“I’m going,” I said and Sebastian smirked at me like he knew what my answer was going to be. Jonah snapped his neck my way and his eyes were golden as he glared. “He’s your brother. I want to help,” I whispered.
He continued to glare. “No. You’ve done enough,” Jonah growled and I jerked back like he’d slapped me across the face.
Jonah reached into his jeans pockets and got out his car keys. “I’ll see you back in the city,” he said over his shoulder and was gone before I could say a word.
I stood there, not able to speak or move. Not even five minutes ago, we were joking and playing around. Now I was a pariah.
“Don’t take it personally, Mackenzie,” Sebastian said. “He’s upset and feeling guilty.”
“Guilty for what?”
“For not being there to avoid it.” And I heard the underlying message in that. For being too busy with me, he wasn’t around to save his brother. I had been in the way.
“Do you think I should still go?” I asked because I understood now and didn’t want to be where I wasn’t welcomed.
“Yes. I think you should,” Sebastian said and it was settled. I was going whether Jonah liked it or not.
Sebastian followed me back into the house to find Amy and Ollie standing by the living room window that looked out to the porch.
“Ollie, this is Sebastian. Bash, this is my brother, Sergeant Oliver Grey,” I said and slid in the solider mention. This Alpha needed to learn early on that he was meeting not just my brother, but someone who understood what being an Alpha was all about. While Ollie may not be as intense as the werewolves, he was protective of the people he cared about and when the time comes, he suits up.
They shook hands, but my brother eyed him guardedly. This wasn’t going to be as easy as it was with Jonah.
“What’s going on, Kenz?” Amy asked.
“Jackson’s been taken,” I said and realized I should have kept my mouth shut. My brother’s eyes snapped to me and grew an inch.
“Who’s Jackson? And taken as in kidnapped?” What other way was there? I nodded. “You need to call the police,” he said it like it was common sense, and to the average human, well, yeah it was. But these were wolves, it wouldn’t be easy to take one of these suckers down—much less a jerk like Jackson, who’d run his mouth so much, they’d change their mind about kidnapping him—so this might be supernatural? They did tell me that vampires were real and if the myths are correct, we have beef with them.
“We can’t, Ollie,” I said and drifted my gaze between him and Sebastian. Could I tell my brother? Could I tell him that his baby sister is a werewolf—a monster?
“What are you involved in, Mackenzie?” he questioned in a stern voice. He said my full name which meant he wasn’t playing around anymore. He was mad.
“Nothing illegal,” At least I hoped not, “I swear. It’s just…complicated.”
“Then un-complicate it for me,” he said and crossed his arms over his chest.
I blew out a breath, my hands got clammy and I rubbed them intently as I tried to come up with something or build up enough courage to blurt out the truth.
The door swung open and the hinges creaked. “Mackenzie Grey! Damnit you better be here and talk to me!” James yelled as he came in uninvited. Maybe he was good for something, the loser. “What is he doing here?” he said as he walked in to the living room and pointed an accusatory finger at Sebastian.
“Jesus Christ, Jameson, what is wrong with you?” I said exasperated. Seriously, the kid needed to learn to knock or not piss off a wolf. Because that’s what he was doing for the second time this week.
“We need to talk about yesterday! You can’t just assault me and then not keep your part of the deal and come to dinner!” he continued to yell as if I wasn’t in the room.
“I’m not deaf, damnit! Pick that wedgie that has your undies in a twist, man. Good grief,” I said and dropped down on the nearest sofa. So much for coming home and getting away from the crazy.
He huffed but didn’t say anything.
“You know him?” my brother asked James as he watched Sebastian. I didn’t blame Ollie. Bash had an air of menace to him that would make anyone question whether he’ll keep you from danger, or if he was the danger. I’m still not sure myself.
James puffed his chest. Oh please. “Yeah, I know him. He’s a cop, he’s protecting Kenz.”
My brother’s face turned tomato red and I wanted to kill James right then and there. I scowled at him and he flinched. He better be afraid, I was about to make his life hell.
