The Pack

by Donna Flynn

  The Pack

  By

  Donna Flynn

  Copyright 2012 © by Donna Flynn

  Cover art by Kimberly Wagner

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law

  All characters in this book are fictional and any resemblance to any person living or deceased is coincidence.

  To my children P.J., Micheala, and Chris who encouraged me to write the stories I talk so much about. To my mother who read and reread every word I wrote and my father who put up with my constant interruptions when I knew he would rather be watching a western. Last, but not least, I thank my husband who tolerated all the long nights when I sat in my kitchen writing instead of spending time with him. I love you all very much!

  Prologue

  The child sat on the front porch swing silently watching the flurry of paramedics and police officers come and go through the front door of her family’s home. Aside from an occasional look of pity, no one had acknowledged her presence since they had pried her from her mother’s lifeless body, and sat her there out of the way.

  “What should we do about the girl?” a harried paramedic asked the Police officer who was in charge of the crime scene.

  They turned to the child, whose tiny blood soaked hands lay folded on her lap as she rocked on an old swing that hung in the corner of the porch. She made an eerie sight with the front of her white cotton sundress soaked with wet splotches of crimson and one cheek smeared with dried blood from where she had laid against her mother’s body. Despite their close proximity, she gave no inclination she heard their conversation. She just continued to hum, pushing her tiny bare feet off the weathered floorboards, leaving bold red footprints on the stark white painted boards under her.

  “Hell your guess is as good as mine,” the portly officer answered, unused to dealing with children, much less one who had witnessed such an atrocity.

  “Does she have family nearby?” the paramedic questioned.

  The officer shook his head negatively. “Linda and Greg kept to themselves. I never saw anyone come to visit them up here, so I assume they had no close family or friends. I will do some digging, maybe we can locate someone who might take her in until the state decides what happens to her.”

  He frowned as she abruptly halted her swinging, rising to her feet as the first stretcher came through the front door.

  “Momma,” she whispered her face paler than should have been possible. Her slender body trembling as she gazed upon the stretcher with despair.

  She ran to the body, laying her shaking hand on the bag that covered it, her eyes swimming with tears as she spoke once again, her voice low and heartbroken. “I’m sorry momma,” she whispered. “I couldn’t save you.”

  Grown men hardened by the horrendous things they had seen in their careers wiped their eyes at the sound of her agonized apology. All activity ceased and the area grew quiet as everyone turned to stare at the grief stricken child who had just lost both parents.

  “Sweetheart no one blames you,” the officer said placing his hand on her arm, unprepared for the scream of terror that came from low in her throat to fill the air.

  “No…No…No!” she bellowed, backing away until she was against the wall of the house, her eyes open wide in fear.

  He reached for her again, but she let out a mournful, inhuman howl that had him backing away afraid she had been pushed over the edge of sanity.

  She slid to the ground her body racked with grief, her pitiful sobs filling the air.

  The loud baying of wolves came from deep in the forest as if joining in her cries of distress and everyone restless. Officers grabbed their guns, all turning to face the wood line where the ear piercing howls grew louder and closer to their location.

  “I think we have our killer’s boys!” the officer in charge yelled, his own gun trained on the forest before them. “Shot on sight,” he bellowed.

  The howls ceased abruptly, but they kept vigil waiting for the wolves to come back to the scene of the crime.

  Everything was silent and still when a lone voice broke the void. “Excuse me.”

  Everyone turned at once, weapons drawn on the young male who appeared behind the officer. Dressed in an expensive suit, wearing dark black sunglasses that would have paid most of their salaries for the year, he was an imposing figure, but still no one dropped their guns.

  “Do you mind?” He lifted his eyebrow and frowned at the drawn weapons with disdain.

  The officer in charge dropped his weapon to his side looking chagrinned, signaling to the others to follow suit. The man in front of him exuded money and power. Every instinct told him he didn’t want to be on his bad side, so he forced an apologetic smile to his lips. “I’m sorry we had an incident with wolves,” he explained tucking his gun into the holster on his hip.

  “I am sure you meant no harm,” the man replied smoothly.

  Another man dressed in torn jeans and a black t-shirt bearing a Harley Davidson logo strode past them arrogantly. His demeanor was harder, more unforgiving, and his disdain for them all obvious by his scowl. The officers began to raise their weapons again, but he dismissed them all, walking to the child, kneeling next to her and speaking to her in hushed tones.

  “My brother,” the new comer said anticipating the officer’s objections to his brother’s somewhat disheveled appearance.

  “What can we do for you?” the officer asked as paramedics brought out the next stretcher.

  The child let out another cry of distress, the man next to her laid a reassuring hand on her arm, but did not pull away or flinch as she had done with the officer. Instead, she launched herself into his arms sobbing, as he held her, offering the comfort she so badly needed.

