by Flynn, Donna
“But what about us,” he said, trying to pull her against him.
“We are taking a break until I am confident I can be what you need.” She kissed him quickly then ran to the porch where his father waited with his arms open, which she ran into gratefully. He nodded to Alec, then walked her inside, the girls following close behind, unified in helping her to accept her new life.
*****
Mercy watched Alec standing outside, staring at her house for a long time after they went inside, her heart aching at the misery reflected in his expression. Walking away from him had been the hardest thing she had ever done, but in the end, she had done it for them both. As long as she did not fully accept the pack way of life, she was a liability to him, and the only way to make that happen was to absorb herself in their way of life, and put their relationship on hold until she knew for sure she had what it took to be his mate.
“He will be fine,” Gregory told her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
“I know he will,” she told him, determined to do whatever it took to make herself a mate worthy of Alec’s love. “Let’s get started.”
Chapter Twelve
“She did it!” Gina shouted happily after Mercy managed to shift effortlessly from wolf to human form, behind a large rock to afford her some privacy from Gregory. Gina handed her a T-shirt and a pair of shorts to dress in, smiling happily at her friend, proud she had learned so quickly to merge with her wolf.
“I did it!” Mercy yelled excitedly as she came out from behind the rock. “It was wonderful and so effortless.”
“I felt it this time. It was very smooth,” Gregory told her. He was as proud of her as he had been the first time Alec had shifted on his own. Maybe more so, since Mercy had to fight many demons to get to the point she was at now.
Mercy grinned from ear to ear hugging him enthusiastically while thinking about how far she had come. They had been at it for almost three months. The first few lessons had been extremely painful, and many times, she had wanted to throw in the towel, but she kept her eyes on the prize, a lifetime with Alec, and kept at it. Now each time she shifted, it got easier. She had learned to shift at will, which was a huge accomplishment, but the bond that she had created with her wolf was what she was most proud of achieving. Now they worked as one together with trust and understanding, which allowed her to maintain full control over her animal even when in wolf form.
Gregory told her often that she really didn’t need him anymore, but he still insisted on being present to protect her from the black wolf that had put in many appearances during the last three months, always eluding capture despite the many of their pack that kept guard over the forest. She didn’t mind Gregory being there, though, he was a great teacher, hard and unbending, yet nurturing and caring when she needed it. He never worried or showed concern about her abilities or lack thereof, which put her at ease, and made learning so much easier. Because he demanded only her best and pushed her hard she had succeeded: and for that, she would always owe him.
Gregory watched Mercy as she turned to face Gina, approval shining in his eyes. Never had he seen another who learned so fast, aside from Alec, who had seemed born to shift at will. In a few short months, Mercy had lost the fear and sadness that had made it difficult for her to accept what she was, and she had grown in ways none of them could have foreseen. She was now confident, secure and more eager than ever to learn everything she could about pack life so she could be the mate his son needed.
After shifting each day, they would sit by the stream, and he would explain pack life sometimes alone and other times with Gina, Nina, and Hailey present so they could give her the female take on things. She was smart, intuitive, and eager to learn their ways, which was quite a switch from the scared girl she had been just a few months before. He had been worried that her fears would force his son away from pack life but now, after spending so much time with her, Gregory was positive she was the right mate for his heir. She was Alec’s match in every way, and he couldn’t be happier that fate had lead them to one another. He had always wanted a daughter, but when his mate was killed, that dream died with her. Now, in Mercy, he felt he finally had that daughter he longed for, and he couldn’t wait until his son got to see just how extraordinary she had become.
His thoughts moved to his son, who had been simply devastated by Mercy’s refusal to allow him to help her. During the first days, he had been sullen and withdrawn, refusing to talk to him about her lessons, but now he grew more demanding with each passing day asking often how she was doing with her training. Gregory always replied, “Ask Mercy,” refusing to take sides in their little war. Their separation had made for one lousy Christmas season, and New Year’s had been about as much fun as walking through a snake pit. Alec had taken her decision to work with him very hard, and he had spent most of the holidays glaring at her or finding excuses to leave the room she was in so, he didn’t have to face her. As a father, he felt badly for his son, but as Were he wanted to kick his butt for treating his mate so badly when all she wanted was to please him. Instead of letting it get her down, though, Mercy had used his anger towards her as an aide to help her push harder, to achieve her goals, and it had worked. She had become a werewolf who could take care of herself, and he had a feeling his son was going to be astounded by the changes in her and so was Amber, who seemed to think she had won their battle for his son.
Amber took advantage of their separation, making herself a fixture at Alec’s side, and he guessed his son let her hang around since he knew it aggravated Mercy, whom he blamed for keeping them apart. Mercy had not uttered one word about Amber and what had happened that day at school, not even to Marlo who met with her every morning, but he could tell she was the driving force behind Mercy’s newfound desire to embrace her werewolf side, even if she didn’t admit it.
