The Pack (12 page)

  
  “I’ll be right back,
” Alec
assured
Mercy as he rose from the chair.

 
   “Okay,
” she answered wearily.

    
He squeezed her hand then
walked out t
o the porch to address the new problem
. “How did you know I was here
?” h
e hissed into the phone. 

     “You think your father is the only one who has peopl
e working for him?” The man
c
huckled
.
“Alec, I have always liked you and
I really don’t want this to be unfriendly
,
so let us cut to the quick. M
y boy
Kirk
has t
aken a liking to this
girl, Mercy. H
e will keep her in the dark
about what we all are
as long as none of you give him any more trouble.”

     “Why would we do that? S
he’s ours, we do not need to agree to anything with you Jared.” His hand trembled as he clenched t
he phone
.
Everything they had kept from her was now in danger of  coming to light if he did not keep his cool.

     “I have the feeling if she found out about your duplicity she would be heartbroken an
d that might force her to shift prematurely
. She would be lost, confused,
and
I don’t think she will choose those who have lie
d to her
to help in her time of need
.
Of course
,
as the local pack leader, I would be only too glad to
take her in and
help her find her place in our world
.”

     “She’s mine, I have
claimed her in front of my pack,
” Alec growled.

     “Ah
,
but you see what happens in your pack is of no consequence to me
and mine
. Y
ou have not completed the bond
,
so she’s fair game
.
Do not i
nterfere with her and my son,
in return we will keep your secret.”

     Alec
swore softly
. T
here was no way he was going to let Mercy find out what they were until she was ready to handle the information,
so he had no real choice
.
“How do we kn
ow you will not tell her,
if things don’t go your
son’s
way
?”

     “You know me.
I
am giving
you my word and
I never go back on my word.”

     N
o matter how mad
he
was, he knew
Jared was honorable. H
e
only sought to please his son,
something his own father might do for him
, but it still rankled
.

     “I’m game for a little healt
hy competition
,
but
until she knows everythin
g he can't push her to make commitments she won’t understand.”

     “Of course
,
I would not
allow my son to do something so dishonorable
.
Good luck,
I am sorry it came to this.
I have always respected you
,
but blood is thicker than water
I am sure your own father would understand
.”

    
He hung up and Alec clenched the phone in his hand ignoring the
loud pop
that foll
o
wed as it crumbled
in his palm piercing the skin with its jagged broken pieces.

     “Alec?” Mercy cam
e t
hrough the doorway
,
her eyes
growing
wide as she saw
the crushed phone dangling from his bleeding hand. B
lood spattered
the ground
at his feet
a
nd s
he
cried out
,
rus
hi
ng to his side
, then
taking his hand in
her own
.

     “Its fine,” h
e told her pulling the already healing hand b
ack before she noted the flesh mending
itself
. “It’s just a scratch, lets go and have that hot chocolate.” He held the door open and walked in behind her tossi
ng his phone on the counter
before washing his hands then
joining her and Cade at the t
able.
As he reached for his mug
,
Mercy grabbed his hand
turning it over,
inspecting the damage.

     “I could have sworn it would look worse
.” s
he told him
,
but released his hand and grabbed
her own mug taking a sip
of the chocolate while staring at him with a puzzled expression
.

   
“L
et
’
s be glad it was no
t
,
” Cade told her befo
re sipping his own hot chocolate
shooting Alec a warning glare
.

     “So bad
news,” she asked
.

     “What?”
Alec
asked
still angry and distracted by the call
.

     “Your business call
,
was it bad news
you seem upset
?”

    “N
othing I can’
t handle,
” h
e replied
looking to the door
way
where her brother
was entering.

    
Lucan’s clothes were rumpled and he was exhausted
,
but whe
n Mercy
stood,
he opened his arms and she ran into them
without hesitation
.
“I’m sorry baby,” h
e whispered holding he
r close. “I would never intentionally
hurt you.”

