Stolen Relics

by Karina Espinosa

  “Of course.” Bash nodded. “Alexander, I’d like to introduce you to our newest Pack member and Mackenzie’s brother, Oliver Grey.” He motioned toward my brother.

  Ollie knelt on one knee, placed a fist over his heart, and bowed his head. “Your Highness.”

  My jaw dropped. What the fuck? How the hell did he know to do that? And how is my brother better at being a Lycan than I am? This would be hilarious if I wasn’t mildly offended.

  “Rise,” Alexander commanded. Ollie stood, standing at attention like a soldier. My father had to look up to stare at Ollie because he was so tall, but he observed every aspect of Ollie’s face, almost like he was memorizing it. “I can see a slight resemblance, but ye take after yer parents, lad.” He patted Ollie on the arm and turned to me. “Darling.”

  I stared into those gray eyes that were identical to mine, other than some wrinkles on the corners, as he smiled at me. His dark hair was peppered with a few more white hairs, but even with those minor age factors, he still looked so young. And I looked so much like him.

  “Hey Alexander.” I smiled and met him halfway. He pulled me into a tight embrace and squeezed me as if he feared I wasn’t real. He smelled freshly showered, even though he’d been traveling all day, and I sighed into his arms. Although I hadn’t wanted him to come, relief washed over me and I didn’t want to let him go.

  “It’s good to see ye, darling. Ye look good,” he muttered into my hair.

  “You’re looking older,” I mumbled.

  A laugh rumbled out of him and it vibrated through me. He pulled back, still holding me by my arms. “Aye, the years have nae been kind to me. A lot of stress, but don ye worry about it.”

  He didn’t have to tell me about it; it was all about the aftermath of the Freedom War. Some Packs were still fighting back, some needed to be disciplined, new leadership needed to be placed, and treaties had to be written. Nothing that could be done overnight. I started the war, but then left it for Alexander to deal with. It made me feel so guilty. He told me not to worry, that my time was coming very soon, but I saw the stress he was under. I certainly didn’t make it any better with all the shit I added on.

  “Have ye forgot about me, Princess?” Ranulf said from behind Alexander.

  I shrieked. “Ranulf!” Jumping out of Alexander’s embrace, I ran over to the King’s right-hand man. I leapt onto him and he caught me easily.

  “Ye stupid girl,” he grumbled affectionately.

  “Oddly enough, I missed that.” I climbed off him, grinning wildly. “Did you miss me?”

  “Hell no,” he grunted, but gave me a sly smile.

  I poked his chest. “I know you did, you grumpy old man.” My gaze traveled the room and I found three other guards standing by the door and living room entrance. They didn’t travel light. “You came with an entourage,” I said as I went to stand beside Bash and Ollie.

  “As King, I cannae travel alone.” Alexander gave me a look that said this was the future I had to look forward to.

  “Your guards have been set up with their own rooms at the Compound, which is around the corner from here,” Bash said. “If you wish to get settled—”

  Alexander held up a hand, interrupting him. “I would like for my daughter and I to go get some real New York pizza.”

  The last time he was there, he ditched his security detail the minute he landed, and we went out for pizza at a place near my apartment. I supposed we were making this a tradition.

  “Well, damn.” I looked around the room at the others, then my gaze landed on Alexander. “What are we waiting for?”

  He clapped his hands together. “That’s my girl.” Alexander took off his suit jacket and tie, handing it over to Ranulf. “We’ll be back, gentlemen.” He gave me his arm and I slipped mine in his. “Shall we?”

  We left the house without another word, and I was pretty sure everyone was a little more than confused about the sudden turn of events. They expected to get right down to business, when Alex just wanted some one-on-one time with me. So much for the monkey suits.

  I walked us down the street, on the opposite side of the Compound, and down a couple blocks to a small mom and pop shop I discovered a few days ago. It didn’t have any place you could sit, but there was a counter where you could stand and eat. When we got there, we ordered two slices each and the grease was seeping off the white paper plates. That was how you knew it was good. With two sodas, we stood at the counter and prepared to dig in.

