“Are ye going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?” I said a little too harsh. I needed to reign in my anger.
“Yer age.”
“Twenty three.”
He pulled Lily to a stop. “Yer all grown up,” he gave me a weak smile. “Ye must have a birthday coming soon, aye?”
That took me off guard. “Uh…yeah, I do. How’d you know?”
“Yer mum,” he paused, “This was around the time she left.”
I cringed. I hadn’t asked about my biological mother, much less wondered about her. It seemed odd to me that I hadn’t. It should have been one of my first questions. I held my tongue as an awkward silence encased our ride through the woods. I had tuned my surroundings out as we talked and I was starting to regret that. I had no idea where we were—again.
We stopped in a clearing. I shouldn’t have asked, but curiosity won. “Can you tell me about her?”
Alexander’s eyes fell to his hands wrapped in the leather reins, he gripped them tight. “Maybe another time,” he muttered.
“What was her name?” I asked. “Was she a Lycan as well?”
“I said another time!” he barked, his eyes going silver. It hit me in waves. His dominance vibrated through me, sending shock currents through the wiring of my brain, giving me no other option but to obey. This was nothing like the kind of power Sebastian had—Alexander wasn’t just an Alpha, he was a King—and I felt it.
Shadow got spooked and jumped up on his hind legs. I held on to the reins as tight as I could, bringing my body closer to the horse. With a neigh, Shadow landed on all fours and took off toward the woods, away from the trail. I dug my heels into his sides and tried to get him to stop but he wouldn’t. He dashed through the woods, branches hitting and scratching me all over. I didn’t have time to feel pain, I was trying to stay saddled.
“Shadow,” I tsked. “Buddy, please slow down!” I screamed but nothing worked. He galloped faster and faster, my arms burned with the need to let go.
“Hold on, Mackenzie!” Alexander yelled from behind me as his horse dashed with pounding speed.
“Hurry the fuck up!” I squealed. My heart dropped to my ass, and my breakfast rose back up. This was like a roller coaster on a constant loop, like going swimming after eating without waiting the stupid twenty minutes.
“Gather the reins, lass, make sure there’s no slack and pull towards yer hips,” he screamed as he pulled up beside us. I did as was told. “Whoa!” he said as he reached over and helped me pull back Shadow’s reins.
We began to slow down, but not slow enough. “Just get me off him!” I demanded in a near panic.
“Pull one rein back toward yer hip and then switch, he’ll slow down and then we can stop him,” Alexander said. I pulled on the right, Shadow’s head followed, then I pulled to the left and he turned to the left. I kept going until we finally came to a halt.
My body hummed with energy, and my heart beat against my rib cage. I was going to murder Sebastian for making me go on this stupid ride.
“Ye did good,” Alexander said as he took hold of the reins.
“Shut up. Please,” I mumbled, not caring who the hell he was. “Don’t speak.”
“Come now, yer bleeding,” he pulled out a handkerchief and went to wipe at my cheek. I jerked away.
“Don’t. Just leave me alone,” I said, trying to regain control of myself. “I’m having a heart attack.”
Alexander froze, narrowing his brows. “Are ye serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“I didnae peg ye for the sensitive type.”
I scoffed. “Dude, you scared the shit out of my damn horse and it lost its freakin mind! I’ve never ridden before, and I nearly dropped a fuckin’ brick back there. Excuse me for being sensitive,” I gasped and then clapped my hand over my mouth. “Fuck,” I mumbled into my palm. Well there went that plan. I shut my eyes as I waited for his reaction to my verbal diarrhea. I needed to get that shit checked out—a Pepto-Bismol for my brain.
Alexander cleared his throat. “How about we head back, aye?”
My breath hitched as I avoided the wrath that I thought was headed my way. I didn’t look him in the eye, I only nodded and followed him and Lily out of the woods. I swore I would never ride a horse again.
