Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (23 page)

Dean
grabbed his wrist before he could strike. “Do it and you will die,” he warned.

Ryan
chuckled and lowered his hand. “You won’t always be there to protect her, boy.
Once she is mine, no one can interfere when I discipline her, not even her
brother.

Dean
looked to his sister with warning. “Take our guest to the truck so we can be
out of here,” he said before turning back to Ryan. “You go and make sure we are
not being followed.”

Ryan’s
check twitched but he nodded. “For now I will follow your orders, but soon your
father will step down and once he does I will challenge you for the right to be
Alpha.”

 “I
look forward to the day,” Dean told him, refusing to be bullied by the over
confident Were before him or turn his back on him before he left the clearing.
Once he was sure Ryan was gone, he turned to his sister with a growl. “Have you
no common sense? He has all but gained father’s approval to bond with you and
you taunt him?”

“I
would kill myself before bonding with him, brother,” Juliet said sadly.

Dean
pulled her close and hugged her tightly. “Do not ever say such a thing. I
cannot stand the thought of living without you.”

“Dean,
let us go away, it is not too late. We can still be free.”

“I
can never be free,” he told her regretfully. “I promised Father I would bond
with the Born Were and I will.” He had no other choice. If he didn’t bond with
Mercy, his father threatened to hand Juliet over to Ryan and that he could
never allow. He loosened his hold on his sister and extended a hand to Mercy
with a rueful smile. “I am sorry about your capture, it was not the plan, but
some members of our pack are not very patient.”  He knew, though, his father
would applaud Ryan’s tactics. Now Dean wouldn’t have to fight for the Born Were
and they could bond immediately. “We need to go,” he said, taking Mercy’s arm
and escorting her firmly but carefully across the clearing to where their SUV
waited.

“Oh,
I need to grab my bag,” Juliet said running back to a large boulder that she
had been sitting on while they had waited for Ryan and the others.

Dean
helped Mercy inside, surprised by how calm she was and turned to help his
sister only to find the clearing empty and Juliet gone. He raced to the boulder
and looked for her frantically, but found no sign of her or her bag as if she
had just disappeared. “Shit, this is the last thing I need.” He moved to where
Mercy had exited the car and was struggling with one of his pack. He couldn’t
help but admire her as she fought against one of his men, using her Were
strength to punch him in the face and claw him in the eye before slamming her
foot in his crotch and turning to run. Dean grabbed her around the waist to
stop her escape and slammed her to the ground, taking a length of rope from his
back pocket and tying her hand and feet together. “Cease your struggles,” he
ordered. “The rope won’t harm you if you stay still, but the interior is filled
with silver thread and if you struggle it will work through and burn you.”

“Why
are you doing this?” Mercy cried out, struggling for air, pain generating from
her rib cage that had taken the brunt of the giant named Ryan’s brutality earlier
in her kidnapping and had slammed against a rock when Dean had tackled her.

“I
love my sister too much to ignore my father’s orders. He wants you to be part
of our pack and I am his only son.” He flipped her over and sat her up looking
upon her beseechingly. “Where is my sister?”

“How
would I know, I am here with you, remember?” she said stubbornly.

“She
just disappeared, I find that hard to believe,” he told her.

“She’s
probably better off, at least that oaf can’t get to her now,” she told him angrily. 
To her surprise, he laughed and sat on the ground next to her.

“He
is an ass,” Dean said, amused by her attitude despite the fact he was
kidnapping her.

Mercy
eyed him warily considering everything she had heard and realized he wasn’t the
root of her problems. It seemed his father was pulling the strings and that he
was being forced to go along with his wishes which, she thought, might work in
her favor. “If my pack has her, she won’t be harmed, but my mate is not patient
and he is not going to let this pass, If you want your sister back you need to
work with me, not against me.”

Dean
turned and looked at her, liking her all the more for being so brave when most
females would have been in tears screaming for help. “What do you have in
mind?”

*****

Mason
drug his captive far enough away that she couldn’t be heard if she shouted and
released her. To his surprise instead of screaming, she sat on the ground and
looked up at him with the big violet eyes and a smile that captivated him
instantly. He felt his heart beat increase and his palms began to sweat as he
stared back at her with disbelief.

“So
what now big guy?” she asked, looking amused by his discomfort.

“Why
are you not afraid, or screaming?” he asked

Juliet
shrugged, unsure if she should confide in him or not so early in their
relationship. “I knew you would kidnap me,” she answered simply.

Mason
glared at her, unsure what to make of her calmness, despite the fact he had
just taken her from her pack and intended to use her to get Mercy back.  “You
didn’t see me.” He denied. “I was hidden too well for even that Neanderthal who
kidnapped Mercy to see.”

