SHIFT (Mackenzie Grey #1) (18 page)

Jonah was wound up like a rod and I could only imagine why—I made a deal without consulting him. In my defense, I shouldn’t have to talk it over with anyone. I was my own woman, not part of the Pack, and if I made a sour deal with the devil himself, then I would deal with the consequences
after
we found Jackson.

“Are you two ever going to be friends? The awkwardness makes me fidgety,” I said as we stopped in front of Manhattan Psychiatric Center.

“Kenz, be serious please,” Jonah muttered and I rolled my eyes.

“Oh lighten up, Jonah Cadwell. The girl is only teasing.”

We followed Lucian up the sidewalk and into the entrance. It didn’t look like a psych ward—I imagined sterile white with padding—it just looked like any other hospital. We came up to the front desk where a nurse named Betty—according to her name tag—was sitting, typing away at her computer.

“Hello, dear. We’re here to see Jane Hancock,” Lucian said as he perched his right elbow on the counter. He was so theatrical.

The nurse’s blue scrubs swished as she stood up to address us. “I’m sorry, visiting hours end at five. You can come back tomorrow at eight in the morning.”

Shit. I turned wide eyes to Jonah who looked just as aggravated as I was. We couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see if this was a lead or not.

“My apologies, love, maybe I should have introduced myself first. My name is Lucian Young, I’m a board member of this facility as you might recognize and I was told it would be just as well if I came to see an old friend of mine that is here. Could you be a dear and get us some visitors passes?” The nurse starred at Lucian as if she wanted to bolt. She froze in place and then scrambled to get the visitor name tags out of her drawer. I had to hand it to the vampire, he made sure his fingers were dipped in many things. Eternity was a long time I guessed—might as well be set for life.

I scribbled my name on the name sticker and slapped it on the left side of my coat.

“Diana Stone?” Jonah read with a quirked eyebrow.

“What? We’re undercover, I don’t want people to know my real name,” I whispered as if this were a black ops mission.

“You know these names get entered into a government system, right?”

“Oh trust me, I know,” I said with a bright smile.
Take that, Bimbo Barbie!

“Ready?” Lucian asked and then stared questioningly at my name tag.

“Don’t ask.”

He smirked. “Never a dull moment with you, pet.”

We took the elevator to the sixth floor and went toward room 6-132. The floor was eerily quiet and the front desk was empty when we arrived. I leaned in closer to Jonah, thinking someone was about to jump out and scare us.

“This feels like a B-rated movie, guys. Why is no one here?”

“What took you so long?” A woman said at the end of the hallway. We jerked to a stop and I squinted my eyes to get a better look.

“It’s Jane Hancock,” I mumbled as I took in her bed-rangled appearance. She wore a hospital gown that swallowed her thin frame.

“I expected your kind here days ago. Now get me out of here!” she croaked as she tried to walk to us but appeared to be out of breath.

“What do you mean?” Jonah asked as we got closer to her.

“That one,” she said as she raised a frail finger aimed at me, “came to see me the other day with the police. My son has been taken and you wolves haven’t done a goddamn thing!”

“How was I supposed to know?” I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

“We’re sorry. She’s new, she didn’t know. Who’s your son?”

“Branwell of the Celtic Clan,” she said and nearly fell over.

“Are you okay?” Jonah reached out to catch her.

“Of course not! This place is laced with iron.”

“Oh my. I’ll have to say that is my fault. I had this place remodeled with it just last year. Such a shame,” Lucian sighed with fake concern.

Jonah growled at the vampire, but lifted the Fae up in a cradle and carried her over to the front desk where a wheelchair was stationed. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you home and out of here. We have some questions to ask about Branwell.”

“I’ll tell you whatever you need to know as long as you get me the hell out of here.”

Betty, the nurse, wasn’t too happy with our departure—or the loan of the wheelchair—but it was easier to roll Jane instead of carrying her off the island. It was dark out as night time encompassed the city. This had been a very long day, and I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

“Why did you lie to me and say Branwell’s name was John Hancock?” I asked as we strolled across the bridge.

She grunted. “You were with a human. Of course I lied.”

“Why don’t you tell us about Branwell and the night of his disappearance?” Jonah interjected.

“I saw it. I saw him take away my boy. You have to find him, promise me you’ll find him!” she cried and my heart broke for her.

“We’ll do everything in our power to bring him back safely,” I said as I stopped the wheel chair and crouched in front of her. “Can you tell us what you saw?”

