From the Grave
Mackenzie Grey: Trials #1
Karina Espinosa
For my mom.
Without you all of this would be impossible.
Thank you for letting me chase my dreams.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Mackenzie Grey: Trials #2
Also by Karina Espinosa
About the Author
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1
If I had a dollar for every time I had to chase after a kitsune at six o’clock in the morning, I could retire and be living the life on some beach while sipping virgin piña coladas. Alas, I’m in the middle of the street, hands on my knees, and wheezing like an overweight professional pie eater. Story of my life.
“Get back here, you little shit!” I croaked as I pushed myself to keep running. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that whole pound cake on my own. Why do I let my stomach dictate my life?
I nearly plowed into an overflowing dumpster as I turned into an alley and was met with a dead end.
“Dammit!” I skidded to a stop and kicked the dumpster, making a cat screech and run away.
“Grey, what’s your status?” Michaels requested over my earpiece. Garrett Michaels was my human partner over at the SIU—Supernatural Investigative Unit. I was his intern at Major Crimes back when I was a college student studying criminal justice. Once he found out my little supernatural secret, he transferred over to the SIU and never looked back.
“I lost him,” I said into the mic. By “him,” I meant Ronald, the trickster running around Manhattan pinching humans on the ass. This was going to be his fifth citation this month. I wasn’t playing with Ronald anymore. Once I caught him and figured out how the hell he kept evading me, I was going to lock that creep away.
“What’s your ETA?” Michaels asked, his voice coming through like static.
“I’m twenty minutes out.”
Chasing everyday criminals on the streets of New York City was a lot of work—chasing supernatural criminals in the city? Nearly impossible at times. With all that said, I loved my damn job. Having worked with the New York City division of the SIU for a year, I wouldn’t trade this job for the world.
“I’m heading back to the station,” I reported as I stepped out to the sidewalk and hailed a cab.
“Copy,” Michaels replied. “Also, your boyfriend is here.”
I grinned. “I’ll be there in five.”
Sebastian Steel never aged. Literally. If I didn’t already know he was a wolf, I would have thought he was a vampire. With cold, blue eyes that could pierce one’s soul, midnight-black hair, and the body of a god, just looking at him casually sitting at my desk made me drool.
It took three years for us to get together. Instead of running away, I finally ran toward the man who had my heart. Ugh. That sounds so sappy, but we’re in the honeymoon stage—it’s to be expected. It had been a while since I’d felt so happy. After the revolution, I struggled to pick myself up. Many died fighting for a cause, and although we won—Lunas and lone-wolves earned their freedom—it was at a high price. Nightmares were far and few between, and therapy with Dr. Jones helped. I was okay. At least, I was getting there, and a lot of it was thanks to that perfect specimen of a man in front of me.
“Pick up your jaw,” Finn, a reaper on my team, mumbled as he passed me on his way to the break room.
I cleared my throat as I approached the Alpha of the Brooklyn Pack.
“About time.” He straightened in my seat. “I thought you were going to make us late.”
“Me?” I placed my hand on my chest in mock horror. “Never.”
Bash rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Mackenzie. I want to make a good impression on your family. It’s bad enough your brother didn’t like me the first time we met.”
“Of course, Oliver didn’t.” I snorted. “You were an asshole.”
“Mackenzie,” he deadpanned.
“All right,” I relented. “Let me just check in with Briggs and we can hit the road.”
I grabbed my leather jacket on my way to Lieutenant Owen Briggs’s office, silently praying there was an emergency and we’d have to reschedule this family brunch.
I had planned to introduce Bash to my parents and Oliver months ago, but life got in the way and I continued to postpone the inevitable—until today. Ollie finally got some leave scheduled from the Army, and the whole family was ready to meet the new boyfriend post-James—my cheating ex.
“Do you need anything, boss?” I poked my head into Briggs’s office. His bald head glistened under the fluorescent lights.
“Get out of here, Grey!” he barked. It was the only voice level he had. “You’re on a mandatory vacation for the next two weeks. You can’t get out of it this time!”
I winced. Even without our sensitive hearing, Bash could have heard Briggs from the next borough. I wasn’t necessarily dodging this meeting, but I was in no rush to make it happen. Bash didn’t see eye to eye with Ollie when they initially met, and I wasn’t sure they ever would. I wasn’t even sure about my parents. They met Bash when I barged into their home after being gone for a year, demanding to know whether I was adopted or not. Which I am.
Jesus, take the wheel. This is going to be a hot-ass mess.
“It’s now or never, Mackenzie.” Sebastian stood from my desk and reached his hand out to me as I exited Briggs’s office. I took it without a second thought and let him lead me to the elevator.
“Fuck it,” I mumbled as I punched the down button. “Let’s get this over with.”
“That’s my girl.” He planted a kiss on my cheek.
“Yeah, yeah.” I played it cool, but inside, I was a ball of knots as I debated on whether to run home and stuff my face with some Chunky Monkey ice cream, or push Bash into the nearest storage closet and make him forget this family dinner.