Juliet
smiled. “I saw you long ago, but I didn’t tell anyone or they wouldn’t have
allowed me to come today.”

Mason
frowned and knelt next to her, looking her over for injury. He had been careful
with her, but he feared she hit her head when he grabbed her and ran. “Are you
alright?” he asked worriedly. She might have been the enemy but he didn’t want
to harm her. In fact, he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her, which
was killing him. He had taken her to use as leverage, so they could get Mercy
back, but now he wanted nothing more than to keep her by his side forever.

Juliet
chuckled. “I’m fine.” She laid her hand on his leg and smiled. “I am not hurt,
nor am I crazy. I am a witch; I saw you when I cast the rune stones a few
months ago, but my father is hell-bent on gaining the Born Were for our pack,
so I withheld it from him so I could set this all to rights.”

It
was Mason’s turn to laugh, and he did so heartily. “A witch, that’s good. Did
they tell you to say that so we would fear you?”

“No,
they don’t tell anyone what I am. It is a family secret, but I can no longer
allow my father to ruin our kind with his desire for power.”

“Witches
are not real,” Mason said with a laugh, amused she would even try to fool him.

“Yeah,
and neither are werewolves, but here you stand,” she said with a sigh. “I
suppose I can prove it, but I will say I told so when I am done.” She took a
rock in her palm, closed her fingers around it and began to concentrate.  “Take
that which is solid and make it breath, give it life so I may set it free.” She
opened her palm and a tiny sparrow stood in the rock’s place chirping happily
as she stroked its feathers

Mason
stopped laughing at once and stared at the bird in awe.

“See?”
she said, lifting her hand and allowing the bird to fly away.

“It
has to be a trick!” Mason said, rising to his feet.

Juliet
sighed and got to her feet. “And where do you think I was keeping the bird? In
my pocket?” She turned in a circle showing him she had no pockets in her skirt.

“This
changes nothing!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her to his side. “Come, we must
get going before your brother comes for you.”

Juliet
just smiled, knowing her brother wouldn’t be tracking her. The Born Were would
convince him to offer a trade and he would agree. “There is no rush. Dean has
already taken the Born Were away, but he will send a note offering a trade.”

Mason
shook his head and pulled her along beside him through the forest wondering
what he was going to do with her. If she was indeed a witch, how were they
going to keep her? If she wasn’t a witch then he had just found out his Bond Mate
was indeed crazy. Either way he was screwed.

*****

Alec
paced Mercy’s room waiting for Mason to arrive with news of her whereabouts. A
cool breeze came through the open window and he walked to it, slamming it down
angrily. He turned away and saw a small wrapped package under the nearby lounge
chair.  He bent to retrieve it and saw his name written on a small tag in
Mercy’s perfect script and he clenched the package tightly. He closed his eyes
praying she was alright, hoping they had been correct in assuming the rogues wanted
her alive. 

“She
brought that a few months ago,” Lucan said from the doorway. “We were shopping
for her prom dress and she had to have it for you. Go on, open it, I am sure
right now she would want you to have it.”

Alec
silently tore open the paper and opened the box, lifting the Angel from its
wrapping and closing it tightly in his palm. He had called her his angel from
the first day they had met and he had meant it. She was his salvation, his
other half, and she had saved him from a life of never knowing his other half,
of always wondering why he was incomplete. She was his angel in every way possible
and he would fight the devil himself to get her back. Carefully he lifted the necklace,
placed it around his neck closing the clasp, and looked to Lucan. “No matter
what, I will get her back,” he told him.

Lucan
walked across the room and patted him on the back. “I know that. I could ask
for no one better than you to take care of her for the rest of her life.”

“I
love her, Luc. Part of me always has, but now I can’t imagine my life without
her.”

“She
feels the same way,” Lucan told him. “Let’s go down to the kitchen and wait for
Mason now that all the partygoers have left.”

Alec
nodded and they left the room together, both single-minded in their desire to
get Mercy home where she belonged.

Chapter Thirteen

Mason
walked up the porch to Mercy’s home shortly after midnight with Juliet by his
side. She had explained why her father wanted the Born Were and how her brother
and herself wanted to be free of his tyranny, but were afraid to incur his
wrath.  She had told him that her father was ruthless and would stop at nothing
to achieve his desire to posses the Born Were, even if it meant losing one of
his children to make it happen. She had assured him that they needed to deal
with her brother if they wanted Mercy back and oddly, he found himself
believing her. The problem was how he was going to convince Alec to believe her
too.

