“Thats why I’m laughing,” I shook my head in disbelief and got my laughter under control. “What do you want with me?”
“We want to fight alongside you. War is here, Mackenzie, and you can’t do it alone.”
“I don’t plan to. If you’ve been following me you know I work for—”
“No,” he stopped me. “I mean you’re going to need more than the SIU and the Lycan. You’re going to need everyone. This war isn’t just about you—it’s about everyone in this realm. Drusilla is power hungry and she’ll stop at nothing to conquer this world, with you as a prize.”
“Me? What is her obsession with me?” I couldn’t understand what it was about me that caught the Fae Queen’s attention. Besides being a MacCoinnich, a relative of a Lycan she once loved, there was nothing special—
“You’re an Oracle,” Malakai said. “You’re rare, Mackenzie, one of a kind. For a collector of power, you’re the ultimate prize. Doesn’t hurt that you’re also the heir to one of the most powerful races in history.”
I wanted to scream, How the fuck do you know so much about me! “I’m sensing the theme of power,” I said, playing it cool. “You made your point. How do you propose I offer up this opportunity to my team who don’t trust the Fae?”
“Figure it out, Freedom Princess,” he mocked. “We’ll be in touch.”
I sat on the bench for a moment before calling out to him. “I need a favor.”
He snorted. “And why should I do you a favor?”
I stood and narrowed my eyes. “If you want to work together, I need a show of faith.”
“Fine. What do you want?”
“Do you know where the Gate of Horns and Ivory is located?”
That raised his brows. “No, but I could find out.”
“I need to know as soon as possible. Once you do, we have a deal.”
Once again, I’d struck a deal with the devil. You’d think I would have learned my lesson the first time. Remind me never to gamble.
I headed to the SIU. With the cure for vampirism in my pocket, and a deal struck with Fae rebels, I had a lot that needed to take a momentary backseat. I had to be focused on the upcoming war with the Fae, and I had vital information to share with the team.
I went to the infirmary first, but it was empty except for a few vampires that had more severe wounds. Making my way downstairs, I found everyone in the conference room.
“I’m feeling a little slighted,” I said as I entered. “No one called me for the pow wow?”
“We did,” Cassidy picked up his cell phone. “Like a million times.”
I reached for my phone in my back pocket and realized I never even took it with me to Chinatown. In my rush to see Bobby, I forgot it.
“Any news?” I sat at the empty seat beside Alexander.
“Not yet,” Briggs said. “We have patrols all over the city and Amara and her coven are working overtime to find the Gate of Horns and Ivory.”
“The Gate is top priority,” Alexander said. “Now that we have the Key of Janus, ye need to be unlinked to the realm as soon as possible.”
“What’s in this Gate of Horns and Ivory?”
“No one knows,” Amara said. “It’s a place very few people have visited, with even less records of it.”
“Of course,” I snorted. “I guess I’m as good a lab rat as any. I want to go the minute it’s found. I’m ready to have the world stop hating me.”
“No one hates you,” Michaels said.
“Right. And the witches wanted to kill me for kicks,” my gaze swung to Amara. “Anyway, I got word from an informant about the Fae.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“The Fae now have ahold of a potion that protects them from iron, and a lot of it.”
“Son of a bitch,” Briggs grumbled. “How the hell did they get that?”
“I don’t know,” I lied. “All I found out is that they have it and are covering their bases. We need to step our game up.”
Finn, who’d been quiet as of late, shook his head. “If you have a location, I can destroy their stash.”
Genius. Finn could turn into black smoke and travel without being seen. They wouldn’t even notice him there.
“I have a location,” I smirked. “I knew we had you around for some reason.”
He snorted. “Glad to know I was able to do my part.”
I stretched out on my chair and sighed. “I can’t wait for this nightmare to be over.”
“Drusilla will come after you the moment yer unlinked,” Ranulf commented.
I shrugged. “Let her. I have a bone to pick with her too.”