The elevator doors dinged open and I lost my nerve.
Cold Spring, New York, it was.
Life had been relatively quiet for the last couple of months. No one was trying to kill me or kidnap me, and it gave us all the opportunity to mourn Jonah. Just the thought of him made my eyes burn. It’d been six months since the death of Jonah Cadwell, the beta of the Brooklyn Pack and my friend. For three years, we went up and down in a triangle between Jonah, Sebastian, and me. They were best friends in love with the same girl. I tried to stay away from both of them, but I couldn’t. And when it came down to it, Bash was my Anam Aonachd—my soulmate in Scottish Gaelic. I couldn’t run from that even if I tried. It broke my heart to break Jonah’s, and I still think about how much he loved me. He protected me without a second thought and sacrificed himself for my best friend Amy. He cared for Amy, but he did it for me—to cure her of vampirism. A life for a life. His blood was the last ingredient needed, and he didn’t hesitate to do it.
“Mackenzie?” Bash tore me away from my thoughts. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled as we sped down the highway. With Bash behind the wheel, we’d make it to Cold Spring in record time.
“It’s not your fault, Mackenzie,” he said, his voice low. “The Fae Queen wanted to take over the Lycans and thought she could do it through you. She killed Jonah.”
He was right. I knew that. Drusilla—the Fae Queen—learned I was the true heir to the Lycan throne and did
everything she could to get rid of me. Alexander MacCoinnich was my biological father and King of the Lycans. He didn’t know the woman he’d loved many years ago had birthed his firstborn—me. It was all a ruse between Drusilla, Alexander’s ex-wife Ivana, and his stepson Andrew. They took advantage of his ignorance to take over the throne.
I quietly laughed to myself. It had all started with me not being able to keep my mouth shut. A lone-wolf lost in the city, I’d refused to conform.
I wasn’t that terrible. I grinned at the thought.
Wolves typically shift for the first time when they hit puberty, which is around thirteen years old. I didn’t shift until I was eighteen due to a suppressant my real mother, Adaline, had given me when I was born. She didn’t want this life of servitude for me. Lunas, the female wolves, were practically treated like slaves to the men. They cleaned, cooked, and bred. That was it. Drusilla had my suppressant reversed, and I shifted, giving way for the local pack to find me. Had she left me alone, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have started a revolution to free the Lunas, and I wouldn’t have become the Princess of the Lycans. I could have been ordinary Mackenzie Grey. But I’m glad I’m not.
“I don’t blame myself.” Not anymore. “I just wish I would have spent more time with Jonah …” Given him a chance. The guilt of choosing Bash weighed heavily on my soul. I knew it wasn’t right or fair to think this way, but I couldn’t help how I felt. A heaviness in my belly brought on a wave of nausea, and for a moment, I thought I’d be car sick. Just the thought made me grimace. I loved Bash—more than words could explain—and I knew it way before Jonah’s passing. Knowing that still didn’t stop the tightness in my chest whenever I thought of the two of them. It was unfair to Jonah that I could never love him the way he loved me. I couldn’t even mourn him like everyone else.
Sebastian stayed quiet. He knew what I meant. He reached over the console and grabbed my hand, caressing it with the pad of his thumb.
“Sorry.” I frowned and shook my head. “We don’t always have to talk about this.”
“It’s fine, Mackenzie. He was my friend too. I understand.”
I grimaced and looked away. No, he really didn’t understand.
“We’re soulmates, yeah?” I asked, and he nodded. “What are the … er … side effects, if you will?”
He chuckled and shot a quick glance my way before looking back at the road. “This is why we should probably make a trip back to Scotland and do some research. There haven’t been many Anam Aonachd. I think we’re the first in our generation, actually, but I do know we’re quite literally bonded to one another. That protectiveness we feel for each other? That overwhelming need to protect is already in our nature as wolves, but it’s multiplied now.”
“It’s how you could find me in Scotland when I was in Lucian’s cottage?”
“That among other reasons,” he smirked. “The downside is, once one of us dies, the other will most likely follow suit. It becomes very painful to live without the other. But that will come with time once our bond strengthens.”
I gripped his hand tighter. My wolf stirred inside me and I had to look away, worried I’d flash my silver eyes. I already felt that urge to protect, but the thought of ever losing Bash made something in the pit of my stomach twist and turn in ways that would eventually make me hurl.
We pulled into my parents’ driveway. Ollie was standing outside, arms crossed over his chest and his face grim.
I’m not going to survive this dinner.
“Are you … sweating?” I looked at Bash as we waited in the car for a few minutes.
“No,” he scoffed.
“I know it’s hot out, it’s summertime, but is that a sheen of sweat I see?” I reached for his upper lip, and he lightly smacked my hand away.
“Mackenzie …”
“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m not worried.” That was a lie. “Obviously, you are if you look like you just took a dip in the pool.”
