Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (5 page)

“What are you talking about?  Marlo is
great. Your pack would love her.” She looked between father and son and knew
there was something they weren’t telling them. “Gregory, is something wrong
with Marlo? Is she sick? Dying?” Mercy’s mind filled with all kinds of horrible
scenarios, but nothing could have prepared her for his next words.

“She’s a vampire,” he said, trying not
be offended by the gasps her brothers let out and the shock in her own face.
“My pack might accept her, but other Alphas won’t and we have been working hard
to form an alliance with as many packs as possible to fight against the rogues
who are trying to take over.”

“Oh,” she said, hating that someone so
nice, would be treated as a pariah because of what and not who she was. As she
stood there feeling badly for Gregory and Marlo something else registered in
her mind. Something Lucan had mentioned in passing one afternoon when they
talked about how a pack’s order worked.  Her eyes widened and she looked to
Alec, understanding for the first time why he had been gone so much. “Your face.”
She grabbed his arm and looked at the faint scar on his arm with a scowl. “You
were fighting.”

Alec blanched. He had not intended for
her to find out. He knew she would worry about him every time he went away and
he didn’t want that for her. “There are a few of our pack who have forgotten
why I am heir. I had to show them why I am going to be the next Alpha,” he
answered honestly.

Mercy pulled away from him and took a
step back, taking a deep breath, trying to calm her rattled nerves. It was too
much, so much information was overwhelming, and she felt her wolf begin to stir
despite the long run she had just taken with Alec.

“It’s alright, Angel, take a deep breath
and calm down,” Alec said, feeling her wolf growing unsettled.

Mercy met his worried gaze and felt her
heart rate increase. Soon he was going to be her Bond Mate, the Alpha of his
pack, and it would be her job to help him, to help his pack, and she had never
been more nervous in her life. She was still learning how to be a werewolf and
once she was his mate all of her flaws would be glaringly obvious to his pack, which
he couldn’t afford. “I need to go.” She pushed away from Alec and ran past Cade
who held the door open for her. She needed to get away and process all the
information they had just given her and her wolf was riled up and wanted to run.

“Mercy,” Alec shouted as she dashed into
the forest, her body trembling as her wolf fought for freedom.

“She will be alright, son, the others
are watching the woods,” Gregory said behind him.

Alec knew he was right and he was sure
that at the moment, she wouldn’t want him with her anyway, so he took a seat on
the porch, prepared to wait for her return.

*****

Mercy allowed her wolf free rein to run
through the forest as her human side took a back seat and digested all of the
information she had just learned. It was a lot to take in at once Gregory
stepping down, Alec taking over as Alpha, and her bonding with him all at the
same time. Being his pack’s Alpha was a tremendous amount of responsibility for
Alec. The pack’s problems would weigh on him day and night, and he would need a
strong mate to help him, to be by his side supporting him. To be the mate he
needed meant she was going to have to step up and immerse herself in pack life,
which, if she were being honest, she had yet to fully comprehend.

Exhausted and ready to shift, her wolf
came to rest at the river where she had left her clothes.  She shifted easily back
to her human form and dressed before sitting on a large boulder by the water,
staring at the water, envying its calmness, thinking what she wouldn’t give to
have a little of that in her life.

“Something wrong, Mercy?” A familiar male
voice asked behind her.

Startled, Mercy turned to look at the
tall dark-haired wolf that strode towards her and frowned. “Mason, I swear you
should be a panther instead of a wolf,” she said, unsure how he always appeared
so silently out of thin air.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I saw you
running earlier and waited until I felt you shift to approach.” He sat down
next to her and crossed his ankles looking at home and comfortable amongst the lush
greenery that surrounded them. He sensed her upset from across the forest when
he had first seen her and knew only one thing could make her so unsettled. “Are
you and Alec fighting?”

“Not really. I just needed some space to
think about things,” she said with a sigh.

Mason sat back on his elbows and stared
out across the water, sensing her unease. “I suppose this has to do with the
fact that you will all be leaving to head back to your home pack soon.”

“Yeah, it seems we are going to be
leaving sooner than expected.”

“Is that a bad thing? I thought you were
excited about bonding with Alec.” She turned and looked at him, her green eyes
shimmering with tears, and he felt his heart ache for her. He had followed her
for a long time, learning about pack life as she did and watching her struggles
with her mate. He knew she loved Alec with all of her being, but he could see
she feared the future that was rushing up to greet her far sooner than she had
thought it would. He didn’t blame her. He too had no real experience with being
part of a pack, so he could sympathize with how she must be feeling.

Mercy sighed. “It’s just all happening
so quick. I mean, I love Alec, and I can’t wait to start our life together, but
I thought we would have years before he stepped up as Alpha of his pack, not
months. What if I screw up? What if I can’t be the mate he needs?”

Mason sat up and placed his arm around
her shoulders as her loud sobs filled the air, offering the comforting shoulder
of a friend. He lifted her chin so she was staring up at him and smiled
encouragingly. “You are a survivor, and Alec is lucky to have you by his side.
I don’t know much about pack life, but from what I have seen of him and his
pack, they are good, caring people. Besides, you won’t be alone, your brothers
and Alec will be there with you.”

“I know you’re right, but it’s all so overwhelming.
A year ago, I thought the biggest thing I was going to have face after
graduation was college. This is so different from what I had envisioned back
then. I mean, within months I am going to be bonded to the Alpha of one of the
largest packs in the United States. Alec needs someone who is capable by his
side and although I am more confident in my Were side, I am not exactly an
expert at pack living. What if I can’t cope with being part of the pack? What
if it turns out that I can’t be what he needs?” Before Mason could answer she
went on. “If I can’t do this, he will be stuck with me for the rest of his
existence. I will be a burden that he will grow to resent and that will kill
any love he once felt for me.”

