by Flynn, Donna
“Alec, I have been looking everywhere for you,” a blue-eyed, black-haired, shapely girl of about seventeen said, stopping just behind him.
Her designer clothes spoke of money, and her smile was friendly, but the predatory look she gave Alec put Mercy instantly on alert.
Alec turned to the girl, embarrassed he had not recognized her before she was close, but the smell of her ever-changing perfume hid her scent. “Amber, it’s good to see you again.”
She looked past him to Mercy and frowned, letting her hand rest on his hard chest. “Who might this be?” she asked, clearly unhappily to find him with another female.
Mercy recognized the jealousy that shone in her eyes, but Alec seemed oblivious.
“This is Mercy, she’s Lucan and Cade’s sister,” he told her, his tone friendlier now that his wolf settled down inside of him. “Mercy, this is Amber, she’s part of the pack I spent time with when I was away a few years ago.”
The girl smiled, but it didn’t reach her cold, calculating eyes, and Mercy knew instantly that the girl in front of her had designs on Alec. The slight tapping of her finger nails against his bare skin aggravated her, and she took a deep breath trying to remain calm, unsure what might happen if the other girl pushed her. Alec never talked about his time with the other pack, but she was sure from the proprietary air the girl had that, at some point, the two of them must have dated. A wave of jealousy so strong it consumed her hit, and she felt her wolf rumble to life inside her. A low growl erupted from her throat as she stared at the offending hand on Alec’s chest and the other girl pulled it back, looking startled.
“Calm,” Alec, said softly, feeling somewhat gratified that she had responded in such a manor. It showed her true feelings for him, whether she understood it or not. “Relax,” he whispered, drawing her closer to her side.
“Don’t,” she cried out when he reached for her hand. She felt unstable and was scared how she might react if he touched her. He let his hand drop to his side, but Mercy didn’t notice her gaze never left Amber’s. She saw the challenge in her eyes, knew she was sizing her up, and finding her wanting, which stung her ego. Refusing to be the first to look away, Mercy held her stare until the girl blinked and looked away. Satisfaction filled her that she had bested her since she doubted there was much else she could beat the blue-eyed beauty at doing. Amber exuded power and she seemed extremely confident and comfortable with what she was, where as Mercy was scared and uncomfortable with her new identity.
“Okay, well, I just wanted to say hello. Daddy is meeting with your father at your house, I thought maybe we could catch up on old times, but I can see you’re busy at the moment.” Amber turned to go, but looked over her shoulder and smiled at Alec. “I’ll wait at your house for you to finish. It’s nice to meet you… uh … Marcy right?” She waved the tips of her well- manicured fingers at them and walked back into the woods, the scent of her overwhelming perfume still tainting the air.
“Mercy,” Alec said, bringing her attention back to him.
“What?” she asked, her wolf unsettled and agitated by Amber’s sudden appearance.
“Can you explain that?” he asked, looking amused.
“Explain what?” she repeated, well aware of what he was referring to, but refusing to acknowledge her jealousy to him.
“You growled at her, why would you do that?” he asked with a grin.
“How do I know? This is all new to me,” she told him angrily. “You had better hurry along, though, she’s waiting for you and I have the feeling she doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” It was a petty remark, but she couldn’t help it. The girl rubbed her the wrong way and her touching Alec was unbearable.
“Don’t be like that. I have no interest in Amber, or any other girl in this world, but you.” He reached out and pulled her against him. “You are the one I want,” he whispered brushing her lips with his own.
“Well, she’s got a thing for you, and I don’t think she really cares who knows it,” she told him as he reluctantly let her go.
“I think your jealousy is making you see things that don’t exist. Amber and I are friends, nothing more.”
“Yeah, and so were we once,” she murmured, turning towards the house and walking away, jealousy of the new temptress in town eating at her.
“I will see you later,” he called out behind her.
“Sure, if you even remember I exist after spending time with Amber,” she said softly as she entered the house. It was petty, and beneath her, but she couldn’t help the dislike she felt for the new comer. Amber wanted what was hers, and even though she wasn’t ready to progress with their relationship at the moment, it didn’t mean she was willing to give Alec up. Deep inside, her wolf howled in agreement.
Chapter Four
Mercy woke the following morning and decided to confront her demons. She picked up the phone to call the only person who might understand how she felt about Amber, but as she held the phone in her shaking hand, she began to have doubts. She had said some harsh things to Gina after finding out she, too, was pack. There was no way she could apologize enough for the hurt she must have caused, but if anyone could help, she knew it was Gina. She dialed quickly before she chickened out and was surprised when Gina picked up on the first ring.
“Hello?” Gina said anxiously.
“It’s me,” Mercy said, her voice trembling as she recalled all of the horrible accusations she had made when she found out Gina was a werewolf too. She had yelled at her and called her a liar. Told her that she hated her and that she would never forgive her for her lies, but she hadn’t meant any of it. She had just wanted to hurt her the way she hurt, and it must have worked because Gina had stayed away from since that day.
“Of course, it’s you, or I wouldn’t have answered… well I might have if it was a cute guy, but that’s beside the point.”
