ALPHA (Mackenzie Grey #3)

by Karina Espinosa

  Alexander did a double take once he saw me and pushed past the guards to get to me.

  “Are ye alright?” he said, stopping awkwardly before me. His hand went to reach for my face but he pulled it back to his side.

  “I’m fine, I just saw your announcement.”

  He smiled wide. “And? What did ye think?”

  “Thank you,” I nodded. “That was really generous of you but I had a question.”

  “Aye?”

  I cleared my throat. “What about the Lunas? I thought yesterday you insinuated you wanted to discuss the Lunas. Possibly changing the way they’re treated.”

  His smile fell and he took a small step back. Alexander tucked his hands into his slack pockets and that was all the answer I needed. My gaze went to the golden pin at the lapel of his suit jacket and I wanted to rip it off and stomp on it with my bruised leg.

  “I guess not…”

  “It’s nae that easy, Hen,” he started.

  I snorted. “Actually, it kind of is. You make it difficult.”

  Ivana, with her perfectly styled auburn hair, came to stand beside him. “Darling, ye probably need some more rest, how about we discuss this when yer better—”

  “We don’t need to discuss a thing—him and I on the other hand, do,” I barked and switched my glare to Alexander. “You’re such a fucking coward. Adaline would be disappointed in you,” I growled.

  Ivana paled and I felt the guards swarm around us, ready to pounce. Sebastian and Jonah growled at them, crouching in a defensive stance, keeping them away from me.

  “I will nae change century old laws just because a little girl told me so,” Alexander said. “Now I suggest ye apologize and appreciate all I’ve done for ye.”

  I jerked back as if he’d slapped me across the face. My eyes widened with shock and I couldn’t believe what he just said. He hadn’t planned on changing a single thing. He handled me and I fell for it.

  “Wrong move, Alexander, wrong fucking move,” I whispered as I pushed past him and his guards. Drew was leaning against the doorway of the throne room—the biggest grin across his face.

  “Bold words, Sister,” he said as he pretended to pick at his nails. “Ye think daddy will let ye leave now?”

  “Fuck off,” I brushed past him and down the hallway to the guest wing stairwell.

  Sebastian and Jonah hustled to catch up to me as we shot up the stairs.

  “Kenz, slow down and think,” Jonah said. “Don’t push your luck. Just take the small victory and let’s go home.”

  I stopped three steps above them and whirled on the Alpha and Beta. “You think that was a victory?” I scoffed.

  “Then what do you propose, Mackenzie?” Bash asked. “What options are we left with?”

  My stare shifted between the two and I calmed myself down. I wouldn’t let revenge drive my emotions. I needed to think and react with a clear and leveled head.

  “We do what we should have done from the beginning. We start a goddamn revolution.”

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  “You’re not thinking clearly!” Jonah exclaimed as we burst into the common room. Everyone jumped when we entered.

  “I’ve never been clearer before in my life,” I laughed and strode toward my room, straight to the closet.

  “Kenz, what’s going on?” Amy followed me in.

  “Once again, she’s impulsively making decisions based off emotions and not her head!” Jonah yelled.

  I laughed. If he only knew what I was thinking and feeling. It had nothing to do with being impulsive—maybe a bit of my emotions yes, but that’s normal. I’d have to be passionate about something to make any decisions in my life. This was what I should had done from the beginning. I shouldn’t have quit when the Lunas were killed. I gave up because I was scared and felt guilty for what happened. I quit because I thought Logan broke me—I was so wrong.

  I rushed to the common room with a garment bag in hand and addressed the room. “Do you actually believe that we can talk to these people and get them to see how fucking wrong they are? Is it even plausible?” No one said a word. “Exactly. Now I won’t pretend that I’ve been right all along. When Logan…when he took me, I had a temporary moment of insanity and dragged the Lunas in my quest for revenge. I went about things the wrong way, I get that, but my intentions were good. At this point in time, I’m not blinded by anger and revenge anymore. The Lycan don’t answer to cordial talks and suggestions from Lunas. They need a goddamn wake-up call and I’m going to give it to them.”

