The Pack (40 page)

     “I want
to understand,
but you refuse to explain it to me.” His eyes swirled
amber flecks taking over
the chocolate brown
as he stared at her and she felt an immense flow of energy in the air around them.
“Are you mafia?”

    
He shook his head and smiled
grimly wishing it were that easy
.

    
“Witness protection?”

    
He laughed and let go of her chin.
“Don’t be silly,” he chuckled
putting his arm around her shoulders. “I can assure neither one of those assumptions are correct.”

     “If you’re not a criminal or in trouble with criminals
,
how bad could it be?” She felt his arm
stiffen and turned to look at him
. “You could tell me anything Alec
,
I could never hate you.”

    His heartbeat quickened and he pulled back taking her face between his hands.
“
I hope that’s true Angel.” H
is head dipped and
his
lips brushed hers forcing a sigh of surrender from her.

    
The conversation was over for the moment and she meet his kis
s with a demand for more. H
e forgot everything
,
but her until the sound of laughter and footsteps interrupted
them
and h
e lifted his head to find Kirk
and Lane both staring at them.

    Mercy turned to look at what held Alec’s gaze and stiffened in his arms. “Kirk I …”

    “Yeah,
” h
e
said laying
t
he books on the rail then walking
away
resigned to the fact she
was
with the guy she truly cared for.

    “Go,
”
Alec,
said his voice tight as he let go of her.

    “Thank you,” she murmured
running after Kirk to explain and apologize.

     Alec
watched as she went
,
noting the members of his pack who stayed inconspicuous
,
but watchful for danger.

     “
Lane I …” Alec started
to explain
,
but she walked to him stopping only to lay the books in her arms on the rail.

     “I kind of thought that
was the way your feelings were. D
on’t worry about it.” She reached for his hand and cla
s
ped it in her own. “I was using you too
,
but in my case Kirk never even noticed
or cared.”

    
Her lip trembled slightly and he hugged her close.
“Then he is a fool.” 

*****

    
“Kirk
wait,
” Mercy called out as he st
alked to his car.
The shame she felt at his finding
her in Alec’s arms wa
s torture
. She had to explain
,
make him understand how sorry she was
,
but he refused to slow down and listen.

     “I get
it Mercy
,
just let it go!
” h
e bit out as he reached his door and began to pull it open.

     “No you don’t,
” she cried
out
.

     “I do
,
he’s the
one you want, the one you can’t live without,
”
he
argued.

 
   “Please that’s not how it is.” Her entire body radiated
the
upset
she felt.

     “Don’t fool yourself
,
that’s exactly how it is and it’s not going to change.” He pulled the
car
d
oor
open
,
but she slammed
her hand against the metal to prevent him from
leaving
. The sheer force of the
stren
gth she used made her pause
,
but the impression in the d
oor where her hand had been left
them both staring
at it
in awe
.

    
“Just let
me explain,” s
he pleaded desperately trying to ignore the
excruciating
pain that radiated throughout her entire body
. H
er bones seemed to move
inside of her
bringing tears to her eyes
. S
he leaned over letting out a scream as tore through her abdomen
.

     “Mercy calm down.
” Ki
rk took a step back
.
He knew desperation in a
y
oung wolf could easily force a shift
,
something
she was
clearly
not ready for
if the panic on her face was to be believed
.

     “I didn’t
mean for any of this to happen!
”
s
he cried out grabbing
the side of his car for support before falling to her knees
with a loud cry
as her spine gave a sickening snap
.
Her mind filled with the image of a red wolf so pretty and untamed run
ning through the woods. The animal
turned to
look at her
with sea green eyes so like her own she let out a scream horror.

     “Don’t fight it,” Kirk begged
reaching out for
her
,
but
stopping
abruptly when he heard a growl of disapproval from behind her
. He
looked up to see Alec adv
ancing quickly towards them and
took a step bac
k watching as he
knelt
behind her wrapping her in his arms whispering into her ear as she shook u
ncontrollably.

