by Flynn, Donna
Alec sat on the chair Kirk had pulled close to her bed and lowered his head, looking defeated. He had been so worried about her after Amber hunted him down and told him Mercy had run off. When his phone rang and Lucan informed him he had better get to the house because Mercy had arrived with Kirk sporting cuts and bruises, that worry had turned to fear. He had raced to get to her, only to find Kirk at her side, offering the comfort he should have been giving. After seeing her with him, he became irrational and everything he said just seemed to come out wrong. He had to make her understand he cared only for her, but that he refused to turn his back on a friend he had known forever just to make her happy. “Look, I know this all new to you, but you have to put away your jealousy and try to get along with Amber. Our parents have been friends for a long time and I won’t ignore her because you’re feeling insecure. I don’t know what would make you run off like you did, but she was very upset and afraid you might be hurt or worse dead.”
“I assure you, she wished that was the case,” she mumbled.
“You are being too hard on her. I know she can be a lot to take, but I thought she would be a good role model for you. Amber is smart, the daughter of an Alpha, and she could teach you so much about pack life if you gave her a chance. She could show you how to embrace being a wolf and how to be a good mate.” His voice softened as tears formed in her eyes and he held his hand out but she ignored his offer clenching the sheets instead.
“What you’re saying is that I am not good enough for you the way I am. That I should use her to get better at being the mate you expect me to be.”
He brushed a tear from her cheek, but she flinched from his touch then looked away from him, upset once again he put Amber before her.
“I did not say that! I care for you and I wanted to make things easier. Because of your fears you are going to have a harder time than others adjusting to pack life, I understand that.”
“Yeah, Amber already explained that I am a failure and a disappointment to you,” she told him, angry he did not see that Amber was the one manipulating everything to cause trouble between them.
“She’s concerned you won’t be able to live within the pack and she knows that would make my life more difficult. Believe it or not what you think are her attempts to woo me are really her attempts to make sure I am happy. That is what being a good friend is about.”
She could not believe he was defending the girl who had just humiliated her and left her alone with a wolf who could have easily killed her. Nothing could have been more aggravating, but Amber had covered her tracks neatly, so if she told him it was Amber who had hurt her, it would drive a wedge between them that might not be fixable. “You know what, we are never going to agree on Amber’s intentions, but let me warn you that I am not going to listen to anymore of her crap, so either you tell her to back off or I will.”
“What the hell happened after I left?” he asked astonished by the bitterness in her tone.
She looked away from him fighting the tears that threatened to fall. “Don’t worry about it, Alec, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Alright! I get it you don’t like Amber, and I won’t force you to spend time with her anymore, but don’t ask me not to see her. It would be wrong to ignore someone who has so much history with me.”
“You do whatever helps you sleep at night,” she muttered unhappily. “I’m sorry I’m such a huge disappointment to you, I really am.”
He sighed and grabbed her good hand. “Look, your parents’ deaths have left you terrified of wolves, I get that, we all get it, but if you can’t get past your fears, how will you learn to live among us?”
Tired of arguing, she just let go and answered the way she actually felt. “I don’t know Alec. Maybe I won’t be able to live in a pack, maybe I will have to learn to deal with being a werewolf on my own.”
He saw the defeat in her eyes and realized she was serious, and that terrified him more than anything she could have said. If she could not adjust, he did not know what that would mean for their future. “What are you saying?” he asked, his voice choked with emotion.
“I’m saying I will try this whole pack thing, but if I can’t do this…” She swallowed and forced herself to go on. “If I can’t be part of the pack, then there is no future for us. I won’t drag you down with me.” Tears pricked her eyes once again, but she ignored them trying to remain in control.
“If you can’t do this I will step down from being my father’s heir so we can be together,” he promised, even though it was killing him to even consider it.
“If I let you do that what kind of mate would I be? If I can’t do this I will leave, you can move on with your life and find another who would be an asset to you,” she told him calmly despite the heartbreak the thought brought her.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way. If you leave me I will be alone forever.”
He stared down on her looking more vulnerable than she had ever seen him before and her heart ached. “I’m not saying I won’t be able to adjust, but I need you to understand there is a chance I won’t. The pressure to be what you want is too much, it’s making me crazy.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” he said grabbing her hand and placing it on his racing heart. “You are mine, my mate; if I can’t have you then there will be no one else for me.”
“I don’t understand what that means, Alec. I’m trying to, but I’m not there yet,” she whispered. She knew she loved him but was that love enough. Could she commit to him for the rest of her life and know she would never want another? The resounding answer was yes.
“No you don’t, but we are going to work on that,” he told her, sitting on the bed next to her hugging her close. “I love you, Mercy. I will have a talk with Amber to make sure she understands that if it will make you feel better, but I can assure you that only you can make me feel the way I do.” He leaned in and brushed her lips with his own. “Believe me when I say I would never want another, you are everything I need.”
