The Pack (38 page)

     “Settle,” Gregory said his tone commanding and calm. “It is alright little one
,
let Alec help you through this.”

     “Mercy trust us,
” Lucan said. “Let Alec come to you
,
he can make this easier.”

    
She growled
,
but Alec growled louder
and
joined her
on the bed rubbing against her
until she
calmed and
nuzzled his fur, laid down and rolled over exposing
her belly a sh
ow of surrender that had everyone breathing easier
.
With a low moan, Alec lay next to her pressing his
enormous head against her smaller one, his paw over hers as she lay down and fell into an exhausted sleep.

     “You can reach
into
her mind when in wolf form son
and
block her from remembering
this
,
it will buy us time b
efore we have to break the news,
” Gregory told him
.

     Alec m
oved th
rough her mind blocking the events of the night despising
hi
mself for messing with her memory
,
but knowing it was necessa
ry. Once
finished he pushed his will on her and
h
er magnificent wolf form t
ransformed back to her human form
. With his teeth he pulled, the blanket over
her
then looked
over the wounds that covered her neck and a good part of her chest
.
The scars were
for the most part
almost completely healed
and he breathed easier knowing she would be spare
d the pain and ugliness they would have caused
. He pounced to the floor and walked to the chair changing
forms effortlessly
before facing the other men in the room
once more
.

     “You need rest,” h
is father said the tone of his voice brooking no argument.

     “Go to
the guest room
,
I will have Nina dress
her and I will spend the nigh
t here so she won’t be alone,
”
Lucan promised seeing the fatigue in the younger man
’
s eyes.

     “C
all me if she wakes up.” He moved tiredly to the bed and placed a kiss on Mercy’s cheek before walking out to the hall where Nina leaned against the wall her brother next to her.

     “Thank you,
” Alec
said as he walked
past
them to the guest room unable to say anything more.
He settled in the bed
,
not bothering to undress and turned on his side pondering what he had don
e. Now that Mercy’s wolf had been released it would be harder than
ever to keep what they were fro
m her and that meant all too soon they were going to hav
e to explain she was a
the very thing that had killed her parents.

     Mercy woke to the
comforting
sounds of b
ird
s singing outside her window
as she opened her
eyes. She stretched and felt a slight ache
across her chest
and
panic set in
.

     “Easy,
the damage might be repaired
,
b
ut you had a rough night
.
” Alec
said
from the corner where he had been
leaning against
the
wall
watching over her
.
He had slept for a few hours
,
but the need to be close in case she woke kept him from resting any longer
so h
e
had watched and waited
all night
for her to wake.

     “W
hat happened
,
all I remember is that dog jumping in front of us.”
She blanched and gripped the blankets her knuckles white her distress clear.
“Did we kill that poor animal?”

     “I
was
worried about you I didn’t stop to look
,
but my father said it was gone when he went back to check
.” He reached out and stroked her cheek lovingly surprised when she made no move to pull away
,
but
instead
laid her head in his palm
.
I
t wasn’t exactly a lie,
t
he wolf had been go
ne by the time the pack had caught up to the accident site and it had left behind no evidence that would help them find out where it had come from.

    
“Are you sure you’re
alright?”
h
e asked his voice choked with emotion.

    “Me? I’m fine I think.” She looked
d
own and lifted the covers
seeing the almost faded lin
es across her chest
then touched
her neck where rough lines ran down to her
her
left
breast. S
he noted
she was dressed in clean
pajamas
and blushed
with
embarrassment
.

     “
Nina took care of
you,” h
e explained thankful she seemed to have no recollecti
on of shifting
.

     “I’m sorry it’s all a blur
,
I don’t really remember
much.” She pushed hard trying to remember
,
but all she got was a headache for the effort.

     “Don’t force it,
you’re
safe and no one else was hurt
,
let’s just be thankful for that.” He sat next to her and took her hand in his own. “I have never been so scared in all my life…”
His voice caught in his t
hroat and he couldn’t go on
.
All night he had thought of how close he had come to losing her
,
how close his own life had come to ending.