She giggled, relieving Mercy’s stress and her grip on the phone loosened.
“So how are you doing?” Gina asked, her tone turning serious.
“I’m a mess, but I called to apologize and beg your forgiveness, not bore you with my problems.”
“No need. I completely understood your anger, and I meant what I said. You are my best friend in the world and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Thanks for that, because I need your help.” She bit her lip nervously, waiting for her to deny her, to tell her that she wasn’t going to help someone who had been so awful to her, but she didn’t. As always, Gina was there for her, being a much better friend than Mercy had been to her.
“I can be there in five minutes.”
“You don’t even know what I want,” Mercy said with a chuckle.
“It doesn’t matter, I’m just glad you called. See you in a few.”
Mercy hung up. She went to the closet, grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top, and then changed into them before grabbing her backpack, shoving some loose-fitting clothes inside of it.
True to her word, by the time Mercy walked out of the front door, Gina was there waiting. They hugged and she apologized again, but Gina shushed her, reminding her that she had also lied to her.
“So what do you need me for?” Gina asked, looking warily at the shorts Mercy wore. “You do know it’s winter, right?”
“I know, but if we are going to work on my ability to shift I needed something easy to get in and out of.” She pulled Gina towards the woods, hoping to escape without anyone noticing, which seemed to work since no one came running out to stop her.
“Oh no, I can’t teach you that. Alec would be furious, and your brothers would not be happy about it either.” She dug her heels into the ground, but Mercy continued to pull at her anyway.
“You said anything,” Mercy insisted.
“That is so not fair, I had no idea this is what you wanted,” she whined as Mercy pulled her further into the woods. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
The word no popped into Mercy’s head; she knew it was a terrible
idea for her to be doing this with only Gina to help, but she ignored it and nodded.
“If you’re sure,” Gina said worriedly.
Mercy dropped the bag she had been holding to the ground and smiled, hoping she couldn’t sense her fear. “I am.”
“Are you really sure about this? I mean you’re new to shifting, and it can be painful until you know how to keep your wolf calm while shifting,” Gina said, wanting to kick herself for telling Mercy she would do anything.
“Gina, please, I have to do this,” Mercy cried out.
It was a bad idea. Gina knew Alec would kill her if Mercy got hurt, but she couldn’t deny her friend, not after everything she had been through. “Alright, but for the record, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“What do I need to do?” Mercy asked, ignoring her own doubts about the sanity of trying to shift without her brothers or Alec around to help.
“You have to open your mind and accept your wolf as part of you then call to her and allow her to take over.”
Mercy closed her eyes and focused, trying to ignore her trembling hands, but her wolf did not respond. “It won’t work,” she said sounding defeated.
“Your wolf is not going to respond as long as you’re scared. I can feel your fear from here, so I know she can.”
“Well, she sure has no problem responding when I don’t want her around,” Mercy muttered, closing her eyes to try again, reminding herself she was in charge and her wolf answered to her. Her spine tingled, and she felt a stirring inside of her as her wolf responded with a loud growl.
“Call to her, let her know you are one,” Gina said, sensing the change as it came over her.
The wolf inside of Mercy stirred as she called to it, offering a partnership that would be mutually beneficial to them both. Deep inside of her mind they met, weighing each other carefully. The wolf whined softly, and she reached out to touch its soft fur, but on contact, she felt her body begin to shift, allowing the wolf to take over. She tensed and her wolf panicked. A crippling pain tore through her midsection and she doubled over, falling to her knees with an agonized cry.
“Mercy,” Gina screamed, running to her side, panicked by her friend’s suddenly pale complexion and horrifying screams.
“It hurts,” Mercy cried out, her body trembling violently as another sharp pain slashed her midsection.
“Something is wrong,” Gina said worriedly, trying not to freak out as a trail of blood began to seep from the corner of Mercy’s lip.
*****
Alec was working in the yard as Amber rambled on next to him about everything and anything she could think of, when he felt an odd stirring that caused him alarm. Immediately he knew it was Mercy and that she was in danger. Tossing down the rake, he took off towards Mercy’s place, making a beeline for the house until he heard her scream from the forest. He changed course for the dense tree line, tearing through the brush and limbs like the devil himself were on his heels. With his excellent sense of smell, he was able to locate her almost immediately, and he burst through the thick trees to a clearing finding her on the ground, writhing in pain as she screamed, clutching her stomach as Gina hovered over her, panicking.
“Mercy!” he yelled rushing to her side. “What happened?” he asked Gina frantically as he checked Mercy over for injury.
“She wanted to practice shifting, but something is wrong, she’s in so much pain.”
Mercy screamed as another torrent of pain tore through her abdomen, clutching Alec’s hand like a lifeline.
“Damn it, Gina, she needs to be in a controlled environment. We don’t know how she is going to react when she shifts by herself,” he screamed.
“Alec, I really don’t think yelling at the poor girl will help. It isn’t her fault Marcy doesn’t know how to shift,” Amber said from behind him, having followed the path of broken tree branches he left in his wake.
“Mercy!”Lucan yelled as he reached the clearing and saw her lying on the ground clutching her stomach as she moaned loudly.