“Don’ be a smartarse, Princess,” Ranulf grunted and changed topics. “We’ll be going to Cadwell Estate first thing in the morning for the full moon.”
I nodded. “Anything else?”
“No,” Alexander patted my arm. “Go home and get some rest for tomorrow.”
The lies they tell. I missed something and they weren’t telling me. I’d find out. I always did.
I excused myself and stepped out of the meeting after that dismissal. I would have thrown a tantrum, but I thought better of it. Right now wasn’t the time to start attracting unwanted attention, if I wanted to continue going about without a babysitter.
“Hey!” I caught Ophelia coming out of the break room. “I’ve been meaning to speak with you. Are you busy?” I directed the old woman to my desk.
“For ye? Of course nae,” she smiled. “What can I do ye for, Mackenzie?”
“Things have been kind of crazy, but I need to learn to control these visions. I had another one the other day. It had been easy to decipher, but I know they won’t always be.”
“Aye,” the Oracle agreed. “When did ye have this vision?”
“When the church was set on fire. I was trying to find Amy.”
She hummed. “Yer visions are coming when yer in high-stress situations. That can be dangerous—it’s unpredictable.”
“Which is why I need to learn to control it, and fast.”
“I understand tomorrow is a full moon?” She asked.
“Yes.”
“Then ye need to stop seeing.”
“Huh?”
“Shut yer eyes and use yer other senses. Before we can work with yer visions, ye need to see with yer ears. Ye won’t survive without them.”
I blew out a breath. She was right. I would be useless on a battlefield if all I could do is see my opponents next move, but not actually see them.
“Okay, so when—”
I didn’t get to finish my thought. Ophelia seized up so quickly, I caught her before she fell to the ground. Her white eyes rolled to the back of her head as I held her in my arms.
“Alexander!” I yelled. I didn’t know what to do. What the hell did you do when someone was having a seizure? “Alexander!”
The lot of them came running out of the conference room when Ophelia began to mumble:
The Alpha and The Omega
What begins must end.
Time to rise, time to die,
Slaying Foes, saving friends.
The Alpha and The Omega
What starts must cease.
Pack unbound, see with sound
Make love, find peace.
The Alpha and The Omega
What opens must close.
Time to rise, time to die
Freedom’s crown already chose.
Her hand reached for me and her fragile fingers traced my face as if she were trying to memorize it.
“Queen Mackenzie Grey MacCoinnich,” she mumbled before loosing consciousness.
I continued to hold her in my arms as everyone watched me, not Ophelia. The look on my face said it all—I was confused, but more than anything, I was afraid. Afraid of what she said and what it meant.
“Help me,” I whispered. “Someone help me.”
It wasn’t a call to them, but for the universe. I needed help.
Michaels ran to get Am
ara, and I checked her pulse to make sure she was still breathing—she was.
“What the hell is an Omega?” I asked as I rocked Ophelia in my arms. “The Chicago Pack has one. What does it mean?” I remembered one of the wolves that had attacked me at the Mejia’s bodega. He was a sniveling, weak Lycan that I sent back to Chicago with a message. He’d been the Omega of the Pack.
“The Omega is the strongest wolf after the Beta, but the last member of a Pack. When on a hunt or in battle, they always take the rear to protect the others,” Ranulf said. “The Omega is the Pack’s protector.”
My brows furrowed. “That doesn’t make sense. The Chicago Pack—”
“The Chicago Pack does everything ass backwards,” Cassidy grunted. “They believe the last Pack member should be the weakest. The first to the slaughter before anyone else.”
“Does every Pack have an Omega?”
Alexander nodded.
“Then what did Ophelia mean?”
No one said a word.
I’d left the SIU the minute Amara arrived for Ophelia. I couldn’t stick around for an explanation. It’d been a jam-packed day and I wasn’t ready to add another thing to the list. Once I knew she’d be okay, I had to get out of the station. My emotions were running wild, and I needed to get control of myself.
After spending time with Amy, things began to feel like they might go back to normal. Maybe we wouldn’t need a cure after all? Whatever the case was, we were mending our broken relationship and I couldn’t be happier.