  “I am Lucan that is my brother Cade.” He pointed to the man who gathered the child in his arms and was in the process of rocking her in his lap. “We were on our way here to visit Linda when we heard about the attack.”

  “I didn’t think Linda had family,” the officer responded, unsure what to make of the pair who showed up out of the clear blue sky.

  “Mercy and I share the same father.” He stared defiantly as if daring him to question his words, but the officer said nothing. “As her brother, I will be taking care of her as her mother requested in the event of her death.”

  “I would assume you have paper work to prove this,” the officer asked relieved to have the burden of the child taken from his hands.

  “All of the necessary paperwork is being faxed to your commander as we speak so, we may care for our sister as she grieves. I’m sure you understand a child needs family at a time like this.”

  The officer felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment. “Of course,” he murmured.

  Lucan nodded, turned on his heel dismissing the officer, and knelt next to the other man running his hand down the back of the girls glistening red curls. “Hello Mercy, do not be afraid, we will take care of you now. You are one of us and we will protect you with our lives.”

  Mercy stared at the man searching his eyes before launching herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrolobly.

  Lucan carried her into the house careful to avoid the crime scene and the people working there. The smell of blood and death permeated the air and he had to force down the growl that rose in his throat so he wouldn’t scare the child in his arms.

  “What now?” Cade asked as Lucan took a seat in an old rocking chair far away from the door where the police worked.

  “Now we take care of her until she is ready to hear the truth,” he replied tiredly, humming as he rocked her in his
arms. It took only a few minutes until she closed her eyes and settled into a deep exhausted sleep. “She’s like a little angel, we did her a disservice by not coming to visit sooner,” he told his brother before laying his head back and closing his eyes prepared to stay there until she awoke.

  “We did what Linda wanted, and we are here now when she needs us most,” Cade told him.

  “You’re right, of course,” he murmured. “I can’t help to think what could have happened if she had been here when they were attacked.”

  Cade froze, his face hardened at the thought. “You think they were looking for her,” he asked.

  His brother frowned and nodded. “She’s not a normal child and it seems despite Linda’s precautions someone figured that out and came for her.”

  “Who would do this?” he asked his fist balled at his sides as he stared down on the unfortunate child.

  “Someone who wanted power badly enough to kill for it,” Lucan told him hugging the child tighter. Her existence now depended upon their ability to keep her safe until she reached her maturity and he knew just where to turn for help.

  Chapter One

  “Mercy,” Lucan yelled his eyes scanning the wood line for his fifteen-year-old sister who had left the house an hour before, promising to stay close. As she often did, Mercy had wandered off despite his repeated warnings about the dangerous animals that ran the forest leaving him in a panic a she looked for her.

  “She couldn’t go far, settle down and give her time to walk back to the house.” His brother Cade sat back in the porch chair his eyes also riveted on the wood line despite his calm words.

  Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with long, black, unruly, hair, and a tattoo of a wolf covering most of his massive forearm, he presented an imposing figure. At first glance, one would think he had little concern for anyone, but that would be wrong. He too was worried for their sister.

  Mercy had become unsettled of late, always searching for something amongst the green forest surrounding their home, but unsure what she yearned for. Any other of their kind would know from birth what the forest offered them, but they had kept the truth of her heritage from her. She had no idea why the smells and sounds of the forest would always call to her.

  “If you would stop encouraging her defiance this would be easier,” Lucan said running his hand through his tapered blonde hair in frustration.

  His white dress shirt and black chinos were a startling contrast to his brother’s haphazard appearance. Their attire though was much like their attitudes when it came to raising their sister. Lucan was the rule setter, the father figure, liking everything neat and orderly. Cade, the fun loving rule breaker who wanted her to have a taste of freedom and enjoy life to its fullest.

  “You’re smothering her, one day she’s going to rebel.” Cade told him setting his booted foot on the table a gesture that had his brother growling with discontent. He let his fall to the floor, deciding it wasn’t worth arguing over. “You’re pushing her away with all of your rules.”

  “Don’t tell me about rules! Her life is on the line, I don’t think it’s wise to be easy on her,” he argued.

  Mercy emerged from the woods and began walking towards the porch, which made Cade smile. “See you worry for nothing.”

  “One of us must, we can’t all be care free with our lives like you are,” he retorted walking to the porch door relived Mercy was unharmed, but angry she had once again defied his wishes.

  “You used to be carefree too,” Cade said as they walked into the large sunlit kitchen that had been the center of their lives for the last nine years.

  “One of us had to grow up, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be you,” Lucan replied sharply.

  “She always turned to you when she was afraid, not me.” While it was true, he enjoyed more freedom, it had been because Lucan had taken to being a father with ease. Cade on the other hand had struggled with the confines of parenting a grief stricken six year old. He had tried to help where he could, but Lucan was better at parenting than he was and Mercy naturally gravitated towards him.

  “You could back me up sometimes instead of encouraging her,” Lucan argued as he poured a cup of black coffee in a mug that declared him the World’s best Father, a gift from Mercy a few years before.