Chapter Nine
It was lunch time when we arrived at the stables again. Alexander excused himself, stating he had a meeting to attend, leaving me with a cranky Ranulf who waited to escort me back into the castle. I felt like a prisoner as he walked me to the guest wing and up the stairs to the common room. The boys were watching TV when I trudged in.
“Oh no, this cannae be good. Are ye okay?” Helena who’d been dusting the room, shot up. She grabbed a hand towel and the ice bucket on the liquor cart and dipped it in water before running to me.
“What happened?” Bash demanded.
“Oh don’t worry, I’m fine. I didn’t just nearly die!” I screamed as I let Helena dab the towel on the cut on my cheek.
“Is that my flannel?” Jonah asked as he came towards me.
“Yes, and I’ll get you a new one. You can thank the King for its demise.”
“He did this to you?” Sebastian stiffened.
“I wish,” I snorted. “His fuckin’ horse did.”
There was a pause before they broke into laughter. I could feel my face redden with not only anger, but embarrassment. Even Helena was trying to cover up a smile.
“This isn’t funny! Alexander made my damn horse lose control and it almost killed me!”
“How did he do that?” Jonah chuckled.
“He yelled at me,” I said and they quieted. “Oh now you understand?” I rolled my eyes and pushed past them to my room. Aside from being thoroughly spooked by Shadow, I still had Alexander’s raw power coursing through me. It had me on edge.
Sebastian followed me into my room. “We didn’t mean to laugh, Mackenzie.”
“Of course not. Let me guess, it’s an awkward twitch?”
“Don’t be a smartass. It’s not every day you hear the great Mackenzie Grey gets bested by a horse.” He picked twigs out of my hair.
“Don’t patronize me,” I scolded. “I tried to do everything you said, to play along and try to bond, but the minute I asked him a question, he shuts me out. I don’t like playing by other people’s rules. If he wants to get to know me, fine, but this shit works both ways. He better spill his guts too.” I tore off my clothes and went into the closet. Helena had unpacked my bag and put my stuff away—it only made me angrier. Lunas shouldn’t have to be servants!
“You need to get cleaned up, Mackenzie,” Bash said. “They’ll be bringing lunch soon.”
“I don’t care.”
“We can go for a run, get you healed up,” he suggested.
I popped my head out of the closet. “Oh no! I want him to see the damage he caused. I’m going to wear these bruises with pride and he’s going to rue the day he met me!”
Sebastian choked on a laugh. “Well, at least we know you’re still sane.”
“Mock me all you want, Sebastian Steel, but he messed with the wrong gal.”
“I know he did,” he said. “Now what was it you asked that set him off?”
I froze as I pulled a shirt from a hanger. It was weird to say because I still hadn’t come to terms with the idea I was adopted, I didn’t fully believe it.
“I asked about the woman who gave birth to me,” I whispered.
“Mackenzie—” he started.
“I swear I didn’t bring her up first. He did. I just followed up with a question of my own.”
“Which was?”
“If he could tell me about her, at least a name, but he clammed up and then this happened,” I waved at my bruised body.
I walked out of the closet with a fresh pair of jeans and shirt in hand. In only my undergarments, I strolled to the bathroom.
“Give him time, Mackenzie. This can’t be easy for him.”
I didn’t turn to look at Bash when I said, “He made it hard for himself.”
****
Lunch was much better than breakfast, and Helena promised she would have coffee for me by afternoon tea. Thank the heavens. She also got permission for me to leave the castle grounds and take a walk in town. I might have whined about feeling trapped and whatnot, but it did the trick. Ranulf spoke with the King and the guard was told to escort me.
I expected to ride into Sheunta Village in a carriage pulled by horses, but maybe I took a smack to the head this morning because other than the cobbled streets, everything was modernized. I didn’t see any cars, but that could also be because everything was within walking distance. Other than that, there were flashing window signs, electronics being sold, and even a small movie theater down the road playing the latest releases.
