Mercy (Tails Book 2)

by R. E. Butler

  Hard fingers gripped his chin and lifted his face. Barron could only see out of one eye, dizziness making his vision blurry, but he saw George grinning around a mouthful of sharp teeth, his eyes golden and full of menace.

  “We’ll be sure to let the female know how you failed to protect her. It’ll be fun to make her beg for her life. When we’re done with her, she won’t want to see you or any other lion again, you can be sure of that.”

  Barron wasn’t about to lose his mate or see a hair on her head harmed. Her safety was paramount to him.

  He went limp for a moment, dropping his head to his chest and exhaling as if he’d just passed out. The males snickered, and Barron could see Lenn and Jake were both getting off the floor. He was about to face five-on-one again, but he’d die before he let them get anywhere near Mercy.

  Dialing into his cat, he pushed himself to shift as fast as he ever had. As his clothes tore and his body changed, he swung out his clawed hands, connecting with flesh and bone. He roared, launching himself at Jake and Lenn and smiling inwardly as their bodies smashed to the floor under his weight. He lowered his head and roared in Jake’s face. He was aware of two males rushing into the hall, and he looked up to see Hemi and Titus.

  “The fuck?” Titus shouted.

  Hemi didn’t wait for an explanation, but waded into the melee, sending the males scattering as he advanced.

  Barron sank his claws into the chests of the two males under him, sitting on his haunches and keeping them right where he wanted them.

  “Get him off us!” Jake shouted. “He’s gone nuts.”

  Titus lifted his phone and said, “Did you forget about the security cameras, you asshole? And I live here! Did you think you could attack someone here without me hearing?”

  Hemi punched George in the face and dropped the male to the ground, then grasped Jimmy by the throat and lifted him high against the wall. “What the fuck are you doing to Barron?”

  “He attacked us!” Jimmy shouted, trying to pry Hemi’s hand from his throat.

  “Try again,” Titus said. “And in case I forgot to mention it, Duke’s on his way and knows everything. I saw the video of you five coming at Barron.”

  “Let me go and I’ll tell,” Liam said.

  “Shut up!” Lenn growled.

  Barron leaned against the male, making his face turn red as the pressure on his chest increased. He stopped struggling and went still, and Barron narrowed his eyes and let out a snort before leaning back again.

  “You’re not going anywhere but to the cages,” Titus said. “But you will tell me what you’re doing, or you’ll go there unconscious.”

  Barron heard the front door open. Titus looked at his phone. “That’s Duke. Now you have to face the alpha.”

  “He’s not our alpha,” George said from where he sat against the wall, cradling his head.

  “Asshole,” Hemi said, smashing his knee into the male’s face. His head cracked against the wall and he fell to the floor. “Fuck, I always hated him.”

  “I’ll go talk to Duke; you guys got this?” Titus asked.

  “No problem,” Hemi said.

  Barron looked at Hemi and nodded, thankful the male was standing by him. He didn’t know why Hemi had felt the need to come back to the bar after he’d left for the night, but he was damn grateful. He needed to know that Mercy was safe, and the males hadn’t sent someone to harm her. Just the thought of her in danger made his lion furious, and he leaned into the males below him once more, shifting the weight to his paws and digging his claws deeper into their flesh.

  “Barron?”

  His head snapped up when Mercy’s voice broke through the lethal haze that shrouded him. She was standing at the end of the hall, her face tear-stained and her eyes wide.

  She was safe. That’s all he needed to know.

  Chapter Eight

  “Who’s calling?” Duke asked as his phone buzzed in the cup holder.

  “Hold on,” Ree said. She picked up the phone. “It’s Titus.”

  “Put it on speaker.”

  “Hey man, we’ve got some trouble here,” Titus said.

  “I’m a few minutes away.”

  “You are?”

  “Yeah, Mercy said she had a bad feeling about Barron. I wasn’t about to let her come alone. Ree’s with us, too.”