Nina was right behind him, and she wasted no time going to Mercy’s side to assess the situation. “What happened?” she asked Gina.
“She was trying to shift, but then she screamed, and I don’t know…” Gina sobbed loudly.
Nina nodded, understanding immediately what the problem was. “Alec, listen to me. She is stuck in the process of the shift, her body had started to transform, but she panicked, and now her wolf is also in a state of panic. You need to help her. She will only respond to her mate or her Alpha when her wolf is this distressed,” Nina told him, trying not to panic despite the desperate situation Mercy was in.
“What do I do?” he asked, his voice filled with the horror they were all feeling.
“Call to her wolf, it will respond to you,” she explained. “Make her settle back down, so I can repair the damage.”
Alec held Mercy’s hand and focused on her, calling to her beast. His mind filled with the soft cries of her wolf. The poor animal was in a state of alarm, clearly sensing Mercy’s terror. With soft, soothing words, he gently commanded her to settle down and release her hold over Mercy’s body, but in her panicked state, she wasn’t listening. Instead of backing down, she tried to force the shift. Mercy screamed as pain racked her body. It took Alec all he had to remain calm. He called upon his own wolf to reach out and force its dominance over hers, suppressing her until Mercy’s body finally relaxed.
“Good,” Nina said placing her hand on Mercy’s chest.
Alec watched helplessly, unable to do anything more than hold her hand as Nina went to work repairing the damage the shift had caused. Nothing, he realized, was more painful in life than watching the woman you loved go through such torment and be unable to help her. The only thing he could do was wait, and that was killing him.
Mercy moaned and cried out, blood bubbling from her lips as Nina worked furiously to repair the damage being caught mid-shift had caused. After what seemed like hours, Nina opened her eyes and leaned back against Lucan for support. “She’s going to be alright, Alec. I fixed the damage, and she is going to recover, but I wouldn’t recommend her shifting without you or your father around to control it anytime in the near future.”
Relief washed over him, he brushed Mercy’s hair from her brow and placed a kiss there before turning to look at Gina who was sobbing quietly, his eyes lit with anger. “I have made allowances for you in the past, but today you went too far.” He wanted to throttle her, but he knew Mercy would never forgive him if he did, so he would leave her punishment to his father. But he imparted a final warning. “If you ever again allow her to do something this foolish I will deal with you personally.”
“Never, I am so sorry, I didn’t know this would happen,” she told him, horrified by what she had witnessed.
“This is why we do not let our young ones shift without support, it can literally tear them apart if they do not know how to control it,” Nina told her, feeling sorry for the young girl who had thought she was helping a friend.
“Is it safe to move her?” Alec asked Nina, dismissing Gina from his mind so he could care for his mate.
“Gently,” Nina told him.
Alec lifted Mercy in his arms, flinching when she cried out. He was sure the movement was excruciating for her, and when she passed out he knew that to be true. Moving quickly, but as carefully as possible, he managed to get her home and settled in her bed. He pulled a chair to her side, prepared to hold vigil until she woke.
“Are you sure she will be alright?” Alec asked Nina worriedly as he stared down at his unmoving mate.
“She’s not going to be running any marathons for a few days, but she will be fine,” Nina told him, patting his shoulder.
“I don’t understand why she didn’t ask one of us to help her if she was ready to learn how to shift.” He tried not to think of what might have happened if Nina had not been so close by, but the images of what could have been filled his mind anyway, making him shudder.
“Obviously there are still a lot of trust issues we need to work out, but we can do that after she’s better,” Lucan told him, feeling the same sadness as Alec that she felt she could not turn to her family when she needed help.
“I hope she’s going to be alright,” Amber said, tired of waiting for Alec to notice she was still there. Alec, though, didn’t even answer, he was too busy speaking softly to the still form on the bed to pay any attention to her and that was just not acceptable. Alec was hers. She didn’t care what any stupid pack history said about Bond Mates. She had chosen Alec long ago as her perfect match, and she wasn’t letting him go to some two-bit hound who didn’t even know how to be part of a pack.
“Mercy is a fighter, she will be alright,” Gina said confidently, seeing the contempt on Amber’s face she stared at the couple.
“I’m sure she will,” Amber growled, her eyes following Alec closely as he leaned over Mercy and kissed her tenderly. Rage and jealousy tore through her, and she knew she had to get away. “I need to go,” she said rushing from the room with her fists clenched, her eyes morphing from hazel to yellow as her wolf came to life inside of her.
*****
After checking on Mercy Nina went to the kitchen to make some hot herbal tea, hoping that when Mercy woke they could get her to drink some.
Lucan joined Nina in the kitchen, tired, worried, and full of questions about Mercy’s recovery, but a knock at the door interrupted him from asking the many questions that filled his head. He opened the door, unsurprised to see Gregory there, looking just as concerned as he was.
“How is she?” he asked as he entered the kitchen.
“She’s resting now, Alec is with her,” he told him taking a seat at the table where Nina had placed two mugs of coffee for them. “Thank you,” he said, kissing the palm of her hand before turning back to his leader. “Nina said she was lucky, there will be no lasting damage, but it was scary seeing her like that.”