Devin's Mercy [Shifters of Mystery 4] (3 page)

feel safe. He liked the man, yes, but did he trust Mercy? No.

Devin turned his head when he heard someone coming down the

steps. It was Pat. The man carried a tray in his hands, heading toward

Devin. He could smell roasted chicken and potatoes as it wafted

toward him the closer Pat came.

“I’m not sure when you last ate, but I can’t let you starve,” Pat

said with a warmth in his voice that made Devin think the man really

cared as he set the tray on the floor and slid it through a tiny opening.

Devin wanted to rush forward and grab the food, but he was among

enemies now and didn’t trust what they might do to him.

Frown lines marred Pat’s furry forehead as he continued to squat

in front of the cage. “Aren’t you hungry?”

Devin caught Kell glancing over at them. It was a subtle look, the

tiniest of change in expressions, but he could see the glacial ice in the

man’s eyes before the doctor looked away. Devin looked back at Pat

and shook his head, his stomach protesting at Devin’s denial. “No.”

“Suit yourself,” Pat said. “I’ll leave the tray down here anyway

just in case you change your mind.”

Devin wasn’t going to change his mind.

Pat stood, glancing down at Devin with his big blue eyes. There

was a moment of softness, as if Pat was remembering their friendship,

Devin’s Mercy

17

but then the orbs filled with contempt. “I just need to know what

happened to you, Devin. You used to be a really nice guy.”

Martin happened to him. Devin wasn’t going to say that out loud.

Not only was Kell listening to them, but Pat would probably brush

him off just as Sage had. No one believed him when he said he was

forced to do the corrupted man’s bidding, so why bother?

Devin shrugged.

It hurt to see Pat looking at him with disdain, but Devin didn’t try

to defend himself. Everyone knew Martin was evil, so why didn’t

they believe Devin when he said he was forced into this?

It was a moot battle, and Devin was extremely tired now. He

turned away from Pat and balled up once more, giving the man his

back. He heard a sigh, and then the footsteps began to fade up the

stairs.

Devin turned over, staring at the steps and wishing he could go

check on Mercy.

“I wouldn’t be so stubborn if I were you,” Kell said as he turned

toward Devin. “The alpha’s son doesn’t have a whole lot of patience.”

“Don’t call him that,” Devin automatically defended Sage. He

wasn’t sure why, but it pissed him off that Kell would refer to Martin

as Sage’s father. The lineage was true, but maybe the anger and hurt

he had seen in Sage’s eyes when Devin made that very same mistake

had touched on something inside of Devin.

“That still doesn’t detract from the fact that Sage isn’t a tolerable

man. I’d do what he says.”

“You would,” Devin half snarled under his breath. Kell always

kissed higher hierarchy’s ass. There was a difference between

respecting those above a person and being a brown-nosing weasel.

Kell was well acquainted with the second choice.

“You’ll learn, Devin.”

Devin turned back around. He was done with the conversation. He

wasn’t going to be baited into an argument with the nutty professor.

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Lynn Hagen

Kell was a strange man on his own, but working for Martin hadn’t

helped his personality one bit.

As Devin lay there in his werewolf form, surrounded by metal

bars, he wondered what his fate would be at the hands of Sage. The

guy may not have much tolerance, but Devin remembered a man who

used to be laid-back and fun to be around.

Too bad that quality disappeared when Sage was tossed out of the

pack.

Devin’s Mercy

19

“Son of a bitch,” Mercy said with a growl. Even with his shift last

night, his stomach was sore as hell. There was a large gash from the

left side of his navel to his right nipple. He didn’t care about the scar

that would be left behind by the silver blade, but he could do without

the excruciating tenderness.

If he ever got his hands on Martin, he was going to slice the

fucker from ear to ear. Thank goodness that knife hadn’t gone deep

enough to damage any internal organs, but it still hurt like a bitch.

Mercy wasn’t new to pain, but any kind of pain hurt. It was just a

matter of the degree to which the pain scorched through his body.

And this wound was high on the pain scale.

“Why don’t you let the doc give you some pain meds?” Monterey,

one of the werewolves who lived in Sage’s home, asked.

“You know I don’t like being loopy.” Mercy didn’t like the

groggy feeling drugs gave him. He liked to be on alert and aware of

his surroundings at all times. With a mad alpha and even madder

followers on the loose, Mercy wanted to stay on his toes.

Even if it felt like his entire body was crumbling.

There was no telling what Martin had in mind next, and Mercy

wanted to be ready. The werewolf was growing more insane by the

day. Mercy had seen it in the alpha’s cold blue eyes. It was bad

enough the alpha wanted to convert as many humans as possible, but

to experiment on them was downright evil.

There was no need to inject humans with their werewolf DNA.

One bite in their
vârcolac
form would do the trick. And that was

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Lynn Hagen

exactly why Mercy wanted to keep a clear head. The man made no

sense.

He moved slowly across his bedroom, feeling the healing wound

tug with every step he took.

“Why don’t you just lie down and let me—”

“I’m not helpless,” Mercy snapped. “I can manage.” Even if it

hurt to do so.

“Fine,” Monterey said, matching Mercy’s irritated tone. “Bust

open your gut again. See if give a shit.”

The werewolf strode angrily from Mercy’s room, leaving him

standing there cursing under his breath. He hadn’t meant to be a prick,

but he hated feeling helpless. It was a feeling he would never grow

used to. Moving painstakingly slow, Mercy made his way to the

bathroom. Even with Monterey’s offered help, there was no way he

was going to allow the man to help him take a piss.