The following morning, I packed a bag, and said my goodbyes, letting Amy stay in the apartment alone while I was gone. With a quick phone call to Bash, he scooped me up and we drove to Cadwell Estate—the three of us. Jackson, luckily, had gone early, so it was me, Bash, and Jonah in the car.
“How are you feeling?” I asked Jonah once we hit the interstate.
“Good. I’m sure I’ll be at a hundred percent by the end of the weekend.”
I wanted to ask how he was doing mentally, but maybe that was a conversation we needed to have in private. I hadn’t forgotten what Drusilla had done to him and it wouldn’t be something I brushed under the rug either.
“I have something to tell you guys,” I started. Knowing Jackson wouldn’t be in the car with us, I’d asked for a ride from Bash for a reason. “For the past year, I’ve been working on something.”
Sebastian looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Yes?”
“I’ve been searching for a cure for vampirism.”
Jonah whirled around to the backseat so fast, I hadn’t even blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Clean out your ear wax, Jo. You heard what I said.”
“Please tell me you didn’t do anything stupid,” Bash murmured.
“Of course I did,” I jeered. “And I got it…now I just don’t know what to do with it.”
“Are you kidding?” Jonah exclaimed. “Give it to Amy! My brother has been miserable and I’m sure she has been too.”
I shook my head. “Its not that easy. There’s a catch.”
“There always is,” Bash said, but I ignored him.
I reiterated what Bobby told me about the last ingredient. The car got deathly silent for a good twenty miles as they processed what I’d told them. I didn’t push. It was a lot to take in.
“I’m guessing you plan to be the one?” Jonah asked.
I nodded. “I can’t ask anyone else to do this and she deserves to have her life back. Amy doesn’t belong in this world.”
“She does,” Bash said. “Whether she takes the cure or not, she’ll always be tied to our world. Either it’s with you or Jackson, she’s in it for the long haul. There’s no turning back now.”
“That can’t be true,” I said, mostly to myself.
“Talk to her first, Kenz,” Jonah said. “Give her the choice.”
Right. What I hadn’t given her before.
With Sebastian’s driving, we made it to Cadwell Estate in record time. The wrought iron gates opened and we began the ride through the long drive way to the Estate.
Guards stood at their posts, and the grounds looked more like we were having a festival instead of the monthly bonfire.
Wolves ran beside Bash’s SUV, escorting us up to the manor where valet waited. I couldn’t help the chuckles that erupted.
“Valet? Really?” I commented as we got out. “As the biological daughter of the Lycan King, I’m insulted I never got this sort of treatment. Instead I got kidnapped and sedated, twice!” I turned to Jonah at the latter. He’d had to sedate me to get me to comply with the Brooklyn Pack. It only worked for so long. I smiled at the memory. Fun times.
Within minutes of our arrival, Charles Cadwell stepped out of the house and greeted his son and Sebastian.
“Jonah!” He extended his arms to pull him into a hug. “It’s been too long, son.”
“Hey Dad,” Jo embraced him. “It’s good to see you.” That was the good thing about Jonah. Those eyes that melted into two pools of chocolate never lied. They were the window to his soul, and sincerity shone through them. No matter Charles’ faults, Jonah loved and respected him. He couldn’t have asked for a better son.
Ranulf came down the front steps, with Alexander trailing behind him.
“It’s about time ye arrived,” Ranulf grunted.
“Blame it on the driver,” I threw my thumb in Sebastian’s direction.
“Yer father will be making an announcement once all the Packs arrive. Ye must stand by his side.”
I sighed. “Why must you insist on bossing me around, Ranulf? It only makes me want to defy you even more.”
Alexander chuckled. “Alright, Mackenzie. Would ye please stand by me when I address the Northeastern Pack?”
“Now that’s more like it,” I said. “If you insist, your highness,” I mocked.
Charles growled. “Such disrespect and informality.”
