The Pack (5 page)

    
She was such a rarity no one knew what to expect.
It had been hundreds
of years since the last Born Were had walked the earth so there was not much information left for them to analyze
.
All of t
heir healers and experts
agreed she would shift and become like the rest of them
, but
none of them were aware
when it might happen
or how the shift would affect her
.

     “Do not come
any closer
,” t
he young male
gasped
as the shift progressed
.

    
His spine moved
under his shirt,
hunching him over until
he fell to the ground
pain racking
his body
as sinew and bone cont
orted and began restructuring
.
He let out a gutteral cry
,
fighting the change,
unable to control the coming shift.

    
Alec
react
ed
swiftly
knowing i
f the
boy did
not calm
down
the shift
would make him irate and unmanageable
once he had transformed.
T
o prevent hi
m from hurting himself
or Mercy
,
Alec
had to guid
e him through it
, make him calmer and more accepting of the changes going on with his body.

    
“Look at me
!” Alec
demanded
forcing his power on
the young man who lif
ted his gaze
slowly
to
meet
his own
.
“Shift
,
” h
e whispered keeping their gazes connected
as he melded with his own wolf using its power
to keep the young
one
under control
.

     “Don’t!” t
he
boy
cried out
,
falling to
the ground
,
his body twisting in ways a human would
have
never been able to survive
.
H
is bones popped
reshaping
themselves
to their canine form.
Fur sprouted from under his skin
like tiny needles,
covering each inch
of bare skin
as the shift progressed
and his body began to take the shape of his wolf
.

    
He
seemed
calm and accept
ing of
Alec’s help
until
Merc
y
,
coming out of her daze let
out an
ear-piercing
scream
upon seeing him
shift.
T
he young wolf tensed and
turn
ed
her
way,
his long mu
zzle and bared teeth
only inches from her face as it howled in discontent
.
Mercy screamed again and
the young o
ne bega
n to fight the shift, forcing Alec to refocus
his
attentions
to calm
ing
him
. He hated he
could not
give Mercy the
reassurance
she needed
,
but knew
to look away
from the startled creature
might create a
situation
worse than the one they were already engaged in
.

    
The
loud
baying of other males
in the
area
alerte
d
hi
m time was running out.
M
ercy’s screams had led
others to their location and her brothers began to pace nervously
looking to Alec for their
cue
. He called
Lucan
back to his human state
so he
could
grab his sister
at the first opportunity
that presented itself
,
but left Cade
in wolf form ready to fight
if needed
.

    
Mercy
horrified by the sight of the
half wolf
half-human
before
h
e
r hadn’t noticed her brother’s presence
. S
he
began to scramble toward Alec
trying to escape
,
but
the young wolf
reached out his
half-formed
hand and clasped her leg. His
l
ong sharp
claws
raked
down
her
tender
flesh
as he frantically pulled her back towards him, leaving behind long puckered wounds that bleed profusely
.

    
Her loud screams of agony
re
nt the air tormenting Alec as he tried to remain focused on controlling the now frantic changeling before him
.

    
“Alec,
please help me,
”
Mercy
begged reaching for him
.

    
Lucan searched
for a way to get to her
,
but
fear the changing wolf might kill her
accidently
if he came
too
close
,
stopped him f
rom making a grab
.

    
Cade growled and pawed the ground pacing back and forth awaiting the moment he might have to
step in and kill the young Were to save his sister.

     Filled with fear and adrenaline
,
Mercy found the strength to
kick her assailant
in the
nose, which only added to his already aggravated state.
He
lau
nched his now fur covered body
over her
biting
into her leg
,
trying to maintain dominance ov
er her
.
His aggression met with a high-pitched screech and a punch to the side of his head from Mercy who fought for her life.
Her blood curdling screams a
s his teeth tore at her
tender skin were
joined
by
the
loud
howl
s
of the
other wolves
that
had sensed the disturbance and were drawing closer
.

    
T
he young wolf tore himself away
from her
to turn and defend his find from those who were steadily advancing on them
.

    
Mercy
in shock and
unable to comprehend what was happening,
stared
down
at her
mangled
leg
in horror. B
lood ran fluidly  from the deep gauges
soaking through her jeans and pooling on the lea
ves below her.
Her eyes lifted to meet Alec’s, t
ears sliding down her cheeks
,
just before
her eyes
rolled back in her head and
she lost consciousness
.

    
The wolf
beside her
grew still
as the final stages of the transformation came upon
him
.

    
T
he
howls surrounding them reached
a
crescendo
as the other wolves
came closer watching from the woods
, waiting
for the chance to take her from the vulnerable young male
.

     “It’s too late,”
Lucan
,
cried out
as the firs
t wolf cleared the tree line.

    
The wolf’s
nose
lifted,
as he bre
athed in
the
heady aroma of her
scent,
an aphrodisiac to all other unmated males
in the area
.
Others began filling the area, far too many
to fight
off,
even with Alec and his
brother by his side
and he knew the situation had become dire.

     “I can sa
ve her,
” Alec shouted, moving
to where Mercy
lay
on the ground
still
and barely breathing.

    
He growled
possessively at the approaching males
as he knelt
down next to her
to survey her injuries
. T
he amount of blood see
ping down her leg
let him know
it w
as more than just a
mere
puncture wound.
He guessed the young wolf mistakenly
hit an artery
, which was causing major blood loss
. 

    
I
f she was going to survive, he needed to get her out as soon as possible
.
Despite his reservations
,
he knew the only way that was going to happen was if he took the next step in thier bonding
.
Decision made
he
r
ipped
of
f his t-shirt, tied
the material
around the wound trying to staunch
the flow of blood,
and turned
to
face
Lucan
.
“I
am the only one who can take her out of he
re
now.
I am Alpha none here will challenge me if I claim her.
Do you give me permission
?”

     “I can’t let you do this
.” Lucan reached for
his sister,
unprepared for the low growl of displeasure from Alec’s throat
that met his action
.

     “
Do not
! T
hey will
see
you
as a challenge to my authority. If we want this to end well
,
that
can’t happen.” H
is hand was wet with her blood and the fear she would die made him
extremely
aggressive
.
“I can do this with or without your permission.
I won’t let her die and no other is going to claim her as long as I am able to stop them
,
but
I would like your consent.”

    
The odds had grown worse during their short exchange
. M
any wolves had made
it
into the clearing and now watched them with predatory eyes
, calculating how they
might
be
able
to garner such a treasure
.

    
Both men understood tim
e
was up
,
but still Lucan hesitated
,
which infuriated Alec
.
“Lucan,”
he bit out angrily.

     “Yes, I give my permission
!
” Lucan yelled
as the
wolves
began pressing
closer
,
all wanting the
young female as much as the male
on the gro
und who had now transformed
and
was
growling
furiously
at Alec.