Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (19 page)

“They
couldn’t see what I did. They thought they were so powerful no one would dare
go against them, but they were so wrong. Your mother died because your father
tried to do what the Elders wouldn’t. Gregory united the packs and formed a
group to fight against the rogues who threatened them, but it wasn’t enough.”
Tears filled his eyes as he looked down on his grandson with shame. “Your
father refused to see me after that night. The last time I saw him he threatened
to kill me if I came near you or him, ever again. I knew he was angry and hoped
in time he would see there was nothing else I could have done, but his
bitterness never faded. I tried for years to explain to him and to see you, but
he wouldn’t allow it. I failed him, my own flesh and blood and he will never
forgive me, but I had hoped maybe you would.”

Alec
shook his head, unsure what to think. The man before seemed sincere and full of
guilt over his mother’s death, but he doubted his father would see it that way.
The loss of his mate had changed him, hardened him in ways few but Alec saw. He
didn’t let many people into his inner circle, only those he trusted implicitly
like Lucan, Cade, and Marlo. Alec did not see that changing anytime in the near
future. “I was not there, and I don’t know my father’s side of the story and
until I do, I simply can’t trust you.”

It
hurt to hear his grandson say he couldn’t trust him, but it was more than he
deserved after failing his son so long ago. “I understand. I just thought it
might help you forgive him, if you knew the whole story.”

“He’s
my father, there is no one else I trust more in my life aside from Mercy, but
he lied to me and although I understand his reasons, it doesn’t make it any
easier to swallow.”

Alaric
rose to his feet and placed his hand over his grandson’s. “I may not have
gotten to spend time with you growing up, but I always kept tabs on you.  I am
proud of the man you have become and I know you will be a great Alpha like your
father.”

“Thank
you, Ala...” he stopped and met his Alaric’s ice-blue gaze. “Grandfather.”

Alaric
felt his eyes mist with tears. “Go and get some sleep, we have a lot of work to
do,” he said gruffly before turning and walking away.

Alec
watched him go, then looked to the house where he knew his father waited for
him. He shook his head and turned away, still too hurt to face him, and walked
to Mercy’s house instead. 

*****

Mercy
had fallen asleep quickly after Alec left, but soon after she closed her eyes,
the horrific nightmares that had been haunting her began once again. Her dream
started out happy enough, as it always did. Alec and she were in the middle of
a large clearing, their hands joined as a man she didn’t recognize read the Bonding
ritual out-loud. He spoke of love and commitment and how the binding of two
Weres was to be cherished by all of those who live in the werewolf community.
How their union was created by nature and was never to be taken for granted or
allowed to be severed by another.

Mercy
felt her excitement build as he reached the end of the ceremony and she looked
up at Alec, who stood before her smiling widely as the final stage of the
ceremony began.

“By
taking this woman you are twining two souls together, binding your life to hers
forever: is that your true desire?” the man asked Alec.

“It
is,” Alec said looking down on her with love shining brightly in his eyes.

The
man turned and looked to Mercy. “Is it your wish to bond with this male and be
his mate for all time?”

Mercy
looked up at Alec and grinned. “It is.”

He
pulled a small intricately carved knife from his pocket and turned to face them.
“To truly be bonded you must join your blood as one, so your hearts will
forever beat in time with one another.” He reached out and took Mercy’s hand
slicing her palm before reaching for Alec’s and doing the same. Out of the
corner of her eye, Mercy saw a red-haired woman who could have been her twin,
dressed in a long white flowing gown watching them with a haunted expression. A
large pack of wolves broke through the wood line and began to attack those
assembled. Mercy screamed, and Alec shoved her behind him as a lanky grey wolf
approached them, his teeth bared, blood from another kill dripping from them to
coat his muzzle. The wolf growled and pounced. Alec shifted and met him in the
air, tearing into his flesh with his long sharp canines. The wolf let a cry of
distress and two more came to his aid outnumbering Alec three to one. Mercy
prepared to shift so she could fight along aside of him when someone grabbed
her from behind and dragged her back into the forest away from the fighting.  She
screamed and kicked trying valiantly to get free, but the man’s grip on her was
strong and she couldn’t get away. She called upon her wolf and felt the shift
begin to overtake her when another man joined them and tossed something to the
one gripping her tightly.

“Get
those on her wrists the silver will stop her from shifting.”

The
man tossed her to the ground, punching her in the face hard enough to stun her
so he could place the handcuffs on her. The cool metal heated quickly once he
shackled her, burning the flesh of her wrists and she screamed in agony.

“Get
her out of here, now. I want to be sure her mate is dead, the last thing I need
is for him to come looking for her.”

Alec
burst through the trees surrounding them and the man lifted a large gun and
fired sending a barrage of silver bullets in his direction. Somehow, Alec
managed to avoid them all and pounced on the man, knocking the gun from his
hands. He tore into the man’s throat with deadly accuracy tearing into his
jugular and ending his life then with a loud growl he turned to where the man
holding Mercy stood his amber eyes meeting hers as he let out a howl.

“Stupid
animal,” the man taunted. “You want her, come and get her.” He tightened his
hold around Mercy’s throat cutting off her air supply and Alec lunged for him
just as he pulled gun from behind his back and shot him in the chest, blowing a
large hole into his flesh that began to smolder, thanks to the silver bullets
he had used. Alec howled and fell to the ground, blood pouring from the wound,
unable to move.

“No!”
Mercy screamed, kicking and fighting to get to him.

“Get
her out of here!” the man with the gun screamed, shoving her at another male
who appeared behind them.

“Please
don’t,” she begged as the man fought to pull her away. “I’ll do anything you
want, please just let me heal him.”