     “I’m fine.
” She leaned forward
,
pulling her hand from his bringing it to the back of his neck and pulling him close. “I
don’t know what happened yesterday
,
but I know
before the accident
I want
ed
you to kiss
me, I
remember asking you too.
” S
he moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue
then whispered
huskily
. “I’m begging yo
u for the last time Alec
,
kiss me
.”

   
H
e could not resi
st doing as she asked and once their lips meet
they were both lost
in each other. N
either
of them
heard the door open or saw Kirk when he peeked in then closed it softly behind himself before walking down the hall and leaving the house.

   
After a lengthy embrace,
Alec
pulled away
re
minding himself
she was
s
till injured and needed rest.
There would be time for him to kiss and cuddle with her now that she was ready to admit her feelings and he looked forward to that time together.

    
Mercy
lay
back against the pillows
as
he fiddled wit
h her fingers staring
at him with a troubled expression
.
“I
need to talk t
o Kirk
,
it
’
s wrong for me to kiss you when I am dating him
.” She sniffled as tears flooded her eyes. “He’s going to be so hurt by all of this.”

     “Probably
,
but it isn’t it better to hurt him now
rather tha
n later when he is more in love with you?
” His fingers locked with hers and he pulled her close
onc
e more
. He
ached to tell her everything
,
so they could fi
nally be together without
lies
between them
. J
ust as he was about to
brooch,
the subject Lucan knocked
on the door then
opened it
carrying a large tray of food
,
his sharp eyes not missing their quick disentanglement from each ot
her. He gave Alec a warning glare
as he passed setting the tray across Mercy’s lap before taking a seat at the bottom of the bed.

     “So how are you feeling?” h
e asked as she took a sip of orange juice.

     “I’m fine
,
a little sore
,
and
a lot
confu
sed about what happened
,
but alright
.” She looked down at the plate in front of her
,
finding herself unusually ravenous
for the steak he had placed on the side
of
her usual scrambled eggs
.

     “Have you heard from your father yet today?” Lucan asked Alec
as she ate
.

     Alec nodded. He had spoke
n
with Gregory in the early morning hours as Mercy slept. 
“He is looking into things and should have some answers later today.” He could not go into detail with Mercy present
,
something Lucan knew
,
but h
is father had found out Mather had been in town one day before Alec had been shot
. W
hether
his presence was a
coincidence or not they were uns
ure
,
but it w
as highly suspicious. T
here was
also
the question why would he want to ki
ll Alec or Kirk when
neither had any significance in his life
or that of his pack
.

     “I think it best to keep
Me
rcy home for a few days
.
I already called the sc
hool
and told them she had an
accident
,
so they will be sending som
eone with her missed work
.”
Mercy was
about to protest
,
but he
waylaid her with a firm look
. “It might be best if you too stayed close
to home
until we figure out what is going on.” 

     “Already planned on it
,
Lane is getting my work and bringing
it
to me after school.”  He saw the flash of jealousy on Mercy’s fac
e and felt the need to
explain
. “She’s a friend that’s all.”

     “I’m sure,” s
he replied shoving the tray away
,
suddenly losing her appetite.
She clearly recalled how he was with Lane at the
bon
fire. T
he way he put his arm around her
shoulders
and flirted
with her the entire evening. How she could have let herself think she would
be enough to keep him away from other girls
was beyond her
.

     “I’ll take this
to the kitchen. Alec why don’t
you join me
,
Nina is going to sit
in
here while Mercy showers and dresses
in case there is any problems.”
He kissed the top of Mercy’s head and took the tray in hand.

     “I’m fine
,
I don’t need a baby sitter
to get a shower
,” s
h
e whined
.

     “Well indu
lge me
,
I’m feeling a little
over protec
tive right now.” He
walked to the door waiting for Alec to join him.