Page 17 of Cruel Alpha Beast (Roseville Alphas #1)

Wind whips at my fur as I hurtle through the forest. Though I’ve only been to this thicket once, taken there by my father as he passed the torch over to me, the directions are seared into my brain.

A left at the rock that looks like the state of Michigan.

A right at the tree with the eagle carved into its side.

Going straight down the middle of the paths, shaped like a pitchfork.

Finally, I reach the thicket. A vast array of sticks and shrubbery guards the entrance, but I know it’s only an illusion.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and then step through.

The magic lightly hums in my ears, warmth tickling my fur, and then, nothing.

I open my eyes and find myself inside a small, earthy dome, lit only by a few candles, sitting on a round table.

Two spindly chairs rest on either side of the table, but one is already occupied when I get there. An old woman sits, draped in layers of shimmering silk. Her silver hair has been pulled into a neat bun at the back of her head, and with her pinched face, she looks incredibly severe.

Until she smiles down at me. “Hello,” she says, her voice reminding me of my grandmother, who has long since passed.

I shift back to my human form, coming to stand on my two feet, then nod my head back at her.

The old woman looks at me thoroughly, her eyes wandering for a good, long moment. “You must be Lucas’s son. You look just like him.”

“I am,” I tell her. “I’m Sawyer. And you must be Penelope.”

“The very same,” she says modestly. “I have a great deal of respect for your father, Sawyer.”

For some reason, this takes me aback. “You do?”

“He helped me most graciously many years ago.” Penelope nods sentimentally. “A young witch under my care argued with her closest friend—you know how teenage girls are.”

I nod, my eyebrows bouncing on my forehead. “I sure do.”

“My charge fled through the woods and entered your valley. You can imagine my concern when I realized this.” Penelope says smoothly. “Long story short, your father was able to find her and return her home to me, unharmed, before anyone in your pack realized just exactly who and what she was.”

I sniff out a breath, nodding my head. “I’m not surprised. My father is a good man.”

“That he is,” she says.

“He raised me to be an even better man,” I assure her, though my words only seem to make her look more cautiously at me.

“When Lacey came to our neck of the woods, she shared many stories with me. Stories I don’t believe she’s fully shared with her closest friends,” Penelope says evenly. “Her stories often featured you, unless there’s another son of an alpha with the same name?”

I gulp down the knot in my throat. “There is not.”

“Then I regret to inform you, Lacey’s tales did not put you in the best light, Sawyer,” Penelope says.

I clench my jaw, staring down at the toe of my boot. “I didn’t give her many reasons to. I was a cocky bastard back then, I admit, but I’m much different now. I’ve grown. And I’ve apologized several times for my actions.”

Penelope’s eyes continue to search me. There’s a thick silence weighing down on us, one that only dissipates as her mouth spreads into another warm smile.

“I believe you.”

Her smile growing, she gestures for the chair across the table from her. I stride across the dirt floor of the dome before sinking into the waiting seat. The old woman stares at me through the flickering flames, her caution turning into curiosity before my eyes.

“Well, I don’t suppose I summoned you here to speak of old times and youthful transgressions,” Penelope says, leaning forward. “Regretfully, I’ve heard a very troubling story, Sawyer. One that involves you attacking a witch in my care on the edge of your town.”

The bottom of my stomach falls out from under me. “Listen, Penelope, I never so much as showed that Violet woman my teeth—”

“I know,” Penelope interrupts, holding a hand up. “Since Violet has been practicing her magic with us, she has struggled greatly with…telling the truth. See, one who has been abandoned so young will find whatever it is they can to ingratiate themselves with the crowd.”

I heave a great sigh. “I heard she was found in the woods as a kid.”

“A terribly sad story, indeed,” Penelope says. “Sawyer, it is my learned theory that Violet entered the forest and found a way to inflict these injuries upon herself this morning. All to frame you.”

I nod my head in relief. “Thank you, Penelope. It means a lot that you believe me.”

“Yes, well, there’s still more to why I called you here,” she continues. “I’ve another theory I’d like to discuss with you regarding my charge. In fact, it’s the crux of me calling this meeting in the first place.”

“Go on,” I encourage her. “Let’s hear it.”

“I believe my Violet could be mixing herself up in something dark,” Penelope says, her tone grave. “There are forces in these woods, child. Forces of unspeakable—”

But before she can go further into her theories and ideas, we both hear a sound from outside the thicket. Twigs snap. Something animalistic snarls loudly. Many different things, actually.

“What is that?” I ask in a hushed voice. “I can’t place the creature.”

Penelope lifts a hand up, then sweeps it quickly to the side, extinguishing the flames in each candle on the table at the same time. She presses a finger to her lips, gesturing for me to stay quiet as she slowly rises from the table.

Several feet belonging to several beings circle the thicket. I keep a brave face, but my heart is racing in my chest. Worry lines the skin on either side of Penelope’s mouth as each second ticks by.

Whatever is outside of our dome must clearly sense us, and must have some sort of idea of what’s going on inside of here. It must be looking for us. I have so many questions, but I know I have to wait until this danger passes before I can pick Penelope’s brain.

There’s a horrifically long moment where everything is still, except for the dull thudding inside my chest. I look at Penelope out of the corner of my eye and see her do the same. I’m about to ask her if she thinks whatever is out there has gone away, but I’m not able to get the words out.

