Briggs slammed his meaty fists on his desk. “I have first-hand accounts stating the killer spared your life.”
“Is that a damn crime? I got fuckin’ lucky!”
“They say you made no moves to attack!”
“That’s bullshit and you know it!” I yelled. “There is no way in hell I would have stood there like a dumbass and let someone kill a team member. You should know that.”
A wave of fury expelled from Briggs as he huffed. I had him there. I’m many things, but a coward I am not.
“You’ve been off your game for a while, Grey. I can’t have someone like you on my squad. I need a solid detective who won’t get themselves killed.”
“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” Yes, that was a smartass comment, but I couldn’t lose my job.
“You cannot leave this office without punishment. You have a lot of potential, Grey. I heard all the stories about the Rebel Princess, and I admired you, but I haven’t seen her in months.”
My face fell. I hadn’t seen her either.
“Please, Briggs, I only ask that you don’t take my badge away. I-I don’t have anything else, please,” I pleaded. That wasn’t beneath me. Truth was, this job was all I had. “I know I haven’t been productive. I swear I’ll do better.”
“You’re moon-bound, Grey. How much better can you do?” He scoffed.
“I’ll do anything!”
“Are you willing to do anything?” He raised a brow and I froze. I slid back into my chair and eyed my superior.
“Depends…”
He scoffed and his belly shook. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Grey!” He barked.
I relaxed. It wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to force themselves on me—I had Logan to thank for that—but it would never happen again.
“I want you to see a therapist. You’re off the serial killer case until you’re cleared, understood?”
My eyes grew to the side of melons and I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. “What? You can’t take me off it!” I said, leaning forward.
“I just did!” He yelled back and leaned toward me as well. “It’s either therapy or your badge, Grey. You choose.”
“This is bullshit, Briggs.”
“What’s bullshit is having a Lycan on my squad who is useless! You’re off the rails, Grey. Get yourself back on track.”
Liam wasn’t my fault, that much I knew. If he took me off this damn case, there would be no way for me to find out how the hell the serial killer knew who I was, but it was either my badge or a therapist.
“What will it be?” He demanded and it was a no brainer.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “When do I have to see this hack?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. I already made an appointment with Dr. Jones, she’ll be expecting you. I’ve placed the appointment on your calendar with all the information. You miss this session, Grey, and I’ll take away your badge so quick you’ll get whiplash. Understand?”
“Copy that,” I grumbled.
“Good,” he barked. “In the meantime, you’re on desk duty. Now get out of my office.”
Resigned, I nodded and gritted my teeth. He had me between a rock and a hard place. I had no choice but to concede. When I returned to New York City, I dove in head first into the SIU. It kept my mind from wandering to Scotland and the friends I’d lost. Unfortunately, I went too far down the rabbit hole and I haven’t been able to pull myself out since. My job became my everything and if I lost it, I was afraid of what would happen to me.
I stepped out of Briggs’ office to find the CSI nerds leaving for the lab downstairs and only my team was left in the squad room.
“You’re bleeding,” Michaels said as I went to my desk.
“I’ll heal.”
“Not fast enough,” he murmured as he sat the first aid kit in front of me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I straightened. Liam had made sure to let everyone know I was moon-bound, but it wasn’t open to discussion.
“You know what it means, Grey. Now shut up and let me clean that cut.”
I rolled my eyes and snatched a band-aid from the kit. “Happy?” I shrugged and grabbed my messenger bag from my desk drawer.
Michaels face hardened. “Where are you going?”
“Out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The last thing I wanted to do was sit in the squad room doing reports about today’s incident, because that’s all I would be doing for a while. Michaels would be breathing over my shoulder, and Finn would still be pissed. I didn’t know how close the reaper was to Liam, but that was his partner. It couldn’t be easy.
I took the train to Spanish Harlem in Upper Manhattan for my weekly appointment with Doña Blanca—a witch. I met her about a month ago when we found a dead witch in her neighborhood. When we went to her shop to ask questions about the murder, I noticed she wasn’t an ordinary witch…she practiced Santeria.