Mercy looked to Gregory and knew by the troubled expression on his face he was thinking of his son. Since she had told Alec his father was teaching her to accept her wolf, he had shut down. He only spoke to her when necessary, and he kept his distance from her, even when they were in the same room. He didn’t even seem to mind that Amber clung to him like super- glue, something that bothered Mercy to no end, but she couldn’t say anything since she was the one that pushed him away. Marlo talked about it often with her over their many breakfast counseling sessions and made her realize he was acting out because he was hurt by what he saw as a betrayal. She understood that her choosing his father over him had to be a slap in the face for him, but she was confident she had made the right call, even if she missed him dreadfully every day since they had been apart.
So, as much as it hurt, seeing him with Amber only made her work harder to prove she was good enough to be part of a pack. Time apart also gave her insight into her true feelings for Alec. Amber might have always believed she wanted Alec, but Mercy was now confident she had been born to be his mate, and she had no plans to let him go. After watching the female with Alec for the last few months, seething every time she touched him or hugged him, biding her time until she was sure she could stand up to her, Mercy was now ready to claim her mate.
“Gina, you can go, I want to talk alone with Mercy for a little while,” Gregory said. He knew Mercy was ready to face Alec, Marlo had told him so just that morning, but he wanted her to understand what she would be signing up for when she accepted his son as her mate “Why don’t we go to the stream and sit so we can talk for a while. Besides it drives Alec nuts when I bring you home late.” She giggled, and he smiled in response, thrilled with the bond they had formed during the last few months.
“By all means, let’s make his life miserable,” she said, thinking Alec deserved a little payback for all the time he spent with Amber knowing how she felt about her. She walked towards the water and sat on the soft moss-covered bank thinking about Alec. He had been present every day to take her to school, and once there he kept close watch over her, but things were nothing like they were before. He was also at their dinner table every nig
ht, so they saw each other often, but the distance between them was wider than the Grand Canyon and was grating on them both. It had to end before one of them snapped, and she was going to be the one who ended it, as soon as possible.
“Your mother would have been proud of you,” Gregory told her, pulling her from her thoughts.
Not long before, she would have denied his words, but somehow in the last few months since she bonded with her wolf, she felt he was right. It took her a long time to realize her mother had been scared of her healing ability, not her werewolf side, so she was confident she would have been happy to see her at peace with what she was. She couldn’t help but wonder how different her life might have been if her mother had lived, but then remembered she might never have met Alec, and that was something she couldn’t imagine. “My mother,” she sighed. “I know so little about her. I wish that there was someone who could tell me more about her life.”
“Maybe someday,” he told her, knowing that soon they would have to tell her who her real father was. Mather had not pushed them, he was content with the daily reports Lucan sent him, but they all knew at some point she would have to be told her real father was not the man her mother had married, but the Alpha of her brother’s pack, the same man who sired Lucan and Cade. So many secrets had been revealed to Mercy over the last year but that one they had kept in hopes she might understand better when she truly became pack. Mather was not an easy man, but he had proved by allowing their secret to continue that he truly did care about his daughter.
“I’m so tired,” Mercy said, leaning back in the grass on her elbows.
“I know, I can see it in your eyes, but you’re happy too, and if I am not mistaken, ready to face my son, so I thought we should talk about my mate so you can a get perspective on how important they are to our kind.”
Mercy perked up immediately. Alec had told her bits and pieces of his mother’s tragic story, but he had been young when she had died so most of what he knew was told to him by friends and family since his father never discussed his deceased mate with anyone. She knew it was an honor that he was now ready to share that information with her. “Where did you two meet?” she asked, eager to learn more about the woman who had given life to the guy she loved.
“We met as children at one of the yearly pack meetings,” he answered easily, recalling their meeting as if it were yesterday. She had been so beautiful then, a young girl, full of life, ready for whatever came her way and he had fallen head over heels instantly for her.
“What is a pack meeting?” Mercy asked.
Gregory put his thoughts on the back burner and explained. “In the old days we would gather once a year with packs from all over the United States for a big conference. It was a week filled with meetings and deals between packs, but also a chance to bond with others of our kind, and if we were very lucky, to find our Bond Mates.” He smiled as he remembered how it used to be, so many packs working together to keep their race strong. Times had changed, and nothing of that old life remained, not even his beloved mate, and that made him sad.
“Gregory, are you alright?” she asked, placing her hand over his looking concerned.
“I am fine. I was just remembering how beautiful she was. From the time, we were old enough to leave our parents' sides she and I had a bond that no one could break. I didn’t understand what it was that drew us close, but I had feelings of protectiveness for her that were out of the ordinary even for a close friend or family member, and the overwhelming sadness that I felt after each parting became harder to deal with as I grew older. I found myself making excuses to visit her pack often, and I guess our parents knew what was happening since they encouraged my visits wholeheartedly.”
“That’s so sweet. You were clearly destined for each other,” she said breathlessly, knowing well the feelings he was talking about. She had felt them often since meeting Alec and knew from the last few months how difficult it was to be separated from your mate.
