ALPHA (Mackenzie Grey #3)

by Karina Espinosa

  Bernard grinned. “You'll see soon enough.”

  I peered up at the burly man, wondering what these wolves had up their sleeves. Hopefully nothing too outrageous, I was not dressed for the occasion.

  “Excuse me,” a small voice said with a tap on the shoulder. “Mackenzie Grey?” I turned to find a Luna with a light brown wolf by her side.

  “Yes?” I grimaced. I imagined her decking me in the jaw for what I'd done.

  “Could we talk in private?” she whispered, glancing at Bernard.

  Bern quirked a brow but nodded once I nudged him away. I knew Bash or Jonah, or both, had sent him to watch over me since they were part of the ceremony and couldn't be by my side. It was nice, but I wasn't some little girl who needed protecting—I could take care of myself.

  “What's up?” I said once Bern left and we moved closer to the tree line.

  “Hi,” the Luna waved. “I'm Tori and this is Sarah,” she pointed to the wolf beside her.

  “Hi,” I said. “Uh....I'm Mackenzie,” I rolled my eyes. Yeah they already knew who I was.

  “We're friends of Rachel,” Tori said and I took a tentative step back. Oh no.

  “Listen, what happened—” I tried to explain but she waved me off.

  “We're not angry with you,” she said. “You didn't do this,” she motioned to the bodies that were piled in the middle of the clearing.

  “So what do you want?” I didn't mean to sound aggressive but if they weren't going to confront me, I couldn't think of anything else they'd want from me.

  Tori looked down at Sarah and bit her lip, waging an internal war on whether to tell me or not. “Come on, spit it out. I don't have all day.” Okay, now I meant to sound like a bitch.

  “Before...before the massacre, we had spoken to Rachel,” she said as she glanced up at me.

  “And?” I scanned the clearing, hoping to see someone I knew that would tolerate me at the moment, which was a negative, based on the angry looks I was getting.

  Tori sighed. “We spoke to Rachel...about you know what,” she whispered the last part. It took me a moment to register what she was saying. I was too busy trying to get away from her, that I didn't pay attention to the underlying message.

  “Oh.”

  “I wanted to introduce myself and tell you that there are many Lunas standing behind you up and down the East Coast and whispers from the mid-west and west coast,” she said with a gleam in her eye. I recognized it—hope.

  I glanced around us to make sure no one was listening, but it was pretty loud. Unless someone was tuning into our conversation, we had a semblance of privacy. Or we could be completely screwed. Either way, I was damned if I did, and damned if I didn't.

  “Are you serious?” I was taken aback.

  “Yes!” she exclaimed. “More now than ever. What happened to the Brooklyn Pack was the final nail in the coffin. The Lunas are fed up, they're not going to take it any—”

  A Twisted Sister’s song began playing in my head and I had to shake it out and get back on track. I was officially mental.

  “Shhhh!” I clamped my hand over her mouth. “Have you lost your fuckin’ mind?”

  Tori's eyebrows turned inward and she shook her head.

  I rolled my eyes. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? Because speaking like that is what got the others six feet underground.” Her eyes widened and then she nodded in understanding. I removed my hand and backed away. The wolf at her side hadn't moved an inch.

  “Sorry,” Tori apologized. “We're just tired, Mackenzie. We've gotten to the point where we don't care anymore.”

  “Well I do,” I pointed to my chest. “I care, which is why I'm not getting involved in anything you plan. I will not be responsible for any more deaths.”

  “You aren't responsible!” she whisper-yelled. “We need to do something about it. You started a movement, Mackenzie. Lunas are looking to you for guidance. None of us have been able to do the things you've done.”

  “That sounds like a personal problem,” I dismissed her. I didn't want to hear anymore. I wanted to help, free them all from the chains that bound them, but too much blood was already on my hands. I wouldn't be responsible for anymore.

  Tori's eyes watered and she swallowed a few times to hold her tears at bay.

  “You aren't who we thought you were—who Rachel boasted about. She had been hesitant at first, but after seeing you in action, she believed, she knew you were the one to set us free—but you’re no Freedom Princess.”