“Ah, Mackenzie, you’re never late,” Blanca smiled as I walked in to her shop. It was called a Botanica in Spanish, where she sold herbs, charms, and other remedies to humans—the legal way. No spells or potions could be sold to humans and we did routine inspections to ensure she didn’t violate the law.
“What’s the update? Have you tested it out?” I asked as I rummaged through her shelves. I liked looking through all the different stones and crystals.
“Well…there are some materials that I need…they’re rare,” she stuttered. “You understand, yes?” She giggled awkwardly.
That made me pause, holding a piece of clear quartz mid-air. My gray eyes narrowed as I placed her merchandise down, and turned my head in her direction. “Excuse me?”
Blanca bit her lip and looked away. “This is no easy potion, Mackenzie. You’re asking me to do something that has never been done before.”
“You told me you could,” I growled. “Were you lying?”
Her eyes widened and she began to shake her head. “No, no! I just need more material….”
“Like?” My hands fisted and my nails dug into my skin. I heard her heartbeat kick into gear and I knew she was lying now.
“I…uh…need dragon skin. They’re extinct, but I know someone in Europe who has some. It’s very rare…very expensive,” she hinted.
I arched a brow. “So you want me to give you more money?” Her heartbeat quickened with excitement.
“Si. It’s the only way to complete the antidote. Once I have that, you will have your cure.”
My gaze never left the priestess as she waited on me. I was no fool. I knew what I had asked her was impossible, but I’d hoped she could at least try. Needless to say, she’s been conning me this whole time.
“No,” I stated. “I want to see what you have so far. No more bullshitting, Blanca. Where’s the cure?”
She ran behind the counter and dug through racks of bottles until she found what she was looking for. That was a mistake. What I asked her to do was dangerous. There was no way she would keep it in such a public place for safe keeping.
“Here,” she said as she stretched a hand out with the antidote. “See for yourself.”
I didn’t move. “Liar,” I growled. “I can smell the wolfsbane from here,” I said and flashed my silver eyes.
“Cinere invoco inimico capere tenebris collum disrumpam!” Blanca screamed and the windows in her store shattered.
Glass rained over me and I grinned. Her jaw hung as she watched me—unharmed.
I sighed. “I’m protected,” I lowered my jeans to reveal the Celtic tattoo on my hip. Roman had urged me to get it when I was living in Los Angeles. Since I’d joined the SIU in LA, he wanted to make sure I was safe, and it’s been saving my life ever since. No harmful magic could touch me, but if she chucked that wolfsbane my way, I was fucked.
Her eyes went wild as she searched for an exit strategy. “You stupid, wolf!” She spat. “No one can help you! There is no cure for Vampirism!”
I saw red. I grabbed the nearest standing r
ack filled with items and threw it at the witch. She dodged it by throwing herself in the opposite direction and away from the wolfsbane. I ran to her before she realized what she’d done and I seized her by the neck, bringing her so close to my face, she could see the nearly invisible freckles on my nose.
“I’m the wrong one to cross, Blanca,” I snarled.
“Grey!” Someone yelled behind me, but I ignored whoever it was. I slammed Blanca on the ground, her head bouncing on the tile. It didn’t kill her, but it stunned her. She’d be nursing a major concussion if she survived.
“Grey! Let her go!” Michaels flung me off the witch and pointed his gun at her. “What’s going on?” He demanded.
Blanca was about to speak, but I cut her off.
“One word and I’ll rip out your throat with my teeth,” I said and flashed my canines. That shut her up real quick.
“Mackenzie,” Michaels said. “Start talking.”
My silver eyes dimmed and turned gray again. “Nothing,” I said. “Just a misunderstanding.” I couldn’t tell him I was looking for a cure for vampirism. That would mean I’d have to tell him what I did to Amy.
“Misunderstanding my ass,” he grunted. “You don’t want to tell me? Fine.” Michaels lowered his gun from the priestess and glared at her. “It’s your lucky day, witch. You get to live. And if you think of reporting this incident to the SIU, I’ll make sure we find some very illegal dealings with the humans.”
