Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (6 page)

“O.M.G, it’s perfect,” Gina said,
clapping her hands.

Mercy stared at her reflection for a
long time, taking in the soft drape of the plunging neckline and the rhinestone
belt that hung loosely over her hips. The slit of the floor length skirt
revealed just enough leg to be enticing, but not enough to be slutty and the
back, when she turned around, dipped low, brushing just above the swell of her
rear end. The vibrant green color of the silk glistened like an emerald and was
the perfect foil for her oddly colored eyes and red hair. She knew immediately
that she had found “the” dress.

“Girl, Alec is going to die when he sees
you in that,” Gina said, staring at her in awe.

“It’s perfect,” Mercy said to the shopkeeper.
“I’ll take it.”

“I knew you would,” she said with a
smile. “I cannot see how any man could resist you in this dress. Now, I think
these would be the perfect accent.” She pulled a pair of thinly strapped
rhinestone heels from behind her and smiled. “My gift to you.”

“Oh I couldn’t,” Mercy said.

“Nonsense, all I ask is that you come
back the next time you need something special.”

She handed Mercy the shoes, which she
slid on at once and turned back to the mirror with a grin. “Alec is not going
to know what hit him.”

*****

By the time they left the shop, Mercy
had every accessory she needed for the prom and her excitement level was at an
all-time high.  She couldn’t stop smiling the entire drive home and when they
pulled up to the house to find Alec there pacing the porch she couldn’t contain
her joy.  She bounded out of the vehicle as it came to stop, and threw herself
into his arms.

“Hi, Angel,” he said, immediately kissing
her full lips, unable to deny himself the pleasure of holding her in his arms
and tasting her sweetness once again.  

Mercy hugged him close savoring the feel
of his arms around her, barely able to contain her happiness that he’d come
home early. “Hi,” she said when he finally released her from his spellbinding
embrace. “How come you’re home so early?”

Alec smiled and placed his arm around
her, waving to her brothers who were busy getting her bags out of the car. “I
couldn’t stand being away from you.”

“In other words, you were worried about
us going away from the house, and had to get home and make sure I was alright?”
she said with a grin. “Not that I mind.”

Alec shook his head at her teasing. “I
can’t help it if I am totally head over heels in love with you.”

Lucan walked by, rolling his eyes, his
hands filled with bags and Cade chortled behind him.

Mercy smiled at her brother’s antics,
knowing how much they liked to rib Alec about his feelings for her. “Wait until
you see what I got to wear to prom,” she said excitedly.

“Why do I have the feeling you are not
going to let me see until prom night?” he said, his fingers tapping against her
waist as they walked towards the house. She was already so beautiful that he
couldn’t imagine her looking any better than she already did, but she would
never believe him if he said it, so he kept his opinion to himself.

“Because you know me well, and I want to
surprise you.” Mercy smiled, confident that when he saw her on prom night he
would totally flip out. He had never seen her dressed up before and the gown
she had chosen hugged her womanly curves, proving that she was no longer a
child.

Alec grinned. He too had a few surprises
in store, but he was not even going to hint at them or she would plague him
with a million questions all week long. Knowing the hold she had over him, he
would probably tell her everything and spoil the special night he had planned
for them.

“I can’t believe prom is next weekend,
it is going so fast,” she said wistfully.   

“Before we know it, graduation is going
to be here,” Alec said. A thrill of excitement ran through him at the thought.
He had waited so long for Mercy and now that he was so close to bonding with
her, every day that passed became torment. He greatly anticipated the moment he
would finally say the words that would bind them together forever, so that no
one, human or werewolf, would ever be able to separate them.

“Speaking of that, we need to make plans
for the move back home.” Lucan said, looking around the house as they entered,
thinking how much work they had to do to get it packed and ready for moving.

“I don’t want to tip off anyone about
our plans since we still don’t know how the Elders found out about Mercy. For
now, let’s act as if everything is normal. We can hire movers to come and pack
everything after the Bonding Ceremony,” Alec told him.

“Sounds good to me, I hate packing,”
Cade said, taking a seat at the table, leaning back in the chair, and crossing
his ankles.

“What about Mercy’s things?” Lucan asked.
“Surely she will want some of her things in her new home.”

Tears stung the back of Mercy’s eyes as
she contemplated the fact she would never again run down the stairs and find
her brother in the kitchen making her breakfast, after she bonded with Alec.
Never again would he come into her room at night just to check on her and say goodnight
and never again would they all live under the same roof. She sniffled and
looked away, willing herself not to cry and make a fool of herself.

“Are you alright?” Alec asked, noting
how quiet she had gotten.

Mercy didn’t trust herself to talk; she
just nodded her head.  So many things in her life had changed in the last year
and until that moment, she had never really thought about what it would be like
to live without her brothers. Soon it would be just herself and Alec, and
although she couldn’t wait to be well and truly his, it was a daunting task for
a seventeen-year-old girl to consider. It wasn’t as if he was an ordinary pack
member who could live his life anyway he wanted. Soon he would be the Alpha of
his pack. That meant great responsibility, which would put a strain on their
young relationship. Alec pulled her close and she laid her head on his shoulder,
feeling his calming influence flow over her as he took her hand and rubbed her
fingers nervously with his own.  

“You are the most important thing in my
life. If you’re afraid, or in doubt, I will be there for you,” he murmured
softly. “Your happiness is the most vital thing to me.”

Mercy hugged him close, thankful he
seemed to understand her fears and didn’t hold them against her.

