Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (20 page)

“And
you think she’s the last Born Were?” he asked in disbelief.

Mercy
shook her head. “I don’t know, but I feel like she’s important somehow, and I
want to know more about her.”

Alec
frowned and ran his finger down the side of her face with a look of sympathy.
“Baby, she is not real. It was just a dream.”

“Still,
I would like to see if anyone knows the whole story, or knows what she looked
liked.” She brushed her lips across his and smiled. “Please, will you find out
if anyone knows more about her?”

Alec
growled and pulled her against him, kissing her thoroughly before responding.
“You know I would do anything for you.” He lifted her chin and brushed her lips
again. “Even if I think you are overreacting.”

“Maybe,
but it might take my mind off everything else that is going on,” she told him
snuggling back against him.

For
that reason alone, Alec vowed he would find out everything he could. She had
been under so much stress he knew having a project might help alleviate some of
the worry she had about the upcoming meeting with the Elders. He made a note to
ask his grandfather about the last Born Were when he saw him next.

Chapter Twelve

Mercy
was sitting outside amongst the vastly colored spring flowers a few days later
when she felt a familiar presence close by.  She glanced up from the book she
had been reading to see Jaden approaching. The dark-haired beauty was carrying
a large cumbersome-looking leather bound book in her arms, looking warily at
Mercy, who met her icy blue gaze and frowned.

“Jaden,”
Mercy said cautiously, unsure how to treat the female who had so callously used
her.

Jaden
stopped in front of Mercy, looking nervous and uncertain. “My grandfather
requested that I bring you this book.” She looked up suddenly as Alec walked
out of the house his eyes immediately narrowing when he saw her near his mate.

Mercy
felt his presence too and was unsurprised when he appeared at her side placing
his hand on her shoulder as he stared down Jaden. “Alec, it’s alright. Jaden
came to bring me one of the Elders’ journals at your grandfather’s request.”

“Fine,
give me the book and go,” he said reaching out for the journal.

Jaden
shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Excuse
me?” Alec snarled angrily.

“I
can’t leave the book.  It was left in my charge and if anything happens to it I
am responsible.”

“Then
take it back, because you’re not getting anywhere near Mercy,” he growled
taking a step towards her threateningly.

Mercy
jumped up between them, placing her hand on Alec’s chest, pushing him back a
few steps. “She has to guard the book while I look at it.”

“No
way, she is never to be left alone with you again,” he roared.

“Alec,
calm down, I really want to see the book so, she has to stay.”

“Are
you out of your mind?” he thundered. “The last time she got you alone she did
God knows what to you!”

“If
it will make you feel better you can stay with us,” Mercy offered.

Alec
shook his head. “Not possible, I have meetings with some of the nearby Alphas.
I’ll be gone all day.”

“Then
we can go into the house and Lucan can supervise.”

“Lucan
left a few minutes ago, and Cade has already left for the airport.”

Cade
was going to the central states to try and gain allies for their cause and Lucan
was taking Nina to meet some of the further away Alphas so that left only one
other option. “Gregory will be here, right?” It was probably not the best
option since Alec had yet to settle things with his father, but it was her last
hope.

“Mercy,
this is not a good idea. My dad is busy making calls in the office, he can’t be
close enough to keep a watch over you and her.”

Mercy
felt her temper rising and took a deep breath, reminding herself he was just
worried about her safety. “Call Rich then, he can babysit me.”

He
shook his head. “Rich is going with me.”

“Alec,
I want to see that book and I’m not waiting God knows how long to do it,” she argued
her hands on her hips, her lips pressed firmly together. 

“Well
that’s just not going to be possible today,” he snarled.

“You
don’t own me, Alec, so stop acting like an ass,” she argued barely controlling
her urge to scream.

Alec
grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, ignoring her fists pounding on his
chest as he savagely laid siege to her mouth. Mercy’s struggles ceased almost
immediately and before long, she was caught up in the kiss and completely under
his spell. She moaned softly and he pulled back with a satisfied grin. “I may
not own you, but I am your mate and I won’t allow you place your life in
danger.”

“I
wouldn’t harm her,” Jaden said in her own defense. “She is the Born Were, I am
here to protect her.”

“I
don’t trust you, plain and simple, so this will have to wait.” He looked down
at Mercy who was biting her lip feeling badly for not being able to give her
what she wanted.

“Excuse
me,” Mason said walking out of the forest. “I overheard you talking and if you
want I can sit with them.”

Alec
looked uncertain so Mercy rushed to assure him that it would work. “That would
be great. Mason can sit in the kitchen with us and your father will be just
across the hall. Surely you don’t think with the two of them there she could do
me any harm.”

Alec
growled and pulled her against him hugging her close. “You’re killing me, do
you know that?” he whispered against her ear.

Mercy
smiled, knowing she had won. “Thank you,” she answered twining her arms around
his neck and pulling his head down to her, kissing him passionately before
taking a step back and looking to Jaden with a happy grin. “Let’s go up to the
house and get started.”

*****

After
hours of reading the handwritten, and sometimes very hard to read journal, Mercy’s
eyes hurt and her head was pounding. Page after page of werewolf history and
she had yet to reach the story of the last Born Were.

“Maybe
you should give it up for the day,” Mason said next to her as she rubbed her
shoulders.

“I
have to bring this book back tomorrow,” Jaden told him.

“What
difference does another day make?” he growled.