There were some things a man had to do on his own, even when

wounded.

Mercy growled when he saw the bathroom door closed. Didn’t the

occupant know how hard it had been for Mercy to even make it to his

bedroom door? A determined grimace settled over his face as he

continued down the hall to the bathroom. He was thankful beyond

words that William, Sage’s mate, walked out of the bathroom just as

he reached it.

Mercy was pretty sure he would have tried sharing the bathroom if

the smaller man hadn’t come out in time. And that wouldn’t have

gone over so well with Sage. He still couldn’t understand how a house

with this many bedrooms only had one bathroom.

Mercy walked with pain into the bathroom, emerging a few

minutes later covered in a layer of sweat. He’d overexerted himself

and he knew it. The sharp pain cutting across his torso was a big

damn clue.

“Do you need help?” William asked as he walked out of his

bedroom. Mercy hated being helpless, but he knew that if he wanted

Devin’s Mercy

21

to make it back to his bed without falling on his face he was going to

have to suck his pride in.

“Yeah.” It was only William after all. Mercy allowed the smaller

man to help him to his room, but made sure he didn’t put his full

weight on the guy. William would crumble under Mercy’s weight.

“So who is Devin?” William asked. “I haven’t had time to ask

Sage.”

Mercy had been so out of it last night that he hadn’t even paid

attention to what was going on around him. “He’s here?”

William nodded as he slowly walked Mercy to his bed. “Yeah, but

Sage took him to the basement. I heard the other men saying that

Devin couldn’t be trusted.”

Mercy laid one hand on the bed and then pulled the other one

from around William’s neck, slowly easing himself onto the mattress

as he sat. He couldn’t believe Devin was here. The man had fought on

Martin’s side, had gone at Jeremiah like an enemy, and Sage allowed

the man into their home?

He wasn’t sure what shocked him more. The fact that Devin was

probably locked in the cage in the basement, or that Mercy still had

feelings for the man. It felt like an eternity since he had left his old

pack and traveled to Mystery. But he could still see Devin’s innocent

face when Mercy had left with his friends. The man had looked

devastated.

Mercy knew Devin had a crush on him. It was obvious in the way

the man had followed him around like a damn pup. But in Mercy’s

eyes, Devin had been too young. Mercy was thirty-two years old.

Devin was what, twenty or twenty-one? Mercy had passed it off as

some kind of hero worship thing, since Mercy had been one of the

alpha’s enforcers before Martin had lost his damn mind.

But he thought Devin’s feelings would fade and the young man

would find someone his own age. But what Mercy never told anyone

was that in all the time Devin had spent trying to win Mercy’s

affection, some feelings had started to develop for the young man. He

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Lynn Hagen

knew it would never work between them. Devin needed to find

someone his own age. “He’s just too damn young,” he said to himself

as he lay back on the bed.

And now he was here, locked up in the basement, and probably

freezing his ass off. Mercy knew that there was no heat down there.

Kell liked the cold, so Sage never bothered heating the basement for

the doctor.

As Mercy closed his eyes, bits and pieces of last night started

coming back to him. He remembered Martin emerging from the

woods. He also remembered the small pack of men that had

accompanied the alpha. Mercy hadn’t been able to shift. Being

unmated had prevented it. Until the full moon rose in the sky, Mercy

had been in his human form.

And so had Devin.

The events happened quickly, and it was still a blur in Mercy’s

mind, but he did remember Devin pulling his shirt off and using it to

staunch the bleeding from Mercy’s wound. Which meant the young

werewolf was down in the basement with only jeans and shoes.

Shit.

Mercy knew he couldn’t leave Devin downstairs without proper

clothes to wear. Even though the man had been on Martin’s side,

Mercy had a feeling Devin had very little choice in the matter. Devin

wasn’t an aggressive man like Mercy. He would have followed

without choice.

And that thought just pissed him off.

Glancing at his dresser, Mercy knew beyond a shadow of a doubt

that he was going to take his injured ass down to the basement. He

needed to rest. He needed to heal. But he wouldn’t allow Devin to

freeze his ass off because he was made to fight in Martin’s asinine

war. Devin was just a young, scared pup. He couldn’t be blamed.

He understood Sage’s reasoning behind locking the man up. There

were mates to protect. But come on…Devin? A housefly was more

lethal than that scrawny guy. He knew Devin could best a human in

Devin’s Mercy

23

his
vârcolac
form, but even William could probably beat Devin, and

with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes closed.

Mercy growled as he slid from the bed. He was going to pass out

going down the steps. He could see it coming. “Damn conscience.”

Once Mercy made it to his dresser and found a shirt and sweater, he

slowly made his way back toward the hallway. At this rate, he just

might make it to the basement in time for summer.

“Why are you up again?” William asked.

“Why are you lurking in the hallway?” Mercy countered.

William grinned. “Because I knew you wouldn’t stay in bed.”

Mercy would never understand William. The man was just too

damn optimistic and always ready to lend a helping hand. Perky

people just scared him. Someone who always smiled had something

to hide in Mercy’s book.

“Where are you heading?” William asked as he sidled up next to

Mercy, instantly grabbing the man’s arm and tossing it over his

shoulder.

Mercy quirked a brow at the strange man. No one usually