The Pack (31 page)

    
He
pulle
d into the driveway
, got out and opened
her door and she turned to address him for the first time

   
“Since you’re not going to the bonfire tonight can you check in on Lucan and keep him company?”
s
he asked as he handed her bag to her.

     “Can’t
,
I decided you were right
,
that
I should get involved at school so I got a date for the
bon
fire.” He could have clapped with joy
at the startled look on
her face
.

     “Oh that’s great.” It didn’t feel
great though
,
the jealousy she had always felt when he was with other girls
roared to life inside of her
. “So who are you taking?”

     “Lane,” h
e ans
wered watching
with satisfaction as
her smile falter
ed
.

     “Oh that’s nice she’s a really great person.” She forced herself to
keep her smile firmly in place
,
but knew it probably looked fake
, it certainly fel
t that way to her
.

     “Yeah I thought so too
,
who knows maybe she will be the one who settles me
down
.” It would never happen
,
Mercy was the only girl for him,
but he could not resist rubbing it in.

     “I have to go,” s
he
murmured
gra
bbing her bag from his hand
practically running
for her house
ang
er and jealousy eating at
her insides
.

      Alec watched her walk thought her front door
then turned to walk to his own home, whistling as he went
,
wondering how she was going to react when she saw him with Lane at the bonfire.

*****

    
“Luc if you want me to stay home tonight
I will,
” Mercy said for the third
time since arriving home from school.

    
She had entered the house like a tornado babbling
on
about men
. Something about how they were all dogs,
untrustworthy scoundrels
who chased anything in a skirt, making
Lucan laugh for the fir
st time since his Cade left
.
It was clear she was looking for an excu
se not to go out and he figured
Alec had to be behind her sudden desire to back out of her plans with Kirk.

    
“Your team needs their cheerleaders to route them on. G
o
and
have fun
.
B
esides
,
I have some things to look over for Gregory
,
he will keep me company.” He placed her dinner plate in front of her then sat down with his own.

     “Okay
,
if you’re
sure.” She had been
hoping he would tell he
r to stay home
,
but luck was not on her side
.

    
Since she
had
heard Alec was taking Lane to the bonfire all the excitement she had felt about the ev
ening had dissipated
and
now
she was
left
angling f
or away to get out of going. The jealousy she felt
over
Alec seeing L
ane was unexplainable
,
especially when
she
had Kirk
,
but the
thought of seeing him with another girl
was torture.

   
S
he p
o
ndered calling
her coach
and claim being
sick
,
but then chastised herself for
even thinking it. Kirk
did not deserve to be abandoned
on such a big night.
No, she would suck it up and go even if it meant seeing Alec with someone else and hope she wouldn’t fly off the handle.

     Lucan watched as she picked at her food concerned about her emotional state
,
but afraid to interfere where adult
s did not often tread. S
he was frustrated abou
t her feelings for Alec, but he couldn’t r
e
ally offer much help
her since he was not exactly
very good at relationships himself.

    
The one
long-term
relationship he had ever had disintegrated when he took guardianship of Mercy.  The woman in question
had not
wanted children
and in all
fairness,
he had been fine with that until Mercy
came into his life
.
N
ow
that
he knew the lo
ve of a
child
though,
he craved a mate
who wanted a whole pack of them
.
It was odd how fate had changed the course of all their lives
,
but he would neve
r change his time with Mercy for anyone.

    
The shrill ringing of his cell
phone brought him from his wanderings
and he answered without checking the caller Id
. A
mistake
he regretted instantly
when he heard the voice on the other end
.

   
“Son
,
we need to talk,” Mather said
.

    
“How did you get this number?” h
e hissed. Mercy looked up
at the
angry
tone in
his voice and
h
e placed his hand over the phone
. “Busines
s, I will take it in the office,” he explained then
abruptly left
the room
.