  “I'm no one,” I growled. “You're all a bunch of idiots if you think I'm anything more than a rogue Luna.”

  Tori kept shaking her head, biting her bottom quivering lip from breaking into a sob. I pitied her. “Don’t let them ruin who you’re meant to be. I know you’re the one—we all do—you’re our Alpha. When you realize it, call me,” she said as she handed me a piece of paper with her name and phone number scribbled on it.

  I didn’t take it right away. I stared it down as if my mind could will this all away but not even I had that magical power. I snatched the note from her and tucked it into the strap of my bra. I was all class.

  “Don’t hold your breath,” I grunted as I turned and walked away. They were wrong—I wrote my own destiny and Freedom Princess wasn’t it.

  ****

  I stayed around the borders of the crowd to not attract any unwanted attention. It was useless since my formal attire stuck out like a sore thumb, but the more I observed, the more I realized the dirty looks were from the men. Only a few of the Lunas seemed like they wanted to strangle me.

  The urge to push their buttons was there, but I buried it and kept my head down. I could pick a fight with a Luna but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I’d survive one with the men. They were prideful, and if I were being honest, they’d pounce on me like a pack of wolves—pun intended.

  I searched for Bernard and ended up running into Jonah to my relief. He too seemed surprised to find me—alone.

  “Where’s Bern?” he asked. I knew he’d sent a babysitter.

  “I dismissed him of his duties.”

  “Stop being stubborn, Kenz. They’re a lot of people here who want to hurt you, who want to see you dead,” he growled.

  I snorted. “It seems anywhere I go I’m always in some sort of danger. It’s starting to get old.”

  “You’re playing with fire, Kenz. Stay with me until we find Bern.”

  I gave Jonah a salute and trailed behind him without complaint. I no longer had the energy to argue or question him. Better him than Sebastian.

  Speak of the devil.

  Bash pushed his way through the crowd and intersected us. “Where’s Bern?”

  I chuckled. “I should seriously play the lotto.”

  “Don’t start Mackenzie,” Bash ordered and I kept quiet. “The ceremony is about to begin, we can’t leave her alone.”

  “I don’t know where he went,” Jonah said as he searched the crowd.

  “I understand everyone’s concern, but I think I can handle some rowdy wolves,” I said at the two bickering men. I wanted to slap myself for forcing them to let me come. Obviously it was a mistake. Donald Trump had a better chance of getting an invite to this shindig—and that’s saying a lot.

  “We know you can, but you shouldn’t have to,” Sebastian said and if I were sitting, I would have fallen out of my seat. “If anyone picks a fight with you, it will only attract more unwanted attention. I—we won’t be able to perform the ceremony if we’re constantly looking out for you.”

  There it was.

  Mohammad’s words drilled into me. Their undying loyalty would get them killed. And that would ultimately break me.

  “I’m gonna go,” I cut into their conversation. They were going back and forth on what to do with me and at this point, I was just tired. “This was a mistake, I get it.”

  No one said a word.

  “For once I have to agree, Miss. Grey,” Charles said from behind me and I groaned. Of
course he’d show up when I’ve given up.

  “Say no more,” I waved him off. “I’m gone.” I unbuckled the straps of my heels and slipped them off. The dirt sinking between my toes as I scrunched them into the soil. If Mother Nature was in tune with us, I yearned for her understanding and that she take mercy on my empty soul. Dramatic…I know.

  “You’re already here, Kenz. Don’t go,” Jonah caught my upper arm, halting my steps. He stared at Charles with a pleading look, and it took everything in me not to sigh in exasperation. I adored Jonah, but man was he a daddy’s boy. He couldn’t take a shit without Charles permission and that pissed me off.

  “I appreciate what you’re both trying to do but let’s give it a rest. Pay respect to our friends—your family—and let’s go our separate ways.”

  “What?” Bash barked. “You’re running? Again?” he grimaced, appearing more distraught than I would have thought.

  “I’m giving you a break. A lot has happened—“

  “Who the hell cares!” Jonah exclaimed.

