ALPHA (Mackenzie Grey #3)

by Karina Espinosa

  “Scar?” the woman croaked.

  “Mom!”

  “At the end, Scarlet!” I said as I passed the cell I had been held in.

  She skidded to a stop and collapsed to the ground. The woman in the cell was a spitting image of Scarlet. Same doe eyes, and heart shaped mouth. Cosima wore tattered clothes and her hair was oily as if it hadn’t been washed in ages.

  “Scarlet what’s wrong?”

  “It’s the iron,” Cosima said. “She isn’t immune to its affects. She needs to get out of here!”

  I faltered a bit as I looked at the woman who helped Adaline keep me safe and the one I’d promise to find for Scarlet—I couldn’t just leave her here.

  I squatted beside my friend. “Scar, are you okay? Can you hold on for a second?”

  She groaned. “Please. Hurry.”

  I stood and Cosima was about to protest. “Listen, I made a promise to your daughter that I would find you. There’s no way I’m leaving you here—even if you’re a drug dealer,” I smirked.

  Cosima did a double take. “Yer—yer the girl that was in here?”

  “The one and only,” I winked. “Now step back so I can bust you out.” She curled into a corner of the cell and I scooted Scarlet aside. With my hands spread and gripping the bars, I awoke the wolf and pulled the bars apart—making an opening for Cosima to walk through.

  “Thank you,” she exhaled and stepped out. “If ye could do that, why didn’t ye escape when they had ye locked up?”

  “Because I didn’t want to,” I shrugged. I leaned down and cradled Scarlet’s shivering body. “Come on, hang in there,” I whispered.

  We ran up the stairs and through the guard tower, and didn’t stop until we got to the kitchen. I laid Scarlet on the counter and snatched a table cloth from the servant’s dining table.

  “Why is she shaking?” I wrapped her up but the cloth wasn’t doing anything. I felt helpless and agitated. I had no idea what was going on out there, and how many of my friends were still around. The unknown was killing me.

  “She’s never encountered that amount of iron. A piece of jewelry won’t do anything to us, but the quantity of iron that is laced in those dungeons are deadly. I’ve had years to learn to withstand it. Now it just makes me weak,” Cosima said as she twirled one of Scarlet’s braids.

  “What can we do?”

  “Nothing. I donae have the strength to help her. It will have to leave her body on its own.”

  I dug in the pockets of Scarlet’s jacket until I found the necklace that Drew had been wearing. “Could you regain your energy with this?” I tossed her the charm.

  “Where did ye get this?” her eyes widened.

  I chuckled. “My brother.”

  “Yer—oh dear God,” she gasped. “Yer Mackenzie?”

  “I guess thank you’s are in order,” I shifted and looked down at my feet. “You know, for helping Adaline.”

  “Oh child, ye donae have to thank me. Yer mum was a wonderful woman, and an exceptional Oracle. When she saw yer future, she did everything in her power to change it. She wanted better for ye, Mackenzie—even if she couldn’t be there to share it with ye.”

  My head popped up. “You were friends?”

  “The best of friends,” she grimaced. “When that evil wench tried to kill her, Adaline came to me for help. The Sisters of the Sight had banished her and she could no longer confide in Alexander. With the help of our friend, we got her out of Scotland and across the pond to New York City.”

  “Yeah, Lucian told me.”

  “Ah, ye’ve met Luce, aye?”

  I laughed. “He’s been helping me.”

  She nodded. “Good. He loved Adaline very much. Know ye can always trust in him to do right by ye.”

  “I know,” I ducked out the kitchen to make sure no one was coming. “Will you be okay here for a while?

  “Aye. Where are ye going?”

  “I have some unfinished business with Drew and then I’m finding those damn Sisters of the Sight,” I growled. I didn’t like being lied to, and Ophelia did it right to my face. They killed Adaline and I was going to get justice for her too.

  “What about Alexander, where is he?” Cosima asked.

  “I think he’s safe, I haven’t seen him. He should be okay, I told the others to stay away from him and Ivana.”

  “Ivana?” Cosima exclaimed and stepped away from me. “Why are ye protecting her? Are ye working with her?” she yelled, reaching for a knife.

