by Flynn, Donna
“Alec, I know there were other girls. I saw you with them, and people talk.”
He looked away, shamed to realize she probably knew more than she had ever let on about him.
“I’m not holding anything against you, but I want you to understand that I have not had the chance to experience any of that with another, the way you have.”
“Do you want to date other guys, and make sure I am the only one you have feelings for?” he asked, trying to be cool about it, but seething on the inside.
“No. I know how I feel about you is not a passing whim.” She lifted his chin and looked into his eyes. “It’s overwhelming the way you make me feel. As if I cannot breathe without knowing you're close. You’re demanding, arrogant, overprotective, and you expect my life to revolve around yours, and it is scary how easily I could let that happen, but I know if another girl came along and you left me, it would devastate me. ”
“There will never be another female for me,” he said solemnly.
“I know you believe that because that is what you have been told your entire life, but I have not had the luxury of knowing about mates, and how they work, so I have to be sure. I have to be willing to commit my entire life to you, and right now I am not there.” She despised herself for placing the wounded look on his face, but knew she had to be honest if they were to be together in the future.
“I understand, I really do, but it doesn’t mean I am happy about it,” he told her, pulling her onto his lap and brushing her mouth with his own. “I will give you all the time you need, but if I am impatient it is because I long to call you my mate in front of our pack and to be the bonded pair we are meant to be.”
“I am praying that is our future too, but for now why don’t we just consider this like a boyfriend and girlfriend kind of thing.” She straddled him in the chair placing a hand on either side of his face pulling his face down to hers and taking his lips with her own, wanting him to fully understand how much she desired him. He responded with the same passion, his hands moving to her hips to pull her closer. She was panting softly by the time he pulled back and looked upon her with lust-filled eyes that made her blush. Neither one spoke, there was no need. They both understood the depth of their feelings for one another.
“Alec, we need to talk,” Rich said through the door, his eyes lowering immediately when he saw them engaged in a kiss that made him long for his own Bond Mate.
“Is it important?” Alec asked, reluctant to let Mercy out of his arms when she had come to him so willingly.
“I wouldn’t bother you if it weren’t,” Rich replied.
“I’ll meet you out back in a minute,” he said, kissing Mercy passionately once more before rising and setting her feet on the ground. “See you in a little bit, Angel.”
“Don’t be too long,” she said softly, letting his hand go as he walked away.
*****
“Is everything ready for tomorrow?” Alec asked as soon as he joined Rich. His fear that Mercy would be in over her head at school was very real, and they had planned thoroughly for any problems they might encounter, from her being attacked once again, to her shifting while amongst the humans.
“Everything is ready. You know I have your back, I wouldn’t let a thing happen to your little Angel,” he answered with a mischievous grin.
“Just wait. When you meet your mate, I am going to rag on you for every dopey smile and stupid thing you say to her,” Alec teased, knowing well his friend was genuinely happy he finally had the female meant to be his.
“If that day comes, you go on ahead. I’ll be too happy to care,” he told him with a grin.
“Yeah, you will be,” Alec acknowledged, knowing firsthand how it felt to have his mate so close.
“For now, I will live vicariously through you.” He turned to the wood line, his body tightening and his demeanor becoming more serious. “Let’s take a walk. I found something I thought you might want to see.” They walked to the area where Mercy was attacked and he knelt to the ground pointing to the jagged rock the wolf had slammed into when Mercy pushed it off. Left behind was a very small patch of fur, one that he thought could be tested for DNA.
“Good work. I never thought of looking at the rock, I followed the wolf’s trail instead.” It galled him to think he had been so close by when Mercy had been attacked. The wolf, whoever he was, knew well how to hide his scent, and disappear into the woods around them at will, and that was going to make finding him exceedingly difficult.
“I walked that path too, and I found a few prints, but to be honest with all the pack around here it would be hard to distinguish who they belonged to.”
“Let the lab guys do their work and get me the results as soon as possible.” He turned to walk back to the house when Amber came running into the clearing. Her tear-stained cheeks and down turned lips made it clear she was unhappy, and she didn’t hesitate to throw herself at him.
“I was looking all over for you, Alec,” she said sobbing against his chest.
“I was with Mercy,” he said, placing his arm around her. “What’s going on?”
“Father wants me to attend school here for the rest of the year! I am so upset, I needed someone to talk to and since you’re the only one I know here in this god forsaken place, I came to you.” She let out a great big sob and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Alec looked to Rich, who was trying not to laugh then wrapped his arms around her offering comfort despite the less-than-urgent nature of her visit.
“Dude, I am so out of here,” Rich said, walking off leaving him to deal with the hysterical female by himself.
“Why is your father sending you to school here?” he asked, pulling back to look down on her, trying to be patient and understanding when all he actually wanted to do was go and check on Mercy’s house and make sure everything was secure.
“Marcy,” she muttered. “She needs to be protected, and he thought it would help if she had more females by her side, so he volunteered me.”
She sobbed again and reached for him, but he held her at arm’s length looking down on her with disapproval. “Mercy,” he said irritated by her lack of memory where his mate's name was concerned.