She wiped tears from her cheeks and cleared her throat. “I thought he was a wolf but he smelled different, he was something else as well. He was talking to Branwell just outside our apartment building. I thought they were friends, they spoke as if they knew each other. My son sometimes concocts herbs for the Fae Queen and other supernaturals in the city,” she said and peered over at Jonah as if she wasn’t sure she should have said that. “Branwell was telling him he’d have everything ready within a week and the wolf got mad. He grabbed my boy by the neck and slammed him against the building. I couldn’t see past that from my window but I heard him say he couldn’t wait a week. Next thing I knew, the stranger was dragging Branwell to an SUV across the street. That was the last time I saw my son.”

I looked up at Jonah and Lucian, they were pensive as the four of us stood in the middle of the bridge, not moving.

“Did you see what he looked like?” Lucian asked.

“No, it was too dark and my eyes have gotten worse as the centuries pass. But he didn’t have dark hair.”

“It could be Caleb, but it’s too much of a stretch. Now when you say he smelled different, what do you mean?” Jonah asked.

“He smelled of the earth, like a wolf, but he also smelled like death and decay,” she turned to Lucian, “like a vampire.”

“Is that possible?” I asked Jonah and by the confusion on his face, he didn’t know if it was.

“I’ve never heard of a hybrid, but in this world, it wouldn’t surprise me,” he said as he ran his hand through his hair.

“Hybrids are not possible, not biologically at least. Trust me, I’d know,” Lucian said.

We dropped Jane—who wouldn’t tell us her real name—off at her apartment and Jonah called Bernard so he could update the Fae. We were at a loss and ended up at St. Paul’s Cathedral again. While there, Jonah called Sebastian to fill him in on our dead end. If by the next full moon Jackson hadn’t been found, I’d have to leave either way. I felt horrible for thinking like that but I had to save myself and I couldn’t wait another month for my next opportunity. If I stayed, they would either make me a Luna or start the man hunt for my head.

“We need to talk,” Lucian whispered to me and nodded toward an exit. I paused as Jonah’s back was to me but slipped away from the altar and in the direction of the narrow hallway the vampire had gone through. I made the only left and through a passageway that was connected to another building. I entered a room that was filled with many bookshelves covering the walls and an old dark oak desk in the middle.

“You can come in, Mackenzie…I don’t bite,” Lucian smirked.

“Very funny,” I spat. “What do you want?”

“First, I want to ask you a question,” he said and I nodded. “When do you plan on leaving?”

“What?”

“You heard me clearly, love. When do you plan on escaping the Pack? I know those are your thoughts and there’s nothing wrong with it,” he said and began to pace. “The reason I ask is because I want to help.”

Bullshit. “Why the hell would you want to help? You don’t even know me.” None of this was making any goddamn sense. I had enough with the Alpha and the Beta, I didn’t need a vampire as creepy as Lucian in the mix as well.

“Simmer down, Wolf. I have no interest in you…romantically.”

“How did you—?”

He grinned. “Relax, I don’t read minds, it’s written all over your face. Come sit,” he said and gestured to one of the chairs facing the desk as he sat on the other.

Cautiously, I followed and scooted as far away from him as I could without being rude.

“How much do you know about your mother, Mackenzie Grey?”

His question took me by surprise. “What about her? She’s human.”

“Yes, yes, but do you know who she really is? Biologically.”

“What? I don’t know what you’re trying to say. My biological mom is Joyce Grey, from Italian—I think—ancestors. She has nothing to do with werewolves.”

“Joyce Grey,” he whispered as he tapped two fingers on his mouth. “Is that so…”

“Yes it is, now why do you want to know about her?”

“Nothing, simply feeding my curiosity,” he smiled, but I didn’t believe him. Something was up. He crossed his right leg over his left, wrinkling his impeccably ironed black slacks. He cocked his head to the side as he watched me and it made me uneasy. “Why are you so on edge, love? Could it be the boys?”

“Are you trying to shrink me? You’re asking more than one question.”

He chuckled. “I guess so. I apologize if I’ve intruded.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you want to help me?” Sneaky bastard was confusing me with all his damn questions.

“Let’s just say I owe someone a favor, and if I assist you, my debt would be paid in full,” he said and shifted in his chair. “Mackenzie, I know you have no reason to trust me. We’re predators after all—but I do hope you will take a chance this one time. You’re wrong when you say I don’t know you…I do and for that purpose and many more that I cannot speak of at the moment, I want to offer you asylum. If you accept my refuge, the Pack nor the vampires can touch you. You will have your freedom.”

