The Pack (2 page)

     “I didn’t think Linda had
family,” t
he officer
responded,
unsure what to make of
the pair
who showed up out of the clear blue sky.

  
  “
Mercy and I share the same father
.
”
He stared defiantly
as if
daring him to question his words, but the officer said nothing
.
“As her brother,
I will be taking care of her
as her mother requested in the event of her death.”

     “I would assume you have paper work to prove this
,” t
he officer asked relieved to have the burden
of the child taken from his hands.

     “All of the necessary paperwork
is being faxed to your commander as we speak
so
,
we may c
are for
our sister as she grieves
.
I’m sure you understand a child needs family at a time like this.
”

     The officer felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment. “Of course,” he murmured.

    Lucan nodded,
turned
on his heel
di
smissing the officer
,
and knelt
next to
the other man running his hand
down the back of the girls glistening red curls. “Hello Mercy
,
do not be afraid
,
we wi
ll take care of you now.
Y
ou are one of us and we will
protect you with our lives.”

    
Mercy stared at the man
searching his
eyes before
launching
herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrolobly
.

     Lucan
carried her into the house
careful to
avoid the crime scene and the people working there.
The smell of
blood
and death
permeat
ed t
he air and h
e had to force down the growl
that rose in his throat so he wouldn’t scar
e the child in his arms
.

     “What now?” Cade asked
as Lucan
took a seat in an old rocking chair far away from the door where the pol
ice worked
.

     “Now we take car
e of her until she is ready to
hear the truth
,
”
h
e
replied tiredly,
humming
as he ro
cked her in his arms. It took only a few minutes until s
he closed her eyes
and settled into a deep exhausted sleep
.
“She’s like a little
angel
, we did her a disservice by not coming to visit sooner,” h
e told his brother before laying his head back a
nd closing his eyes prepared to stay there until she awoke
.

     “We did what Linda wanted, and we are here now when s
he needs us most,” Cade told him
.

     “You’re right, of course,” he murmured. “I
can’t help to
think w
hat could have happened if she
had been here when they were attacked.”

     Cade froze, his
face hardened at the thought. “You think t
hey were lo
oking for her,” he asked.

    
His brother frowned and nodded.
“She’s not
a normal child and i
t seems despite Linda’s precautions
someone figured that out and came for her.”

     “
Who would do this?” he asked his fist balled at his sides as he stared down on the unfortunate child.

     “Someone who wanted power badly enough to kill for it,” Lucan told him hugging the child tighter. Her existence now depended upon their ability to keep her safe until she reached her maturity and he knew just where to turn for help.

    
“Mercy,” Lucan yelled his eyes scanning the wood line for his fifteen-year-old sister who had left the house an hour before, promising to stay close.
A
s she often
did
,
Mercy
had wandered off
despite his
repeated
warnings
about
the
dangerous animal
s that ran the forest leaving him in a  panic a she looked for her
.

     “S
he couldn’t go far
,
settle down and give her time to walk back
to the house.
”
H
is brother
Cade
sat back in the porch chair his eyes also riveted on the wood line
despite his calm words
.

    
Dressed in
jeans and a
t-shirt
, with
long,
black, unruly, hair,
and
a
tattoo
of a wolf
cover
ing
most of his massive forearm
,
he presented an imposing figure
.
At first glance, one would think he had little concern for anyone, but that would be wrong.
H
e too wa
s worried for their sister.

    
Mercy
had become unsettled
of late,
always sear
ching for something amongst the green forest surrounding their home
,
but unsure what she yearned for.
Any other of their kind would
know fro
m birth what the forest offered them,
but they
had kept the truth of her heritage from her. She had no idea why the smells and sounds of the forest would always call to her
.

     “If you would s
top encouraging her defiance
this would be easier
,
” Lucan
said running his hand through his tapered blonde hair
in frustration
.

    
His wh
ite dress shirt and
black ch
inos
were
a startling
contrast to his brother
’s haphazard
appearance. T
heir attire though was
much like their attitudes when it came to raising their sister
.
Lucan was the rule setter
, the father figure,
liking
everything neat and orderly.
Cade, the fun loving rule breaker who wanted her to have a taste of freedom
and enjoy life
to its fullest
.

     “You’re smothering her,
one day
she’s going to rebel.
” Cade
told him setting his booted foot
on the table a gesture th
at had his brother growling
with discontent.  H
e
let his fall to the floor
, deciding it wasn’t worth arguing over
.
“Y
ou’re
pushing her away with al
l of your rules
.”

     “Don’t tell me about rules
!
H
er life
is on the li
ne
, I don’t think it’s wise to be easy on her
,
”
h
e argued
.

 
  
Mercy
emerged from the woods and began walking
towards the porch, which
made Cade smile. “
See you worry
for nothing.”

     “One of us must
, we can’t all be
care free with our lives
like you are,” he retorted
walking to the
porch
door relived Mercy was unharmed
,
but angry she had once again defied his wishes.

     “You used
to be carefree
too
,
” Cade said
as they
walked into the large sunlit kitchen that had been the center of their lives for the last nine years
.

   
“One o
f us had to grow up
,
and it sure
as hell wasn’t
going to be you,” Lucan replied
sharply.

    “
S
he always
turned
to
you
when she was afraid
, not me.”
While it was true, he  enjoyed more freedom
,
it had been because Lucan had taken to being a father with ease.  Cade on the other hand had struggled with the confines of parenting a grief stricken six year old.
H
e had tried to help where he could
, but
Lucan was better at parenting than he was and Mercy naturally gravitated towards him
.

     “Y
ou could back me up
sometime
s
inste
ad of encouraging her
,
” Lucan argued as he poured a cup of black coffee
in a mug that declared him the World’s best Father, a gift from Mercy a few years before
.

     “What fun
would I be then?” Cade said
with a chuckle earning a growl
of disapproval
.

     The
wood framed screen
door slammed and in walked t
he object of their
argument. H
er long Tahitian hair
tangled and unruly
with bits of gr
eenery hanging from its shiny mass
,
her jeans and white
t-
shirt
spattered with
dirt
.

    
Both men turned to face her
,
Lu
can scowling as he always did when she showed up late, Cade gri
nni
ng behin
d him
ready to offer support if things became heated
.
It was nothing new to break up one of their arguments. They had them often about her, so she walked to the kitchen sink to wash her hands before facing them.
“So arguing about me
again?” She leaned back
against the counter crossing
her legs
at the ankles
waiting for the dressing down
she knew Lucan would give
.

     “I
asked you not to leave the yard,
” Lucan said biting back the lecture
he wanted to give.

     “
I came as soon as you called for me
,” s
he replied
calmly since b
eing defensive with Lucan only made the arguments last longer
.

     “You should
not wonder off
in the first place
.”
His jaw ticked with
annoyance, but he managed to re
main calm.

     “I’m sorry
,” s
he replied
contritely. 

    
Lucan
protected her in his own pushy, controlling, domineering way and m
ost the time she
actually
appreci
ated his concern. N
ot too many kids were lucky enough to
be
raised by two such wonderful men,
but lately she felt restless and lost
. T
he forest offered her comfort and a place to think when she needed to be alone.  The
scents
there
were intoxicating and the sounds of the wildlife offered comfort to her
often-troubled
mind.

     “So you sh
ould be,” h
e replied sharper than he had intended earning a warning cough from his brother
.
“I’m sorry
,
I just worry about you,” h
e said trying to soften the sting of his previous statement.

    
“It
’s alright
.”
Deciding the best route was to change the subject she looked to Cade and smiled.
“No
date last night?
You came in awfully early
?”