“Why don’t you two go take a walk while
I get dinner together?” Lucan asked, understanding their need to be alone and
talk about their future. It wasn’t easy to accept their hurried relationship,
but with help from Nina, his own Bond Mate, he was learning to let go, although
it hurt painfully.

“I’m going to go up to my room to call
Hailey,” Cade said. He wasn’t as worried as his brother was. His little sister
was a fine young woman, who he knew would be a great asset to Alec during his
reign as Alpha. Lucan, though, still saw her as the child they had brought home
after her parents’ tragic deaths and he was having a much harder time letting
her go.

“Tell her I said hello,” Mercy told him
as she stood, playfully pulling Alec up from the chair they had been sharing.  

“Will do,” he said, whistling as he
walked out of the door.

Mercy looked to her brother, who was
busying himself with dinner, and knew he was already feeling her loss. She went
to him and placed her hand on his arm and he looked down on her with a sad
smile. “I love you,” she said hugging him close.

“As I love you,” he said, returning her
hug, kissing the top of her head, and shoving her towards Alec. “Go and talk to
your mate, I’m a busy man.”

Mercy felt Alec’s arms envelope her and
she allowed him to escort her outside as she fought back the tears welling in
her eyes.

Alec felt her despair and once on the
porch he directed her towards the porch swing and sat, pulling her onto his
lap, and wrapping her in his arms. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“For what?” Mercy asked, wiping away the
tear that escaped from her eye to roll down her cheek.

“For taking you away from your family
and making you choose your path in life before you have really even had a
chance to live it.”

Mercy looked up at him, seeing his angst
reflected in his expression, and felt immediate regret he had seen her sadness.
“You have it wrong,” she told him, placing her hands on either side of his
face. “I’m sad to be leaving my brothers’ home and everything that is familiar,
but I don’t regret it, and I although I am nervous, I know my future is with
you.” 

She pressed her lips to his and Alec
groaned, pulling her closer, his own mouth melding with hers as she opened her
mouth to him, allowing him to taste her sweetness. As it always was when he was
near her so close, a fire grew within him and before he could stop himself he
had her in his arms running swiftly for the wood line. He carried her to a
clearing by the river where he had found her so long ago after a shift, half-naked
and lying upon a bed of moss. A vision of loveliness that had tortured and
tempted him ever since.  

Mercy sighed as he laid her down upon
the soft moss-covered ground and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him
down on top of her. Her heart was beating out of her chest as his mouth met
hers. His hand crept under her T-shirt. The heat of his fingers against her
bare skin was her undoing.  She moaned softly, wanting more of his touch, more
of his kisses. “Alec,” she murmured against his mouth.

“Mmm…” he moaned against her lips.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered. “Please
don’t stop this time.”

Her words registered in his brain almost
immediately and he realized just how far he had gone. “Hell,” he said, pulling
his hand from under her shirt and turning away. He sat up at her side, cursing himself
for allowing his emotions to take over what little common sense he had when she
was around.

Mercy sat up behind him and wrapped her
arms around his waist, laying her head against his back. “Alec, I love you, and
soon we are going to be bonded, so what are we waiting for?”

“Your brothers would kill me,” he
growled, barely able to get the words out of his mouth.

“I know! You promised my brothers that
we would wait,” she cried out in frustration. “But guess what, Alec? I don’t
care! I am my own person and I make my own decisions. This is my life, not my
brothers’!”

Alec groaned, biting his lip so hard he
drew blood. “You’re asking me to break a promise that I made to your brothers and
I just can’t,” he told her, hating himself for making the stupid promise in the
first place. Of course, it was at a time when he hadn’t really anticipated how
hard it would be to resist her. How could he have known that she would tempt
him at every turn, or become the vision of loveliness that now sat with her
arms wrapped around him?

“Ugh!” she groaned, lying back on the
ground.

Alec turned and looked down on her with
a wan smile. “It’s not forever: another few months and I will make love you to
anytime you want, but for now I can’t.” He lay next to her resting on his elbow
as he looked down on her. “What kind of Alpha would I be if I couldn’t keep my
promises?”

“You know, most guys would give anything
to have their girlfriends begging for them to have sex.”

Alec grinned. “But, most guys aren’t in the
kind of relationship I am. Can you imagine the rest of our existence with your
brothers despising me?” He knew he had won the argument when she closed her
eyes and sighed. “Besides, a part of me has this need to make everything
perfect for you our first time, and I promise you it will be worth the wait.”

Mercy turned towards him and propped
herself up on her elbow to stare into his eyes. “Will this be your first time
too?”

Alec took her hand and looked up at her
solemnly. “From the moment, I met you, I was bewitched. Although the feelings
were very different back then, I knew they would change and that one day we
would be here, having this conversation, and I wanted to be able to look you in
the eye and say, you will be the first and only woman I have ever been with.”

Mercy leaned to him and brushed her lips
across his. “I love you, Alec, and I am so glad you waited for me.”

“You are truly a miracle to me, Angel. I
could do nothing else.” He lay back on the soft moss and pulled her down so her
head rested on his chest as he held her in his arms. “When the right time comes,
you too will be glad we waited.”

“I’m holding you to that,” she murmured
savoring the moment alone with him, knowing that soon things would be very
different for them both.

*****

“I
suppose the Elders will be glad they have not anticipated their bond,” a dark-haired
sprite of a female said to the male who stood with her as she watched the
couple who lay along the bank of the river.

“This
is all so stupid, Jaden. Why should we care what they do?” he asked, bored with
his new assignment to watch over the couple before them.