It was a relief to hear him reassure her, but she knew that no matter what he believed, Amber was not going to end her pursuit of him. She had the feeling she was used to getting what she wanted no matter who she hurt to get it. It was clear Alec had no idea how devious she truly was, but for the moment she was happy just be in his arms, alone, without Amber around to cause trouble. She snuggled against him, relishing his body’s warmth and he leaned down to kiss her carefully, afraid to hurt her.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear trailing kisses down her neck to her shoulder as he lifted himself over her pressing her down on the bed. She ran her hands over his back and he moaned loudly. Their kiss changed to something more than just a playful exchange then. It became hot and out of control, both of them too lost in each other to care about what was right and wrong. His hand worked up her shirt over her belly and she sighed anticipating his touch when his phone rang startling them both back to reality. He pulled his hand back, grabbed his phone, and looked at the caller ID with a curse before answering.
“Alec, where are you! I’m standing here at the school waiting to go home and Daddy is in a meeting, so he can’t come and get me,” Amber cried before he got the chance to say hello.
“I’m sorry I forgot about you, but I’ll come and get you right now.” He looked to Mercy who was now frowning and covered the phone with his hand. “It’s Amber, she doesn’t have a ride from school and her dad is in a meeting. I need to go and get her.”
Her first reaction was outrage that he would once again leave her for Amber, but then a brilliant idea struck. “Give me a minute, I think I have the answer.” She grabbed her phone from the nightstand dialed quickly then placed her cell to her ear, smiling when she heard her friend's voice. “Hey Gina are you still at the school? Great, could you give Amber a lift home for me?”
“Are you serious? I want to strangle her, not spend time with that two-faced con artist. She made a big deal about Alec abandoning her after he
realized you were gone and he took off to find you. You should have seen the act she put on, crying about how you just flew off the handle and stormed off, leaving her to incur Alec’s wrath.”
“Well, Alec is here with me right now, and I would hate for him to have to leave when we are trying to work things out between us.” She smiled and ran her hand down his chest as he held his phone to his ear, listening to Amber prattle on about how he left her alone. He leaned close and kissed her, rolling his eyes when Amber resorted to crying on the other end.
“In that case I will meet her outside in ten, and don’t worry I will be sure to let her know how important it was for him to be at your side,” Gina told her, giggling gleefully.
“You’re such a good friend Gina, I owe you one.” Mercy leaned closer to Alec, playfully biting his bottom lip as he frowned at something Amber said on the other line.
“Nah, this one’s for free, it’s going to be fun tormenting her. I’ll stop by later so we can talk about it. Besides I want to know what really happened between the two of you.”
“That’s great,” Mercy said referring to the way Alec was nibbling her ear, not what Gina said.
Amber got louder and he pulled the phone back from his ear, looking irritated. “Calm down, Gina is still at the school, she will give a lift home.” That was met with another temper tantrum that he listened to with growing irritation before cutting her off. “Look, I know you don’t know Gina that well, but she’s a good friend of Mercy’s and mine, she will get you home safe.” She made another comment about how he was abandoning her, pleading for him to come get her. “I’m sorry, but I’m with Mercy right now. She is hurt and needs me. I won’t leave her.”
Mercy heard Amber sniffle, then begin to cry harder, and rolled her eyes thinking the girl really needed to get an acting career. She decided that the best course of action was to make him hang up immediately.
“I know,” he murmured to Amber, losing focus as Mercy pressed her lips to his. “Hmm… we will talk about it later,” he said his voice rough, filled with desire as Mercy moved over on top of him. “Whatever you say,” he groaned. He hit the end button and tossed it across the room then flipped them so he was over her, teasing her as she had been him. “We’re good, right?” he asked as he nuzzled her neck softly.
“Yeah,” she moaned as her hands moved over his chest.
“You make me so crazy for you,” he whispered. “But we can’t do this,” he said, his breathing heavy and labored. “Your brothers trust me. I can’t ruin that, besides Lucan is coming.” Lucan had begun to wonder what was keeping them and Alec knew he was coming up the stairs as they spoke. She looked up at him through hazy, desire-filled eyes and it took all he had not to barricade the door and let the chips fall where they may, but he didn’t want to start a war with her brothers.
A sudden knock on the door alerted them Lucan was there and she laughed shoving him off the bed just as the door opened. Alec jumped up quickly then sat in the chair as Lucan approached looking between them warily.
“Is everything alright now?” he asked tentatively.
“Fine, everything is just fine,” Mercy assured him, noting the way his eyes darkened as he looked at the covers that were strewn haphazardly on the bed. “In fact, I’m hungry, I missed lunch,” she said hoping to distract him.
“Why don’t you come down to the kitchen then, and I’ll fix you something, besides Kirk wants to be sure you’re alright before he heads home.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I forgot he was still here.” She kicked off the covers and got out of bed noting Alec clenching his fist. “Kirk took really good care of me today so instead of being angry, you should be thanking him,” she told him, taking his hand in her own, her eyes pleading with him to understand.
“I suppose you are right,” he said, rising from the chair and wrapping his arm around her, pulling her close.