  “Whoa!’ I outstretched my hands in defense. “I’m not the bad guy here. I just didn’t want them hurt.”

  Cosima shook her head in confusion. “She killed yer mum!”

  My arms dropped and I felt the blood drain from my face. My insides trembled with uncontrollable rage and nausea.

  “Excuse me?” I whispered.

  “Do ye not know? She’s the one who kidnapped me, who made me undo the spell that made yer wolf dormant—who killed all those Lunas in New York. She made me open the Kings vault and issue a royal decree in his name. Ivana is a dangerous, and evil woman, Mackenzie. She does nae need protection.”

  “Drew,” I muttered. “He told me he did it, I don’t understand.”

  “Andrew Duncan?” the witch scoffed. “Ivana is doing this because she wants the boy on the throne. Andrew is half Fae, half Lycan. If he becomes the next Lycan King, he’ll be able to rule both the wolves and the Fae.”

  “What?” I plopped down on one of the chairs and rubbed my forehead. “This shit is giving me a migraine.”

  “What do ye know, Mackenzie?”

  “Obviously I know nothing,” I grunted and laughed at the Game of Thrones joke that crossed my mind. I guess we bastards are dumb as fuck.

  “Andrew is the Fae Queens lover—they have been together for many years.”

  The kitchen began to spin, and my body started to move involuntarily. I had a very cartoonish idea of how I looked at the moment. Jaw on the ground and eyes popping out of their sockets. Nothing made sense, but at the same time it made all the sense in the world.

  “Mackenzie? Where are ye going?” Cosima called after me but I was no longer paying attention.

  “I have to go,” I murmured and walked out. She wouldn’t follow me—she had to stay with Scarlet. That was my only saving grace.

  I mindlessly wandered through the castle, in the middle of the fray as if no one could see me. I ducked and swerved through fights without a scratch. The Castle was destroyed—every priceless heirloom demolished to nothing. I stopped in the throne room and went to the pile of rubble that should have contained Drew—he was gone.

  “Damnit!” I slammed my fist onto the marble ground. I tasted the salt of my tears as I collapsed into an uncontrollable mess. It definitely wasn’t the time to have a meltdown, but everything I thought I knew was a lie, I was trying to piece this whole sordid story together.

  “Kenzie!” Jonah barged into the throne room. Blood smeared his boyish face and his eyes were golden as he rushed over to me. “We’ve been looking for you!” He raised his head up to the ceiling and howled, letting Bash know he’d found me.

  I didn’t care at the moment. I got up to my feet and swung my fist, connecting it with Jonah’s jaw.

  “What the hell?” he stumbled back. “Kenz!”

  I swung over and over again, but I no longer caught him by surprise. “You son-of-a-bitch! How long have you known? What have you told her about me after fucking her?” I cried. Jonah tried to get control of me but I was too volatile—I had lost control.

  “What are you talking about? Kenz stop!”

  Arms wrapped around my mid-section and pulled me away.

  “Mackenzie, relax,” Bash whispered in my ear. I elbowed him in the gut and he released me.

  “Why did I ever think I could trust either of you?” I backed away. “All you’ve ever done is fuck these girls that only wish me harm!”

  Bash and Jonah looked to one another in confusion. To some extent I knew I wa
s overreacting, just a smidge, but all of it was too coincidental, and well-orchestrated. First Vivian, now Drusilla.

  “You need to calm down and explain what you think we’ve done,” Jonah said, “because I’m at a loss.”

  “Drusilla is behind this shit! She’s the one who has been feeding Drew with information about me since day one. That bitch has been fucking the both of you! Get it now?”

  Jonah paled, his eyes going back to milk chocolate. “I-I—”

  “You what?” I exclaimed. “You didn’t know? Well no shit, Sherlock, neither did I—but when you tell someone you love them, you don’t go fucking the next bitch that crosses your path!”

  “Kenzie—” Jonah reached for me but I jerked away.

  “Don’t you dare touch me. The both of you need to stay the hell away,” I ran out of the room like the devil himself was after me. It wasn’t fair to throw it in his face, but I was too angry to think rationally. It hurt—more than anything—it hurt how little his love meant. This wasn’t news to me, but having it explode in my face brought those feelings to the forefront.