  “It’s for the best,” I said, my gaze meeting Charles. He nodded in approval and I felt sick to my stomach. Since when were he and I on the same page?

  Jonah’s one dimple disappeared, replaced with sad chocolate eyes that almost made me change my mind. Sebastian on the other hand was about to lose his mind. His jaw ticked like a bomb waiting to explode.

  “We need to stick together,” Bash growled.

  “You two need to stay the hell away from me before I get you killed!”

  “Stop being ridiculous,” Bash gritted between his teeth.

  “I’m being realistic. I persuaded loyal and submissive Lunas to rebel, it wouldn’t be far-fetched if I was able to convince you to betray the laws and murder your own kind. If you turn on me now, you might get off easily.”

  Charles eyes lit up. “Take her offer. I will vouch for you both, the King will be merciful.”

  Jonah grimaced. “Absolutely not. We won’t do it. No matter what you say, we’re with you.”

  “Jonah!” Charles snarled. “Do as I say!”

  “No! Mind your own damn business!” Jonah shouted. “Your input is not needed for this conversation. You shouldn’t even be here,” he dismissed his father as if he weren’t the Alpha of the Northeast. I wanted to cry tears of pride for Jonah. He stood up to Charles. It’s about damn time.

  They were my semi-quasi Pack and I wanted their support. If I put my pride aside, I also wanted their protection. Logan left me scared of my own shadow and paranoid for those I cared about. Which was why I needed to protect them now.

  “You can’t stop us, Mackenzie,” Bash rumbled. We now had an audience.

  I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the last two people in the world I shouldn’t mistreat—but I had to—for their well-being.

  “Do whatever the hell you want. I don’t give a fuck,” I growled.

  I pivoted to avoid looking at their reactions and hauled out of there, pushing Pack members out of my way as tunnel vision took over and all I could see was the entrance to Cadwell Estate.

  I burst out of the woods and into the driveway. Hands on my knees, I released the breath I’d been holding. It wasn’t news that I had a bitchy side—but this was the first time I didn’t want to show it. Bash and Jonah saved my life. Logan wouldn’t have killed me, but I might have done it myself. Suicide was never something I contemplated, or even joked about, but the thought crossed my mind those days I’d been underground. If no one was able to find me—I would have done it, ended the misery before it began. I hated thinking that way.

  “You’ve always had a flare for the dramatic, Mackenzie Grey,” someone giggled. I lifted my head, spinning around looking for who the voice belonged to.

  No one.

  I was officially losing my mind.

  “Over here!” it sang from my right, toward the house. “Nope, over here!” she squealed to my left.

  “What the hell…” I gasped as I saw a white cloud zoom from right to left and back again. “I’m trippin’,” I shook my head and started toward the long winding driveway of the Estate. The walk would help clear my mind from all the crazy.

  “Don’t ignore me, Mackenzie,” someone popped up beside me and I shrieked, nearly coming out of my skin.

  “Holy fuck!” I stumbled back as I came face-to-face with…Blu. “Shit, shit, shit, shit.”

  “Always the poet,” she grinned. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” I exclaimed. I had officially lost my marbles, no doubt about it. I needed to be institutionalized STAT.

  “I am,” she nodded, nonchalant. “But I have to wait for my ride,” she joked. I couldn’t even crack a smile.

  “You’re not real. No way,” I murmured as I attempted to walk away.

  “Sorry, that joke was in bad taste, but until the ceremony is over, I’m stuck here,” Blu waved around us.

  “Then go bother someone else. Don’t torture me any further,” I pleaded. I sounded pathetic.

  “No one else can see me. And torture? Why would I do that?” she quirked a brow.

  “I got you killed.”

  Blu rolled her eyes. “Like I said, dramatic. You didn’t kill me, Kenz. Everyone has been telling you this and you’re still not listening. Stop throwing yourself a pity party and get your head in the game,” she demanded.

  My eyes widened. This was the first time I’d ever seen her so…stern.

  “You’re not Blu.”