Juliet
felt his hand tighten on hers and knew he was worried how the Born Were’s mate was
going to react. She wasn’t concerned, though, she knew the male named Alec
would do anything to get his mate back, even work with the enemy if that was
what it took. “Don’t be worried, Alec will go along with the plan. I have
already seen that.”

“I
am not exactly sold on you being a witch so let’s just see what he says okay?”
He wasn’t sold on her being a witch but on a short time she had certainly cast
her spell on him. He had intended to hide her and go to Alec on his own, but
somehow she had managed to convince him it would be wiser to let her talk to
him.

“Just
let me do the talking first, and for God’s sake do not tell him you are a witch
or he will think you have lost your mind,” Mason instructed.

“Okay
big guy,” she said, looking up at him with a smile. “I will be quiet until you
tell me to talk.”

“You’re
taking this all so easy, are you sure you didn’t hit your head?” he asked.

“I
didn’t hit my head,” she assured him, wanting nothing more than to tell him
that although she hadn’t hit her head she did feel as if she had been hit with
a bolt of lightning when she met him.

Alec
was at the door before he could knock and Mason entered the kitchen warily,
placing Juliet behind him.

“Where
is she?” Alec asked, confident Mason knew the answer.

Mason
raised his hand.  “Calm down, she’s safe enough for now.”  

“Where…is…she?”
Alec asked again slowly, his body trembling with rage.

“The
rogues have her, but she is safe,” he told him.

“If
the rogues have her, she is not safe,” Alec said with more calm than he
actually felt. A tiny hand moved to Mason’s arm and he saw a tiny pixie like
female peek around his massive form. “Who the hell is she?”

Mason
felt his cheeks warm with color. “Well, they took Mercy, so I took a hostage of
our own.”

“Correction,”
Juliet said, peering around Mason. “I allowed him to capture me.” Everyone in
the room began asking questions at once and Juliet quickly moved back behind
Mason, feeling uncertain for the first time.

Mason
reached back and grabbed her hand, running his finger over the palm, and her
heart began to beat loudly in response. “Stop!” he yelled, sensing the anger in
the room was upsetting her. Unused to hearing him raise his voice all of the
others quieted and Alec turned back to face him. “Juliet seems to think her
brother will take Mercy someplace safe and send us a note asking for an
exchange.”

Alec’s
eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. “What reason do we have to believe her?
For all we know they are even now driving into the next to the next state and
leaving her here as a sacrifice to stall us.”

Mason
shook his head. “I believe her. She says her brother would never do such a
thing and I saw how much he cares for her, Alec, he wouldn’t.”

Alec
took a deep breath and forced himself to think rationally instead of flying of
the handle. Mason had been there.  He saw the attackers and did what he could
to ensure they had leverage to get Mercy back, so he wasn’t the enemy. Fighting
with him would do little good.  “I sent the others to all of roads and highways
close by to stop anyone leaving the area. If they tried to get out by vehicle
they should get them.

Juliet
pulled on Mason’s hand and stood on her tiptoes to whisper to him and he turned
to Alec to relay the information she had given. “They won’t stop them. Juliet
says her brother is an ex-race car driver and military specialist. Our people won’t
know how to out-maneuver him.”

Alec
swore and ran his hand though his hair in frustration before slamming his fist
into the nearby wall, startling everyone in the room.

Gregory
felt his rage and pain as he walked to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Son, we need to be rational here. If what this young woman says is true, we
should hear from them soon.”

“Now
you too want to trust a female we have never met before? Are you also under her
spell?”

Mason
tensed and looked down on the little witch with unease, but she just smiled as
if unconcerned by Alec’s words.

“I
didn’t cast a spell on anyone, but I can cast my rune stones and show you Mercy
so you can be assured she is well,” Juliet told Alec.   

Alec
gaped at her in disbelief.

“Juliet
it might not be the best time for this conversation,” Mason said noting how
quiet the room had become, as they all stared at her with varying looks of
disbelief.

“Nonsense,
he is worried as any good mate would be and I can show him that she is alright
so it might ease his suffering.” She reached inside of her backpack, pulled out
a small red velvet bag, and shook it. “See, I always keep them with me.” She
turned to Alec and smiled shyly. “Would you like to see her?”

Alec
was unsure what to say. The woman before him had clearly lost her mind and yet
Mason was standing over her in full protection mode watching him as if he might
attack her. “Is she serious?” he asked.

Mason
sighed and nodded. “She thinks she is a witch.”

Juliet
straightened and lifted her shoulders confidently giving Mason an annoyed
glare. “I
am
a witch.”

“Great,
they get Mercy who is the Born Were and we get their nut case,” Lucan said from
across the room.

“I
know it sounds odd, but give her a chance,” Mason pleaded, hoping she could do what
she said she could, because if not he was going to be facing a room full of
very angry werewolves and the odds were not in his favor.

