Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (18 page)

*****

“I’m
sorry about that day Alaric found us, I shouldn’t have pushed you into that
situation,” Mercy said as they walked hand in hand through the woods on their
way to her home.

Alec
stopped walking and pulled her into his arms. “You have nothing to apologize
for.”

“You
would have known Alaric was coming if I had not distracted you,” she told him,
her face pressed to his bare chest, savoring the evergreen scent that clung to
him.

Alec
groaned and hugged her tight. “Angel, it’s going to happen when it is right and
apparently, once again, the time was not right. No one is to blame and I am
kind of glad I didn’t break the promise I made to your brothers.”

It
was Mercy’s turn to groan. “Ugh, I am so tired of hearing about that damn
promise. I can’t wait until this is all over and we can bond, so I never have
to hear about it again.”

Alec
smiled. “Well, at least until we have a daughter of our own and her mate comes
calling.” Mercy smacked him playfully and he lifted her over his shoulder,
running across the lawn to the back porch where the smell of dinner wafted
through the window.

*****

“It
is wonderful the way he treats her. It is as if she were the only thing in the
world that mattered to him,” Jaden said to her grandfather.

Alaric
smiled down on his granddaughter, sensing the loneliness inside of her. She had
given up so much for the her work with the Elders and he wondered if the time
had come to set her free to find her own way and maybe claim her own Bond Mate.
“They are indeed lucky,” he told her.

“I
can’t understand how the council thinks separating two of our kind so obviously
meant for one another would be beneficial,” she told him. “It seems
ridiculous.”

“Sometimes our laws do not take
everything into consideration. That is why the group of Elders was formed in
the first place. We were chosen from various packs to make decisions when the
lines of our laws are blurred.”

“Has this never happened before?” Jaden asked.
“You know, a Born Were finding her Bond Mate?”

“The last Born Were was killed because
her mate was not strong enough to protect her. That is why the Elders are
concerned. We cannot permit the same thing to happen again, she is too precious
to our kind. Born Weres always possess amazing powers and their offspring can
be some of the most powerful werewolves in our society.”

Jaden bit her lip. While she understood
their fears, she hated that such a loving couple might be separated because of
the circumstances of Mercy’s birth. Many times, she read the law about Born
Weres since meeting them, looking for any way out of it, but so far she had
found nothing to help them, but she wasn’t giving up.

“I need to check on my son, although I
doubt he will speak to me, but I know what he must be going through and maybe I
can offer some assistance,” Alaric told her.

“I’m going to hang out here for awhile.
I’ll see you at the hotel later,” Jaden said distractedly.

Alaric kissed her head and walked away
leaving her alone, knowing when she was upset she preferred to be that way.

*****

Mason
who had been watching her and her grandfather from a nearby tree swung down and
walked toward Jaden, clapping his hands as he approached her. “You’re good. I
almost believed you felt bad for your part in tearing apart Alec and Mercy.”

Jaden
scowled at him. “I do feel bad, and I am trying to fix it.”

“Yeah,
I don’t really believe that any more than I believe aliens exist and that
bigfoot roams the forest.”

He
leaned against a nearby tree and crossed his ankles staring at her with
distrust, and she blanched. “You don’t know me so don’t judge me.”

“They
have been through so much to be together and because of you they might never
get bonded and live as they were meant to. I hope you are satisfied,” he
sneered. Her face paled and for a brief moment, she looked extremely
vulnerable, but she covered it quickly and hardened her expression, glaring at
him with rage-filled eyes.

“I
have been working night and day to find a way past this law, I have read it a
million times and asked everyone I know if they are aware of any way to stop
this, but so far no one knows anything,” she screamed at him, poking him in his
chest. “You don’t know me, so don’t presume to tell me what I have been doing.
I didn’t know them or anyone else here until recently, but I can see they are
meant to be together and I am trying to help now.” 

Mason
looked down at her flushed cheeks and heaving chest with a thin smile. She seemed
concerned for Alec and Mercy, but he wasn’t buying it. She had to have some
hidden agenda. What it was he had yet to find out, but he would.  For Mercy, he
would find out all of the black-haired female’s secrets and then he would
destroy her. 

Jaden
stared at his bare, rock-hard chest and felt her cheeks warm. He was simply too
much for her.  Guys like him with all his muscles and long silky hair, with his
beautiful almost black eyes, just didn’t exist outside of magazines, but there
he was in the flesh, literally, and she could tell by his cold gaze he would
like nothing better than to choke her. “I think I had better go now,” she said,
sounding more nervous than she wanted to.

Mason
flicked his fingers towards the woods. “Go ahead, run away,” he leaned close,
his warm breath feathering her cheek. “But know this. I will be watching you
and if you hurt my friends again I will think nothing about ringing your pretty
little neck with my own two hands.”

“You
can’t threaten me, I am a representative of the Elders,” she told him
straightening her shoulders and meeting his icy gaze. “You could be killed for
threatening me.”

“It
wasn’t a threat, I was dead serious,” he told her before turning and walking
back into the trees.

“Oh
yeah…well, I’m not afraid of you,” she screamed hearing only the distant sound
of his chuckle for an answer. “Jack ass,” she bellowed, but he either didn’t
hear her or wasn’t responding to her taunt.  Deciding she had enough for one
day she took off through the woods, shifting to her wolf form and running off
her anger before heading to her car and taking off for the hotel.

Mason
watched as she shifted, flowing seamlessly into her wolf before ripping through
the forest to work off her frustrations and knew he had won that round.