“And you’re babysitting me because…?”
Ranulf huffed. “I’m here for yer protection, Princess.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“It’s the truth and ye better start acting like it. The town’s people expect it.”
I scrunched my mouth to the side. “Speaking of, does no one know why I’m here?”
Ranulf came to a halt, nearly crashing into me. “Ye will nae speak a word of yer…insubordination. The people do nae need a false Messiah spreading rumors and filling their heads with yer nonsense.”
My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets. That was the reason why I was being treated like royalty and not the scum beneath their shoes. And here I thought the sperm donor actually liked me.
“Why even have me come out, so to speak? You could have kept me a secret and smuggled me in.”
He gave me dry laugh. “Ye think we could have done that? With all the noise ye was making in America? The whole bloody world knows who ye are. Ye was once just a rumor, now yer a fact. There’s no hiding ye now, Princess.”
“A rumor?” I scrunched my face.
“Aye. Many believed Alexander had birthed a second child when the affair was discovered. Stories of yer existence have floated around for years—no one expected ye to be a Luna,” he smirked.
We passed by a market that had fresh produce stands outside of the store. People were checking the fruits for bruises and weighing their finds.
“Look!” someone in the crowd yelled. “It’s Princess Mackenzie!”
All heads went from the woman pointing her finger to me. I must have had a deer-in-headlights look on my face because Ranulf had to nudge me into action. With an awkward wave, I gave them all a tight smile and escaped behind Ranulf as he led me out of the crowd.
A little girl no more than five years old ran up to me with a few of her friends. Her wild curly hair bounced around her and she had dirt smudges on her cheeks.
“Princess!” she pulled at my t-shirt. I turned and squatted before her, getting a better look at her big doe eyes.
“Hello there,” I smiled.
“Ye sound funny,” her face twisted in confusion.
I chuckled. “So do you.”
She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder to her friends who were pointing and laughing.
“What’s their issue?” I asked with a nod in their direction.
“I told them one day I would be a princess too.”
I straightened. “One day you will be a princess,” I said loud enough for them to hear. “What’s your name?”
“Amelia,” she smiled wide. Her two front teeth missing.
“No way! That’s my best friends’ name too!”
She clapped her hands.
“You know what that means, Amelia?”
“What does it mean? Is she a Luna too?”
My smile faltered a bit. “No she’s not,” I whispered, “but it means we have to be best friends too,” I winked and her friend’s mouths dropped. “See you around, future princess.”
I waved to the crowd that had formed and followed Ranulf out. He took ahold of my elbow and ushered me further down the street. He kept giving me these side long glances as if wanting to ask me something. After I couldn’t take any more of his weirdness, I pulled my arm away and stopped walking.
“Dude, what is it?”
“Dude?” he blanched. “Ye need to learn to speak properly.”
“Whatever.”
He grunted. “Why…why did ye speak to that little girl?”
I raised a brow. “Why shouldn’t I? It’s obvious the other kids were making fun of her. I thought I’d boost her street cred,” I laughed.
“That was…nice,” he said it like I had three heads.
I couldn’t stop the laugh that bumbled up. These Lycans were so weird. “You guys don’t understand human decency.”
“We aren’t human,” he shot out.
“What’s wrong with being a little human? It’s good for the soul,” I joked but was the only one who found it funny. This was odd behavior since everywhere else in the world, supernaturals lived with humans without prejudice—that I knew of at least. If these people didn’t have their invisible town, they would be as well.
“Humans are weak, a liability, and dirty,” he sneered over his shoulder. “We are the superior race, yet they rule the world. Ye do the math, Princess.”
His sarcasm wasn’t lost on me, and I’d tuck that away for one of these days. I was the reigning queen of sarcasm, I’d get him good soon enough.
“Right, how silly of me to ask,” I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, can we catch a movie?”
He sighed. “We have afternoon tea in a few hours.”