“What does she need protecting from? What’s going on Mackenzie!”
I take it back. He’s not mad, he was furious.
“It’s not that serious, Ollie. I was involved in a hostage situation, no biggie,” I told him our cover story and tried to brush it off like it was nothing.
“No biggie?!” he exclaimed.
“Who says ‘no biggie’ anymore?” Amy mumbled.
“What the hell Mackenzie! I swear, you’re not going back to the city. I told dad it was going to be a bad idea,” he said and started to pace.
“Yeah, you shouldn’t go back to the city, you should probably stay here,” James smirked at me.
“Bitch, shut the fuck up,” I growled. He was worried about me ‘degrading him as a man,’ he was about to get a hell of a lot worse.
I clenched my fists at my side and tried to calm my breathing, but I sounded like I was overweight and going up ten flights of stairs. The wolf stirred for the second time in two days and if I kept getting my buttons pushed, I wouldn’t make it to the next full moon. She wanted out and I might not be able to control her.
Sebastian pushed me toward the kitchen. James and Oliver were yelling at each other and Amy had followed us out.
I was huffing now, with my hands on my knees.
“What’s going on?” Amy asked, worried, and I could smell the fear that was laced in her voice. I didn’t hear it, I smelled it. It enticed me. I wanted her to be scared.
I peered up at her and she stumbled back. “Her eyes,” she mumbled.
“Get me a bucket of ice and water, separately,” Sebastian quietly demanded. He was more delicate with her than with me and it made me snarl at both of them.
Sebastian roughly pushed me onto a chair and kneeled down in front of me. He grasped my face in his calloused hands and forced me to look at him. “Calm down,” he ordered but I was in full defiant mode. No, I won’t calm down. I growled a little louder now and deep down I knew I shouldn’t, the others could hear me but the wolf didn’t care. She was hungry…wait…she was hungry?
“Here,” Amy said as she handed over what Sebastian asked for. “Anything else?”
“Meat. Check to see if they have any raw meat.” She was hesitant for a moment but I flashed my canines at her and snapped my teeth. Making her almost run to the refrigerator.
“Easy there, pup. She’s a friend,” he said and I turned my glare on him.
Before I realized what he was doing, he grabbed a handful of ice, pulled at my shirt and dump the ice down my front; using his hand to smash it against my chest.
I howled.
Everything stopped. Amy froze and the chatter in the other room ceased as well. There were wild wolves in upstate New York that had migrated in the last few years, but not around Cold Springs.
Gasping for air and for the burn to stop, I reached for Sebastian and gripped the front of his shirt. His blue eyes pierced me into submission and I felt the wolf subdue and slowly crawl back to whatever dark corner she was hiding in.
“It burns,” I chattered and he released his hand, making the ice cubes slide down to my belly; causing me to jump. “Ow, ow, owie,” I said as I hopped around and the melting ice fell to the floor.
“Do you still need the meat?” Amy whispered and I think she was nervous about getting close to me again.
“It’s okay, I’m myself again,” I said and she nearly plowed me down. Her little bo
dy came and hugged me so tight that the chair I was on tilted back for a second.
“I was so scared, I thought you were going to eat me,” she muffled in my hair.
I snorted. “Really?”
“I felt like Little Red Riding Hood,” she whined and I couldn’t hold back my laugh. Sebastian snickered behind her, his mouth in a tight line, holding back a smile.
Sebastian went to the counter and then came back to where Amy was now on my lap and still holding me in her death grip. He handed me a plate. “Eat.”
“Ew. What the hell is that?” I grimaced at the reddish pink glob that he was trying to hand me.
“It’s food, so eat. Your body went through a half change and your energy is depleted. You need strength.”
“Dude, I don’t know how to tell you this, but that’s not food,” I said.
“Are you a vegetarian?” he exclaimed and I thought I was going to give him a coronary.
“No! No, I eat meat, but…I don’t know what that is.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s raw meat, Mackenzie. I don’t have time to make it pretty for you.”