  “You’re being impulsive, Mackenzie,” Sebastian said.

  “No!” I laughed. “They’re dozens, maybe even hundreds of Lunas that are ready to stand up and fight for themselves. It’s no longer just me and my crazy self—it’s hundreds! Don’t let Blu’s death be in vain…” I pleaded.

  They looked to one another. I didn’t know what they expected and I’m sure I appeared mental, but this was the only way I could get Alexander to listen. He had to see the Lunas that would fight for their freedom—he needed to see us as equals. He had the power, now I was going to force him to use it.

  “How do you know they’re others who want to fight?” Jackson asked.

  “They approached me at the funeral. Lunas all over the country are waiting for the chance. We can do this,” I said. “If you don’t want to be a part of it, I understand and I won’t be upset, but if that is the case then you need to leave. I’m not changing my mind—not this time.”

  “Do you have a plan of action?” Amy quirked a pierced brow.

  I bit my lip. “Sort of.” I needed to contact the Lunas from the funeral and figure it out.

  “Well I have an idea,” Amy grinned, “and it’s kind of awesome.”

  That was why I loved my best friend.

  “I guess I’m in,” Jackson sighed. Poor guy, this was probably the last thing he’d ever want to do, but because Amy was involved he would be by her side too.

  “You’re so whipped,” Jonah murmured.

  “Damn right I am,” his brother grunted.

  “I have some Coven sisters that would love to help,” Scarlet chimed in. I’d forgotten she was in the room she’s so quiet.

  “Really?” I perked up.

  She nodded.

  “This is great! I have some friends on the West Coast that owe me favors. I’ll tap into those and call Tori and Sarah to start contacting other Lunas,” I said, giddy with excitement. It was happening—for real this time.

  I turned to Lucian who’d been off to the side—observing. I was waiting for him, but I also understood that because he ran the vampires of New York he couldn’t put them at risk for a wolf like myself.

  “You’re putting me in quite the pickle, Pet,” he tapped his fingers on his chin.

  “I know, Luce, and its okay if you can’t.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Do you truly believe you can make a difference?”

  “Yes.” I didn’t pause or stutter. This was my destiny all along—my vision quest—and I was ready to fulfill it.

  “Very well. You can count on the vampires of New York City and any others that wish to join,” Lucian gave me a lazy grin.

  Too shocked to think, I ran up to Lucian and hugged him. He froze for a second before encircling his arms around me. He was colder than an ice brick and smoother than stone. After being with Roman, it wasn’t weird anymore.

  I released the vampire and turned to the Alpha and Beta of the Brooklyn Pack—to my boys.

  “Thank you for sticking with me thus far. I owe you both more than you can ever imagine and I know I’ve been unfair at times. I promise when this is over, I’ll get my act together, but for now I need you to choose. Are you with me?”

  Sebastian stepped forward, his steely blues unwavering as they only saw me, no one else.

  “Whatever you do, wherever you go, I will always stand by you, Mackenzie Grey,” he said as he slammed his fist over his heart. It gave me chills.

  “Thank you
,” I muttered. I was moved by his loyalty that it left me speechless.

  “None of you are thinking clearly,” Jonah interjected. “We’re in the Lycan capital. The army they have here will overpower us in seconds. We don’t stand a chance.”

  I smirked. “Have a little faith, you’d be surprised by the friends I’ve made here,” I winked at him. He could complain all he wanted, but Jonah would stand by us. It was in his nature.

  “Come on, Jo, let’s just skip to the part when you say yes,” Jackson said as if bored.

  Jonah shifted on his feet as he felt the peer pressure. “Fine,” he grumbled and plopped himself on the sofa.

  “Fantastic!” Amy cheered. “Now why are you holding that dress?” She pointed to the gown in my hands.

  “Oh! Yeah, I was going to go apologize to Alexander and tell him I still wanted a birthday party,” I shrugged.

