Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) (8 page)

“You look amazing!” Gina gushed as Mercy
approached.

“You too,” Mercy said, eyeing the blue gown
that shimmered and sparkled under the thousands of lights in the ballroom with
a smile.

Alec looked to Rich, who was dressed in
a tuxedo, looking uncomfortable and out of place, and couldn’t help smiling.
“I’m not telling you how great you look,” he teased.

“Good, because I’m not saying it to you either,”
Rich joked, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

Alec smiled. For the first time since finding
out about the Elders learning of Mercy being the Born Were, he felt at ease
around his longtime friend. They had been watching him closely and found nothing
that pointed to Rich being the one who told the Elders about Mercy, which
offered him relief.  They had been friends for most of his life and if he had turned
out to be the betrayer, it would have hurt him considerably.

“Want to dance?” Gina said to Mercy, as
a fast-paced song that was currently popular began to play.

Mercy looked to Alec, who leaned down to
speak in her ear since the music was so loud she wouldn’t hear him otherwise.
“Go ahead, I don’t do fast songs.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

Alec nodded. “I’ll wait for a slow song
so I can hold you in my arms and whisper sweet nothings in your ear.” He
pressed a kiss to her shoulder and she floated away behind Gina anticipating
the next slow song.

“She has come a long way,” Rich said
next to him.

Alec looked to where Mercy and Gina were
dancing, laughing at each other’s efforts but having a good time regardless of
their skills, or lack thereof.   “She sure has,” he said, watching her body
sway and move along with the upbeat tempo blaring through the sound system. A
low rumble grew in his throat as he noted that every male around her was also
watching her. Without thinking how it would look, he stalked to the floor and
grabbed her by the arm, intending to pull her away, but she dug in her heels
and stopped his progress, staring up at him with confusion.

Mercy looked up into Alec’s swirling
eyes wondering what had set him off and frowned. “Alec, what is it?”

He stared down at her, seeing immediately
that she clearly didn’t know the reaction men had to her. He groaned and pulled
her against him as a slow song started to play, gritting his teeth, trying to
get hold of his rage before he beat the snot of one of the many teenage males
who were staring at her. Something he was sure would ruin Mercy’s prom night
and put him in the doghouse for a long time.

Mercy felt Alec’s body trembling and
realized Rich, who was dancing next to them with Gina, was eyeing him worriedly,
which made her even more anxious. “Alec, what is going on?” she asked, running
her fingers through his hair trying to relax him. His hands tightened on her
hips and he pulled her as close as possible to him, in a show of possessiveness
she recognized immediately. He was jealous, and jealous Weres were extremely
possessive and easy to enrage. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he
looked down on her, the amber of his eyes making it clear he was close to
losing control.  “I’m yours,” she told him calmly, thankful for the heels that
made her almost his height as she pressed her mouth to his, kissing him with everything
she had until his grip on her loosened and she felt his body cease trembling.
“That’s better,” she said laying her head against his chest.  

“Yeah,” he murmured wrapping his arms
around her, closing his eyes, and letting the soothing soft tones of the love
song that surrounded them seep into his mind and calm him as they swayed to the
music.

Mercy savored the feel of his arms
around her, and the light kisses her placed on her neck and shoulder as they
moved together, forgetting about everything but the two of them. All too soon, though,
the music changed to something faster and although Rich and Gina stayed on the
dance floor, Alec pulled her towards their table.

Alec pulled out a chair for Mercy, then
sat next to her, holding her hand in his for a few moments before he found the
words to apologize for his behavior. “I’m sorry. I had not anticipated that so
many males would be staring at you. I should have considering how gorgeous you
are, though.”

She couldn’t help but smile.  What girl
didn’t want her very hot boyfriend to be jealous of the other males who were
ogling her? Of course, her hot guy could single-handedly rip out their throats
if angered so she rushed to remind him why he needn’t be jealous. “None of them
matter to me, you are the only one I care about,” she said, taking a seat on
his lap. “When I picked this dress all I could think about was your reaction. I
should have considered how other males might react.”

“It’s not your fault. You’re gorgeous,
but seeing all of those males staring at you and knowing what they were
thinking was just too much.”

“Now you’re a mind reader?” she teased.

“No, but I am a hot-blooded male. I know
what males who see a female as beautiful as you are thinking.”

“I can’t spend my life covered up and
you can’t go around growling at people, Alec.” She ran her hand through his
thick mane of hair and smiled at him lovingly. “I love you, I chose you to
spend the rest of my existence with, and no other male will ever make me
question that choice.”

Alec met her gaze and saw the truth shining
in her eyes. She was his and only his, forever, and he was the luckiest male on
earth to have her by his side. “I love you, my Angel,” he said. “There isn’t
anything I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Good, because I really have to use the
bathroom,” she said, squirming on his lap.

Alec looked to Gina, who at his nod
walked back to the table. “What’s up?” she asked, her face flushed with color
from all the dancing she had been doing.

“Can you go into the restroom with
Mercy?”

“No problem.” She leaned down and
whispered to Mercy, “I really need to go anyway.”

“Alec, is this really necessary?” Mercy
asked as he walked her to the bathrooms, his arm slung around her possessively
as Gina followed behind.

“I’m not taking any chances, and
obviously I cannot go in the ladies’ room with you,” he told her.

Mercy rolled her eyes and waited outside
as Gina went in to check things out before giving the all-clear. “See, it’s a
bathroom. Nothing in there can harm me.”

Alec cupped her chin and placed a kiss
on her lips. “One never knows,” he murmured before letting go and allowing her
to walk inside the ladies room.