  Alexander unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up. “I’ve missed this, darling.” He grinned at me. “We don have pizza like this in Scotland.”

  I grabbed some napkins and handed a couple to him. “I’m sure you do, you just haven’t found it yet.”

  “Aye, but it’s worth the trip, lass.” He winked at me and took a big bite of his pizza.

  We ate in relative silence, talking about non-important things in between bites, and then he went back for seconds.

  “So, we can’t avoid the topic forever. What is it you want to ask me, Alexander?” I leaned against the counter and gave him a knowing look.

  “That obvious, lass?”

  “Very,” I chuckled. “But don’t worry, I wanted to get out of the house anyway.”

  “I really did want pizza, but yer right, I wanted to talk to ye about yer brother—”

  “I’m really sorry, Alexander! I’m truly sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Darling, I’m nae mad at ye.”

  I raised a brow and tilted my head. “You’re not?”

  He grinned and shook his head. “No. Was it rash? Aye. But I understand why ye did it.”

  I sputtered. “Then why are you here?” None of this made sense. I thought he was here to reprimand me. He hadn’t sounded very happy on the phone.

  “Do I need a reason to see my daughter?”

  I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I guess not.”

  “Ye’ve gone through a lot, lass, and I just want to be here for ye. Let me support ye.”

  Looking at it from his point of view, things had been a little crazy over on this side of the pond. First Enzo, then I lost my wolf, then the whole thing with the vampires, getting kidnapped and tortured, followed by that mess when Bobby Wu bound himself to me, and then I topped it off by biting my brother. And that was just the Cliff notes version! Yeah, one could say I’d been put through the ringer lately. I was due for a break.

  I stared into Alexander’s caring eyes and couldn’t say no even if I wanted to. He really wanted to be a father to me, and I wouldn’t make it hard for him. After all he’d done, it wouldn’t be fair.

  “Thank you, Alexander.” I smiled, and he squeezed my arm before letting go.

  “Now tell me, darling, how do ye feel about yer brother being a Lycan?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m nervous, I guess. I have a lot of enemies. When people find out he’s my brother, they might go after him. Am I being too paranoid?”

  “Nae at all. Family can be a strength, but they can also be a weakness. I worry all the time about ye.”

  I frowned. “You think someone would ever use me against you?”

  He nodded. “Aye. I don think, I know someday it will happen. And there isn’t anything I would nae do to keep ye safe.”

  “Weakness,” I mumbled. “How do we keep the people we love safe?”

  Alexander sighed. “If I could hide ye away in Castle Mac, I would, Mackenzie.” He chuckled. “But I cannae. I just have to trust that ye’ll take care of yerself. Even if ye put yerself in such crazy situations,” he mumbled the last part.

  I winced and smiled. “Sorry.”

  “Oliver will be fine, darling. Don worry.” He pulled me into a hug.

  It was hard not to worry. Worry was my middle name at this point.

  “Speaking of family,” I began, clearing my throat and stepping back, “I learned some things about Adaline …”

  He tensed. “Oh?”


  That was all he had to say? I literally just spoke the name of his soulmate and all I got was oh? Men were so weird.

  “Yeah, I paid a visit to the archivist to learn more about Oracles and found, like, a registry, I think. It had the date she was born and where, plus her parents’ name and some other stuff. Do you … do you know if they’re still alive?”

  Alexander ran a hand through his dark hair, the curl on his forehead flipping back. Worry lines formed on his temple. “Last I checked, they were still alive. Do ye wish to meet them?”

  I gnawed on the corner of my bottom lip. “I don’t know. Do they even know I exist?”

  He shook his head. “I don believe so, lass. Yer mum almost took that secret to her grave. But if ye want to meet them, I will make it happen, darling. Anything ye want.”

  I nodded. “Thank you, Alexander. I’ll keep that in mind. In the meantime, would you like to meet my adoptive parents?”

  He grinned. “I thought ye’d never ask! Of course I would, lass.”

  “Good!” I laughed. “We’re having dinner this weekend with Ollie and I’d like for you to be there. But remember, they don’t know anything about me, and especially not about what happened to Ollie. So just pretend you’re some rich guy from Scotland.”

