Free SHIFT (Mackenzie Grey #1) by Karina Espinosa Page A

Jonah’s features turned so dark, it betrayed the smirk on his face. Sebastian’s upper lip curled into a growl but that was nothing new. He seemed to always be brooding—he looked the same and that sort of ticked me off too. Why should he care, he had V.
    “Scent? What are you guys, dogs?” James asked and my face fell. Wrong thing to say. I looked at James who saw my widened eyes and he realized he might have made a boo boo.
    “Dogs!” Jackson exclaimed and was about to either throw him across the room or punch him. I grabbed James before he could do anything, and with strength that I’m sure shocked James out of his stupor, I pulled him behind me where Amy was. She was silent but I didn’t have time to check on her.
    “You guys need to get out,” I said with as much authority as I could muster.
    “You didn’t answer the question, Mackenzie. Is he your boyfriend?” It was Jonah who asked and I could see his eyes had lost the soft pools of chocolate and were now a bright gold. Holy chizz .
    I swallowed whatever spit I had left in my dry mouth, squared my shoulders and stood up straighter. These fools weren’t going to intimidate me—well that’s what I told myself.
    “Yes, he’s my boyfriend.”
    And all hell broke loose.
    Amy shrieked like a damn whistle, James grabbed onto my shirt like the pansy he was and Sebastian and Jackson, held on to an out-of-control Jonah. He hadn’t wolfed out but his canines were out and he was snapping them at us—well mainly James, my pretend boyfriend.
    “Heel!” Sebastian barked and it was like watching a well-trained dog react. He didn’t actually heel like one but he stopped his thrashing; his chest rising and falling like he was short on oxygen. “Enough with the twenty one questions. Where the hell do you think you’re going, Mackenzie?” Sebastian asked. I looked at him and his eyes were glowing, they weren’t the pale blue I’d seen before. What’s up with these guys and their eyes?
    “I’m going home. It’s winter break and my family is expecting me for the holidays,” I kept it short and simple. They could do their worst, but there was no way I was missing this trip home. I barely talked to my parents as it was, I had to show up for school breaks.
    “Where is home?” he asked with a hand still holding Jonah back.
    “Cold Springs. Upstate New York.”
    “You can’t go alone,” Sebastian said and his words woke my feisty best friend from whatever daydream that trapped her.
    “She won’t be alone, you asshole!” she said as she pushed past me and stood up to the big, bad wolves in all her five-foot-four glory. “You can’t just come barging in here, filled up with testosterone and shit, and expect her to do what you say. Fuck that noise,” she said and I giggled at how badass Amy was. Not even a trio of werewolves could make her quiver.
    “And you are?” Sebastian asked and she crossed her arms over her chest.
    “Amelia Elizabeth Fitzgerald, bitch, and don’t you forget it.”
    I smirked with pride as I watched the range of emotions that crossed through all three of their faces. From shock, to anger, to respect. Jackson’s was the funniest, he was awestruck. Oh boy.
    James’ grip on my shirt tightened, reminding me that he was still scared and hiding behind me. I rolled my eyes. “Let go of me, Jameson,” I whispered and tried to shrug him off. He whined a little but released me.
    “Trust me, we won’t, Amelia,” Sebastian said and I thought I saw a smile he was trying to cover up. “Will you be going to Cold Springs with Mackenzie as well?” I was shocked at how…nice he was being to her. Why didn’t he talk to me like that?
    “Yes,” Amy said with conviction. For the last three years, she’d spent winter break with my family since her parents were usually on some fancy vacation in Europe and didn’t pay attention to her when she was there. Amy came from a wealthy family, but her appearance wasn’t something they