Mercy saw Gina’s feet under the stall
door, so she went about her own business then went directly to the sink, washed
her hands, and splashed some cool water on her face. As she straightened, she
felt the odd tingle of another Were’s presence and looked in the mirror, where
a beautiful black-haired young female stood staring at her with a smile upon
her full, blood-red lips.

“Hello Mercy,” Jaden said, holding her
entranced with her gaze. “This will only hurt a tiny bit,” she said pulling a
small gun-like appliance from her bag, pulling the material of Mercy’s gown
away and placing the gun to her hip before hitting the trigger and pulling it
away with a satisfied smile.  “You will remember none of this. You came into
the bathroom with your friend and saw no one or nothing, do you understand?”
Mercy nodded. “Good girl, now go and enjoy your little dance, and that hot
werewolf of yours, while you still can.”

A soft slam of the stall door brought
Mercy from her trance and she looked into the mirror as Gina came from the
stall tugging on her dress.

“This thing is pretty, but it’s a nightmare
to go to the bathroom in,” Gina said as she walked to the sink and began
washing her hands.  She looked at her friend who stared at her in the mirror
saying nothing, and frowned. “Are you alright?” she asked.

Mercy blinked and smiled. “I’m fine, let’s
go dance.” She grabbed Gina’s hand, they walked out to where Alec waited, and
she pulled him to the dance floor as another slow song began to play.

“Are you alright?” Alec asked looking at
her with concern, noting how oddly excited she seemed.

Mercy looked up at the man she loved
more than anything in the world, wanting only to dance and have a good time. For
the first time she really was okay with the way things had turned out in her
life. She would miss her friends and the carefree life of a teenager, but she
relished her future with Alec and looked forward to being by his side for the
rest of her long existence. “I’m fine,” she said, hugging him tight.
“Everything is just perfect”

*****

Mercy snuggled into Alec’s arms as the limo
drove up the long winding mountain roads towards home, happy and content that
the night had gone so well. After his one loss of control, Alec managed to pull
it together and they had spent the rest of the night dancing and laughing with
their friends. It had been a magical, stress-free evening and she hated to see
it end, but as she stifled a yawn, she realized she didn’t have the stamina to
continue on anyway. 

“Tired, love?” Alec asked playing with a
loose curl of her hair.

“I am, but I hate for this to end,” she
confided, squeezing his other hand.

“This is just the beginning for us,
Angel. We have so many things to look forward to in our lives together.” He
brushed his lips across her forehead and hugged her close.

“Like what?” she asked tiredly.

Alec smiled. “There’s graduation, the
bonding ceremony, our honeymoon, children.”

Mercy stroked the back of his hand and
smiled. “You have thought about our children?”

“Of course,” he said looking offended.
“What kind of male would I be not to think about our son, who will take my
place as Alpha someday?” He pictured a young boy of ten, his chestnut hair like
his own as he smiled up at him, holding a fishing pole in one hand and a string
of fish in the other.

“A boy, huh? You are aware it could be a
girl?” Mercy teased.

Alec pictured her too, a pretty little
thing with long curly Titian hair like her mother’s, with eyes so big and green
it was like looking into an emerald. “I like that, a little Angel like her
mother, whom I can spoil rotten.”

“You know, children grow up.  If we have
a girl you will have to beat the boys away with a stick,” she told him,
laughing as he frowned at the thought.

“All male offspring then,” he said
kissing her to cut off her objection.

“Sir, we are here,” the driver said
through the crack of the window he had rolled down to speak to them.

 Alec thanked the driver and helped
Mercy gather her belongings as they pulled to a stop in front of her house. The
driver opened the door and Alec once again got out, then turned to help her,
before tipping the man generously and saying goodnight. They watched as the car
drove off, standing together, neither one ready to say goodnight.

“I had the best time,” Mercy said, her
shoes dangling from one finger as she leaned into him, wanting another kiss.

“Me too,” Alec said, his lips seeking
hers, giving her what she longed for.

The porch light flicked on and Mercy
could see Lucan outlined against the screen door and she knew the night had
come to an end. “I have to go,” she said regretfully.

“I know, but soon you will never have to
leave me again, and I will get to hold you in my arms all night.”

“You know just how to make me smile,”
she said, running up the stairs of the porch and blowing him a kiss before
walking inside.

Alec turned away, whistling, unprepared
for Mason, who stepped out from behind a tree to block his path.

“Have a good night?” Mason asked,
loosening the tie around his neck, looking uncomfortable in the black tuxedo he
wore.

Alec smiled. “Yeah, how about you?”

“Fine, until I realized there were some
people there that were definitely not on the guest list.”

Alec froze. He had not known Mason long,
but so far he had been helpful and seemed to know how to gather information
without anyone seeing him. Unfortunately, given the situation with the Elders
finding out about Mercy he wasn’t sure how much he could trust him.  “Who?”
Alec asked.

“A female, petite, dark-haired, with a
male Were, brown hair, about six four by her side.”

“Hell,” Alec ran his hand through his
hair in frustration. “Are they still around?”

Mason shook his head. “I followed them
out of town after they left, much to my date’s upset.”

Alec could only imagine how angry the
female would have been to have her prom night ruined by her date’s hasty
departure. “Where did they go?”

“They went to a small airport in the
next town and took a private plane out.” 

“Son of a bitch, how could I have missed
them?” Alec slammed his fist into a nearby tree ignoring the pain that followed.
He had been so distracted by his desire for Mercy that he had missed the
presence of others of their kind. It was an idiotic move that could have cost
him his mate.