Lucian stared off in space as he spoke, giving me the chance to watch him more closely. His pale porcelain skin was unblemished, with high cheekbones and a narrow face. His sleek blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He sat erect and it was statuesque—he looked unreal.

The warnings from Jonah rang in my mind but my gut told me otherwise. I didn’t know what Lucian’s deal was just yet, and with his curiosity about my mother, I started to think there were details I was overlooking. He implied that Joyce wasn’t my biological mother, but I knew for a fact she was.

“What would I have to do, because there’s no way you’re offering me sanctuary for free. There has to be a catch,” I said and he snapped out of his daze.

“No catch, pet. You already know you cannot stay in New York City anymore, but I don’t think you want to be here long anyways, am I right?”

Okay, he was seriously trying to shrink me. I didn’t know if I wanted to be here anymore, I just knew that if I stayed, I’d have too much to deal with. And I didn’t want to. I guess I would be running away—even if the Pack wasn’t going to be after me.

I didn’t answer him. “Where would I go?”

“Los Angeles.”

My mouth fell open as I watched Lucian calmly pull out his cell phone and start typing as if he didn’t just drop a bomb on me. I was left speechless—Los Angeles? That was a drastic change from New York and the obvious, it was on the other side of the country. But it sounded like the perfect place to go.

“How are you going to keep me safe there? Isn’t the Pack everywhere?”

Lucian’s eyes looked up from the screen of his phone. “I have a clan there that will keep you from harm.”

“Wait. Let me get this straight, you want me to live with a bunch of Vampires?” All I would be doing was escaping one danger for another.

“My people are the ones who are going to keep you safe from the Pack. I wouldn’t get too picky if I were you, but no, I’m not asking you to live with them, but you will have to interact,” he paused for a moment, his chest never rising to take a breath. Creepy. “We are not bad people, Mackenzie Grey. If you accept my offer, you will learn that for yourself.”

Without waiting for a response, he switched his attention back to his phone and ignored my outward struggle with my inner turmoil. This brought a whole new meaning to judging a book by its cover. I wanted to believe he was a good person and was trying to help, but even if Lucian wasn’t a vampire, I still wouldn’t trust him completely. I wouldn’t trust anyone that just wanted to help. I’m a New Yorker, no one’s ever just kind.

“I’ll think about it,” I muttered, still a little lost in my own thoughts.

“I’m sure you will, Mackenzie Grey,” he said and stood up.

“MACKENZIE!” Jonah yelled from the hallway. Crap, he was freaking out. He barged into the room like a bulldozer and his chocolate eyes flashed gold. I imagined steam shooting out of his ears and the thought made me chuckle. Not just from the imagery, but from the nerves that were building in my stomach. I had a lot to think about—but first things first, we needed to solve this kidnapping case.

“Relax, I’m fine. What did Sebastian say?”

“Don’t tell me to relax when I turn around and you’re gone! You should have said something to me!”

He was right—we were in fact in a vampire lair—but he was also wrong. “If I would have said something, you’d have stopped me!”

“You’re damn right I would. You can’t trust him, Kenz.”

Lucian stood idly by, not saying a word as Jonah berated him. Call me a softy, or maybe I don’t know the whole truth about their relationship, but I felt bad for Lucian. Since I’ve met him, he hasn’t done or said a thing against the wolves and all they’ve done was talk shit to him, yet ask him for help all the same.

“Don’t fret, Mackenzie Grey. It all just rolls off my shoulders,” Lucian winked and I turned my silent anger toward Jonah.

“What did Sebastian say?” I said through gritted teeth. I was mad at Jonah but I wasn’t going to bitch him out with an audience. I would have to learn to contain myself.

“He told us to get back to the warehouse so we can regroup. He’s issued a warning for the Pack to stay away from you, you should be safe,” he said, his face stone cold—no dimple in sight. “Now let’s go. This place makes my skin crawl.”

At that moment, I wanted to lose all control and punch Jonah in the face for trying to commandeer me but the light bulb in my head went off.

I gasped as I went to Lucian’s bookcase and started reading the spines. “Do you have any books on species?” I asked as I scanned the books in a rush.

“Why yes, of course. They’re over here,” Lucian said and pulled a thick textbook from the shelf behind his desk.