My anger simmered as I watched Michaels threaten Blanca for me. I wasn’t even all that angry—more disappointed if anything. I’d wanted this witch to do the impossible. She’d been the fifth one I’d consulted, but the first to swindle me for money. I should have given up by now, but I couldn’t lose hope. My life’s mission was to cure Amy. She could hate me for the rest of my existence, but I didn’t care, as long as she was human again. It was Ivana and Andrew’s fault, Amy had died, but I was the one who’d made her into a monster. Ivana, my biological father’s ex-wife, had killed Amy right before my eyes and there had been nothing I could do to stop it. In my desperation, I forced Lucian to turn her into a vampire. Because of my selfishness, I made her into something she never wanted. I took away her choice, and it made me a hypocrite.
I stormed out of the Botanica, with Michaels on my heels.
“So you’ve been following me?” I questioned.
“You’ve been off your game lately. Someone has to make sure you’re not going over the edge.”
“I’m already over the edge, haven’t you heard? I’m on desk duty!”
“My point exactly, Grey. Let me help you.”
I spun around almost running into him. “I’m not your little sister, Garrett! I’m a big girl. I don’t need your protection!”
“Obviously you do!” He shouted. “You were going to kill that witch, Grey! You need to work out your aggression, or shift, or I don’t know, but you need to do something!”
I gritted my teeth in frustration because he was right, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I’m fine.”
3
The tickle at my feet made me wiggle and my body bobbed up and down in a wave from the motion. With my hands outstretched at my sides, I tapped my hands on the surface of the water. I opened my eyes and squinted at the strong rays of the mid-day sun. I floated on my back in Loch Lomond—I could tell from my view of the highlands—and I soaked in the vitamin D and inhaled the crisp, clean air. Such a contrast to smog-filled New York City. I thought about that for a moment. I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten to Scotland.
In the midst of my musings, something brushed my leg and I squirmed. I knew it was probably floating seaweed, but the lingering feeling made me paranoid. Ignoring the odd sensation, I moved my arms in a rotating motion to drift away from the seaweed. The feather-like touch was on my ankle now, and I tilted my head up to get a look. Before I had time to react, a hand shot out of the loch and latched onto my ankle. I flayed my arms as the grip on my lower leg tugged and pulled me under water. I kicked and tried to scream, but I’d lost my voice. I was submerged, my hands reaching up for something to cling on to, but there was nothing.
With my lips sealed shut, eyes wide in horror, I was dragged further into the depths of Loch Lomond until darkness encircled my vision, and I could no longer hold my breath. My lungs filled with water and made me lightheaded. There was no escaping—I was drowning and no one would save me.
With one final tug, I let out a silent blood-curdling scream until everything went dark.
I awoke the next morning with a start, gasping for air, my body drenched in sweat. I ran my hands on my bed and scanned my room to make sure I was not in Loch Lomond. The sun filtered in through the creases of my curtains and I sighed in relief. It’d been another bad dream.
“Holy shit…” I murmured as I slid off my bed. My bare feet padded to the bathroom and I splashed water on my face to cool down. My heart raced. I was getting sick and tired of this stupid nightmare. It had started about two weeks ago—every single night it was the same thing. I was being dragged underwater at Loch Lomond, which made no sense. I’d only been there twice and both times had been with my fake-half-brother, Andrew. He no longer deserved to carry my bio-dad’s surname, MacCoinnich. Once we discovered that he wasn’t the King’s true heir, Alexander denounced him as his son and sealed him in the Fae realm with the rest of the Fae. Drusilla—the Fae Queen had aided Andrew and his mother Ivana in staging a coup to take over the Lycan. They’d planned on ruling the Fae and Lycan once Andrew was made King. I didn’t understand their logic or their desperation for power, but it didn’t matter anymore. They could never enter our realm again.
