Authors: Donna Flynn
Gregory
walked
to the bed where Mercy
lay shaking
uncontrollably and frowned
.
It had been hours and she showed no sign of recovering which was worrisome.
“Have
you ever seen any of our healers
absorb
poison
into themselves?”
“
Never,
” C
ade said his concern for his sister growing with each passing minute
.
Night had turned to day and morning to noon, but she had yet to waken. “H
ow do we cure her
when we do not know what is causing this
?”
“
W
e are
looking for healer
in the area, hopefully
they will know how to fix this,
” Gregory told him. His own concern for the young girl who was destined to be his sons mate was strong. He knew i
f they did
no
t find one to
cure her
,
Alec would never be able to live the pain of her loss
. H
e
had known Mercy
too long and had no anchor that would force him to live
as
Gregory had when his mate had died.
The d
o
orbell rang
its loud bell chiming interrupting their vigil. A soft wind came through the bedroom window and
Lucan
growled,
ra
ising
his nose
in the air,
letting Mercy’s hand drop to the bed
. “
I woul
d know that scent
anywhere.”
He ran
out of the room and down the stairs
ignoring Cade
,
who kept pace
behind him
trying to calm him before he opened the door
. “Luc
,
we do not know who shot Alec
you can’t go after someone who might be innocent.”
Lucan
was
too
angry to listen
to reason
,
he
ripped the door open and hauled
a
stunned
Kirk
in
side
. H
is hands locked a
rou
nd the boy’s
throat as shoved him against the wall
. “You!” he screame
d sla
mming his head into the wall
ignoring the plaster that
cracked and
fell to the carpet below.
“I didn’t do anything!” Kirk
choked out fighting
to get free.
“Lucan let him go!” Gregory commanded
behind them
.
“He
shot your son
. He is
the reason Mercy is dying and you want me to let him go?”
Lucan arg
ued
.
“
Y
ou
’
r
e
upset
and although
I understand how you feel
,
but there is no
evidence
against him or his pack to suggest th
ey are
responsible
.” He placed his hand on Lucan’s arm willing hi
m to release Kirk
.
Lucan
lowere
d h
i
m to the floor begrudgingly and backed away glaring
at him with murderous intent
.
“Good now why don’t we
talk you and I.” Gregory
said directing Kirk to
wards
the living room.
“What is this about Mer
cy?” Kirk asked
straightening his clothes
as he followed
behind
him
.
“Is she ill?”
“Like you care
?” Lucan
sneered leaning
against the doorframe
,
a clear threat if Kirk should decide to leave
before Gregory dismissed him
.
“Luc,” Gregory snarled in warning
.
“He’s the only one
around here
who stands to gain anything if Alec should die.” Lucan argued.
“I’m not sure what is going on
,
but I assur
e you I have nothing
done nothing. I really like Mercy I would never want to see her hurt.
” Kirk replied defensively
. “I
only
came to ensure
Mer
cy was alright since she did not return
my calls
.
I was worried she might be hurt
.”
The cold stare he gave Lucan wasn’t lost on him and he snarled in return for the insult.
“
Luc, that’s enough!” Gregory hissed.
Lucan leaned back against the door staring daggers at Kirk, but followed his
Alpha
’s command.
“Can someone tell me what’s going on and where Mercy is?” Kirk asked worriedly.
“
Someone shot my son la
st night.
” Gregory explained holding
his hand up to
stop Kirks questions
. “Mercy healed him
,
but the bullets were poisoned
and
now she is very ill
. Her chances of recovery are not good if we cannot find another healer
soon
who
can figure out what the shooter poisoned the bullets with
.
”
He watched the
boy’s
reaction closely
,
finding
no sign of duplicity in his expression.
“I swear I am
not responsible for your son getting shot
,
but
I can help
.”
H
e pulled out his cell phone,
dialed,
spoke brusquely
,
then
snapped the device shut looking pleased
.
“There is
a strong healer
in our pack
she is on her way.”
“You can’t be serious!” Lucan growled. “W
e
are going to trust him,
when
he maybe
the one respon
sible for all of this
?”
“
Luc
,
his
pack
is not involved
.
I would have smelled them when I chased the shooter last night. L
et him help if
he can,
” Cade said
behind him
.
“H
is father
probably hired someone
to do the job,
” Lucan
argued
.
“That is n
ot his father’s style.” Gregory said
sharply,
before turning
back
to Kirk
. “This healer she is good?”
“The best,
” Kirk
ans
wered confidently.
“W
hy would she help my sister when
she is not one of your pack?
”
Lucan asked suspiciously.
“She’
s my sister
,
and she would
do it because I asked
her too,” h
e
replied
trying to be patient because he knew the stress Lucan must be under
.
It was clear how much he loved Mercy and the idea she could die must be unbearable for him.
“C
an I see Mercy
?
”
he asked Gregory.
“She’s upstairs.
I will take you to her.
”
“Thanks,
” Kirk replied following the
Alpha
out the door and up the stairs.
Lucan remained quiet, following them to the bed
room where Alec lay sleeping as
Me
rcy thrashed about on the
bed
her face glistening with sweat
.
Kirk went to her side and sat next t
o her taking her hand
in his own
troubled by her condition
.
“Mercy I’m here
.” He pushed her wet
tangled hair back from her forehead
and star
ed at her pale face worriedly.
Her eyes
were sunken in,
her cheeks hallow
and
it was clear what
ever had been effecting Alec
was ravaging her body.
“H
el
p is coming
,
hang on
.”
H
e knew his
sister
was close
,
she had been on her way home
from a shopping trip at the local mall
when he called and
she
detoured
to get to him. H
is father
was not going to
be happy
,
he didn’t like her healing outside of
his own pack, but to save Mercy’s life he would deal with is father’s
wrath
.
Mercy g
rew
q
uiet and her
body
became
still
on the tangled shee
ts as they waited
anxiously for his sister to show
.
No one knew how much time she had left befor
e the poison finished its work and t
he room filled with tensio
n, but t
o
the
relief
of everyone assembled
the door
b
ell finally rang
.
Cade rushed out of the
room to answer the door, coming
back second
s
later
. He escorted
a small blonde
dressed in designer clothe
s
,
her
blonde h
air meticulously styled,
her high hee
ls not slowing her down one bit
as she crosse
d
the room to her brother
’s side
.
She listened
patiently
as
they
exp
lained
what had happened,
laid her thi
ngs on the nightstand and peered
down at the jar that contained the bullet.
“May I?” she asked her blue
-green eyes meeting Lucan’s, for
the first time.
He
nodded,
unable to believe that now in the
midsts
of such tragedy he found the one woman he looked for his whole life.
H
is palms began to sweat
and his heart raced so fast he feared he was having a heart attack.
He couldn’t look away, he wanted to take in everything about her and keep it in his memory forever.
“Mandrake,
” she announced
wrinkling her
nose
in disgust
.
“Wha
t
?” Lucan answered dumbly.
“Mandrake, it
is
toxic to our kind.” She lifted the bul
let out of the jar and
nestled it in the palm of her hand
ignoring the burn to her skin
.
“Silver now that’s interesting.”
“Should you be touch
ing that thing
?” h
e asked
concerned she too might
become infected with its poison.