  “What fun would I be then?” Cade said with a chuckle earning a growl of disapproval.

  The wood framed screen door slammed and in walked the object of their argument. Her long Tahitian hair tangled and unruly with bits of greenery hanging from its shiny mass, her jeans and white t-shirt spattered with dirt.

  Both men turned to face her, Lucan scowling as he always did when she showed up late, Cade grinning behind him ready to offer support if things became heated. It was nothing new to break up one of their arguments. They had them often about her, so she walked to the kitchen sink to wash her hands before facing them. “So arguing about me again?” She leaned back against the counter crossing her legs at the ankles waiting for the dressing down she knew Lucan would give.

  “I asked you not to leave the yard,” Lucan said biting back the lecture he wanted to give.

  “I came as soon as you called for me,” she replied calmly since being defensive with Lucan only made the arguments last longer.

  “You should not wonder off in the first place.” His jaw ticked with annoyance, but he managed to remain calm.

  “I’m sorry,” she replied contritely.

  Lucan protected her in his own pushy, controlling, domineering way and most the time she actually appreciated his concern. Not too many kids were lucky enough to be raised by two such wonderful men, but lately she felt restless and lost. The forest offered her comfort and a place to think when she needed to be alone. The scents there were intoxicating and the sounds of the wildlife offered comfort to her often-troubled mind.

  “So you should be,” he replied sharper than he had intended earning a warning cough from his brother. “I’m sorry, I just worry about you,” he said trying to soften the sting of his previous statement.

  “It’s alright.” Deciding the best route was to change the subject she looked to Cade and smiled. “No date last night? You came in awfully early?”

  “Mercy,” Lucan snarled angry she kept an eye on his brothers comings and goings.

  “What? You think I don’t know what the women around here say about him?” She winked at Cade ignoring Lucan’s snarl of discontent.

  “Young lady it is none of your business what other woman think of Cade. I do not want you listening to their idol gossip,” Lucan scolded imagining what she must have heard.

  “Well I am the best looking man around these parts.” Cade boasted. “It would be hard for her not hear something about me from time to time,” he added not the least bit ashamed of his reputation.

  “And the most conceited,” Lucan replied turning to the refrigerator to pull out the steaks he had defrosted for dinner.

  He turned around to find Mercy next to him her expression full of love her arms open wide for a hug. Tossing the steaks on the counter he pulled her close wondering for the millionth time if it would be the last time he got the chance too. “Please be more careful,” he requested brushing a lock of hair from her cheek.

  “You worry too much,” she teased.

  “Still it would be better if you stayed close from now on. Go and clean up for dinner.”

  “Yes father.” She walked out giving him a saucy grin over her shoulder at the door before departing.

  “Man you need to lighten up,” Cade told him rocking back in his chair just to aggravate his brother a little more.

  “You really have no idea do you?” Lucan said wondering how one so notorious with women could miss the fact their sister had indeed matured into a young woman.

  “Noticed what?”

  Lucan shook his head at his brother’s comment. “The changes in her body, or the way the boys around here stare at her when we go out?”

  Cade’s chair dropped to the f
loor, a loud echo flowed across the kitchen as he pondered his brother’s words. “It’s Mercy we are talking about she’s not interested in dating or anything else that concerns the male species.”

  “Not according to Gale.” He sat in the chair next to Cade and shook his head. “Mercy asked her a lot of questions when she took her shopping last week.”

  Gale, a neighbor who had become friendly with Mercy when she had moved in with them, was a family friend. The girls had a regular girl’s trip to the mall each month since neither man was very good at helping Mercy shop for clothes and other things young girls needed. She had become a confidant and he thanked his stars they had her to help them along. Although, at times like the one he they were now facing he thought a little ignorance might be bliss.

  “Please tell me you’re talking about bras here, I’m not ready for her to think about dating.” His face paled as the implications of his brothers words registered.

  “We knew this day would come,” Lucan reminded him clearly uncomfortable with the himself. From the day they had moved her there they had dreaded the time when local boys would discover her. It would put her already comlicated life into more danger.

  “She’s too young! I thought there would be more time!” Cade said recalling the young man who had asked about her just that morning when he filled up his bike with gas. He had thought the boy was just being friendly. Now as he recalled their conversation, he realized there had been a glint in his eye when he spoke of being in the same class with Mercy at school.

  “We need to keep her close,” Lucan told him. “No more of this running off when I tell her to remain near the house.”

  “She isn’t going to like this, her freedom is so limited already,” Cade said running his hand over his face wiping away the perspiration he felt gathering. “We should tell Alec, he knows most of the guys around here and can warn them off.”

  “Tell me what?” They turned in unison to the doorway where a tall, well muscled blonde haired teen leaned against the frame his jean-clad legs crossed at the ankles, his black t-shirt stretched across his chest, as he grinned them.