an enemy is not an option.”

“No,” Luciana said. “She needs to let go of her wolf and take her place in the coven.”

“I can’t do that.” Taking my wolf away was not an option, and Luciana was crazy for thinking it was. “It’d be like cutting off one of my legs just for the hell of it. I’m not doing it. I’m a wolf and a witch—equal halves of both. You don’t have the right or the power to separate me from my wolf.”

“If you were so powerful, you’d be able to break the cage Meredith’s wolf is in,” Luciana said. “But you can’t even
see
it to break it. You can’t even find it. That’s not power.”

Break the cage?
See
it?

Break the cage. I could find it?

That was it. Holy shit. Luciana gave me what I needed.

I was a combination of wolf and witch. I combined alpha powers with witchcraft. I hadn’t learned much about either, but I knew that my alpha powers gave me control. And control was what I needed to guide my witchcraft.

Donovan hadn’t been talking about merging types of witchcraft. He’d been talking about me specifically mixing my witchcraft with my alpha energy. Just like I’d done to contact him.

Oh my God.

Shannon and Chris had been right all along. I could break the curse. I’d just been thinking about it the wrong way. I’d been looking at it from either an alpha way—by getting
an alpha strong enough to calm her wolf—or a witchcraft way—by using spells and potions to get her wolf to settle down.

In the middle of this fight with Luciana, I was instantly calm.

A smile spread across my face. Meredith’s wolf was locked up. Chained inside her. All I had to do was find the cage with my witchcraft, and help her break it and call her wolf forward by using alpha powers. And if I didn’t have enough alpha energy, I could pull it from the pack.

It all made sense now. I just hadn’t seen it before.

I’d been running from the wolf stuff since I became a wolf and it was high time I embraced it along with my
bruja
side.

Luciana was still rambling on, but nothing she said mattered anymore. I wasn’t listening.

“Goodbye, Luciana.” She stopped talking to stare at me. “Turns out, I don’t need your help. And you’ve just made an enemy for life.” I turned my back, trusting Daniel and Dastien to keep watch. “Let’s go.”

I grabbed the keys from Dastien and hopped in the car. I floored it through the gate. The burn on the way out barely registered.

“You’ve got a plan.”

I nodded. “Yes. Call the school. I need every wolf in the area in the courtyard by the time we get there. Everyone you can find. All the Cazadores. Everyone.”

“On it.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and started making calls.

This could work. Holy shit. This could be it.

Dastien’s phone worked overtime for nearly the whole car ride. We knew our time was limited. He checked in with Dr. Gonzales and she said Meredith was still alive, but had only an hour or two left.

I sped down the road, not caring about getting a ticket. There was no slowing down.

When Dastien was done with his calls, we were minutes away from campus.

“What’s the plan?”

I tapped my fingers along the steering wheel. “I’m going to need your help. I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I have a theory.”

He turned to face me. “Tell me.”

I glanced at him for a second before turning back to the road. “You can make me change if you wanted to.”

“Yes. I could.”

“You could make just about anyone, right?”

“Yes.”

“Even if they didn’t want to.”

“
Oui
. Of course. Yes.” He paused. “I think I know where you’re going with this, but I already tried that with Meredith… Actually, I tried to calm her wolf. Waking it up would only hurt her worse.”

“See, that’s what I thought too. But Luciana talked about the curse like she trapped Meredith’s wolf in a cage, and all I had to do was release her. I think if I connect with Meredith again so that I can ‘see’ Meredith’s wolf, and then I use witchcraft and break the cage
while
I use alpha power to force the change, then the cage will crumble. The curse will break.” I was on to something. If Dastien agreed, this could really be it. “You weren’t enough on your own to affect her change, but if we got enough of us together, I think we could make it work.”

“I don’t know. It makes sense in theory, but do you think you can connect with her enough to see that?”

I hoped so. “I saw all kinds of stuff when I was with her. Memories after she first changed. With her brothers. Hanging out with her mom. I think I can get to her, and once I do, it’ll be about timing. It’ll take some doing, but I think we can.” I paused.

“This could work. It’s just… Shit,” he said as his phone rang. He switched to French, talking for a few minutes before hanging up.

I pulled into the big black gates at St. Ailbe’s. The lot was completely full. Cars were blocking others in and there was no hope of finding a place to park. I didn’t look for one. Instead, I drove up the path that led to school.

There were people milling around. As soon as they saw me, they stopped and stared.

Jeeze. Enough with the staring already.

Dastien nodded at them when we got out and they headed off without a word.

“Everyone’s in the courtyard. Go get Meredith and bring her.”

Dastien took off sprinting, and I ran the other direction. When I got to the end of the path, the trees cleared and I stopped.

Where had Dastien found all these people? There had to be six or seven hundred. Our school had barely three hundred. I swallowed. It seemed a little odd that the newbie wolf was going to use all of them, but I could do this. At least I thought I could.

My gaze darted from face to face as I started toward the crowd.

One by one, people started muttering and pointing my way. I was sure that with the way the St. Ailbe’s rumor mill worked, everyone here knew who I was. I wasn’t sure if that made me uncomfortable or more confident. Probably the former.

They made way for me as I stepped into the middle of the clearing.

I spotted a familiar head of wavy blond hair and met Chris’ gaze. Shannon was next to him with all four of Meredith’s brothers. They nodded at me, and I tried to look confident—chin up, back straight—but I wasn’t sure if I pulled it off at all.

Adrian was standing beside Meredith’s brothers. He stuck his thumb up in the air with a grin.

Good God. How was he smiling when Meredith was barely alive?

If I couldn’t pull this one off…

Rosa’s words came back to me, and I pushed my fears aside. Confidence. And light. Put my faith, my will, my heart into the work. I had love for Meredith. I’d connect with her, and free the wolf from her cage.