“Raw meat?!” Now it was my turn to shout.
“Holy hell, Mackenzie. Tell me you’ve had raw meat before?”
I only stared at him. The answer to that question was pretty obvious. But something was nagging me, “Where is my brother?” I didn’t give two craps about James. I was hoping Ollie gave him the beat down he deserved.
“Don’t worry, I’ll compel them,” Sebastian said and pushed the plate closer to Amy and my face. “Now, eat.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Damnit, Kenz, just eat the damn thing!” Amy said and I sighed. This wasn’t going to be pleasant.
“Will I get sick from it? Like salmonella or something like that?”
“No, you’ll eat a lot worse than this at some point. What you should be doing is shifting and going on a hunt, but Jonah told me,” he paused, “he told me about the cage. We’ll have to ease you into the hunting.”
“Hunting? Like in the woods?” Okay, that didn’t sound like a very intelligent question.
“Yes, like the woods, Mackenzie. Now eat.”
I grumbled. “Fine, but if I puke, you’re holding my hair back!” I pointed a stern finger at him and he nodded. I grabbed the plate and Amy got up to watch.
She pulled out her phone from her back pocket. “I’m so recording this. YouTube stardom, here we come!” she said and I glared at her.
I glanced down toward the plate of what I guessed was raw ground beef. It was still slightly bleeding but the smell wasn’t too unpleasant. That thought scared me. I couldn’t turn into Hannibal Lector.
Taking a deep breath, I stuck my finger in the mound of meat and flicked a piece out. With a scrunched up face, I closed my eyes and slowly put my finger in my mouth.
I chewed on the mushiness and I thought I was going to throw up, but then I swallowed and my body tingled. I opened one eye and peeked at the two people who were eagerly awaiting my analysis on what was soon becoming my late afternoon snack. I tried a heftier scoop and stuffed my face. It wasn’t too bad. Maybe with a little salt it would taste better but it was feeding a hunger deep inside me—a hunger I never knew I had.
After a moment, I went for another bite but the plate was empty.
“Holy shit, Kenz, you demolished that junk. Must’a been good, huh?” Amy said with her phone camera still aimed at me.
“I’m still hungry,” I deadpanned and looked at Sebastian. He squatted in front of me with a kitchen towel. He gently grabbed my chin and began to clean me. I really must have stuffed my face because he wiped at places that should have been clean. I didn’t remember taking more than two bites.
His thumb that held my chin started a slow caress and I gazed into those glowing blue eyes. “I’ll feed you,” he whispered and I wasn’t sure what he was talking about anymore.
Chapter Twelve
After two more pounds of ground beef and a sirloin steak, my appetite was curbed. I couldn’t believe I had eaten my fair share of raw meat without a grimace.
“How are you feeling?” Sebastian asked as he washed the dishes we’d used.
“Surprisingly satisfied. I don’t know whether to be content or horrified at what I just did,” I mused as I stared off at the ceiling.
“Well, I’m off to go find your brother and that boy. Hurry up and pack, we live within the hour.”
“Wait. Why are you looking for them?” I jumped up from my chair and stood in the doorway, blocking his exit. What was he planning on doing?
He narrowed his eyes. “What? You think I’m going to hurt them?”
I shrugged.
“Mackenzie, they heard you howl. I need to compel them to forget or two things will happen: either they expose you and the rest of us, or people think they’ve gone crazy and they end up in an asylum. What’s it going to be?”
I hated how Sebastian was right all the time. No wonder he was Alpha. I sighed in defeat and stepped aside. I really didn’t care about James, but Ollie was a different story.
“You better not hurt my brother,” I said as I squared my shoulders and raised my chin.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Yeah right.
I left the kitchen and went to find Amy to tell her what was going on and how I needed to go back to the city. I told her she could stay with my family that they wouldn’t mind, but she didn’t want to and I couldn’t make her.