  I sniffed the air, searching for Alexanders scent. If he was with Ivana, then he wasn’t safe and I’d already wasted too much time. I ran outside where I caught Ranulf’s scent and found him ripping out the heart of a Highlander.

  “Ranulf!” I yelled.

  He swung a clawed hand at my face when I approached and I backed away.

  “Stop! I’m not here to fight you, I need your help—”

  “Ye think I’d help ye?” he growled and slashed at me again.

  I swerved. “Alexander is in danger, we need to find him. Please!”

  “As if I’d believe ye.”

  I stopped moving. “Fine, you don’t believe me, then just kill me. I won’t fight you anymore, but when you’re done, please go find Alexander.” With my arms slacked at my side, I shut my eyes and waited. It wasn’t a bluff, I was tired. If he needed to end my life to save another’s, then so be it.

  “Have ye lost yer mind, girl?”

  I opened my eyes. “No. I’m desperate.”

  His face wore a permanent scowl as he tried to figure out if I was for real or not. I felt someone approach me from behind. My instincts told me to move, but I waited. Before I knew it, Ranulf reached over my shoulder and snapped the guard’s neck.

  “This better nae be a trick, Princess,” he growled in my ear. “Or I’ll rip yer heart out.”

  Chapter Thirty Two

  We crossed the wooden planks that were placed over the moat to Sheunta Village. The town was void of people, and I felt like we’d just walked into an old western movie.

  “It’s deserted. Why do you think he’d be here?”

  “The King and Queen were escorted out of the Castle. It’s protocol if we’re ever under siege,” he grunted.

  “Right,” I mumbled. I wasn’t going to apologize for doing what I felt was right—I didn’t believe in regret.

  Ranulf sniffed the air to catch Alexanders scent when we passed the Apothecary. The front door of the store had been ripped off its hinges.

  “Wait,” I stopped and gazed at the second floor where I saw the back of a red head near the window. I opened my hearing but I couldn’t catch a single word being spoken. “Shit, Amy.”

  “Where are ye going, Princess?” Ranulf chased after me. “It was probably ransacked. It’s empty.”

  “No! My best friend is supposed to be here,” I said as I sprinted up the stairs. I barged into the apartment and scanned it until my eyes landed on Amy and Jackson. They were tied to chairs with tape over their mouths. Jackson had two guards standing over him since it would be too easy for him to get out of his restraints.

  I rushed over to her when an arm slammed into my chest, knocking me down. A guard I didn’t recognize grinned over me and I punched him straight in the balls.

  “Move, dickhead,” I pushed him aside and stood.

  The apartment was crawling with guards I didn’t know, which wasn’t out of the ordinary—it’s impossible for me to have the whole army memorized.

  “Donae take another step,” Drew said.

  I whipped around and found him leaning against a door. A guard had taken hold of Ranulf who was thrashing in his grip.

  “Chill out, Ranulf, you’ll get your chance,” I said. “As for you, big bro, I think you’re out of chances.”

  He tsked. “Never. I always have a back-up.” Drew opened the door behind him that revealed a closet—with Alexander and Ivana restrained.

  My blood boiled as Alexander was the only one who’d been tied down with silver chains—he was defenseless. I couldn’t let Drew see how much that affected me, so I kept my features neutral, which was a battle in itself.

  “Let me guess,” I mused. “You’re going to kill the King and pin it on me since I provoked this war, and then take the throne. Am I warm?”

  Drew grinned. “Yer burning hot, sis! I’ll be a bloody hero once I kill ye. They’ll call me their Savior for seeking justice for my father.”

  “You mean stepfather?”

  Ranulf and Alexander froze in their mutual struggles. Neither had known the bomb I had just dropped.

  “You were going to kill Alexander without telling him the truth?” I said in mock horror. “Isn’t that villainous of you. I would have pegged you as the bragging type.”

  “Why brag when no one will be alive to tell the tale?” he smirked.

  “Aw come on, don’t be shy,” I waved him off. “Fine, I’ll tell them if you insist.” Drew’s cheeks went rosy with embarrassment. “Let’s start off by stating the obvious by now—Alexander, you are not the father,” I said in my best impersonation of Maury Povich.

  “Ye talk too much,” Drew scowled.