     “I’m fine,
” she to
ld him relieved
he was speaking to
her
.

     “We need to talk
about this,” h
e said dreading the conversation ahead.

     “You know what Luc
,
why don’t we wait until the morning. She’s tired and you could
use the rest.” Cade looked
pointedly at Alec’s destroyed phone
on the counter
hoping his brother would get
the message
something was wrong
.

     “Yeah, good idea.” He kissed the top of Mercy’s head and hugged her once more before letting her go. “Get some res
t nothing will change overnight,” he
told her
,
but the frown Alec gave him was not reassuring.

     “Thank you,” s
he told Cade
hugging him then
walking to Alec and doing the same.

     “Get some rest Angel,” Alec
whispe
red
burying his face in her sweet smelling curls
,
holding back the howl of displeasure that roared to
life inside him as he breathed in another
males scent
.

     “Thanks for helping me.” She kissed his cheek and pulled away
shocked t
o find large flecks of amber taking over his usual brown eye color
.
As if sensing her scrutiny he
blinked and they
returned to normal, leaving her shaking her head wondering if she was imagining things.
“Good night,” s
he said to them
all before leaving the room
.

         Lucan walked to the front hall to make su
re she was up stairs
before coming back and taking
a chair at the table picking up her mug and sniffing it.

     “How s
h
e drinks this I will never know,” h
e said p
ushing the mug away in disgust
. “I nee
d coffee
.”

     “Already done,” Cade said
rising to pour
a cup
then placing it in front of him.

     “So w
ho called?” Lucan asked
his gaze falling to the destroyed phone.

     “The
boy’s father, he’s
the local
Alpha
. H
e
regrets any trouble
,
but only wants what is best for his son
and of course he thinks that's Mercy.
” 
Alec explained.

     “I thought the
local
Alpha
was
friendly with your father
?” Cade said
.

     “
He is
,
”
Alec,
sighed pushing
an annoying lock
of hair behind his ear. “He said
all
he
needs
is
for us to let Mercy decide who she wants to be with
. As long as we do not
interfere he will keep our secret.”

     “Our secret
would expose them too,
”
Cade,
said
slamming hi
s fist on the table earning a
groan of protest from the antique w
ood
.

     “But s
he will
know we have been lying to
her. How well do you think
that will go over?” Lucan stated
sitting
back
in his chair to contemplate thei
r choices.

     “He b
elieves she will turn to them for help
if she finds out
since Kirk has not
lied to her
,
” Alec adde
d. “We have no real choice here,
my claiming
her does not affect other
pack
s
,
to t
hem she is free game
.”

     “I
f she
chooses
him
and it ge
t
s
back to your pack it would
bring doubt abo
ut your ability to lead them
,
” Lucan told him
honestly
. “I mean i
f you can’t hold onto your
mate
aga
inst another
Alpha
heir
,
how would you handle pack business?”

     “True
,
but I do not intend to lose her.” Alec stood and stretched looking resigned to the battle ahead. “I’m done for the night, I will see you both in the morning.”

    “If I were you I would take advantage of the w
eekend and lay some ground work,
” Cade advised.

     “You're right about that,
” Alec answered before leaving them alone while he planned how best to pursue and win his mate.

     Mercy
woke
early
the next
morning dreading th
e confrontati
on to come. Lucan had been so angry
the night before
. H
e was always
hard on her
,
but
had
never physically hurt her before
,
not even for a spanking when she deserved one. S
he did not understand
the change in
h
im when he found her with Kirk. H
e
had been
like
another person
,
one she hoped never to meet again
.

    
On top of
everything else
,
he had dragged
her out
of
there with little thought to the others who were attendance.
S
he’
d been humiliated in front of her peers
, who she was sure would be gossiping all week long about the spectacle they had made. Worse was she had been embarrassed in front of
Kirk
would probably
never want to see her again.
Not that she could blame him.