Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (21 page)

“The
woman,” Mercy murmured.  “It’s her,” she said, pointing to the picture.

Alec
stared at the image of a woman who looked identical to his own mate and
frowned. “Who is she?” he asked.

“The
last Born Were,” Mercy told him.  “She was here, I saw her.”

“That’s
impossible,” Alec, said looking at her worriedly.

“Look,
here is the story of her death, but it’s not right. She didn’t die in a fight
between lovers. I saw it just now when she came to me and showed me what
actually happened. She was killed by another werewolf; he and his pack attacked
during their Bonding Ceremony and massacred everyone.”

Alec
ran his hand through his hair in frustration.  “This doesn’t make any sense,
Angel. Why would the ghost of the last Born Were haunt you?”

“I
don’t know, but these dreams started after I agreed to bond with you so, it
must have something to do with that.” She scanned the book, but found nothing
else that would be useful and closed it. “Thank you, Jaden, for bringing this to
me.” She pushed the book across the table and Jaden picked it up, cradling the
hefty volume in her arms reverently.

“You’re
welcome, I hope it helps,” she said before turning toward the door and walking
out, extremely uncomfortable now that Alec was in the house with them. While
she understood his possessiveness, it didn’t lesson her fear of him.

“I
don’t understand any of this, why would the ghost of a past Born Were haunt
you?” Mason asked.

“She’s
not haunting me. She’s trying to tell me something,” Mercy explained.

“What
could she be telling you?” Alec asked.  

“I
don’t know,” Mercy, said biting her lip.

“I’m
going to get out of here so you can talk, but call me if you need anything,”
Mason said shaking hands with Alec and Gregory before winking at Mercy and
walking out.

“I’ll
leave you two alone,” Gregory, said, his head hung low as he walked out.

Alec
watched him go feeling horrible for the wedge that now existed between the two
of them. After talking to his grandfather, he understood better what his father
had gone through in the past, but he had yet to confront him about it.

Mercy
saw the longing in his eyes and knew he missed the closeness that he shared
with his father. With everything, that was happening their bond as father and
son was more important than ever. Gregory was the only one who could control
Alec when he was angered and with the Elders arrival imminent, he was going to
need his father’s support. “You need to fix things with him, Alec,” Mercy said
softly. “He loves you and he’s hurting as much as you are.”

Alec
looked to her and frowned. “I will talk to him later, for now I am worried
about you.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. “I don’t want you
to look any further into this Born Were stuff. It is obvious this is upsetting
you, and after tonight I am afraid you’re going to get hurt.”

Mercy
was afraid too, but she just knew whatever the woman was trying to show her was
crucial. “This is important, I just know it. Please don’t ask me to forget
about this,” Mercy said against his chest.

Alec
sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to forget about the Born Were, she just didn’t
have it in her to let things go. “Fine, but I want you to be more careful.”

“I
will, I promise,” she told him, rising to her toes to place a kiss upon his
lips before turning him towards the door. “Now, go and deal with your father, I
can’t stand the tension between the two of you.”

“Mercy,”
he hissed.  

“Go,
or I won’t talk to you for at least a week,” she warned.

“You’re
getting increasingly pushy do you know that?”

Mercy
smiled. “And you love me all the more for it. Now go!” She pushed him and he
began to walk grudgingly towards the door as she watched with half a smile. He
liked to play the big bad Alpha but she knew the strain between him and his
father was eating away at him. The sooner they got their problems straightened
out, the sooner they could focus on more important things. Like the visit with
the Elders, that was looming over them like a dark cloud.

****

Alec
walked towards Lucan’s office dreading the conversation he had to have with his
father, but knew it was time to clear the air between them. His father was his
support system and without him, he feared he might not be able to handle the
visit with the Elders without doing something that might endanger his chance
for a future with Mercy.

Gregory
was staring out of the window as Alec walked into the room, but he knew his father
was aware he was there. He could sense his son’s presence from a mile away, but
he was giving him time to begin the conversation. Alec walked to his father’s
side and stared out of the window alongside of him. “So, I spoke to grandfather
the other night,” he said. His father didn’t move or comment, but his cheek
twitched so, he knew he was listening. “He told me that you asked the Elders
for help fighting the rogues, but that they turned you down.” Still he said
nothing. “I can understand why you blame him, but I don’t understand why you
punished me for all these years by keeping the only family I have away from me.”

Gregory
sighed. knowing the time had come to tell his son the truth. “At first, I
wanted him to hurt the way I was hurting, but overtime my hatred grew. Every birthday,
holiday, and anniversary that your mother should have been there, but wasn’t,
fed that hatred and kept me from seeing that maybe I was wrong. That maybe he
had done all he could and wasn’t to blame for her death.” He reached out and
placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “I was wrong to keep the truth from you,
but I didn’t do it to hurt you. I honestly convinced myself it was for your own
safety that I kept you away from your grandfather. I know it doesn’t make much
of a difference now, but I am sorry, and I am begging for your forgiveness.”

Alec
was dumbstruck. His father didn’t beg for anything, but he stood before him now
and did so with tears in his eyes.  Alec was humbled and awed by his father’s
words and knew it was time to let the past go and move on with their lives. “I
know Mom’s death was devastating for you and I know if it weren’t for me you
probably would not be here right now, but it’s time for everyone to forgive the
past and move into the future. I have so much I am grateful for and I want to
share those things with my family and that includes my grandfather.”

Gregory
stared at him for few moments then pulled him close and hugged him. “I am so
proud of the man you are, son, and if you can forgive me, then I can work on
forgiving your grandfather.”