Jaden
glared at him. “The difference between me living and dying.”

“Well,
some things can’t be helped,” he replied nastily.

“You’re
an insufferable pig,” Jaden countered.

“Better
than a conniving bitch like you,” he answered back.

“Would
you two knock it off,” Mercy said tired of their arguing. They had been at each
other’s throats since she started reading and it was annoying. She was beginning
to regret allowing Mason to be the one to sit with her and was tired of
searching for a needle in a haystack.

Tired,
and ready to quit, she sat back in the chair when a cold chill overtook her and
the pages of the journal began to flip on their own. She looked across the
table where the woman from her dreams stood staring down on the pages as they
moved.  She looked up at Mercy and the pages stopped moving abruptly. She
pointed to the book and Mercy looked down on a hand drawn image of the woman
before her, a woman that could easily be Mercy’s twin.

Mercy
gasped, drawing Mason and Jaden’s attention. They moved next to her looking
down on the book with surprise, but Mercy looked to the woman, who offered a
thin smile and then disappeared from view.

“Look,
this must be her, the last Born Were,” Jaden said, pointing to the picture.  

“You
look just like her,” Mason said, staring at the image in disbelief.

Mercy’s
hand trembled and she reached out touching the book, feeling a jolt of electricity
run up her arm. Her vision blurred and she felt nausea as she became
intermingled in the last Born Were’s memories. She became the woman of her
dreams, running through the forest. Her body battered and in unbearable pain as
she looked for a place she could hide. The sound of baying wolves on the hunt
filled the air and she pushed herself to run harder despite the agony her body was
suffering through. She looked around in desperation but found no place she
could hide. The scent of her blood was leading her enemy directly to her and
soon they would be upon her. The howling ceased abruptly as she reached the
edge of a cliff. She looked over the side seeing only a pile of jagged rock over
a hundred feet below and knew she was trapped.

“Well,
well, little princess, you have led us on merry chase,” a tall well-built man
said stepping out from behind a nearby tree.

The
light of the full moon shone overhead revealing his face and she cried out. His
face was beautiful, like a Grecian sculpture, except for a long jagged scar
that came from his right ear and crossed his cheek ending halfway through his
full lips. He placed his fingers to his cheek and snarled making her back up a
step to teeter dangerously on the edge of the cliff. “I have searched all over
for you. Imagine my surprise to find you had run off to bond with your lover, before
I had the chance to recover from our last meeting.” He reached out and grabbed
her arm pulling her roughly against him so her back was pressed to his chest.
His arm snaked around her stomach and he pressed his face into the curve of her
neck taking a long whiff of her heady fragrance. 

“Please,”
she whimpered, terrified of the man who held her. “Have mercy, you have taken
everything from me.”

“The
time for mercy is over!” he thundered. “I tried to do this the right way, but
you refused to love me, refused to see that I am the only one who can make the
packs great again. With me in control we can own the humans instead of hiding
what we are like scared rabbits.”

“I
never wanted that, I just wanted to live my life with the man who was my
destined mate,” she told him.

“Your
mate was worthless!” he bellowed shoving her to the ground at his feet.

“Micah,
we must go, the Elders’ guard are coming,” another man said stepping out of the
darkened forest.

“Hold
them off, I will finish this now,” he snarled pulling a long blade from his
pocket and slicing into his palm before turning to the woman on the ground
before him. “Give me your hand.”

She
glared at him, making no move to obey and he growled angrily reaching down for
her hand. If he mingled his blood with hers, they would be bonded and he would
use her status as the Born Were to rule the rest of the packs. She realized
then she had only one option if she wanted to save her people and the humans.
She scrambled backward until she met nothing but air, as she fell from the edge
of the cliff toward the rocks below.

“No!”
Micah bellowed reaching for her desperately, watching helplessly as she fell to
her death, her arms legs flailing until she hit the rocks below with a soft
thud that echoed off the walls of the cavern. He scrambled down the cliff to
her side and knelt next to her, reaching out one shaky finger, which he ran
down the side of her cheek, his expression filled with rage. “You were supposed
to be my mate! You were supposed to make me strong enough to take over the
packs and make them mine.”

Blood
dripped from her lips and she looked to the heavens with a half smile as light
shone down upon her. “Mercy,” she murmured, her eyes closing and her last
breath leaving her body with a shudder.

 “No!
I will find you again, and when I do I will make you pay for abandoning me,”
Micah bellowed, shaking her ravaged body violently.

Mercy
came to, gasping for air much to the dismay of Mason and Jaden, who were
flustered and screaming at each other about how best to handle her condition.
Gregory ran into the room just as the back door slammed open and Alec flew to
Mercy’s side.

Mercy
looked up at him wild-eyed, struggling to breathe and panic filled him.

“Alec,
you’re her mate, you can regulate her breathing with your own,” Gregory said
behind him.

Alec
closed his eyes and placed his hand on her chest, melding their minds, synchronizing
their breathing until she was able to breathe on her own once again. Once he
was assured she was alright he pulled her into his arms and hugged her close,
breathing in her scent, allowing the familiarity to calm him. “What the hell
happened?” he bellowed, looking to Jaden accusingly.

“I
didn’t do anything,” she said taking a step away from him.

“Mason?”
Alec looked to the male he had left behind to confirm her words, but he just
shook his head.

“I
didn’t see her do anything, I swear.”