“Oh
no, little one, I have plans for you and he is in the way,” the man with the
gun said, his eyes morphing from a pale blue to a crimson hue that made her
scream.  He pulled out a large hunting knife, knelt down next to Alec, and
slowly slid the knife along his neck ending any chance he had to live.

“No…No!”
Mercy screamed, thrashing about on the bed, a cold sweat dampening her skin as
tears flowed down her cheeks and her breathing became labored.

Alec
flew through her bedroom door and to her bedside, terrified by her screams. “Mercy,
wake up,” he said, shaking her shoulder.

“Don’t
leave me,” she pleaded pitifully, her loud sobs filling the room. “Please don’t
leave me.”

“I
won’t, baby, I swear I will never leave you,” he told her lifting her in his
arms, cradling her in his lap as her brothers stood in the doorway wearing
panicked expressions. Her tears soaked his bare chest and her body trembled, as
she whimpered like a wounded animal and he pulled her closer, wanting to
comfort her.

 “No,”
she moaned pitifully, struggling against his hold.

 “You
killed him,” she screamed, her voice hoarse and filled with horror.

It
was clear she was still caught up in her dream and he knew he had to wake her
up before she got any worse. “Mercy wake up!” he commanded. She didn’t open her
eyes and he forced his Alpha outward knowing her wolf would respond to it. “I
told you to wake up, do it now,” he ordered.

Mercy’s
eyes shuddered then slowly opened and she looked around the room uncertainly.
“Alec, what’s happening?”

Alec
hugged her close, thankful she was finally awake. “You were having a bad dream. 
Can you remember what it was about?”

“We
were at our Bonding Ceremony and we were attacked by a group of wolves.” Her
body shook as she recalled the horrifying images of her family and friends lying
on the ground blood covering their broken bodies as a man dressed in hunting
fatigues dragged her away from the scene.  Tears filled he eyes and she laid
her head on his shoulder clinging to him desperately. “They killed everyone,
tore them to pieces before they could even shift.”

“It
was just a dream,” he said feeling her terror even though she had woken. 

“It
seemed so real,” she sobbed, her breathing ragged, her heart racing so fast it
felt as if it would burst out of her chest.

“It
wasn’t, Angel, it was just a nightmare.”

Mercy
nodded, but she knew it was more than that. The dreams she had been
experiencing had become more vivid, more real, and detailed each time she had
them and she began to wonder if they were a premonition of things to come.

Alec
brushed her sweat-dampened curls from her face and kissed her forehead. “It’s
alright, you’re awake now,” he said, hugging her close. “With all the things
going on, I’m not surprised you’re having bad dreams, but that is all they are.
You are safe. I won’t let anyone harm you.”

“Yeah,
it was just a bad dream,” she murmured, wishing she could make herself believe
that was all it was. Something inside of her, though, told her they were significant,
and she was missing some key element she was supposed to figure out.  She
lifted her head to where her brothers stood and froze when she saw the woman in
white standing behind them staring at her sadly. Her form was translucent and
flickered in and out but the spirit said nothing.  Cade followed her gaze and
turned to look behind them, but the woman simply vanished from view and he
turned back to look at Mercy with a frown.

“Why
don’t we get you some hot chocolate and see if we can calm you down enough to
go back to sleep,” Lucan said worriedly.

Mercy
rubbed her hands down her arms as a cold breeze blew across her body and
nodded. The last thing she wanted was to be in her room at that moment.

Alec
felt a chill run over his body and looked around for an open window, but saw
nothing ajar. “It’s chilly in here, Angel, let’s get you downstairs and warm
you up.” He stood with Mercy in his arms and carried her downstairs despite her
protests she could walk. Soon she found herself snuggled in his lap with a
blanket wrapped around her, sipping hot chocolate in their kitchen.

“I’m
off to bed,” Cade said with a yawn after downing a large glass of milk.

“I
have some paperwork to look over, so I’ll be in my room, come and say goodnight
before you go to bed,” Lucan said to Mercy.  

“Goodnight,”
Mercy murmured as they left the room. They sat in silence for few moments then
she turned to Alec wanting to know what happened with his grandfather. “So how
did your talk with Alaric go?”  

Alec
sat back, his fingers nervously tapping on her leg. “He explained what happened
between him and my father, but I’m still not ready to trust him.”

“And
your dad?” she prodded.

His
fingers stopped tapping and began rubbing her thigh. “I can’t deal with him
yet. I’m not angry anymore, though. Just hurt he could keep me from knowing
what little family I had after losing my mother.” 

Mercy
took his hand in hers and laid her head on his shoulder. “He loves you, Alec,
and I think he probably thought it was best at the time, but I bet now he is
rethinking a lot of things that happened back then.”

“Maybe,
but right now I just want to concentrate on the Elders and making them see that
you and I belong together.”

“Forever,”
she said closing her eyes and praying for a miracle.

*****

Much
later that night as she lay tucked up at Alec’s side in the living room as they
watched TV, she thought about the woman in white. It was oddly disturbing how
similar they were in appearance and it dawned on her that possible it was an
ancestor trying to tell her something. “Alec, how did the last Born Were die?”

“It’s
an old tale and has probably been embellished many times, but I was told she
had been killed in a fight between two men who wanted to posses her. One male
was her rightful Bond Mate and the other wanted her because of her special abilities
and her place amongst the packs.”

“But
how exactly did she die?” she prodded.

“I
don’t know,” he said.

“Who
would know?”  

Alec
tensed and sat upright, immediately on alert at her odd questions. “What is
going on? Why are you asking all of these questions about the last Born Were?”

“In
my dreams I keep seeing this woman. She’s wearing a long white gown and
watching everything with such a sad expression.”