“Mackenzie, what the hell are you doing?” Jonah growled as he tried to pull me away. “For once, just listen to me!”

“Skin, Jonah! We found skin!”

“What?”

“Oh my God, just stop thinking about me not listening and think about what Jane Hancock said and the skin we found at her apartment
and
the park. Don’t laugh, but I saw this on a TV show, could this kidnapper be someone who sheds skin? Like a snake?” I felt the answer at the tip of my tongue but couldn’t piece it all together.

“Jonah,” Lucian stared, mouth agape. “She’s on to something—we could have a Skin Walker on our hands.” The vampire hurriedly flipped through the pages of the book he’d shown me until it landed on what he was looking for—The Skin Walker.

“Shit,” Jonah muttered and ran his hands through his hair. “They’re literally impossible to find.”

“It makes sense. Branwell was probably making an herb to mask his smell,” Lucian said.

“But who is it?” I asked as I read the definition of a Skin Walker.

Skin Walker—legend says that this creature, with the skin

of its prey, can take its form and walk and talk as they desire.

“If he has Branwell to mask his odor, there’s no way we’ll find him.”

“But we have a suspect, Jonah. Caleb,” I said and it made sense. What better way to infiltrate the Pack than through one of its Captains. The only question now was why.

A cab ride was the quickest form of transportation to the warehouse and Lucian offered to foot the bill. He wouldn’t take no for an answer when he said he’d be coming with us—which Jonah tried to persuade him against. We didn’t know how the Pack would react, it could start an uproar and of course, my favorite excuse, they’d just have another thing to blame me for. I could definitely feel the love.

We arrived in record time and my nerves surfaced again at the thought of what we were about to do. We were going to accuse someone we didn’t have any proof of wrong doing. This was what Sebastian didn’t want us to do but I agreed with Jonah—Caleb was the most suspicious of all.

As the double doors of the warehouse swung open and we walked in to the cafeteria style room, all eyes fell on us and the floor quieted. Sebastian was standing with the Captains—including Caleb—by a white erase board in the middle of the room. He turned around when Bernard nudged him in our direction.

Sebastian’s cold blues landed first on Lucian and his nostrils flared out of control.

“What is going on, Jonah?” he barked and his voice reverberated across the main floor.

While the Alpha and the Beta were at a stand-off, I scanned the room for Amy and found her on the second floor landing with Blu. She waved and I smiled—glad that she was okay.

“I would expect this from her,” Bash pointed at me, “but not from you!”

I was going to say something when Lucian caught my attention. He shook his head and I could only interpret that as him telling me to keep my mouth shut.

“I didn’t have a choice, he was going to show up either way so I rather it have been with me,” Jonah said, standing firm on his decision.

Sebastian walked across the room toward us with the Captains trailing right behind him. They stopped about five feet away.

“And what is the meaning of this visit, Lucian?”

“Oh, it’s quite simple, Alpha—you have a traitor in your midst,” Lucian said as he leaned forward and cupped his mouth, pretending to whisper but the whole warehouse heard.

The gasps traveled like wild fire and it only angered Sebastian even more.

“Quiet!” he roared and it was like hitting the mute button on your TV. Not a sound. “Explain.”

“You can’t trust them, Sebastian! That lone-wolf brain-washed Jonah and brought a bloodsucker into our home? This is unholy!” Someone yelled from the crowd of werewolves.

“Unholy?” I laughed, no longer able to contain myself. I needed to be defended and if no one was going to do it, I sure as hell was. “What the fuck do any of you know about what’s sacred? Not a damn thing. This vampire might know more than you,” I said as I jerked my thumb toward Lucian. He lived in a damn church, there must be a Bible lying around there somewhere.

“Mackenzie,” Jonah warned but I ignored him.

“What’s unholy is the fact that you have a wolf in your Pack who’s growing Wolf’s Bane without permission. That he tried to feed me some and force-fed it to Sam who’s lying in bed, barely holding on. And,” I paused for extra effect. Lucian wasn’t the only one who could be theatrical, “he’s a Skin Walker.”

Cue the gasps.

I didn’t tear my gaze away from Scarface and I’m glad I didn’t. While the room erupted into chaos, I narrowed my eyes and caught the slightest twitch of his upper lip. Gotcha bitch.

Not waiting for permission, I ran towards him and tackled him to the ground. The only ones who noticed were the wolves in our immediate vicinity. Everyone else was busy arguing about my accusations.