All of a sudden, a large, shadowy beast comes pouncing through the same entryway I used earlier.

Though misty in form, there’s a weight to the four-legged creature, a sharpness to its bare fangs.

It’s too large to be a wolf, and it’s far too gangly to be a bear.

I can’t quite place what this is, but for the first time in a very long time, I’m intimidated.

Just as this thing starts barreling towards Penelope, she lazily flicks a finger at the shadow monster, creating a bright yellow flame from nowhere, and sending it to the beast’s center. It lets out a horrible yowling sound, then disintegrates.

I turn to Penelope, impressed by her powers, but I have no time to compliment her.

Once the first monster is gone, several more burst into what was once our safe meeting place.

Penelope grits her teeth and continues swiping her fingers at the monsters, but five more come through the door with every one that disappears.

“Sawyer,” she hisses at me. “ Run !”

“No!” I shout back, raising my arm as one of the monsters comes for me.

Penelope turns the monster into a thick cloud before it can get to me, narrowly able to fight off another as it gets closer to her. “Go, young wolf! I can handle them long enough for you to escape!”

Just at that moment, another shadow monster pounces at me. I shift into a wolf in that instant, swiping my sharp claws through its form. Whatever I’ve done, it’s caused the monster to shriek out, but it keeps gnashing its teeth at me.

I stand on my hind legs, growling and spitting, clawing my way through the monsters one by one, two by two.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the old witch getting absolutely swarmed.

There’s a claw-shaped scratch on her arm, rich crimson blood seeping through her silk coverings.

Her eyes are glowing with all of the magic she’s been using this whole, horrifically long time to repel these horrible creatures, but the more she flails her arms around, the dimmer that light in her eyes is getting.

She’s overwhelmed, I realized. And she’s getting weaker.

I wasn’t going to run away and leave her here in the first place, but now I definitely can’t.

Eventually, I’m able to fight my way through the shadow monsters, though I feel one of them biting my tail. I sweep one of my hind legs back and kick this thing right in its eyes, then muster enough energy to leap forward and block five of them from getting to the old woman.

Holding them off for her, I’m finding it more difficult to breathe, but I can tell that Penelope can now conserve some energy. I cast one haphazard glance over to her and see her hands swirling around, similar to how I saw Danielle this very morning, when she extinguished Violet’s flames.

The light in Penelope’s eyes returns to its full brightness as I block several more of these shadow monsters from attacking her. “Get behind me!” she finally hollers.

I’m reluctant at first, but then I see the bright white ball of energy and magic growing between the palms of her rolling hands. I can feel its heat as it grows even larger, and I know I definitely don’t want to be in this thing’s way, so I scuttle back behind her flowing skirt.

With a loud cry, Penelope thrusts her arms forward, engulfing the rest of the dome in this radiant light.

Whatever this is, it burns my eyes, forcing me to squint them very close together.

Still, I can see the shadow monsters turning into nothing but that black mist, howling that horrible, piercing sound at a volume that leaves my ears ringing.

When her magic light disappears, the shadow monsters stop pouring into the dome, and soon all is quiet. I shift back into my human form just in time for the old woman to slump onto my shoulder. Her breathing is heavy, and it concerns me greatly.

“You saved us,” I tell her. “Come on, we have to go before they come back!”

“I can’t, wolf,” she tells me. “You should be able to run home, though. Tell Lacey I’m proud of all she’s become.”

I shake my head vigorously, throwing her arm around my shoulders. “Tell her yourself later. I’m getting you out of here.”

Before she can protest, I pull Penelope through the entryway and head back to where I came from. I want to move faster, but she’s struggling to keep up with me. I keep one arm around her waist and help her as best I can.

Just as we reach the pitchfork path, however, my newest, greatest fear comes true. More shadow monsters appear between the trees, blocking our way home. I’m forced to turn and pick up the pace. Penelope tries her damnedest to keep up with me, and the two of us are able to evade the monsters.

I hear the old woman muttering under her breath, and both our sets of feet begin to hasten, almost as if they’re moving of their own volition. Outrunning the monsters, we go and go and go.

“Do you smell smoke?” I ask.

Penelope doesn’t even have to answer because, in one turn to the right, we approach a large, gnarled willow tree—undeniably the same from the tapestry, the scroll, and Lacey’s crayon interpretation.

The willow stands strong ahead of us, but its sweeping boughs are smoldering, sending curls of smoke up into the air.

Smoke that turns into one of these horrible creatures that have been chasing us.

Our feet stop several feet from the tree’s roots, and soon, the witch’s eyes glow again.

She has enough strength to create another radiant ball of light and sends it toward the tree.

The creature wails, as do the others coming along behind us.

But this time, the tree ceases smoking, and everything is quiet for a moment.

I turn around, finding that all of the shadow monsters have dissipated. I look at Penelope, who’s using her whole body weight against mine, but she’s still breathing. It’s shallow, but she’s alive.

Just as I’m about to turn us back around, a heavy gust of wind blows toward us, sending my hair far away from my forehead. A voice, smooth and satiny, whispers through the breeze.

“ You’ve won for now. But retribution is coming, little wolf. ”