  “Like for real or for fake?” she cocked her head.

  “Both,” I chuckled. “If we’re going to do this, then Bash was right from the get go. I need to play my part as Princess.”

  “It’s about damn time,” Bash sighed.

  “Whatever,” I rolled my eyes. “Also, we don’t know what the next few days will bring. We’ve been dealing with some heavy stuff and I won’t lie to you and say what we’re about to do won’t come with its casualties. So let’s think of this party as our last hurrah—let’s enjoy being alive.”

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  I blazed down the stairs and to the throne room where guards were still stationed outside the door. They blocked me from entering when I tried to pass, baring their canines in my direction. I guess they weren’t part of the fan club.

  “I just want to talk to the King,” I said exasperated.

  “He’s busy,” one of them grunted. “Wait until he summons ye.”

  “I can’t wait, it’s an emergency!”

  “Poor little Princess,” the other frowned.

  My eyes flashed silver when Drew came from down the hallway.

  “Enough, lads. If my lovely sister needs to talk to our father, she is more than welcomed to,” he smirked and it made me want to barf.

  “Of course,” the guards bowed to him. They stepped aside and opened the doors for us.

  “After ye, Sis,” Drew waved me in.

  I paused for a moment, thinking this could be a trap of sorts but I shook the thought away. Drew had something up his sleeves and it made me wonder if he was somewhat involved in this mystery. Could he have ordered the murder of the Lunas on behalf of Alexander? He was close enough to do so.

  I stored the idea in the back of my mind and marched forward to the King. He sat on his throne with Ranulf by his side and a few of the Council members handing him papers to sign. It looked so official.

  “Please excuse the intrusion,” I started. Wincing at the fact I had to apologize. “Could I speak with you alone, Alexander?”

  “Come to beg for forgiveness, little Sister?” Drew teased.

  I snapped my neck in his direction. “Yes. I have.”

  His smile twitched and I could tell he hadn’t expected me to agree with him. Alexander waved the Council away and eyed his son.

  “Leave,” he mouthed and Drew’s jaw ticked with irritation. After a stare down he was never going to win, Drew left the throne room in a huff, leaving Alexander and I alone.

  “What is this about, Mackenzie? Yer not the begging type.”

  “You’re right, I’m not. I took some time to cool down and realized I may have been too rash. Rome wasn’t built in a day after all,” I shrugged.

  “Wise words,” he leaned forward. “I’ve had time to observe ye, Hen, and while I want to believe yer sincerity, I’m having a hard time doing so.”

  Damn, he wasn’t as gullible as I thought. There was only so much I could pull off before he realized who he was dealing with.

  “I understand your hesitation and I’d be surprised if you did believe me. I haven’t done anything to establish trust between us and that is my fault. I came to Scotland with one plan—to get justice for my friends.” Nothing I said was a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. “I don’t think I can stand here and say I won’t seek revenge anymore—I’d be lying to you. What I can say is I’m going to try to keep an open mind and trust that you know what you’re doing. No matter how much it pains me,” I chuckled. “With that said, I would like to continue with preparations for my birthday party.”

  “Aye,” Alexander nodded. “I appreciate yer honesty, Hen. I donae know what ye have up yer sleeve, but I’ll bite. I’ll have Ivana continue with the party planning and announce the celebration,” he smirked.

  I shifted in place as I thought how I could broch the subject on not doing the dance they had me taking lessons for.

  “Thank you. I promise things will be different, you’ll see,” I smiled. “As for the dance…”

  “That is non-negotiable, darling. Its tradition.”

  “It’s embarrassing,” I mumbled.

  “It is part of being a Luna, Mackenzie. If yer truly going to keep an open mind, then this is the way to go about things.”

  Damn it, he was right. My own words were coming back to bite me in the ass less than two seconds of it coming out my mouth. Just my luck.

  “I suppose,” I gritted between my teeth.

  “Excellent,” Alexander clapped his hands. “I’ll have Helena measure Jonah and get his attire in order for the party. I’ll have to tell Ivana to speed it up, yer birthday is less than two days away.”