“Oh, yeah, Mercy,” she said. “Whatever, now I’m stuck in this hick town with no real malls or anything remotely close to fine dining, it’s a nightmare.” She cried out, moving past him to sit on the rock before he could stop her.
“Damn it!” he yelled pulling her from the rock angrily. “You ruined evidence.”
“What?” she asked, looking clueless.
“Mercy was attacked again, but this time we had DNA on the rock you just sat on.”
“I’m so sorry.” She allowed her bottom lip to quiver, wanting him to feel badly for yelling at her. “I just seem to be messing up everything. First my dad yells at me because I didn’t want to stay here, and now I ruined your chances of finding out who is stalking poor Marcy.” She sobbed loudly, covering her face with her hands. A perfectly pathetic picture that she knew he would fall for. Alec had always been a sucker for women who needed a man to make them feel better, and if it would earn her time alone with him, she would play that part. At least, until she got him away from Mercy and he was hers.
Alec was stunned by Amber’s breakdown, having never seen her so distraught before. He had no idea what to do: on one hand he wanted to choke her for ruining the evidence, on the other he wanted to console his friend, who was obviously terribly upset. His better nature won out, and he pulled her into his arms promising her he would be there to help her through the trauma of starting over at a new school. She cried for a while afterwards, letting him hold her, until finally he sent her home and went to find Rich and let him know another Were was going to be around to help.
Chapter Nine
“Mercy, you need to get moving,” Lucan yelled from the kitchen the next morning as she finished her makeup in preparation for her first day back at school.
She was looking forward
to getting back into her normal routine, and of course spending time with Alec away from her brother's prying eyes, but part of her was nervous. Anxiousness over what could occur if she lost her temper was uppermost in her mind, and she promised herself no matter what happened at school that day she was going to remain calm. “Coming,” she yelled back, grabbing her purse and book bag before running out of her bedroom door.
“Slow down,” Cade said good-naturedly when she ran into him at the top of the stairs.
“Can’t, I’m late,” she told him, kissing his cheek then running down the steps swiftly, entering the kitchen with a smile when she saw Alec was there waiting for her.
“Finally,” Alec said pulling out the chair next to him with a grin. He had not seen her since the night before and that seemed far too long to go without her by his side. She smiled warmly and sat down next to him. The smell of her soft vanilla scent wafted under his nose as he stared at her, savoring the sight of her in her tight pink sweater and blue jeans and he felt his heart begin to race with excitement.
“Stop,” she hissed, feeling his heated gaze as it moved over her. Her cheeks turned red, and she felt her own temperature rise, but he did as she asked and looked away.
“I made your favorite,” Lucan said placing a stack of pancakes in front of her.
“Good, I’m starving.” She poured a large amount of syrup over the top of the fluffy pancakes before cutting into them and taking a sizeable bite with a happy groan.
Alec watched as she enjoyed her breakfast, amazed that even while eating pancakes she could look so adorable. Her fork stopped mid-air though when a knock sounded on the door, and Lucan opened it to let Amber into the kitchen. Just the sound of her voice as she said, “Good morning,” grated on Mercy’s nerves, and she looked to Alec for an explanation as to why she was in their kitchen so early in the morning.
“Oh good, you’re still here,” she said to Alec, ignoring Mercy completely.
“Did you need me for something?” Alec asked a little too sweetly for Mercy’s liking.
Mercy watched as the little conniver chewed her fingertip looking vulnerable and helpless, which she knew was an act for Alec’s benefit.
“I brought Daddy here to meet with Gregory, but now my car won’t start. I thought maybe you could give me a lift to school.”
She pouted prettily as if really hating to inconvenience him and if Mercy had not been so shocked by her words, she might have offered her an Academy Award. Instead, her fork dropped to her plate with a loud clatter and she turned to glare at Alec, hoping he was going to tell her that it was all a joke, but by the guilty look he was wearing she had the feeling that was not going to happen.
Alec knew he was in trouble by the amount of heat he felt from Mercy’s hard stare. He had hoped to break the news about Amber attending school with them while they were alone, but now she had found out in a manner that would surely make her extremely upset with him. Inwardly he cursed Amber for dropping it on her the way she did, but then he reminded himself that he was being unreasonable; it was not her fault her car wouldn’t start.
“Sure, it’s not a problem right, Mercy?” he said casually even though he knew she was going to give him hell later.
“Of course not,” she mumbled picking her fork back up from the plate and taking another bite to keep herself from exploding in front of everyone. She chewed with vengeance, piercing Alec with a dark stare that he had the good sense to look away from.
“I can’t believe I am stranded on my first day at a new school,” Amber said taking a seat across from them. “Thank goodness Alec was here to save me, or I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Could have taken a bus,” Mercy murmured, earning shocked looks from her brother and Alec.
“Can I get you some pancakes,” Lucan asked Amber before Mercy could say anything more.