  “Aye, I can do that.”

  I’d have to figure out a way to break it to my parents that Alexander was coming to dinner as well. They wouldn’t be upset, but my mother would freak out and start planning an elaborate meal. Nothing about this dinner would be easy.

  “How’s Lucian?” I asked as we started to head out of the pizza shop and walk back to my house.

  Alexander smiled. “He’s well, darling. Misses ye dearly.” That only made me feel worse. I missed him, too. More than I ever expected.

  “I swear I’ll fix it,” I muttered.

  Alexander wrapped an arm around me as we walked. “I know ye will, but he does nae blame ye. Don be so hard on yerself. Lucian is his own man and he made his own choices, remember that.”

  But he wouldn’t have had to make them if it wasn’t for me.

  We made it back to the house and when we did, the guards had already been taken to the Compound, including Ranulf. Bash was in the living room watching TV, obviously waiting up for us, but Alexander was tired and I escorted him to the other guestroom so he could go to sleep.

  I went back downstairs and quietly sat on the sofa. Bash was practically vibrating with the need to know what happened while we were gone. And just to torture him a little longer, I kept quiet and even yawned, stretching my arms wide, hinting I was tired.

  “Seriously, Mackenzie?”

  I innocently looked his way. “What?” I gave him my best doe eyes.

  “You know what. What happened?”

  I grinned slyly. “You’re so nosy, wanting all the gossip.”

  “Mackenzie,” he growled.

  I raised my hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. We just talked a little about Ollie. He told me he wasn’t mad at me, which I’m super surprised at, then we talked about my bio-mom and her parents, and I asked about Lucian. Honestly, it was really a personal conversation. None of it had anything to do with you.” I bopped him on the nose.

  “He didn’t tell you why he was here?” Bash raised a brow.

  “Because he wants to spend time with me.” I shrugged. “There’s no ulterior motive, Bash.” I climbed over him and straddled him, unbuttoning his shirt. “Now, no more talking.”

  “Mackenzie, your father is upstairs. So is your brother.” He placed his hands on my hips to keep me steady.

  “And they’re tucked away in bed, boy scout. Chill.”

  “I’m nae in bed just yet, darling,” Alexander said from the stairs that overlooked the living room.

  I jumped off Sebastian like he had lice and scooted as far away on the sofa as I could get. Why did we always get caught in the most compromising positions?

  “Alexander,” Bash grunted as he stood, a blush creeping up his neck. He hurried to button up his shirt again. “Our apologies—”

  “Relax, Sebastian.” Alexander motioned for him to sit back down as he walked toward us. “I only came down for a glass of water.” He was dressed in a pair of striped pajamas and slippers. It was adorable.

  “You’re welcome to anything in the kitchen,” I said with a tight smile. My adoptive father had never caught me with a boy, but Alexander had managed to catch me twice now. It was a conspiracy, I tell you.

  He was about to head to the kitchen when he thought better of it and turned toward us.

  “Have ye two thought about mating yet?” Alexander asked casually, causing me to choke on my own spit.

  “What?!” I exclaimed, my eyes wide in horror. I looked at Bash, but he wouldn’t acknowledge me. He was sitting on the edge of the sofa; his elbows were on his knees and he was staring at the ground.

  “Sebastian?” Alexander called him and his head popped up.

  I didn’t understand what I was seeing—was Bash actually sad? His shoulders were slumped in defeat and I could see in his ocean blue eyes, this was something he wanted but didn’t think he’d ever get. And I bet my reaction didn’t help. I was the absolute worst.

  “Yes, Alexander?” There was a crackle in his voice I’d never heard before.

  “Have ye thought about it?”

  He sighed. “I have, but this isn’t something Mackenzie wants.”

  “What is it ye want, Sebastian?” Alexander asked. I was frozen in my seat.

  “It doesn’t matter—”

  “It matters.” My eyes were so wide, I felt like they were going to pop out of my head. “You really want this?” I whispered.