I swung at him—right, left—then he flipped me over and wrapped his hands around my neck—choking me. I clawed at his face, my inner wolf awakening. My canines emerged and they snapped at him—trying to inhale some oxygen.

“You stupid, bitch,” he whispered in my ear as someone finally pulled him off me.

It took me less than a second to jump up and crouch down on all fours. My throat hurt and my eyes watered but it didn’t stop my wolf from belting out a roar that could put a lion to shame. The room froze as all eyes were on me. I watched as my nails extended and scrapped the concrete floor, the hairs on my arms thickened, and my face scrunched up like a prune. I’d halfway shifted. My tongue glided across my canines and I felt hunger rear its ugly head.

“She attacked me! Do something about it!” Caleb yelled, his eyes wild.

“Stand down, Caleb! We will figure—”

“No Sebastian! I’ve had enough of your sympathy for this outsider. It’s obvious you’re making exceptions for her—letting your feelings cloud your judgment is not a sign of an Alpha who puts the needs of the Pack before himself,” Caleb sneered, and a growl ripped from my throat.

I didn’t recognize my voice, it came out deeper and deadlier. “Are you trying to challenge him?” I questioned as the pieces started to fall into place. This was his plan all along—he wanted Sebastian’s position. “Who the hell are you?” I growled as Lucian came to stand beside me. He must have come to the same conclusion.

“Don’t question me, little girl, I don’t have to explain myself to a disgusting lone-wolf such as yourself!”

“Answer her, Caleb. Who are you?” Jonah asked as he went to stand on my other side. I was hesitant about him siding against me—but he didn’t.

Caleb scoffed and turned to the crowd that had formed. “You see this? Who is the traitor now? Taking the side of a mutt instead of his own kin!”

“Caleb!” Sebastian barked. “If you have nothing to fear, brother, then you should have no problem answering the question.”

Scarface looked around at the wolves who were waiting for his reaction. It was one thing to get wrongfully accused but to be as defensive as he was, sparked some curiosity.

I tried to remember what the book had said about Skin Walkers—the skin was sewed just under the chin—I looked at Lucian and nodded. I didn’t know how he was always one step ahead of me but it wasn’t the time to ask. I lunged for Caleb.

“This is ridiculous,” he said just as I climbed onto his back like a spider monkey and my claws reached around and under his chin. I felt the ridge in his skin, dug my nails into it and pulled.

The fear of being wrong gnawed at my gut, because if I was, I’d have the whole Pack to deal with and that wouldn’t be something Jonah, nor Sebastian could get me out of. They would kill me with or without the permission of their Alpha if I hurt one of their own—luckily, I hadn’t.

I pulled the flesh of his face over his head and exposed him for what he really was—a Skin Walker. His face was raw and all muscle, but there was no mistaking—he wasn’t Caleb. The structure of his face was all wrong.

Lucian hissed and howls erupted through the warehouse. I was holding on to Caleb’s face—a werewolf I had never met.

Mohammad and Bernard held the imposter who was thrashing against their grips. Jonah’s face burned with so much rage, I even feared him for a moment.

“Where is he?!” he yelled. “Where is my goddamn brother?!”

The Skin Walker laughed. “You’ll have to kill me because I’ll never tell you.”

Jonah swung at him but it only made him laugh more. My mind scrambled as I tried to think of something, anything to leverage over this creature, but there was nothing. We hadn’t learned enough about him. Finding out his identity was just a lucky break.

I moved between him and Jonah who jerked to a stop from his out-of-control anger.

My eyes narrowed at the Skin Walker and I whispered, “Tell me where they are and I’ll let you live. I will risk my life to save you from the Pack. I have no allegiance to them, you know this to be true.” I didn’t know if he would believe me but I had to try. A sacrifice.

“And if you’re lying?” he questioned in a voice I didn’t recognize.

Without hesitation, I grabbed Jonah and wrapped my hand around his throat as I stood beside him. Claws piercing his skin. He froze beside me as did everyone else in the room.

“Let him go,” I yelled to Mohammad and Bernard. “If you don’t let us walk out of here, I’ll rip his throat out.”

“What are you doing, Kenz,” Jonah croaked, his heart thumping wildly against his chest.

“Mackenzie, don’t do this,” Sebastian said, trying to negotiate with me. If I got away with this, the Skin Walker would be let free and the Pack would slaughter me. A sacrifice for Jackson and the rest of the taken.