The Pack (8 page)

    
“Want to
talk
about it
?
” h
e asked
finally
as he pulle
d out of the parking lot
.

     “No need,” s
he said laying her head back and closing her eyes
.

     “Alright k
iddo
,
but Lucan’s not going to let this
go
easily.”

     “You don’t have to tell him,” she muttered.

     “
You know I won’t, but maybe you should, that was no simple fall back there.”
He turned up the mu
sic a
nd let the subject rest confident she would come to them if she needed their help
.

*****

    
Cade
drove up
the long driveway that lead to
the
two-story log cabin
nestled in the side of the mountai
n they now called home
. The house was situated a short drive
outside of
the
small
town
whe
re Mercy attended school and
bor
der
ed
a large expanse of
national
forest
. The
location
offered the
m
priva
cy
to roam
whe
n in wolf form
and a safe place to raise Mercy until she became one of them
.

    
A
s
Cade parked
,
Lucan stepped out on the front porch glancing at the watch on his wrist with a frown.

    
Mercy
climbed out
of the car
anticipating his daily questions about her day
, and he didn’t disappoint
.

    
“How was your day?” he asked holding the door open
,
so she could enter the house.

     “It was f
ine,” s
he
answered placing
her bag
down
,
immediately noting
a
familiar scent
that had her heat beating furiou
sly as she peered
around the spacious entryway
for the owner
.
The woodsy
, outdoor
fragrance
could only belong to
one per
son
and s
he forced herself not to
run into his
arms
as
he
wa
lke
d out of the living room to lean
against the door
frame
. 

     “Hey Angel
, how have you been
,” Alec
said
smoothly
despite the urge he had
to pull her into his arms and
hold her close
.
The long year apart had only enhanced her beauty and he found himself staring shamelessly, devouring every change and committing it to memory.

    
Mercy
was taken aback by his sudden appearance.  After a year of not seeing him, she couldn’t help but gape like an idiot.
His chestnut hair hung
free in waves to his shoulder
s, his chocolat
e brown eyes made her melt
, and his
scent
overwhelmed
her senses
. She wanted
nothing more t
han to be close to
him
,
to breathe
his essence
an
d have
his arms around her
.
As if reading
her thoughts,
he took a step towards her and she found herself walking right into his arms
.

     “God Angel I missed you so,” he whispered
.

     His warm breathe sent
tingles up her spine
, her hands grew
m
oist,
and
her breathing
ragged. S
he
pulled back knowing
she had to say somethin
g in response
.
“So…ah…w
hat brings you here?” S
he couldn’t hide the trembling
in her voice
,
but did
hid
e
her hands behind her back so he wo
uld not notice
them shaking.

     “
Dad
sent me,
so I can
finish school and l
earn more about the business out here
,” he
answer
ed
his
heart pounding in response to her reaction
to him
. “
Besides
,
I missed my favorite girl
,
a
long
time has passed
since I saw you last.
”

    
She didn’t tell him
sh
e
had missed him too
. D
idn’t mention how she had longed to have him with her while she recovered, especially during those first days when she was in constant pain and plagued by nightmares of the attack
.
He di
dn’t deserve to hear her say it
, not after practically ignoring her for the last year. What he deserved was for her to walk away, to treat him as if he
was
unimportant, bu
t she could
n’t
do it
.
His gaze held her captiv
e and she felt herself falling under the spell he always cast over her
when he was near
. All of the anger and rag
e
she had been feeling
dissipate
d until all that was left
was a longing for him that was
,
as always
overpowering
and somewhat frightening. 

     The
brothers exchanged a loo
k
of worry between them
aware of
the tremendous amount of emotion
flowing
between the pair
.
The bond between mates was strong even if one of
them did not realize what was happening. They were depending on Alec to control his emotions and keep things under control
,
but they could see he was being pushed to his limit.

   
Lucan cleared his throat
loudly
and Alec blinked breaking their connection. A curtain lifte
d and his previous words sunk in
to Mercy’s brain
.
“You’re going to school here?
Where?
”

    “Your school,” h
e answered evenly despite the frantic beating of his heart
. “W
e will be juniors together for the rest of the year.”

     “Oh,”
she
murmured uncertainly
.
It all seemed
surreal,
as if
she
was
in a dream
. Behind her back,
sh
e pinched her arm, but
found herself
in the same place
,
living the same moment.

     “What’s wrong
,
afraid
if I’m around
everyday you’ll
fall in love with me?” h
e
teased
reaching
out
to tuck
a stray
hair behind her ear before
laying
his ha
nd upon her shoulder.

     H
e had done so many times before
and she had thought nothing of it,
but something in his eyes made her
second guess his playful tone. There was a
serious
ness there she had never seen before that gave her a moment’s hesitation but then she reminded
herself
how
he loved to flirt
.
“As if
,
I couldn’t keep up with all the other girls who will
be vying for your attention,” s
he teased pulling away from his hand
an
d the heat his touch
stirred in
side of
her
.

     “No one can
h
old a candle
to you,” h
e answered sincerely
.

     The
intensity
of his stare flustered her
and she
turned
to Lucan
,
wanting
to get away
before she made a fool of herself
.
“
I am staying at Gina’s tonight after the game
,
so I need to pack
.
You don’t mind
,
do you
?”

   
“
Of course not,” h
e answered
quickly relived she would be out of the house and away from Alec for the night
.

     N
one of Lucan’s
u
s
ual questions or rules followed
which made Mercy
suspicious
. He trusted Gina’s mom
and had let her spend the night
at their house
before
,
but always had a million questions
and stipulations
before agreeing
.
H
is easy response
was so out of character, it sent up red flags
and
she
realized
they must have
been worried about her and Alec
being in the same house together
.

    Her mind began to race with questions.
Had they noted her appraisal of him? Where they aware
how her heart was racing?
How
she longed for Alec to kiss her?
Her cheeks heated
with embarrassment
and she stared
down at the toes of her shoes to avoid meeting anyone’s eyes.

   
Alec
too realized they were worried and
rushed to reassure them.
“The movers
should arrive
first thing in the morning
,
so I won’t be bothering you for long
.”

     “No problem,” Cade said
, but it was easy to read the relief on his and Lucan’s face
.

    Relieved he wasn’t going to be a permanent fixture Mercy was able to take a deep breath. “Oh good
,
you have your own place.” 

    H
e tried not be hurt
, but found it hard to shake of
f
her relief that he was going to be moving out so soon
.
“
You want me gone already?
D
on’t
you
love me anymore?” he said teasingly
,
but the hard edge of his
voice was
anything
,
but playful
and the tightening of his hands at his sides said more than his words
.

     “Of cour
se…
I,” she
mumbled
mortified
by her reaction
.

     “Why don’t you get your things together
,
” Lucan said hurrying
to get her out of the house. “
Gina
’s mother will be here
to pick you
up
soon I’m sure
.” He placed
his
arm around her shoulders and turned
her towards the steps
giving her a little push
. “Don’t forget your toothbrush,” h
e reminded as
she lifted her foot to the firs
t step.