  “Well shit, you’ve got good timing. Barron was attacked by Lenn, along with Jake and his band.” There was a roar in the background and Mercy winced.

  “Is Barron okay?” Mercy asked loudly.

  “Yeah, he’s in his shift. I was taking a shower after the bar was closed and when I turned off the water, I heard fighting. Hemi’s here, too. We’ve got it all under control.”

  “We’ll be there in a few,” Duke said.

  The call ended, and Duke pressed on the accelerator, swinging into the parking lot a few minutes later. The door opened as Mercy got out of the backseat, and Titus waved at them.

  “Come on, Mercy. He’s in the hallway.”

  She brushed at the tears on her cheeks as she followed him through the bar. “He’s okay? He’s not hurt?”

  “He was hurt, but the shift will heal a lot of the damage.”

  “I’m glad you were here,” she said.

  He stopped at the entrance to the hall. “I’m glad I was here, too.”

  She stepped into the hall and inhaled sharply at the scene. A huge guy was standing over three guys on the ground; one was unconscious with a clearly broken nose, and the other two were pretty beaten up but sitting upright and conscious. There were dents and gouges in the walls, and blood spatter. And in the middle of the hall was an enormous lion sitting on two guys.

  “Barron?” she asked, locking her gaze on the lion.

  His big claws flexed and the guys under him gasped in pain, and then he stepped off them and padded to her.

  She’d been crying since she’d gotten in the car, but now that she saw he was actually okay, she bawled, the tears flowing hot and fast over her cheeks. He put a paw on her back and pulled her against him, and she buried her face in his soft mane and sagged in his hold.

  Duke appeared, looking into the hall with his brows high. “Anyone need Doc?”

  The still-conscious men muttered they needed assistance, and Duke snarled. “I wasn’t talking to you, assholes.”

  “Titus said Barron was hurt,” Mercy said.

  “If he needs Doc after he shifts back in a few hours, I’ll call him.”

  “I’m fine, and I’m Hemi by the way,” the other guy said.

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Mercy.”

  “You and Barron can wait in my apartment until he can change back,” Duke said.

  “Thank you.”

  “Hemi, you good to keep an eye on these assholes? I’ve called the protectors to come secure them and take them to the cages.”

  Hemi folded his arms over his massive chest, his muscles flexing as his eyes turned gold. “I’m good.”

  Mercy barely held in a snort of agreement. Barron was a big guy, stacked with lickable muscles and strong from head to toe, but Hemi was built like a tank. Although the injured guys were also muscular in their own way, she didn’t think Hemi would have any trouble keeping them in line.

  Mercy used the corner of her shirt to dry her eyes as they walked through the bar.

  “Everyone okay?” Ree asked. She twisted on the bar stool and stood, joining them.

  “Yeah,” Mercy said. “Thanks for coming with us.”

  “That’s what sisters are for.”

  “And future alpha females,” Duke said, leading the way with Ree to the apartment.

  There were two apartments and two offices on the second floor of the bar, which had a balcony that overlooked the dance floor. The rooms were accessible through a security-locked door and a staircase. Duke and Titus lived in the apartments, but now that he and Ree were going to become the pride alphas, they were going to take over the home where Duke’s parents lived, because it was the
official home of the resident alphas.

  Duke unlocked the front door of his apartment and let them in. “I’ll make coffee and we can hang out until Barron can shift back.”

  “Thank you,” Mercy said. She dropped onto the couch and Barron sat on his haunches in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his furry neck and waited to be able to talk to him.

  * * *

  Several hours later, Barron nudged Mercy’s knee and she followed him into a bedroom. His body morphed from lion to human, and he hugged her tightly.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, stroking her cheek and brushing the tears away.

  “I’m not the one who was ambushed.”

  He smirked but then looked serious. “They threatened you. I was worried they’d sent someone else after you.”