Alec
eyed her warily, but nodded and she walked to the kitchen table taking a seat,
motioning for him to join her. Once he was settled, she emptied the stones into
one hand and held out the other to him. “If you will hold my hand you will see
what I do.” Mason growled and moved behind her as Alec placed his over hers and
the room stilled. “Stop, big guy, he needs to be connected to me or he won’t
see her.”

Mason
took a step back, but kept close watch on Alec, ready to intercede if he dared
to hurt her. It was startling how easily he had forgotten his friendship with
Alec to defend her and he felt very unsettled about the emotions that were
churning inside of him regarding the little witch.  Alec looked up at him as Juliet
began to set out a velvet cloth that matched the bag, and stared at him,
recognizing his jealousy and protectiveness for what it was. He was still
digesting that the little witch was his Bond Mate and he certainly didn’t want
to share that information before he was ready to accept it, but thankfully Alec
said nothing.

“Okay,
I am ready,” Juliet, said shaking the stones carefully in her right hand while
staring at it intently. Slowly she released them and let them fall upon the
cloth with a soft thud before she began running her hand about an inch above
them. With a slight smile, she pulled one stone from the others and set it aside
then began moving her hand over the stones again. Again, she stopped on one,
picked it up, and placed it next to the others. She followed the same procedure
again and placed another stone next to the two others in a horizontal line. She
did this two more times, placing one stone above and one stone below the middle
rune. With deft fingers, she turned the runes over and looked at them then
placed her hand over the first one and closed her eyes focusing on Alec and
Mercy’s past, allowing the energy to transfer through her to him so he could
see what she did.

Alec
gasped as images of his life with Mercy filled his mind. He saw the day they met
for the first time and felt the confusing emotions he did that day course
through him. The images moved quickly from that first meeting to the last when
he was chasing her up the steps earlier that night. His heart ached for her and
the witch’s hand tightened on his own as if she was afraid he would pull away.
Her hand moved over the second stone and his mind filled with images of Mercy
sitting across the table from a tall blond male who smiled at something she
said and his heart clenched. She looked up and laughed at the man, seemingly
unharmed and content where she was, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He began
to pull his hand away when the witch hissed and clenched it tighter, moving her
hand over another stone. This time he saw himself lying upon a massive bed of
satin with Mercy in his arms as they forged their bond together.  

“The
future,” Juliet murmured softly. “If you heed my warnings, and follow my
advice.”

Her
hand moved again and the image changed instantly. Alec saw Mercy, dark circles
under her eyes, her face shrunken and pale, crying in the middle of the forest
over a mound of freshly dug earth as her brothers and his father looked on, all
shedding tears. The image changed again and he saw Mercy standing under a
forest bower, her hands linked with those of the blond man’s he had seen her
with as they bonded. She was sickly in appearance, her face reflecting the misery
she felt, and he knew he was seeing the outcome of her future if he did not
listen to the witch.

Juliet
opened her eyes and let go of Alec’s hands before carefully folding the cloth
over the runes and placing them back in the bag. “Now you know,” she said
softly. 

Alec
stared at her in amazement before looking to all the others and finally to
Mason who was staring at the little witch with unease. “Thank you,” he said to
the female before rising to his feet. “Mason please escort our guest to the
spare bedroom and allow her to freshen up and relax while we wait for her
brother’s message.”

“Are
you out of your mind Alec?” Lucan screamed. “This is all a trick. She is
helping them not us.”

“Luc,
you did not see what I just did.” He looked down on the female with half a
smile. “She is telling the truth. Mercy is safe, I saw her, and soon her
brother will send a message.”

Luan
moved quickly across the room towards Juliet, but Mason stepped before him with
a growl and stopped him from getting too close.

“I
wouldn’t if I were you, Luc,” Alec said grimly. “Mason, get her out of here, we
will talk again later.”

Mason
stepped back and helped Juliet to her feet, keeping a wary eye on the rest of
them as he escorted her to the doorway and up the stairs.

“Have
you lost your mind?” Cade hissed, joining his brother in front of Alec.

“You’re
going to have to believe me, Mercy is safe enough for now and soon we will hear
from her brother.” Ignoring their unhappiness, he walked outside and took a
seat to wait for the messenger.

*****

Mercy sat across from Dean, biting her
lip as she contemplated her next move on the chessboard before them. She had
played chess for most of her life and considered herself a pretty good at the
game, but he had proven to be a worthy advisory and she was finding it hard to
beat him. If it were not for her worries about Alec and how he was holding up
she would have enjoyed playing against someone so knowledgeable, but as it was,
she used the game as a distraction.