Alec
patted his father’s back and smiled, happy to put everything behind him and
start fresh on his future. “That’s what I want, Dad, for Mercy and me to be
surrounded by our families as we start our lives together.”

Gregory
pulled back and looked down on his son with a smile, the first he had worn on
his face since their falling out. “You know, Jaden is family too.”

Alec
growled, not wanting to think about the female who had accosted his mate. “The
jury is still out on her.”

“Son,
when it comes down to it she was following orders and you of all people should
appreciate her devotion. When you are Alpha, you will want your pack to follow
your orders too.”

“I
don’t appreciate it when my mate is involved,” Alec told him.

“You
should appreciate especially when it comes to Mercy, because she has been
ordered to protect her and keep her safe at all costs.”

“Yeah,
so the Elders can take her from me,” Alec returned.

“She
is not the horrible person you think she is. Just give her a chance.”

“I’ll
try, Dad, but I can’t trust her until I know more about her. For now, I do not want
her to be left alone with Mercy for any reason.”

“I
agree, she is still working for the Elders; but try and get to know her.  If
she’s anything like my sister was, I think you’ll find you like her very much.”

Alec
wasn’t so sure, but when it came to anyone who harmed Mercy he was overly
judgmental. “I’m going to say goodnight to Mercy, I’ll see you at home in a
little while,” he said, but stopped at the doorway and looked back at his father.
“I don’t know if I ever told you how much I appreciate that you were always
there for me growing up and now when I need you the most, but I do. I couldn’t
imagine my life without you in it.”

“Thank
you, son,” Gregory said, tears shining in his eyes as Alec walked out.

Chapter Twelve

The
last week of school was a blur of tests and practice for graduation and as Mercy
walked down the hall of her high school for the last time she felt an odd
sadness settle over her. It was odd how when she first arrived there all she
wanted was to get it over with and leave, but now she realized how precious
that time had been. Now that she was walking away with her diploma in hand, she
knew she would miss the routine, the camaraderie of her friends, and the secure
feeling the sturdy walls of the school offered her.

“You
okay?” Alec asked, worried about her odd silence throughout the day.

Mercy
looked up, meeting his eyes, and smiled, knowing that although she would miss high
school she was looking forward to her new life as his mate. “I’m good.”

Alec
stopped walking and pulled her against him, placing a long kiss upon her.

“What
was that for?” Mercy asked as they began walking again.

“I
just wanted to remind you what lay ahead in your future,” he told her with
grin.

“It
looks like I am going to be a very lucky girl then,” she said as they walked
into the gym where Rich, Gina, Mason, and Jaden waited for them in their caps
and gowns, amidst a sea of anxious teenagers.

“Hey,
girl,” Gina said looking teary-eyed as she clutched her cap in her hands.

“Are
you alright?” Mercy asked, feeling sentimental herself.

“Yeah,
I just can’t believe that it’s over. I mean after today we never have to attend
school again.” She dabbed her eyes with a wadded tissue and began to sob, a
very unlikely thing for her to do.

“Jeez,
woman, there are bigger things to worry about than this going on,” Rich said
rolling his eyes heavenward. 

Gina
looked to Mercy and new tears began to flow. “Oh God, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t
thinking. You must be a mess, what with the Elders coming tomorrow and all
that.”

Alec
pulled Mercy against him, glaring at Gina for her lack of decorum, but Mercy
forced a smile to her face and patted his hand that rested on her waist. “I’m
alright. I have had time to come terms with the Elders’ visit and I know
somehow Alec and I will be together no matter what we have to do to make it
happen.”

“You
got that right, Angel,” he said, brushing a kiss on her forehead. “No one is
taking you away from me.” He tightened his arm around her and pulled her
closer. “Ever.”

Kirk
and Lane joined them both looking at each other with love shining in their eyes
as they held hands. “We just wanted to say hello before it gets crazy around
here,” Lane said looking radiant.

“You
are coming to the party tonight, right?” Mercy asked still unsure why they were
going through with a party when they had so many other things to be concerned
about.

“Wouldn’t
miss it,” Kirk said with a smile.

“We’ll
see you there then,” Mercy said as the administrators began assembling them for
their walk to the stands set up on the football field where all of their family
and friends waited.

“Here
we go,” Gina said as they all walked to their places in line. “See you out
there.” She hugged Mercy and moved into her alphabetical place in line as the
others did the same.

Alec
looked worried and didn’t budge from Mercy’s side until the last minute when
one of the teachers pointed out he was in the wrong place. “Go on, I’ll be all
right, besides you’re behind me so, I won’t be out of your sight.”

Alec
pulled her to him placing a kiss upon her lips, ignoring the teacher, who
cleared her throat and clapped her hands to get him to move. He took a step
back and brushed her cheek with his finger, then smiled. “You will never know
how proud of you I am today,” he said before walking to his place in line
leaving her speechless.

Mercy
turned to face the front, smiling as she walked through the gym doors outside
where the sun shone down on the graduates as if it too were celebrating their
big day.
As she shuffled along behind her classmates a strange sense of awareness
rippled through her. A shiver ran down her spine and she looked towards the stands
seeing easily her brother’s and their mates sitting with Gregory all watching
her progression, but it was the woman from her dreams that drew her attention. A
few rows up from her brothers she stood behind a man who was wearing a hat that
hid his face from view. An odd rush of wind on the warm still day blew up out
of nowhere knocking the hat from his head revealing his face, a face that had Mercy
stopping dead in her tracks with recognition.