  “Shhh! I’m telling a story,” I said. “So yes, Andrew found out he isn’t the heir to the throne but someone else is. The kicker is, Andrew never found out on his own. No. That discovery goes to none other than Ivana MacCoinnich. Come on, let’s give the Queen a round of applause for such a stellar performance,” I clapped and encouraged everyone else to as well—no one did. Tough crowd.

  Ivana didn’t appear shocked or dismayed at my knowledge, if anything she looked bored as hell. Drew on the other hand, needed to work on his poker face.

  “Ye donae know what yer talking about,” he rambled. “Ye know—”

  “I know everything,” I deadpanned. “Down to who has your knickers in a twist every night. Drusilla is one hell of a catch by-the-way, I mean who hasn’t slept with the Fae Queen?”

  Ivana undid the loose ties of her wrist and ripped the tape from her mouth. “Darling, pick yer jaw off the floor,” she scowled as she untied her ankles. “Learn when to fold them.”

  “Yes, Drew. Listen to mommy dearest. The bitch sure knows how to play the game. After all, she was able to kill my mother without getting caught for almost twenty five years. Damn shame you couldn’t get rid of me, you could have gotten away with it.”

  “Enough, Mackenzie,” she stopped me. “Yer voice is absolutely grating and I’ve had to endure it for the past month.”

  “Oh stop, you flatter me,” I smirked “In all seriousness though, kudos to you, Ivana. You single-handedly kidnapped Cosima and forced her to do your bidding just to spend some quality time with me. Truly, I’m touched. You used your son for his Fae connections, possibly promised Drusilla something once Drew came into power of course. Its quite genius when you think about it. I surely didn’t expect you—it was too cliché for the stepmother to be wicked but here we are. Another statistic.”

  “Shut up!” Drew yelled. “Do ye ever stop talking?”

  “No, I don’t,” I rolled my eyes. “My only question now is what the hell were you planning to do once I survived the tribunal? That’s the only thing that has me perplexed.”

  “Eventually ye would have died,” she grimaced like I was the cockroach beneath her shoe. “Adaline was easy, I just wrapped a noose around her neck and she was dead. Ye on the
other hand, are a little too smart for ye own good,” she paced the small apartment.

  “Well this smarty pants is going to kill you,” I winked and lunged for her. She cowered like the pussy she was and I was yanked back by one of the guards that had been posted by Jackson.

  I rammed my knee into his groin and ripped his throat out with my bare teeth. “Who’s next?” I growled as another guard came up to me. No matter what, I was getting out of here alive.

  The guard swung left then right, and I grabbed a stool from the kitchen and slammed it behind him. The wooden legs broke off and I took one of the stakes and shoved it through his chest. Ranulf took that moment to head butt the guard holding him and go in for the kill.

  Drew snatched some Wolfsbane from his pocket, the citrusy smell making me grimace. He pulled the tape from Jackson’s mouth and shoved the herb down his throat—giving the last guard the chance to leave his post and attack me.

  Amy cried as she rocked back and forth trying to do something to help, but she couldn’t. She was human.

  “I’m gonna enjoying killing you,” I fumed. I went toward Drew but the guard tackled me to the ground. We rolled around the floor as we tried to one up the other. My hand wrapped around his throat and I squeezed, but he punched me in the face. My head lolled to the side and I could see Amy sobbing uncontrollably and Jackson frozen in his chair—paralyzed. That’s what Wolfsbane did to our kind. His eyes were wide with fear as he couldn’t protect Amy. The thought alone of Amy getting hurt, motivated me further. I banged my head to his chin and rolled him off me. I tore his throat out with my claws and he stilled. I was covered in crimson when I got to my feet with the help of Ranulf.

  “Pet!” I heard someone croak from the bathroom. “Pet, I’m in here!”

  “Lucian?” I went to go to him but Ivana was standing behind Amy’s chair—my blood froze.

  “Not so cocky anymore, aye?” she grinned. “Andrew, darling, go on ahead of me. I’ll meet you shortly.”

  “But mum—”

  “Go!” she screamed and he ran out of the room. I flinched, wanting to chase after him but I would never leave Amy.

  My stomach dropped and a cold sweat took over my body. I was officially scared. I would do anything she wanted at this point.