  “Perfect,” I grinned and began to show him my dress for Saturday. All I had to do was play the dutiful daughter and distract him enough for the others to put the plan in motion. Come Sunday morning, the game was changing and I would be the referee.

  ****

  The following day was a whirlwind as Ivana dragged me from one fitting to another, to dance lessons and etiquette training. Due to the very public trial, the party planning had been put on an indefinite hold. Now that it was back on, we were behind schedule and Ivana was going nuts trying to get everything done in time. I had to give the Queen her props, she was working hard to make it all happen.

  “Thanks again, Ivana,” I said as I stood on a dais with my arms spread out. The seamstress was finishing the last touches of my dress.

  “No need to thank me, dear,” she smiled. “I want ye to have the best twenty fourth birthday ever! Ye deserve it after what ye’ve gone through these past few months.”

  I nodded and the seamstress cleared her throat. “My bad,” I winced as she poked my side with a needle. I wasn’t supposed to move, but…

  “Past few months?” I quirked a brow. “You mean the trial?”

  “Oh, yes, of course. Silly me,” she laughed. “It feels like ye’ve been here longer. I forget it’s only been a few weeks.”

  “Right,” I muttered. No one was supposed to have known about what happened to the Lunas—unless she was thinking about Logan. I needed to stop being paranoid.

  After my last fitting, I approved the menu and cake for the party, and was finally allowed to go to the guest wing and curl into bed—if only.

  The moment I walked into the common room, it was like DEF-CON 1. Amy was typing away furiously on her laptop while Jackson paced the room as he talked on the phone, with Bash and Jonah hunched over a map of Sheunta Village and the surrounding highlands.

  “Where’s Lucian and Scarlet?” I asked as I slipped out of the high heels Ivana made me break in. When I told her I’d never worn anything higher than combat boots, I thought she’d have a coronary. She made me wear my heels for the party and get comfortable with them. Only thing I got were blisters and a possible bunion.

  “They went to pay a visit to the Sisters,” Amy said without taking her eyes off the computer screen. She was furiously at work trying to set everything up for Sunday—her part was the most important of all. After I spoke with Tori and Sarah last night, they gave us a list of the Packs that had Lunas who
wanted to join the revolution. Dozens of Lunas were at the ready but it would be impossible to get them all to Scotland without someone catching them. That’s where Amy’s genius idea came into play. Why have a revolt only in Scotland when we can have it all around the world?

  I changed into my sweats and slippers, and picked up my cell phone. Helena was nice enough to get me a calling card so I plopped myself on my bed to make a call.

  “Hello?” Roman answered.

  “Hey…” I whispered as I shut the door to my bedroom. All the good that would do with three wolves on the other side of the wall.

  “Isn’t this my lucky day,” he said dryly. “I thought I’d never hear from you again.”

  “It’s been a bit crazy, Rome.”

  “I bet. While you’re there, I’m in California constantly looking over my shoulder and thinking you’d been killed. It’s been a bit crazy here too, Ace.”

  I hadn’t once thought to check in or much less see how Emma was. What made me feel worse was the fact that this wasn’t an informal call.

  “I need a favor, Rome,” I cringed.

  He snorted. “Of course you do. What do you need?” He didn’t hesitate, or give me a hard time about it. Not that I expected it, but I definitely deserved it. I was a horrible friend.

  “Remember my vision quest?”

  “Yeah,” he grunted.

  “Well…it’s happening. Sunday morning and I need help.”

  The line went quiet as I held my breath and waited for Roman’s response. I checked the screen a few times thinking he had hung up the phone.

  “What can I do?” he sounded resigned—much like Jonah.

  “Remember the Succubi we rescued? I need you to track them down. I need to collect the favor they owe me.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Yeah,” I took in a deep breath. “You think you can get the Water Nymphs to help?”

  “Excuse me? You want me to do what now?”

  “Come on, Rome, you know they’ll do anything for you and we need as many others as we can get.”