Once we were all packed up—which wasn’t much—we headed to the SUV that was still waiting outside, but this time only the driver was there. While we loaded our things in the trunk, Mrs. Carson came outside toward us. I tensed at her approach because I didn’t know what James had told them and I didn’t want to start pointing fingers. At the end of the day, he’s their blood and right or wrong, they’d take his side. And I don’t blame them, I just don’t want to put them in a position where they have to actually choose sides and feel guilty about it.
“Mackenzie,” she nodded to me and I had no choice but to go to her.
“Hello, Mrs. Carson,” I said, trying not to make eye contact.
“I spoke with James,” she said and paused as if rethinking what she was going to say next. “I heard what happened yesterday. I knew something was off with the two of you but I waited for either one of you to tell me. I don’t like that you two thought you could pull a fast one on me and lie, but I’ll let it go because you don’t deserve it, Mackenzie,” she said and reached for my hand. She squeezed it and her eyes watered. Crap, I didn’t see this happening. What exactly did she hear anyway?
“Mrs. Carson, it’s okay,” I said.
“No, it’s not. I’ve already told Nana and she isn’t happy with James either. He was wrong and no matter what troubles you both had, that was the wrong way to handle it,” she paused, “I’ve also told him he better not bring that home wrecker around, because I’ll really give him a piece of my mind.” I wanted to engulf her in a hug. I didn’t know how much it would matter to me, but it did. She chose my side.
I chuckled. “Thank you, Mrs. Carson. I’m sorry for lying.”
“It’s over and done with now. Just make sure you tell your folks, I won’t lie to them.” She looked at the SUV behind me. “Are you leaving?”
“Yeah, I had an emergency back in the city that I need to attend to,” I said and wanted to pat myself on the back. That was very diplomatic of you, Kenz.
“Oh. Well I hope you aren’t running away because of James. I promise he won’t bother you,” she said. That’s probably why he barged into my house, because he got a good talking to from his mama.
“Don’t worry Mrs. Carson. I don’t run away,” I said with a smirk.
We said our goodbyes and a few moments later, my parents and Ollie were down the street, walking back to the house. I waved at them and Ollie jogged the rest of the way to me.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
he said as he looked at the SUV and back to me. I thought of the compulsion and figured Bash had already done it. He didn’t look suspicious of anything—just normal.
“I have to go, Ollie.”
“Is this about the kidnappers? Did they follow you here?” he growled and I patted his arm. I guess he didn’t compel everything away.
“Easy boy. No, a friend of mine is in trouble and needs help. I promise I’ll come visit you for spring break, yeah?” I said, trying to lighten the mood. It’s not like he wasn’t going to be leaving in a few days either.
I pulled my parents inside and told them I had to leave. My father questioned me but didn’t push, and that’s just the kind of people they were. We weren’t a really close bunch, but it didn’t mean we hated each other either. We just didn’t hover.
Everyone was already waiting in the car when I hopped into the passenger seat—Sebastian was driving—when my brother came up to my open window.
“Call or text me when you get there and if you need anything, Kenz, let me know. If I have to extend my leave for an emergency, I’ll do it and it won’t be a problem. Okay?” I grabbed him through the window and pulled him into an embrace.
“I love you, Ollie,” I whispered and his arms tightened around me.
“Kenz, I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, but I trust that you know how to take care of yourself. Just don’t face the world alone if you don’t have to; I’m here for you,” he said and I placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
“I know, Ollie. I’ll call you when I get back to the city.”
We got to the city in record time, only forty five minutes, which was outrageous but with Sebastian behind the wheel…it was a speedy trip. He took us straight to the warehouse in Brooklyn. I wasn’t too sure how I felt about that, especially with Amy coming, but if we were here to help find Jackson, then I needed to suck it up.
“I can’t believe Jackson’s been kidnapped,” Amy whispered behind me. I watched her from the car side mirror as she looked out the window. Her pierced eyebrows were scrunched in and worry lines etched her forehead.
SHIFT (Mackenzie Grey #1) Page 11