  “I’m fine. I woke up worried and then you didn’t answer your phone. Duke insisted on coming. And Ree.”

  “I’m glad you weren’t alone.”

  Mercy touched the bruise around Barron’s eye. It looked old, as if it had been healing for days and not merely hours. He was covered in healing cuts and bruises. He gave her a kiss, and then grabbed the clothes off the bed that Duke had placed there for him and got dressed.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said, gruffly. “I was fucking worried.”

  “Me, too.”

  “You really woke up thinking about me?”

  She nodded. “I couldn’t sleep, and the longer I was up, the more worried I got. It was a strange feeling.” She rubbed the space over her heart, thinking about how it had ached. “Ree said I could feel your emotions some because we’re heart-mates.”

  “I agree. I was worried out of my mind for you. I kept thinking that if they took me out, you’d be vulnerable. It’s why I shifted. I needed to be at my best.”

  He walked over to her and she hugged him, snuggling in close and resting her head on his chest to hear the steady beat of his heart. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I just got you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “I feel the same, sweetheart. You’re my everything.”

  “I wanna go home,” she said.

  “Me, too. But we need to talk to the alphas.”

  She tilted her head up. “Then home?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Barron and Mercy joined Duke and Ree in the family room, along with Duke’s father and several older men Mercy didn’t know. While she’d been waiting for Barron to be able to change back, the protectors had been to the bar and picked up the five males, delivering them to the cages. The pride doctor was on hand to tend their wounds.

  Mercy was chilled to the bone, not because it was particularly cold in the apartment but because of how close she felt like she’d come to losing Barron. She’d seen the five guys who had come after him, and she recognized one of the guys as the rank right under Duke, so the number three in the whole pride. Barron had held his own and she was so proud of him. She reminded her spinning brain that the most important man in her life was safe and sitting next to her. She could put the fear to rest, because he’d proven he could take care of himself.

  “I’m okay, sweetheart,” he murmured, putting an arm around her.

  “Gah, I don’t want to cry anymore,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “I know you are. My brain’s just trying to catch up to reality.”

  “It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

  Duke cleared his throat and Mercy looked at him as Barron straightened slightly. Duke introduced the men as the elders. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

  “Of course,” Barron said. He explained in detail how he’d spoken to Titus about Lenn’s family taking issue with humans becoming pride members, and then he’d headed down to the bar to leave. The back door had been locked, which he suspected was supposed to have kept him contained. “They told me to get rid of Mercy and to make sure she took Ree with her. They promised if I didn’t make her leave, that they’d do it for me.”

  Even ridiculously outnumbered, Barron had been the victor, shifting to give himself an advantage.

  “Then Hemi and Titus showed up, but Lenn and Jake were already out of commission. Hemi took care of the three males from Jake’s band.”

  There was silence in the room and then Duke rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. “I’m so damn pissed. I’m mostly sorry that you had to go through this, Barron.” He dropped his hands and took one of Ree’s, bringing it to his lips for a quick kiss. “The pride meeting seemed to go so well. I didn’t hear any disgruntled chatter that night, no one stalking away because they were angry. I kind of expected a little pushback about the changing laws, but I figured we might lose a family or two and that would be it.”

  “You couldn’t have predicted this,” Ree said. “Hell, Lenn came to the apartment for lunch yesterday. He was nothing but nice.”

  “He’s clearly a good actor,” Duke said.

  “And smart,” Barron added.

  “Smart how? You kicked his ass,” Mercy said.

  Barron chuckled. “Yeah, but I’m lower ranked than him and he had four guys backing him up. He couldn’t go after Duke because it would be suicide. Byron would string him up for it. All the protectors would support both Byron and Duke as the next in line. So he picked me.”

  “Why?” Mercy asked.

  “I guess we can find out when we talk to them, but if I could hazard a guess it’s that they assumed I’d choose your safety over my own happiness, which I would in a damn heartbeat. They threatened you, and they must have assumed I’d be the sort of male who wouldn’t fight for you but would hustle you out of my life for your own protection.”