“Oh no, I can’t eat anything with those kind of calories,” She looked to Mercy who was mid-bite, syrup dripping from her fork and her mouth wide open. “You know what they say. One second on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.” She looked to Mercy’s hips pointedly. “Isn’t that right, Marcy?”
“It’s Mercy,” she told her, dropping her fork to the plate, her appetite completely gone and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“Oh that’s right, Mercy,” she said smiling sweetly.
“I don’t like stick-thin women,” Alec said hoping to take the sting out of Amber’s thoughtless words, but Mercy looked more hurt than thankful, and he realized he had failed miserably.
Mercy stood immediately, and he rose next to her, concerned that she had let Amber’s words affect her. “Are you ready to go?” he asked quickly, grabbing her purse from the back of the chair and handing it to her. She snatched it from his hands and glared at him, her lips thin and her smile tight. He looked to Lucan, who watched it all with a grin, and knew he was on his own.
“Have a nice day,” Lucan called out with a chortle as they filed out of the door.
“Yeah, right,” Mercy said under her breath. Alec glanced her way, but she refused to meet his gaze, staring at her feet instead as they walked to the car.
“It’s too quiet here,” Amber said to Alec, ignoring Mercy completely. “Oh Alec, you got the black one you talked about,” she gushed, running her hand over the hood of his black Dodge Charger as if it were the greatest car in the world.
Mercy watched her as she leaned over the hood her ample breasts near falling out of her too-tight shirt as she caressed the car. Alec had bought the car to replace the one severely damaged when a wolf attacked them in his old one, but she had no idea that he had ever thought of buying a Charger before he had come home with it.
“Yeah,” he answered distractedly, opening the door to help her into the back seat.
“Oh, is it alright if I sit up front, I get car sick in the back,” she told him placing her hand over his on the door. “Don’t you remember the last time we were in the back seat of a car together? I was so sick that you had to hold me in your arms the entire way home.”
“I forgot about that,” Alec said tightly, aware Mercy was stewing behind him.
“I have never forgotten how sweet you were that night, carrying me up to my room and helping me into bed,” She turned and looked to Mercy smiling triumphantly. “You don’t really mind, do you, Marcy?”
“It’s Mercy and of course not, if that’s what Alec wants?” Both girls turned to Alec, and he felt suddenly trapped. “Is that what you want, Alec?” Mercy asked pointedly.
“Well if she’s going to be sick it might be best,” he said fearing Amber might make a mess of his new car. He had only just gotten it and was rather uptight about keeping it in good condition.
“You’re right, of course,” Mercy said, seething that he had taken Amber’s side over hers. She slid into the back seat, and he bent down to make sure her seat belt was fastened, but she scowled at him and pulled it out if his hand snapping it in place herself, refusing to look at him.
“Mercy,” he said softly wanting to explain that he had been in the car with Amber because they were out with their fathers for dinner, but she refused to look at him.
“Alec, we need to go we’re very late,” Amber whined behind him.
“Yeah, Alec, we wouldn’t want to be late,” Mercy mumbled.
“Let’s get going then,” he said, backing out of the car and helping Amber in before going to the driver side and sliding into his seat.
“I love these leather seats. They smell so good, and they are so soft,” Amber said, running her hand over the back of his seat then laying it on his shoulder, allowing her fingers to knead his flesh. “It feels good to be back at your side.” She turned and smiled at Mercy, triumph gleaming in her eyes.
“Can we go now?” Mercy growled from the back seat ready to rip the hair out of Amber’s head for flirting so outrageously with her mate. Mate? That gave her pause. She had decided she needed time to acclimate herself with being pack before s
he could explore a relationship with him, so why was she using such a possessive term for him? They were just dating that was what she wanted, wasn’t it? She looked to the front of the car noting Amber’s hand still on Alec’s shoulder and stiffened. Why was it that she felt so weird when Amber touched him as if she might tear the girl’s throat out if she did not remove her hand in the next second? Rage built inside of her as she stared at the offending hand and she felt her wolf rising in response. Her panicked eyes met Alec’s in the rearview mirror and he shrugged his shoulder, forcing Amber’s hand from it.
“Are you alright?” he asked Mercy, looking concerned.
“Fine,” she said, dropping her head so he would not see how very angry she was and not bothering to look back up again, until she heard Amber’s excited cries.
“Oh good, we’re here,” Amber said, as they pulled into the parking lot. “I can’t wait to meet all your friends,” she told Alec, smiling happily.
“They are mostly Mercy’s friends. I’m still new here,” he told her as he pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car.
“Well, that’s good to know.” She gathered her things as Alec walked to her side and opened the door to let her out of the car. She faked losing her balance just as she got close to him, and he caught her against him helping her straighten up, missing the smirk she gave Mercy as his hands held tight to her waist in an effort to keep her upright.
“Thanks,” she told him her voice soft and breathless.
“No problem,” he said turning to help Mercy from the car, but finding she was already out and staring at them with annoyance. He reached for her book bag, but she held it tight and ignored him, walking stiffly past Amber and him, her eyes clouded with anger. Slamming the door, he followed behind her completely forgetting about Amber, which did not sit well with her.