     Mercy’s
eyelids flickered frantically
, and her jaw become slightly distended
as she
fought the change from human to wolf
, but Alec remained calm
.
“Easy Angel,” he
said rocking her back and
forth, as he used his power
to calm her and keep her from changing.
He felt her pain
,
the
need for her to change and
let out the rage she had been feeling
and his own wolf reared its head
in response
,
but he quickly squelched it
knowing that would terrify her even more
.
“Relax and it will all stop,” h
e whisper
ed melding his mind with hers,
forcing her wolf back to where it hid deep inside of her.

    
She quieted in his arms as the wolf rece
ded under his command as he held her
offering his comfort and protection at her most vulnerable time.
“That’s right settle.”
S
he sagged against him
her breathing ragged, her
heartbeat
faster than any humans should be,
then
turned wrapping
her arms around his neck
as she sobbed
uncontrollably
. “Let’s get you inside.” He
lifted
her in his arms,
then
looking to Kirk who seemed paler than usual. “She’s fine
you can go
.”

     Kirk stared
after them
unsure why he had thought he could ever have been her mate when it was clear Alec was the one who could tame her wolf
.
 

*****

    
B
y the time
,
Alec
got her to the stairs
of the porch
Mercy
wa
s sobbing miserably shaking
against him
as she sobbed uncontrollably.
H
e decided to take her to the swing instead
of inside so
they could be alone to talk about
what was happening
. As he settled her
on his lap her crying eased
and she laid
her head against his shoulder
while he rocked her
patiently
waiting for her to calm
.

     “What is happening to me?”

     “Nothing
,
you just got angry,” h
e
told her
.

     “I dented
his door Alec
!
That is not nothing!” she argued.

     “You probably hit a vulnerable spot
in the metal
,
I bet you couldn’t do it again.” He knew she could
though and probably would
at some point in her life
,
but now was not the time to tell her that. No
,
it was better to keep her in the dark until
he had
no choice
,
but to tell her about what she was
.

     She bit her lip wondering if he was right
,
but in her
mind,
she saw again the fear on Kirks face
. “If that’s true then why did Kirk look so afraid?”

   
“I don’t know maybe he’s just
wimpy
.” He could not help the little smile he felt pull at his lips
at the thought
.

     “That’s
not nice I have hurt him badly,” s
he reminded him with a stern glare.

     “I have the feeling he won’t mo
urn for long.” He stroked
her cheek with his finger absently as he
thought about Lane and her admission.

     “I don’t know how I am going to face him when I get back to school.” She snuggled against him wanting to be as close as possible
,
to feel safe
like she always did when he was with her
.

     “You will
face him
because he is still your friend and you are not the kind of person who abandons her friends.”

    
“You sure think you know everythin
g about me.”

     “It’s as
if
we were made for each other,” h
e murmured
drawing her up and staring into
her eyes. “As if we were one,
” h
e whispered lowering his mouth to hers.

     Mercy anticipated the brush of his lips tilting her head to accept it ready for the flood of warmth she knew his kiss would bring when the sound of a car door slamming filled t
he air interrupted
.

    
Alec’s head lifted immediately and he stood swiftly shoving her behind him as a dark figure walked up the stairs then turned in their direction. The man
was tall and thin with a jagged scar down one side of his face
and
Alec knew
from past descriptions he was facing
Lucan and Cade’s
brother Trevor.
The one person he never
want
ed
anywhere near his mate.

    
Trevor
watched
Alec
for a moment
the
n
dismis
sed him
, his eyes going to
Mercy
ignoring the growl that rose from Alec’s throat.

     “Well,
well
, what have we here?” a
nother voice asked as a dirty
,
greasy haired man dressed in leather
hit the top of the porch stairs his evil grin
and heavy gaze as he looked her over
giving Mercy the chills.

     “Get out of here now,
” Alec threatened hi
s voice dark and full of rage
.