Ivana was six feet underground. Her thirst for revenge on my biological mother, Adaline, had made her bat-shit crazy. The oracles prophesied that King Alexander would have only one true heir to the throne. When Ivana learned of Adaline’s pregnancy, she stopped at nothing to kill her. She accomplished her goal, but she didn’t expect me to have survived. I didn’t know the whole story, but that was the gist of it.
I still got angry when I thought about Ivana. Not only had she killed Adaline, but she killed my best friend. That’s why I’d felt no remorse when I beat her to a bloody pulp. I’d made sure that she wouldn’t live another day after what she did. I only wished I would have made her suffer longer. It’d been too quick, too merciful.
The squad room buzzed as everyone worked to find the psycho who killed Liam. We’d been busting our tails for weeks, but now this piece-of-shit crossed the line—he killed one of our own. No one was stopping until we found that son-of-a-bitch.
“Any leads?” I asked as I plopped myself on my desk.
“Nope,” Michaels shook his head. “We’re trying to figure out his species. There’s no way he’s a vampire.”
“I agree. Any theories?”
“I’m thinking warlock,” Finn suggested. He hopped onto his desk with a pile of manila folders. “I’ve been searching for other warlock serial killers and found a few that could be suspects.”
“Are you sure? Warlocks aren’t that fast,” I said as he passed me a folder. I opened it to find a few rap sheets for criminals that the SIU prosecuted or never caught.
“What else could it be? And why was he still sticking around the crime scene? None of this makes sense!” Finn tossed the rest of the folders in frustration. “Fuck!”
I stayed quiet. After our little spat yesterday, he was now talking to me. I wasn’t going to mess it up when he was feeding me information on a case I was no longer on.
Michaels and Finn tossed around ideas and strategies for capturing Liam’s killer, and they became background noise as I powered up my computer and began writing yesterday’s reports.
Because I was moon-bound, my senses had taken a major hit when it came to catching scents sooner. I sniffed the air a few times to make sure it was what I thought it was, and then my eyes narrowed. No…it couldn’t be.
“I smell a Lycan…” I mut
tered, loud enough for the others to hear.
“You’re the only wolf in the SIU,” Michaels said.
I shook my head. “No, there’s another here. Close.”
“You’re moon-bound, Grey,” Finn started. “Your senses aren’t reliable—”
Lieutenant Briggs walked into the squad room with a male Lycan trailing behind him.
“You were saying?” I deadpanned.
Briggs whistled to catch everyone’s attention. “Listen up!” he barked. “Yesterday’s incident was a hard blow for the whole department and we stop at nothing until we catch the bastard. I want this squad room busy 24/7. No one goes home until we find this son of a bitch. Understood?”
We all nodded. No one was opposed to his mandate and I could afford some sleepless nights—it would keep the nightmares away.
“I’ve recruited additional personnel to assist. Any questions or issues, keep it to yourself,” Briggs scoffed and headed straight to my team. The Lycan followed and I gulped at the insinuation. He wouldn’t…
“Grey, Michaels, Finn,” Briggs rumbled. “Meet your new team member—Cassidy Chang.”
“Excuse me?” I blurted. All eyes turned to me and I felt my neck redden from the attention. “Lieutenant,” I sputtered. “You promised me—”
“I promise a lot of things, Grey, but shit changes. You’re short a team member and we need another wolf—a functioning wolf. While you’re a liability, Chang here may actually be useful,” Briggs yelled. His deep voice raspy and loud—and that was his inside voice. “Now get to work!”
My nostrils flared as I watched Briggs’ glistening bald head walk away and into his office; the sound of glass shaking from the force of his door slamming.
“Fuck!” I yelled, unashamed of showing my discontent. When I joined the SIU, Briggs promised me he wouldn’t bring any Lycans into the unit. Whenever there were Pack assignments, Michaels would go out with Finn. Having this Cassidy Chang on my team no less, opened a door to a world I wanted to stay as far away from as possible.
“I feel so welcomed,” Chang smirked.
OMEGA: A New Adult Urban Fantasy (Mackenzie Grey Book 4) Page 2