“Perfect. A two hour movie will help kill some time,” I winked. I ran up to the theater and stood in line for tickets. I peered up at the movie options and thought about how this wasn’t all too bad. I had complained about not wanting to play the role of princess, but here I was doing it. My stomach rolled with how natural it came. Damn, I needed to get back to New York. Scotland was making me soft and it had only been two days. Next thing I’d know, I’d be rolling up in a gown and tiara. I shivered. That would be a nightmare.
“Ye cannae wander alone. Stay by my side!” Ranulf scolded.
“Excuse me?” I blanched. “I’m twenty three, I don’t need to be holding mommy’s hand everywhere I go.”
“Around here ye do. It’s nae safe,” he growled. “Ye don know anything.”
“That’s not even funny,” I deadpanned as I thought of the Jon Snow joke Amy would have told had she been here. “How dangerous can it be? Everyone seems to love me. I am sort of adorable to be honest,” I grinned.
“How humble of ye,” Ranulf grunted. “Just stay by my side, aye?”
“Aye, Captain,” I saluted. The line for the movie tickets moved and we were next. “Where’s Caledonian Forest?” I changed the topic. I had to go see if Lucian was at his cottage, we hadn’t seen him since we arrived.
“Why?” Ranulf pulled me out of the queue, making us miss the lady who called out next.
“What the hell?” I jerked. “What’s your problem?”
“Caledonian Forest is a restricted area. Ye cannae go there,” he said in a mild whisper.
That peeked my interest. “Why is it restricted?”
“That does nae concern ye.”
“If you want me to stay away, then it does. Unless there’s a twenty foot cyclops running through the forest eating children, I’m going to ignore your rules.”
“They’re worse things than children eating giants out in those lands. Stay away if ye know what’s good for ye,” he snapped before stepping out of the way of movie goers. “We should head back to the castle, Princess,” he said as he grabbed my arm and directed me away from the theater.
Someone should have warned Ranulf about my impulsivity because now more than ever, I wanted to know what was in those woods. What could be worse than a cannibalistic cyclops?
Chapter Ten
After the walk through the village with Ranulf, I was drained of energy and I took a nap. Helena didn’t
know I’d been there and woke me up when I hadn’t showed up for afternoon tea. I walked down the hall, passing the dining room we ate in last night to the sitting room where everyone was waiting for me.
I almost arrived when I paused a few feet by the doors.
“The people may love her now, but they won’t when they find out what she’s done, Sir.” I recognized Ranulf’s voice. After spending the afternoon with that boring drone, I’d identify him anywhere.
“They won’t find out, I’ll make sure of it,” the King said. I could feel the power in his words.
“They will,” a familiar American voice chimed in. “Everything you’ve heard about Mackenzie, take it at face value. She is no Luna and never will be,” Sebastian said.
“She will learn!” Alexander demanded.
“Darling, please—”
“Hush, Ivana,” Alexander commanded. “She will learn our ways whether she wants to or nae. I will nae have my daugh—her running around doing as she pleases.”
“She won’t listen,” Jonah whispered. I tried to stretch my hearing but couldn’t without getting closer and being discovered.
“Eavesdropping, aye?” I jumped as I smacked a hand over my mouth to stop the squeal that would announce my arrival. I whirled around and came face to face with Drew. Fuck.
I pushed him back and away from the sitting room until we were in the foyer near the stairwell.
“Are you trying to give me a damn heart attack?” I exclaimed as quietly as possible. “Don’t fuckin’ do that shit, you creep!”
“Whoa,” he chuckled raising his hands up. “Calm down, I didnae mean to scare ye.”
“Well you did.”
“You should nae been listening. I donae think our father would have been pleased. He did seem a bit angry, aye?” Drew smirked.
I smacked his chest hard, making him jerk and flash his eyes. The weird thing was…they didn’t turn silver. “Uh…dude,” I pointed to his face and he looked away from me.
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