Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (22 page)

The
person behind her to ran into her and she mumbled an apology before walking forward
again, her eyes glued to the man whose scarred face revealed to her exactly who
he was. He hurriedly reached for his hat and deposited back on his head before
turning to back to stare at her. She looked away immediately her hands shaking,
chancing a look back to Alec, who seemed to notice her sudden discomfort and
was looking uneasy. The last thing she needed was for him to break form and run
to her side so she mouthed that she was okay and took her seat on the stage. She
knew he didn’t believe her, though, and she felt his anxiousness to get the
graduation over with so he could be by her side once again.

As
the principal and others spoke she kept her eyes lowered twisting her hands in
her lap, nervously dreading the moment they would call her for her speech. As
valedictorian it was up to her to address the assembled students, faculty, and
family that had to celebrate their momentous moment, but all of the excitement
she had felt about her speech was now gone. In its place, she felt only terror
now that the man who had essentially killed her predecessor had appeared. Everyone
clapped as her name was called, and she stood, wiping her now moist hands down
the front of her gown, reminding herself she was surrounded by her pack and the
Elders’ guards and that she couldn’t be safer. She had worked too hard to let his
presence intimidate her so she squared her shoulders and strode towards the
podium with her head held high. As she approached the podium, the sound of her
classmates cheering for her made the moment all the more bittersweet and she
felt tears welling in her eyes. The principal shook her hand and moved away to
make room for her and she looked out upon the audience, relief flooding her
when she realized the man was gone.

Her
gaze met Cade’s, who screamed her name loudly and then Lucan’s, who looked as
proud as any father would of their child who had achieved so much and she
couldn’t help but smile as she started her speech. “Today I stand before you as
a classmate, a student, a daughter, and a young woman about to embark on the
strange and rocky road of adulthood. Outside the walls of this school is a world
that everyone here has done their best to prepare us to live in. Now, it is up
to us, the Class of two thousand and thirteen, to find our way in that world as
so many graduates before us have done.  Some of us will be going on to college,
others will join the workforce, or the military, and some will realize they
have no idea what they are going to do now that Mom and Dad are no longer fiscally
responsible for their well-being.” The crowd chuckled loudly. “But today, none
of that matters. Today we rule the world and tomorrow,” she paused and turned
to look at her Class, “well, tomorrow can take care of itself!”  The students went
crazy, cheering and clapping as they stamped their feet in unison. Mercy smiled
and walked back to her seat as the principal struggled to get them all to
settle again, a monumental job that took more than ten minutes to complete.
After a few more long-winded speeches, they were each handed their diplomas.
After the last student received theirs, they rose as one, moved their tassels
to the other side of their caps signifying they were now indeed graduates, and
then those hats flew and chaos reigned as they moved quickly from the stage to
find their families.  

Mercy
was looking around for Alec when she felt a cold malevolence seep into her
body. She turned and saw the woman from her dreams standing beside the man with
the scar, who was watching her once again. She was so fearful of his presence
that when Alec wrapped his arms around her from behind she cried out, turned,
and punched him in the gut, earning a surprised grunt from him. “Oh God, I’m
sorry,” she said clenching her fists to her sides.

Alec
chuckled, looking confused by her actions. “Remind me never to surprise you
again.”

Mercy
bit her lip and looked over her shoulder, but the man was gone so she turned
back to Alec who was now watching her warily.

“What’s
going on? I felt you upset earlier and now you’re a nervous wreck. What gives?”

Before
she could answer, her brothers appeared lifting her in their arms and hugging
her, telling her how proud they were. Gregory too was thrilled, he hugged his
son joking that he would never grow tired of watching him graduate and then
pulled Mercy into his arms and hugged her close. “I couldn’t be any prouder of
you if you were my own child. This isn’t the end for you, this is just the
beginning of wonderful new life.”

“Thank
you, Gregory, I know we have had our problems, but I am so glad I get to be
your daughter soon.” She hugged him and turned back to face Alec, whose brow
was creased as he watched her with concern. “Can we go now?” she said, wanting
to get home where she was safe. 

Alec
looked puzzled by her behavior, but nodded and pulled her against him as he
walked her to his car. She was quick to note her brothers became silent and his
father was walking very close to her other side, a sign he had communicated to
them there was a problem. Rich was already at the car with Gina, Jaden, and
Wren, standing by them all alert for trouble. Even Kirk and Lane were in the
parking lot with some of Kirk’s pack watching the area with a level of
alertness she had become so familiar with.

Alec
helped her into the car immediately and closed the door, speaking to Rich for a
few moments before nodding to Mason, who had pulled alongside of them on his
motorcycle prepared to follow them home. Lucan and Cade got into their respective
vehicles and they moved out of the parking lot one car in front of them, one
car behind and the others following.

Mercy
wrapped her arms around herself as Alec drove out of the parking lot and he
reached over taking her hand in his own. “What’s going on, and don’t bother
denying something is wrong?

“I’m
just nervous about meeting the elders tomorrow,” she lied. Alec had so much to
worry about he didn’t need anything else added to the mix and really what were
the chances of that man being the same one that killed the last Born Were? In
reality, he was far too old to fight for her and with all of the protection she
was surrounded by, there was no way he could get to her so her fears were
groundless.

“Angel,
it’s going to be alright, no matter what happens I will be the one who spends
the rest of his existence with you. You are my mate, my life, and I won’t let
another have you.”

“I
know, I’m just being stupid. Let’s go home and celebrate. I need to unwind and
forget about tomorrow.”