Mason felt for her. She was so young and
had so little experience in the world of the werewolves that it had to be
overwhelming for her to consider how much her life was going to change once
they were bonded. “If you are not ready, then maybe you should wait.  If Alec
loves you,” she looked ready to protest and he raised his hand, “and I know he
does, he would do that for you.”

Mercy chewed her lip, unsure whether to
tell him the real reason they were rushing the Bonding Ceremony. She liked
Mason, but they had only been friends a short time and the fact she was a Born
Were was a secret only a select few knew about, so she wasn’t entirely sure she
should confide in him.  That thought gave her pause. If they didn’t tell anyone
what she was then how did the council find out about her? Who could have told
them? She realized immediately that she needed to speak to Alec about her
concerns.  “I have to go.” Mercy stood abruptly and looked down on the male who
still sat upon the rock looking up at her with concern. “Thanks for letting me
cry on your shoulder, but I need to talk to Alec.”  

“Good luck,” Mason said, laying back on
the rock.

“Yeah, I think I am going to need it,” she
murmured before taking off through the dense forest, towards the house where
she knew Alec would be waiting for her return.

*****

Alec sat for over an hour before he
began pacing the porch, worry for Mercy making him tense and out of sorts. He
had known she would need time to process everything, but he feared that maybe
they were pushing her too hard. That she would freak out if things kept piling
up on her young shoulders.

“Son, she is not the kind of girl who
runs from things. Mercy will face this, as she has every challenge so far,”
Gregory said from the chair where he sat, watching his son pacing worriedly.

“How much more can she take?” He ran his
hand through his shoulder-length hair in frustration. “Every time we finally
find peace, something else happens to test our relationship.  I’m worried that
she’s going to decide it’s just too much.”

Gregory knew he was wrong. Mercy was no
longer a child that he needed to protect. She had grown into a fine young
female werewolf. She didn’t hide from a challenge and faced things head on. He
just wished his son could see what he did about his mate. Although it was clear
she was an adult, in some ways Alec still treated her like a child. He was always
sheltering her from the things that might upset her, when he should be helping
her accept those things instead. “Mercy loves you, she has proven that time and
time again, and if you don’t get that by now you never will.”

Alec stopped pacing and turned to his
father. “I don’t doubt that she loves me, I just worry I am asking for too much,
too soon.”

“Maybe, but are you willing to take the
risk of letting the Elders decide her fate?”

Before he could answer, Mercy burst out
of the tree line running headlong towards them, putting them both instantly on
alert. Alec jumped off the porch and ran towards her, alert for any sign of trouble,
pulling her into his arms as soon as she was close enough for him to grab hold
of her. “What’s wrong?” he asked, holding her protectively in his arms.

“The Elders,” she panted.

“What about them?” Gregory said as he
reached their side.

“How did they find out about me?”

Gregory looked to Alec and they both
swore openly. “Get her inside so she can clean up. I will do a little digging and
get back to you.”

“What is going on?” she asked as Alec
walked her towards the porch.

“Someone in our circle must have told
them and until we find out who it is, I want you close to me or your brothers
at all times.”

“Who could it be? I mean the only people
who know what I am are family and close friends. I can’t imagine any of them
telling the council.”

Alec couldn’t either, but werewolf
politics were tricky. If someone wanted to take over his pack the surest way to
do so was to make sure he lost his mate. Without Mercy, there was no way he could
be Alpha: she was his strength, his reason for living, and everyone close to
them knew that. Suddenly everyone around them became a suspect and he wasn’t
sure how they were going to weed out the traitor, but he knew once they did, he
would deal with them swiftly and severely. No one was going to put his mate in
danger and live to tell about it.

Chapter Three

“Come on, Mercy, at least try to have
fun. You only get to go to your senior prom once,” Gina said as they tried on
dresses at small boutique just outside of town. She spun around; the sequins of
the blue gown she wore sparkled in the sunlight that filtered through the window.

Mercy envied her excitement, but with
Alec gone once again and the Bonding Ceremony looming closer and closer, she
just had bigger things to worry about than what to wear to the prom. The worst
part was she couldn’t even tell Gina about any of it, because now everything
they planned was hush-hush and kept between her brothers, Gregory, Alec, and
herself.  The fear that one of their friends was the traitor had made things
uncertain. She was constantly analyzing everything her friends said or did,
looking for anything that might give them away and it was trying on her nerves.

“So pretty,” the owner of the boutique
said to Gina before looking to Mercy, who stood there in a plain pink gown that
did little for her lily-white complexion and red hair. “No, no, no,” she said
in an odd French accent. “This is not for you.” She placed a finger to her lips
and surveyed Mercy’s small frame with a critical eye then snapped her fingers
and smiled brightly. “I have just the thing for you.” She ran through an open
doorway and returned with a bag in her hands that she hung on a nearby hook and
began to unzip eagerly. “I made this awhile back, but I have yet to find
someone I thought was perfect for this dress until today.” She pulled the
garment from the bag and Gina gasped with excitement.

Mercy stared at the long emerald green
silk sheath before her with the first smile she had worn all day. All of the
excitement she had been missing resurfaced at the thought of Alec seeing her in
such a perfect creation. With the dressmaker’s help she changed out of the
frumpy pink dress and into the green silk before turning to face the mirror
with a smile so bright, it lit the room.