Butterflies took flight in my stomach as I waited. I tried not to worry about everyone watching me. I was used to being watched. I could do this.

Dastien stepped into the circle everyone had formed around me with Meredith in his arms. She moaned.

No. This wasn’t good. “Is she awake?”

He placed her down gently. “Yes. She’s burning the drugs off faster than we can give them to her. At least we won’t have to fight the drugs and the curse to get her awake.”

Dr. Gonzales was right behind him. “When you’re ready, I’ll give her a shot to wake her up a little more. I don’t want her to get sick or convulse, but I think we’ll want her a bit more alert.”

I wanted to say no freaking way was she giving her anything to wake her up, but that was my fear talking. I couldn’t bring fear into this. I needed to be firm. My visions would guide me to her, and my alpha powers would help her escape. “Okay.”

Her parents stepped into the circle. Her mother squeezed me tight. “Thank you.”

God. I wished everyone would stop thanking me. I hadn’t done anything yet.

The pressure made my chest tight.

Dastien moved to my side. “Thank you so much for coming. My mate and I think that together as a pack, we can break through what’s been holding Meredith’s wolf at bay.” His voice was clear and confident. “It might leave everyone here drained, but as you can see, it’s a worthy cause.”

He squeezed my hand. “Do you want to say anything?”

I shook my head. Was he nuts? No, I didn’t want to say anything.

Wait. Yes, I did. “Meredith has been a good friend to me, no questions asked. I’m going to try and repay the favor, and I need everyone’s help. I know I drained a lot of you yesterday, and I really appreciate you being up to trying it again. I’m doing something different this time, though. I’m hoping it’s enough to break the curse.” I looked at Dr. Gonzales.

She knelt by Meredith’s side, and waited for my signal.

Dastien pressed a kiss to my forehead.

My heart was racing as I sat by Meredith.

I took a breath, and grasped Meredith’s hand in my own. Her fingers felt like a bunch of brittle sticks. I swallowed and looked at Dr. Gonzales. She plunged the needle into Meredith’s other arm.

Meredith’s eyelids fluttered for a few seconds before opening.

“You ready?” Dastien asked.

“Yeah.” I hoped so. I let down every barrier I had. “Meredith.”

She moaned.

“Show me your wolf.”

I was in the field of bluebonnets again. The sun was brighter. It was earlier in the day. She was with her brother in human form. Meredith looked younger without her dyed hair, but she was definitely a teenager. She was wearing a flower printed dress—which was so nothing Meredith would ever wear
.

“You’re going to be fine. I’m going to shift, and you just follow my lead, okay?”

“No, Max! Don’t—”

Max laughed, and quicker than I could blink, he was on four legs with his clothes piled at his feet. He butted his head against her legs
.

“Cut it out.”

When she went to push him away, he nipped her hand. “Ouch. You son of a bitch! That hurt!” And then fur rippled along her arms. Her change was slower than his. It took maybe five seconds instead of milliseconds
.

“Meredith! Show me where she is!”

I knew my wolf hid in the center of myself. The first week I’d turned, Dastien taught me how to picture her and become more at one with that side of myself. He said most Weres inherently knew how to do that, but the whole having a wolf sharing your space was a bit of a game changer for me
.

I expected the bright light to blind me like last time. To see the image flare bright and then dim again, but it didn’t. Instead, the wolf in my vision turned to me, and plopped down on her bottom. She howled. It was so loud, I had to cover my ears
.

And then I was plunged into darkness. The field, flowers, and daylight were gone. I held out my hand in front of my face and couldn’t see it
.

A wolf whined, and I stepped toward it, waving my arms around trying to feel for it
.

I hit a soft mass, and fell over her. “Sorry,” I said as the wolf whined
.

Hope blossomed. I couldn’t believe I’d actually found her wolf. This might totally work
.

I still couldn’t see, but I felt around her. She was covered in chains. I pulled at them, but there was no way I could break them. They didn’t even budge
.

Okay. So this was it. I’d found her. Now I had to send my strength to Meredith’s wolf so she could grow stronger and break out of the cage
.

That would take alpha powers
.

I reached for my bond to Dastien and mentally tugged at it. Strength and power flowed into me. His focus and determination became my own
.

And then it hit me so hard that I felt like I was drowning. So much power
.

Before, when I’d been in Meredith’s room talking to Donovan, I hadn’t known what I was doing. I hadn’t been aware of the power rolling through me, but now I was. I could feel each wolf. The essence of everyone present
.

“You’re going to be fine, Meredith. Take what’s offered.” I closed my eyes, and pictured the energy flowing directly into her wolf. I harnessed the will to change. “Shift, Meredith.” I said, using all the power that I could. “Shift now.” I pulled on the chains around her wolf with the strength of the pack
.

Her hand jerked
.

I opened my eyes and found myself in the real world. She hadn’t shifted. I had to go back in. I gripped her hand in mine, holding tight, and I closed my eyes again.

I was back in the darkness and felt the chains under my hands
.

Grabbing all the power I could, I pulled on them. “Chains, break!” I put some of my witchy powers into the words, forcing my will into them. It didn’t matter what I said, only the intention. I pictured them breaking and yanked again, and they creaked against each other
.

“Now. Meredith. Change now. Do it. Now!”

The power was building. Burning through me like a fire in the depths of my soul. I pushed it toward her
.

I pulled on the chains. “Break. Now. Break.” They creaked again. “Change now! Do it now! Shift!”

I alternated pushing alpha energy at Meredith and using witchcraft to weaken the chains
.

Howls echoed along the pack bonds. The wolves were all shifting, but Meredith wasn’t
.

I put my will and faith behind my words. “Break!” I tugged on the chains, and felt a link break. They were loosening
.