I threw my head back in exasperation. “Dude, get your head out of the clouds. He’s my bio-dad, of course I’m going to be informal. As for the disrespect, that’s just you and your warped mentality.”
Did he think I was going to be all subservient with the King? Hello? Did he forget who has annoyed him for the last three years?
“No need to fret, Charles,” Alexander waved him off. “Mackenzie and I have an…unconventional relationship.”
“Translation: normal,” I added. That got me an elbow to the ribs from Bash.
As we waited for the other Packs to arrive, I took the opportunity to talk one-on-one with Jonah. I steered him deeper into the woods to get away from any prying ears. Cadwell Estate was more than two hundred acres. Perfect for the Northeastern Pack. That earthy smell was welcomed compared to the smog of the city.
“I know I came off a bit strong the other day,” I started, “and I have no right, especially with how things were left off between us, but I don’t want you to sweep what happened under the rug.”
“I’m fine, Kenz. I promise.”
I stopped walking. “Talk to me, Jonah. No one else is around, just talk to me.”
Those chocolate eyes broke my heart. They were empty, contrary to how he was acting. He looked around the woods and swallowed a few times before speaking.
“It happened so fast, I didn’t even see it coming,” he took a breath. “I was out in Sheunta Village when I passed an alley and someone grabbed me. They injected me with wolfsbane and put a hood over my head. From there, things got fuzzy, but then I woke up in the Fae realm—in Drusilla’s bed.”
I nodded for him to keep going.
“I was in and out of sleep for a while, I only remember bits and pieces, but she was there—always there. I tried to get her to stop, I really did, Kenz, but I couldn’t control how my body reacted.”
“I know, Jonah, I know.”
“I was bound to the bed and heavily sedated. Every time she’d come in, she told me no one even knew I was missing. That no one was coming for me…and after a while I believed her. You
had no reason to come, I hadn’t spoken to you or Bash in a year. Jackson is barely coherent these days, he wasn’t going to know. I believed her, and once I did, I stopped fighting, I let her do what she wanted to do.”
“You didn’t let her. Don’t ever think that.” I couldn’t help myself, I pulled him into a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck. His face rested in the crook of my neck and he held onto me like a life raft. He didn’t cry, but something inside him had broken—she had broken him.
I didn’t know how long we stood there, holding on to one another, but I would stand there forever if he needed it. I was unable to love him the way he wanted me to, but I loved him nonetheless. Jonah had always been there for me. We had our ups and downs, but he never wavered. No matter how absurd or irresponsible, he was by my side, and I would be by his. He wouldn’t go through this alone.
Sebastian found us after a while. I thought he’d be upset or think he’d walked in on something, but on the contrary, he looked relieved. Like he too had been worried for his friend.
Bash cleared his throat. “The Packs have arrived. Your father wants you, Mackenzie.”
Jonah and I pulled apart and he smiled, that one dimple in his cheek poking out. “Thank you,” he whispered and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
“No matter what, I’ll always be here, Jonah.”
“I know.”
Hundreds of Lycan and Lunas gathered for the full moon, but more so for Alexander, their king. It was quite a sight to behold as they varied in human and wolf forms. In the center was a bonfire whose flames licked at the sky. Alexander, Ranulf, and Charles stood in the middle of the clearing, preparing to speak.
As I arrived with Bash and Jonah, I became center of attention. I could tell the difference between the Brooklyn Pack and the others. The snarls gave them away.
The crowd parted and I had so many damn jokes at the ready, but I had to be serious. Bite your tongue, Kenzie.
Bash and Jonah stopped at the front of the crowd, and I went to stand beside Alexander. It felt so damn awkward and I wished he wouldn’t put me in these situations.
“Kneel before yer King,” Ranulf roared, and like a wave, the Northeastern Pack took a knee and bowed their heads. Ranulf and Charles followed suit and once again, I stood there like a dumbass. Sebastian glanced up just in time to give me that look that said, “get your ass down on one knee” and I’d been about to when Alexander grabbed me by the elbow, stopping me. He shook his head and then turned to the crowd.
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