     Mercy stood and b
egan
cleaning up. She was walking towa
rds
t
he sink
her
hands full of dishes when
Alec wa
lked in dressed in snug
blue jeans, a
white button up shirt
with top three buttons undone
,
and
a leather
bomber
jack
et slung over one arm.
She nearly dropped the dishes she carried as she stared at the picture male perfection before her
. A look that should have been pr
eppy
was instead sexy,
dangerous, and
completely
heart stopping
on him
.
 

    Alec
leaned
against the doorf
rame
w
atching her reaction with satisfaction
.
He had decided to forgo his usual garb for som
ething a little more date worthy
and could see it paid off big time.
The sales girl had been flustered when he asked for her advice
and had spent hours plying him w
ith
enough
clothing
for the year
. He had left the store with way more
merchandise than he had wanted,
but now seeing Mercy’s
face,
he was glad he had done it.

 
   “Any of that left?” he asked looking
to the stove where the leftovers waited to be put away
.

     M
ercy licked her lips, her eyes never leaving him
as he walked past her
to the stove
. He looked amazing and t
he
enticing scent
of mu
sk and woods
she had come to know as
his overtook her
. He
r hands trembled enough that the forks clattere
d against the plates she held
. With a grimace she
walked
to the sink
and deposit the dishes
bef
ore he could see how nervous she was
. 

     “
Dad is not very good at the whole cooking thing
,
he served burnt canned soup
for dinner.” He took a
plate to the table and began eating, watchin
g
her every movement
she made as she cleaned up the kitchen
.
She was stiff and her hands shook as she scrubbed the dishes dead give aways he had affected her and he could not have been happier.

     “Your dad’s
a busy man,I guess he does not have time for cooking.” Mercy commented placing the last of the dishes in the dishwasher before turnin
g around to face him once more.

     “You don’t have to tell me. If it was not for Lucan, I might not have ever known what real food tasted like.” He took the last bite and walked the plate to the sink brushing
a
gainst her while rinsing the plate,
then placing it in the dishwasher
.

     Mercy took a deep breath to calm herself
as he
bent over the dishwasher.
With him
so
close,
all she could do was think of kissing him again. He had been right when he
t
old her it took
two for the
kind of passion thier last kiss stirred and
god help her she wanted nothing more than to kiss him
a
gain right that moment.
H
e turned and she moved towards him,
pressing clo
se
,
her arms winding around his neck.

     “Mercy,” Alec whispered
as she brushed his lips with her own. “Do you want me to kiss you?”
It was the hard not to just kiss her as he so badly wanted, but he had promised she would have to ask before he kissed her again.

     The
doorbell rang and the
sound of footsteps filled the foyer and she pulled away staring at him with confusion.

     “Alec,
I did not hear you come in,
” Lucan said as he walked in
to the kitchen
fol
lowed by Kirk who eyed
the two of
them with a frown.

     “Dad c
ooked dinner,” h
e answered smiling at Kirk
.

    
Lucan laughed rembering how bad Gregory was in the kitchen. His lack of skill had been the reason he had learned to cook or they would have all starv
ed.

     “Well you’re still standing so, he didn’t poison you.”
He wa
lked to the counter stepping
between them to pour
a cup
of coffee. T
he tension i
n t
he room had grown
and he figured it would be smart to get them
all
moving before blood was shed
.

     “Your right I’m still here,” Alec rep
lied his gaze meeting Kirk’s angry one
. “Yup
,
I’m still here and I have no plans to go anywhere else.”

    
“Mercy you better get a move on or you will be late,”
Lucan said looking pointedly to Kirk
who stood in the doorway clearly
annoyed
by their closeness
.

     She
snapped out of her trance like st
ate and glanced to Kirk
her eyes widening
as if seeing
him for the first time. “Oh
,
I just need to grab my jacket.”

    
She
walked
to
where
Kirk
stood,
forcing
herself to smile despite the churning in her stomach. H
e placed his hand on the small of her back possessively then walked her to the hall
glaring at Alec
over his shoulder
.