  She sighed. “I am, but I don’t have a lot of time to baby you. Once my body is burned, I’ll never see you again. I wouldn’t be able to rest knowing how much you hate yourself right now.” She raised a billowy hand toward my cheek. It went right through me. “Aren’t you wondering how you can see me? Why you’re so special?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t care.”

  “Or is it because you don’t want to know,” she smirked. “Lone wolves are killed on-site, Kenz. Why didn’t Bash kill you when you first met?”

  I shrugged. “Because of my stunning good looks.”

  Blu laughed. “Because you were dominant—you are an Alpha—he couldn’t control you.”

  “No way! Now I know you’re full of shit, Blu. Being the spawn of a King doesn’t make me an Alpha, it makes me a victim of two individuals who didn’t know how to keep their clothes on. They needed a damn television.”

  “You don’t see what I see, Kenz. What’s inside of you is different from other wolves. Your aura glows brighter than the sun—it glows with power that I don’t think even the King has. I need you to see yourself the way I see you—don’t let my death be in vain.”

  “What?” I gasped.

  “I died for you. Not because of you.”

  A single tear rolled down my cheek. “That makes no sense.”

  She laughed. “It makes all the sense in the world. Don’t give up, Kenzie. Do it for me, do it for Rachel—do it for yourself.”

  “Do what?” I shook my head, not understanding.

  “You know what you have to do,” she winked. “And you won’t be alone. The boys will be with you every step of the way whether you like it or not. Be kind to them.”

  I sighed. “I know they will.” They’re stubborn that way.

  “It’s happening,” Blu whispered. My head jerked up, her body flicking like a light bulb.

  “It’s begun? Wait, don’t go!”

  “I can’t stop it, Kenz. Just remember what I said and you’ll be okay. We’re rooting for you, Freedom Princess.”

  I flinched at the name I’d been bestowed. “I don’t want you to go,” I murmured.

  She smiled. “I won’t be gone. I’ll always look after you, Mackenzie Grey. We all will.”

  The floodgates burst open, and my face was soaked with tears I’d been holding in for weeks.

  “Oh and Kenz?”

  “Yeah?”

  Her grin widened. “Choose one already!” The apparition flickered as the dust at my
feet flew up and spun around me like a tornado. The color of the earth changed to blues, reds, purples—every color of the rainbow. It resembled the Northern Lights as they brightened and spun higher and higher. I gazed over to the woods and saw the same was happening where the burning was being done. Before I could move an inch, the dust exploded into a rain of color all around me. The silence of the woods enveloped me as I inhaled the smoke of the dead.

  Blu’s last words a whisper in my head. Choose one.

  Chapter Five

  I was a chicken. I didn’t want to see the boys and I couldn’t face Amy, so I ran—well the King’s men tailed me but we won’t count them. The minute I stepped into my hometown of Cold Springs, New York, I turned off my phone, sending a single message to Amy letting her know I was going radio silent. I hated ignoring everyone but I needed this time for myself. Seeing Blu had shaken me to my very core and I needed to regroup, to get back to my old self before we jetted off to Europe. Spending quality time with my parents and Oliver helped me more than I ever thought possible—I didn’t want to leave, but they understood that I needed to meet my biological father—they didn’t need to know the real reason for my trip.

  After spending a week with my family, Lincoln drove me to the airstrip at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The King had chartered a private jet to transport us overseas. I wasn’t going to complain about skipping the TSA lines, but I could only imagine how much money this guy was going to throw around.

  Already waiting outside of the jet with their luggage at their side, we pulled up behind Sebastian and Jonah—they hadn’t noticed our arrival. I didn’t wait for Lincoln to open the door for me, and I knew it irritated him, but I was anxious to see my friends.

  “Look at this sorry bunch. I bet you twenty bucks they thought I wasn’t going to show,” I said.

  The two of them turned around as I walked toward them with Lincoln trailing behind me. I smiled. The last time we saw each other was a bit dramatic and we didn’t part ways on the greatest terms, but I wasn’t going to let that mess everything up. Especially when the flight was over seven hours long.