  “I wouldn’t have let you do that,” Mercy said.

  “Stubborn, perfect female,” Barron said, his eyes glowing with happiness, pinpricks of gold appearing in the chocolate-brown irises.

  Mercy looked at Duke. “So what happens now?”

  He leaned back in the couch and sighed. “We’ve got everyone’s statements now. We’re going to discuss things here and then go to the cages and hear the sides of the males in question.”

  “They don’t have a side,” Ree said, her upper lip curling like she was baring fangs.

  “Well, maybe not a decent, moral side, but they made the choices they did because they felt strongly against the changes to the pride. They felt justified so it’s important we hear them out. And then I’ll kick their asses out of the pride.”

  “What if they come back?” Mercy asked.

  “Not a chance,” Duke said. “Trust me. When a lion leaves the pride, they’ve got a death wish if they step foot anywhere near the territory again. Not that the bar is in the territory, but it’s protected ground all the same.”

  “As long as we’re all going to be safe,” Mercy said. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder because a few assholes don’t like my biological makeup.”

  “Me, too,” Ree said.

  There was a knock at the door, and it swung open. Barron rose to his feet in surprise. “Grandpa?”

  “Hey, kid,” Donnie said, striding in and giving both him and Mercy a hug. “You two okay?”

  “Yeah,” Barron said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Julius called me,” Donnie said as he took a seat on the couch. He explained to Mercy and Ree that Julius was one of the pride elders. “I told him I had something to add to the details and he invited me to come along.”

  Once Donnie had finished telling what he knew, Ree and Mercy went to the kitchen and made another pot of coffee. While she was looking through the cupboards, Ree turned to face her sister.

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Of course. Barron’s safe. The pride is handling things. I’m good.”

  Ree smiled. “Duke was so worried about me leaving him after he heard some of the gossip about people in the pride not liking humans.”

  “Why would he think you’d leave him?”

  “General male insec
urity?” She laughed lightly. “I think he worried it would be too much for me. Shifters seem to be able to handle stress well, and he’s seen some humans freak out over one thing or another over the years and thought I might declare it all just too much trouble. But I’m crazy about him, and like hell I’d let any asshole, human-hating lions tell me I can’t be with my heart-match.”

  “I feel the same way.”

  Ree pulled a bag of cookies from the cupboard. “I stashed these here the other night. Duke’s not a sweets guy, so he didn’t have anything for me to snack on when we stayed here.”

  “The horror!” Mercy said with a chuckle.

  “I know, right? I can be magnanimous and share. Let’s go.”

  They carried coffee and a platter of cookies out to the coffee table and took their seats with their mates. As Mercy sat by Barron’s side, she noticed that Titus and Hemi had joined them. There was tension in the air, but no one looked at her or Ree as if they were the source. They were all clearly angry for the attack on Barron and the reason behind it. She was grateful they were standing by her mate.

  She leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes for a brief moment, thankful his injuries were healing, and he was with her. He’d fought for her, for their relationship. She’d tell him later how much she loved that.

  And loved him.

  Chapter Nine

  Barron woke slowly, swimming up from the fog of a deep sleep to find Mercy snuggled against his side, smelling like love and sweet dreams. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and stared at the ceiling, which was lit in patches from the morning sunlight coming in through the cracks in the blinds. Turning his head, he found the clock on the nightstand, and arched his eyebrows at the fact it was after eleven. He hadn’t slept that late since he was a teenager. But he had a very good excuse. He and Mercy hadn’t gotten home from the bar until dawn, and even with the coffee they’d consumed, they’d both been yawning like crazy. Before he’d left the bar, he’d had very good intentions of showing his sweetheart how much she meant to him in a physical way, but he’d been too wracked with exhaustion by the time they’d climbed the stairs to the apartment to do anything but listen to the sweet call of the bed.