“Back
off of her,” Wren said behind him.

Mason
turned and stared at her male lackey with a slow smile. “Or what? You’ll kill
me?”

Wren
grinned, not intimidated in the least by the male Were before him. He might be
bigger, but Wren had more experience fighting and more of a reason to win.
Jaden was his and even though he wasn’t willing to claim her as his Bond Mate,
he wasn’t going to let anyone threaten her.

*****

Alec
and Mercy sat on the front porch after dinner, rocking in the swing while
holding hands and enjoying a quiet moment alone. That was until his cell phone
rang for the hundredth time of the night. He ignored the ringing, but Mercy
reached over and took the phone from the holster on his hip and answered it
knowing it would be his father who been relentlessly calling throughout the
day.

“Hello,”
Mercy said, dreading the conversation to come. Alec was no closer to forgiving
his father than he had been earlier in the day and she didn’t want to hurt Gregory
by telling him that.

“Is
he there?” Gregory asked, sounding worn.

“He’s
fine, Gregory.” She looked to Alec who stared off into the distance trying to
ignore her conversation with his father.

“I
know he’s not ready to talk, just wanted to be sure he got back home and was
safe.”

“He’s
going to spend the night here. Lucan offered him the pull-out sofa in the
library.” It was a bone of contention with her, since they had a perfectly good
spare bedroom, but Lucan insisted they be on separate floors and Alec had
quickly agreed. ending her argument. “Are you alright?” She knew he was alone
because Marlo’s presence amongst them with the Elders and other Alphas could
cause a war he didn’t want with them.

“Will
you tell him…” he took a ragged breath, “tell him I’m sorry, and that I will
wait until he is ready to deal with this.”

Mercy
looked to Alec, reached over and took his hand in her own. “I will, Gregory. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,”
he said softly.

Mercy
hung up and handed Alec the phone. “He said he’s sorry, and that he will wait
until you’re ready to talk.” She laid her head on his shoulder and said nothing
more. She had said her piece earlier in the day now the ball was in his court. 
She wouldn’t push him, just like he didn’t push her when she needed time to
accept the lies she had been told.

“He
used to show me pictures of my mother with her parents and I never questioned
why he didn’t show me pictures of his own family. I always assumed it was
because by the time he had showed me pictures of my mother he was to
emotionally drained to go on. I can remember that on nights I would ask to see
her pictures he would put me to bed early and spend the rest of night locked in
his room crying. My father, the strongest Alpha I know, would sob until there
was nothing left in him and then for days after he would walk around like a
zombie, so after awhile I stopped asking to see the pictures. It hurt him too
much, and I couldn’t stand to see him suffer.” He sighed, and pulled her closer
to him. “I love him, Mercy, how could I not, he sacrificed so much for me, but
I’m not ready to talk to him. I’m afraid I will say something I can’t take back
and I don’t want that to hang between us for the rest of our existence.”

“He
gets that, Alec. Take your time, and think about all the reasons why he didn’t
tell you about your grandfather. Maybe then you will feel differently.”

The
sound of someone clearing their throat gained their attention and they walked
to the stairs where Alaric stood, looking oddly uncomfortable. “Alec, we need
to talk,” he said.

Alec’s
body tensed and Mercy wrapped her arm around his waist. “He can give you the
answers you want,” she told him.

“Will
you be alright while I’m gone?” he asked.

“Yeah,
I think I will go to bed, I’m kind of tired.” She didn’t tell him that she
hadn’t slept a wink the two days he had been gone. Even though he had called
several times, she had still worried insanely about him the entire time he was
gone and now that he was back, she hoped she might be able get a little rest.   

Alec
noted the dark circles under her eyes and knew she was truly exhausted thanks
to his leaving so abruptly, and felt instantly guilty. “Get some rest, Angel. I
will see you in the morning.” He brushed her lips with his own and walked her
to the door. “Good night and sweet dreams.”

“Only
if they are about you,” she said as he closed the door between them.

“I
love you,” he said softly.

“Love
you more,” Mercy said, with a yawn.

“Get
to bed,” he growled before turning away and walking down the steps to where his
grandfather waited.

Alaric
looked the door and smiled. “She is a worthy mate for you.”

“She
is my life and I won’t let her go, no matter what you all decide,” Alec warned.

Alaric
realized that and he feared losing his grandson because of it. “I’m trying,
Alec, but some of the others are hard to convince.”

“Work
harder, because I’m not sure I won’t kill someone if I have to fight for her.
She’s mine and I won’t lose her.”

Alaric
looked to his grandson with worry, seeing how tense and worked up he was, which
was not a good thing. He needed to keep a level head if he wanted any chance at
keeping his mate by his side. “I will do my best.”

“Like
you did for my father?” he snarled.

“Boy,
you don’t know everything,” Alaric growled.

“Then
you had better explain.” Alec stalked to a picnic bench and sat, willing to
listen if it meant finding peace with his father.

Alaric
sighed and slowly walked to where he waited, dreading the conversation to come.

Chapter Eleven

“So
you knew that the rogues were becoming a threat, but the rest of the Elders
thought you were overreacting?” Alec asked his Grandfather.

Alaric
nodded. He had explained to his grandson what had happened in the past to make
his son hate him so much and Alec had listened calmly until he finished. Now,
though, there were questions to be answered, and although it dragged up a past-history
he would rather put to rest, he knew he had to answer all of his grandson’s
questions.