“Thank you,” she whispered as they followed Lucan down the stairs and into the kitchen where Kirk, Gregory, Rich, and Nina sat waiting for them.
Kirk looked at them and smiled thinly. “I’m glad you worked it all out.”
Mercy pulled away from Alec and walked to his side leaning down to hug him. “Thank you. You really are a good friend.”
Alec growled, pulled her back against him, and the room grew quiet, but everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he stuck out his hand towards Kirk, an offer of apology both men understood. “I too owe you. Thanks for taking care of her when I couldn’t.”
Kirk shook his hand and looked at Mercy with a sad smile. “She’s my friend, I could do nothing else, but I have to say I would never let another female get between my mate and me the way you have.”
“What are you talking about?’ Alec asked letting go of his hand and taking a seat, pulling Mercy down onto his lap.
“Lucan told me about Amber’s car trouble this morning, we went and had a look, but guess what?” Alec looked confused but Mercy smiled, already knowing the answer. “Car started just fine, in fact it purred like a kitten.”
Mercy did not say I told you so, she did not need to the look of disbelief on his face said it all. The gentle stroking of his finger along her back stopped and he looked to Lucan, who nodded in agreement.
“Maybe the battery was cold this morning,” Alec said, trying to defend the girl, he had known for so long.
Kirk shook his head in disbelief and opened his mouth to tell Alec what an ass he was when Mercy looked at him, her eyes pleading with him not to say anything that would cause a fight. He did not agree, but knew the story was hers to tell so he let it go. “Take care of yourself and call if you ever need to talk. I promise I will always listen without judging you.” He hugged his sister then and left.
“I’ll listen and won’t judge,” Alec mimicked, his arm tightening possessively around Mercy’s waist.
“Son, he’s just trying to help,” Gregory reminded him.
“Trying to help himself to Mercy,” he sneered, but noticed the hurt in Nina’s eyes and forced himself to calm down before he said something that would be unforgivable to Kirk’s sister. “I’m sorry, Nina, I didn’t mean to be petty.”
“Jealous mates are never fun to be around,” she told him, smiling softly when Lucan pulled her close, brushing a kiss across her cheek.
“No, they are not,” he replied, his gaze meeting Mercy’s. She looked sad and he began to wonder if maybe she did see something in Amber he did not, but still it was hard for him to believe the girl he had grown up with could be so conniving.
“What exactly happened with you and Amber today?” he asked, ready to seriously listen to her. Her expression hardened, and he knew without a doubt whatever happened she was not going to tell him anything. It was very telling that she did not trust him with the truth and although he understood her reluctance, he was aggravated that he had let her believe that anyone was more important than she was. “Mercy,” he urged, turning her to face him.
“We had a disagreement and then the wolf came, after that I don’t remember anything else.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, she had blacked out so she didn’t know anything that happened until she woke, but she seemed to remember someone talking to her before she had completely come to.
“What did you argue about?” he asked, lifting her chin so she looked directly at him.
“You are not going to believe me no matter what I say, so let it go,” she said jumping off his lap and turning to Lucan, who pulled her close, hugging her against him protectively.
“I suppose I have not given you any reason to think I would take your word over hers, but you are my future, not Amber. If you tell me she did anything to hurt you, I will make her pay regardless of how long she has been my friend.” He pulled her from Lucan and back into his arms. “You are my mate, no matter what I am on your side, do not ever forget that.” He leaned down, kissed her, overwhelming her with its intensity, then he released her and turned to Rich who had watched it all with a grin.
Luc
an placed his hand on her back to stop her from falling over, and Nina smiled knowingly.
“We need to talk about this black wolf, he seems to want Mercy and is willing to do anything to get her,” Alec said to his longtime friend who nodded, following him outside leaving a stunned Mercy in her brother’s care.
“Mercy, are you sure there is nothing you want to tell Alec?” Lucan asked worriedly.
She shook her head no. Alec had given her the chance to tell him what Amber had done, offered to take her side no matter what, and she didn’t take it. She just couldn’t hurt him by telling him how Amber had betrayed the trust he had in her. It would have been selfish and in the end would have accomplished nothing. No, she had a better idea how to handle Amber, but she needed a little help before she would be ready and she knew just who to ask.
Chapter Eleven
Mercy got ready for school the next day with mixed emotions. As always, she couldn’t wait to see Alec, but she dreaded seeing Amber who she knew would act superior now that she had gotten away with her little stunt from the day before. Of course, now that she had come up with a plan to fix what was wrong in her life she hoped Amber wouldn’t be a problem for too much longer.
“Mercy, you are going to be late,” Cade called out as he passed her door.
“I’m coming,” she hollered, checking one more time to be sure her makeup covered what little bruising had been left on her face when she had woken up. She grabbed her bags and ran down the stairs to the kitchen.
Alec was waiting for her. He took her bags, then pulled out her chair waiting for her to settle before sitting next to her as Lucan placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her. “Good morning,” Alec said, capturing her hand and bringing it to his lips.