I’d never seen Bash, an Alpha, look so nervous. Scared almost. It was odd, but it also made me kind of laugh. The big bad wolf feared some measly humans. Maybe I didn’t need to fret over this. Maybe.
“Like you said, Bash, it’s now or never.”
He sighed and turned his clear-blue eyes to me. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You know that, right?”
I swallowed loudly. “Likewise.”
We unbuckled our seatbelts and got out of the car. Ollie walked toward us and pulled me into a massive hug. My brother and I were very close. Emphasis on the “were.” I’d been able to keep the whole wolf thing a secret for years, but once the Brooklyn Pack found me and I learned of my adoption, things changed. Our relationship wasn’t the same, and I hated lying to him. Staying away seemed like my best option. Unfortunately, it looked like I was the one who’d drifted because of the new boyfriend.
Ollie pulled away and stuck out his hand. “Sebastian,” he said, waiting for a handshake.
Bash complied, and they held on to each other for a bit longer than I felt comfortable with. They stared one another down, and after twenty seconds, it got too weird for me.
“All right!” I interrupted. “I’m sure Mom and Dad are waiting for us.” I pulled Bash’s sleeve and dragged him inside.
My childhood home was pretty basic. I never went through any hardships, my parents were at every soccer game, and our trophies and school pictures were scattered around the living room. It was the all-American home.
“Perfect timing!” My mom came out of the kitchen in a pink, frilled apron and wiped her hands with the bottom of it.
“Mrs. Grey …” Bash stepped forward and handed her a bottle of wine. I was so distracted by an over-protective Ollie, I hadn’t noticed him pull it out of the back seat.
“Oh, wow.” My mom blushed as she accepted the gift. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.” She fanned herself, and I could tell Bash’s good looks were getting to her.
“You have a lovely home,” Sebastian commented. His body was rigid, too big for the small room. It was obvious he was uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do next. That was my cue to step in.
“Where’s Dad?” I interjected.
“He’s already in the dining room. We were about to start without you, honey. What took so long?” she inquired as she started to walk away.
We followed, with Oliver walking behind us, and Bash gave me a side glance that said, “I told you so.” I elbowed him as we entered the dining room and found my father sitting at the head of the table.
Bash pushed forward and nodded at my dad. “Mr. Grey.”
My father was a simple man who worked hard and fished during his free time. He wasn’t the overbearing, loving type, but he wasn’t cold either. It was a happy medium.
“Glad to formally meet you, young man.” My father stood and shook hands with Bash. Afterward, a quiet enveloped the room as if nobody really knew what to do. Sebastian took up the whole space. He was the epitome of the elephant in the room—except it was no secret.
I cleared my throat and hurried to sit. “Well, now that everyone has finished shaking hands and kissing babies, let’s eat.”
“Right.” My mother ran to the kitchen to start bringing food to the table.
I never bothered to offer to help. The kitchen was her domain, and she refused to accept any assistance. From the outside, you would think she was everything that embodied a Luna, but that was furthest from the truth. My mother was a working woman. She was independent, and no man could tell her otherwise—it’s probably where I got some of my fire. Joyce Grey loved her kitchen. What fishing was to my father, cooking was to my mother.
Once everyone took a seat, my father was the first to begin serving himself. All that could be heard was the clinking of eating utensils as we scooped food onto our plates.
Bash adjusted his chair to scoot closer and banged his knee against the table, making the table rattle. It was loud, and everyone paused. Smiling politely as if sayin
g “it’s okay,” they continued filling their plates. His face turned red, and my gut twisted.
This is torture.
“Jesus,” I mumbled as I set down my utensils. “Well, this is awkward.”
Everyone looked up mid-bite.
I sighed. “Let’s put it all out on the table. I’m not going to be able to enjoy Mom’s biscuits with all this tension. So … we all know I’m adopted.” I waved my hand around, and my parents looked mortified.
“Honey, maybe right now isn’t—”
“Isn’t the time?” I quirked a brow at my mother as I cut her off. “Well, when is the time? Never. It’s okay, I’m not mad anymore. I found my biological father, spent some time with him, and I understand why I was given up. Everything is fine.”
My parents looked at one another and nodded slowly. Ollie, on the other hand, drank half of his drink in one gulp.
“And he helped you?” He aimed his glass in Bash’s direction.
“I supported her,” he responded before I could say anything. “As we all know, no one can control Mackenzie once she sets her mind on something. Instead of fighting it, I assisted her.”
There was a silence before my father laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.”
My mom laughed next, and Ollie’s expression relaxed.
“I’m glad you’re at peace with it.” My mom turned to address Bash. “So, Sebastian, what do you do for a living?”
“Uh … I work as—”
“He works at the NYPD as well,” I interjected.
“Yes, I work with Mackenzie.”
We decided we’d stick to the cop thing since that’s what we told Ollie when they first met. Lying was hard. Half the time, I prayed my brother didn’t remember—I sure as hell couldn’t.
From the Grave Page 1