Alec
smiled widely. “Sounds like a good idea.”

*****

Later
that evening as she danced with Alec to a slow song the DJ played she realized
she had never given him the graduation gift she had brought for him. “I need to
get something from the house,” she murmured, untangling herself from his arms.

“Stay,”
Alec said grabbing her hand, unwilling to be parted from her even a brief
moment.

“I
have something I need to give you,” she said kissing him quickly. “It will only
take a second.” She pulled her hand free and ran for the porch with Alec in hot
pursuit, but before he could catch up, she ran up the stairs and into her room
to grab the package she had so lovingly wrapped before leaving that afternoon. She
looked down on the small square package with a smile knowing he was going to
love the gold Angel charm she had bought and placed on a length of leather for
him to wear around his neck.  She was turning to go when an unfamiliar male
stepped from behind the door, and grabbed her, placing his hand over her mouth
to keep her from screaming. She struggled in his arms, but she was no match for
his superior strength.

*****

“Mercy,
I swear one day I’m going to…” Alec walked through the door to find her room
empty. Quickly he strode to the bathroom and knocked on the door swinging it
open when she didn’t answer, but found it too was empty. A soft breeze floated
though the window and he turned stalking to the open window and looking out
finding nothing but a torn piece of cloth from the dress Mercy had worn for
Graduation. He growled loudly and raced down the stairs, flying past her
brothers and his father who took off after him as he ran towards the forest.

“Son,
what has happened?” Gregory yelled behind him.

“Mercy
is gone,” Alec growled, stopping at the tree outside of her window, seeking a
scent to guide him, but finding none. “Rogues,” he roared, his body quivering
as his wolf fought to get free and track its mate.

“It
could be a trap, son,” his father cautioned reading his thoughts.

Alec
growled and looked to his father with the eyes of a predator. “Get Mason, he
knows these woods better than anyone.”  

 Cade
left to get Mason and Gregory laid his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Son, I know
you’re worried, but think about it, they want her alive, they won’t harm her.
If we rush in there we might never find her, and someone might get killed in
the process.”

Alec
took a deep breath and forced himself calm, knowing his father was right. To
save Mercy, he had to think like the Alpha he was soon to be, and not the upset
male Were he was. The rogues were smart and were probably expecting him to rush
headlong into the forest after her, but what they didn’t know was that Alec had
Mason on his side. No one knew the forest better than him and since it was
Mercy’s life at stake, he trusted him implicitly. Mason had a soft spot for her
and he would never allow anyone to harm her.

Mason
and Cade ran around the house and stopped before him. “Mason, I am going to
need you to find Mercy; the men that have her are smart, they will have hidden
their scents and will be well trained to blend into the forest.”

“No
one can hide from me here. I know this forest like the back of my hand,” he
said, his eyes black as onyx as he spoke.

“Let’s
go then,” Alec said.

Mason
shook his head. “I can move faster on my own, I will come back for you when I
find her.”

Alec
wanted to protest, but he knew Mason was right. Mercy’s best chance lay with
Mason and him finding her before the rogues had a chance to get her out of the
forest. “Go then, I will wait for you here.”

Mason
shifted immediately and took off through the woods unable to catch a scent of
anyone until he came upon a briar bush that must have caught Mercy’s skin and
sliced her leaving behind the scent of her blood, which he used to follow their
path.

*****

Mercy’s
captor held her within his grasp as he ran through the thick forest, her head
dangling at his back as he went. Her ribs hurt so badly she was sure he had
broken a few of them when he tossed her over his shoulder and her head ached
from the blood that flowed to it in her upside-down position. She knew help
would be coming soon, since she had the foresight to slash her finger on a
briar bush and had been pressing the wound to leave blood drops behind them as
they went. She only hoped that Alec didn’t rush headlong after her. She had
seen many of the rogues in the forest as they moved through it and knew they
were lying in wait for him and anyone else foolish enough to follow. With their
ability to hide their scent they had the upper hand and they knew it.

    
Her captor came to an abrupt stop and tossed her on the ground before a young
male who glared at her, before looking up at the man who had kidnapped her and
clasping his hand. “Good work, my father will be pleased.”

The
man grinned and looked over the male’s shoulder to a woman dressed in a long
flowing skirt and a matching peasant blouse who eyed them warily. “Is she still
angry about this?”

“My
sister has never been onboard with this, but my father is Alpha, which makes
him the boss.” Dean wasn’t pleased about his father’s plan either and it must
have shown.

“Dean,
your father’s plan has merit, and soon with the Born Were part of our pack we
can rule everyone else.”

“Juliet
says my father’s plan is doomed to fail and I believe her, she has never been
wrong before, Ryan.”

“Your
sister is wrong, what she needs is a male to keep her in line.”

Dean
smiled and looked over his shoulder to his sister who was staring
sympathetically at Mercy. “I suppose you think that man should be you, right?”

“I
am third in the pack, after you, and she is too valuable to cast off to someone
lower in the pack,” he answered boastfully.

Dean
didn’t answer, but he knew the union was something his father was considering.
He only hoped that his father stepped down before that could happen. Ryan and
he had grown up together. He knew the male Were had some violent tendencies and
that his gentle sister would never survive a union with him.

Juliet
moved between the two men and knelt next to Mercy, checking her for injury
before helping her to her feet, disapproval for Ryan’s rough treatment of their
guest, shining in her eyes. “You could have been more careful,” she chastised
the giant before her.

“You
need to learn some respect, girl,” Ryan thundered, raising his hand in the air.