“That’s it exactly,” he said, happy she understood. “One day when she was sixteen I kissed her under an old oak tree that we used for giving thanks to our forefathers and our fates were sealed.” He looked up at the sky blinking back tears, remembering that day and she waited beside him patiently, seeing clearly the happiness it gave him to recall that time. “From that day on we both knew we were meant to be together, and when we were old enough, we bonded.”
“Bonded, that word seems to come up often nowadays. What exactly does that mean?” she asked.
“It is the next step after two of our kind claims one another, the ultimate joining of two Werewolves. It is more binding than human marriage, and once done cannot be undone, it makes two pack members one with each other.”
“Till death do you part,” she murmured.
“No, not even in death are you parted. If you lose your Bond Mate it is as if a piece of you is missing that can never be replaced,” he told her, looking saddened as he remembered his own mate’s death.
“How did she die?” Mercy asked, unsure whether or not he would respond since Alec had told her many times he did not speak of his mate’s death.
“She was murdered much like your own mother was,” he answered rising to his feet. “I was away, and a rogue werewolf broke into our home. She had hidden Alec before he found her but...” He tightened his fist in anger, recalling the awful events that plagued him every day of his life.
Mercy went to his side, laying her hand on his arm. “Don’t, it’s alright, I don’t need to hear the rest.”
He looked down on her, the love he felt for her shining in his eyes giving him the courage he needed to continue. “Yes you do, maybe then you will understand why my son is so protective of you. Why he knows you are the only girl he will ever love, and why he will protect you until the day he dies.”
“It is all so unreal. The fact two people could be made for each other, but when I am near Alec I feel it. I know we are meant to be together.”
He nodded and sat back down. “He loves you, Mercy, and I will have this conversation with him, so he never makes the same mistakes I did.”
“You have been a great father, Gregory. I know no other who has done the things you have to spend time with your son.”
“You are kind, but let me explain before Alec comes to look for us.” She sat down, and he continued his story. “Back then I made the mistake of thinking because I was a strong Alpha no one would dare touch my family, but I was wrong, and I will ensure Alec does not make such a foolish mistake. You must understand there are those of our kind too cowardly to confront the source of their problems. They use woman and children as a means of revenge for the wrongs they believe done to them.”
“Is that what happened to your mate?”
He nodded. “It seems so long ago, but back then I was young and arrogant, new to being Alpha, so like Alec it’s scary. Even then, rogue packs like the one that tried to kill Alec and take you existed. They killed humans at will and the rest of us worried that they would bring recognition to our kind, so we were forced to set up a group of our own to kill those who were out of control. I was away from home, meeting with some of the elder pack Alphas when they decided to make an example out of me. They figured by killing my mate and son it would intimidate me and the rest of the Alphas, but they were wrong.” He lowered his head, and his voice became choked with emotion. “I arrived home to find my mate dead and my son missing.” His eyes misted, but he went on. “I thought I had lost everyone I held dear. It makes you lose focus. You do things you never would have considered if you were in your right mind.” He looked into her eyes, and she saw the misery and regret there. “I killed them all, every last one of those bastards who had been plaguing the humans. I didn’t even know or care what I was doing. The need for revenge was so great, I couldn’t control my wolf.” He trembled as he recalled it all again the rage, the fury, and the urge to kill everyone who had a hand in his mate's death.
“It’s alright, you don’t have to cont
inue,” she said.
Gregory went on, though, needing to tell her everything. “I found Alec when I finally arrived home. He had been hiding under the floorboards afraid to trust anyone else who had come into the house. He had stayed there for two days until I came home and he heard me crying. He came out of hiding then, his little face covered in dirt as he hugged my blood-spattered body, telling me how his mother had saved him. Believe me I wanted to die along with my mate, but I had my son to consider and I knew my mate would want me to live for him. For a while I lived every day like a zombie, but then someone pointed out that my mate had been brave enough to save our son's life, and I forced myself to be strong enough to make sure he got to live it.” He hugged her close and kissed her forehead. “You are my son’s true mate, it is a bond no one can imitate, and I think now you are ready to end this little game Amber has been acting out.”
“You knew?” she asked, shocked he had not said anything sooner.
“Of course I did. She has always thought of Alec as hers, and as you have seen she does not let go of things easily, but in you, she has met her match. I have no doubt my son is in for an awakening.” He laughed, wondering how his son was going to take this new improved Mercy. “Let’s walk up to the house. I am sure by now Alec is pacing a hole in the ground waiting for your arrival.”
“Alec has been busy with Amber lately. I am sure he does not even know I am absent,” she told him, her voice tainted with hurt.
“Oh I assure you, he feels your absence, and you must remember everything is not always what it seems. I think spending time with her was his way of unconsciously getting back at you for pushing him away,” he explained as they walked out of the forest.
“Well I am ready to reel him back in, so Amber better watch out,” she told him seriously, looking to the house where true to his father’s prediction, Alec was waiting on the porch pacing back and forth.