  “You don’t understand, Mackenzie,” Bash said. “This is a very important rite of passage for a Lycan. It’s extremely rare for us to have an Anam, so to not seal it with a mating bond, it just doesn’t feel whole.”

  “You should have told me,” I muttered, unable to look at him.

  “You’ve made it very clear that you’re against our traditions.”

  I stood from the sofa and started to pace the living room. Could I do something like this? It was the equivalent of marriage, and this all sounded like a business transaction with Alexander being the intermediary. Why did he have to say something?

  “Some traditions are nae bad, Mackenzie. If ye love him—”

  “Why are you ganging up on me?” I blurted. “Maybe I’m just not ready! Have you ever thought about that?”

  Alexander rubbed his forehead and ran a hand through his hair. “Mackenzie—”

  “Alexander, wait—” Bash shot up from the sofa, stopping him.

  I looked between the two of them. They were eyeing each other, having a silent conversation without me.

  “What the hell?” I yelled, loud enough that I was sure I woke Ollie. “What don’t I know?” I stared at Alexander, who only stared at Bash. Then I remembered what Bash said when I first got home …

  He didn’t tell you why he was here?

  Alexander lied. He wasn’t here to spend time with me. “Why are you really here?” I asked, my eyes silvering and my fists tightening at my sides.

  “I have to tell her,” he said to Bash, and then looked down at me. “Mackenzie, have a seat.”

  “I’d rather stand,” I growled.

  He sighed and nodded. “Very well.” Alexander reached for my hands and I let him hold them in his. “Mackenzie, I love ye dearly. I wish I could give ye the normal life ye desire, but unfortunately that is nae the case.” He took a deep breath and squeezed my hands. “I’ll be stepping down from the crown soon.”

  I frowned. “I know.”

  “I don’t think you understand, Mackenzie,” Bash said. “He’s stepping down soon.”

  I tensed and tried to pull away, but Alexander wouldn’t let me go. “How soon?”

  “In six months, darling.”

  A chill coursed through my normally hot body and I felt extremely lightheaded. The corner of my eyes dimme
d, and the room started to tilt. I began to sway, and if Alexander hadn’t been holding on to me, I surely would have dropped to the ground like a block of cement.

  “Mackenzie!” Bash called out, but he sounded so far away.

  I stared into the distance and felt someone shake me. “Lassie, look at me!” Alexander shouted and my head snapped in his direction.

  “What?” I mumbled.

  “Bloody hell, I thought ye were going to pass out. Did ye hear what I said?”

  “She’s in shock.” Bash grabbed me by my shoulders, pulling me backwards until I fell on the sofa. “Mackenzie, you knew this time would come.”

  I gulped. “But six months?” I peered up at Alexander who stood in front of me. “You told me I had time.”

  “The Council and the Summits are pushing me out.” He squatted before me, placing his hands on my knees. “It’s why I’m here, darling. I wanted to tell ye in person without the prying ears of others.”

  “Why are they pushing you out? I don’t understand,” I said in a daze.

  “The Council and the Summits do nae like the changes being made. They like the old ways, but they can nae overrule me, so they want ye on the throne to challenge ye for the position. If that happens, the MacCoinnichs will lose the crown after holding it for a thousand years.”

  My face turned into a scowl. “They really think it’ll be that easy?”

  Alexander smirked. “Aye. But they don know ye, lass. Nae like I do.” He squeezed my knee.

  “Why did you bring up the mating bond, then?” I frowned, still not understanding.

  He sighed. “Unfortunately, this is still politics, and ye need to show a united front. If ye and Sebastian are mated, ye’ll be stronger than ever. It’ll be harder for them to dethrone ye.”

  I knew this was a business transaction. Well, for Alexander it was. Bash, on the other hand, wanted this because he wanted to be with me.

  “How did you know?” I turned to Bash, who was sitting beside me.

  “It was announced at the last Summit meeting,” he admitted. “I’m normally not there since it’s only for the region Alphas, but I had something to report that day. I only learned about Alexander stepping down; I didn’t know about the Council and Summits’ plans.”