Free Bonded to the Pack (Born to be Were) by Donna Flynn Page A

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.
    “You wouldn’t have sensed them,” Mason
said, understanding his upset.  “They give off no odor and are smart enough to
blend in with their surroundings. I first noticed them a few days ago in the
forest, talking about you, Mercy, and the Elders. I followed them then, but the
female was watching for anything suspicious so I couldn’t get too close.” Mason
leaned against the tree and watched Alec’s mood shift from happy to rage-filled.
“I assume you know them, then?”
    “I don’t, but I suspect the Elders sent
them to keep an eye on us.”
    Mason looked to Mercy’s house. “Are you
going to tell her?”
    “For tonight I’ll just keep my eyes
open.  If they flew back home they are not a threat right now, but God knows
when they will show up again.” Mason nodded and Alec stuck out his hand. “Thanks
for letting me know.”
    Mason shook his hand and frowned. “You
should also know the female was talking to your friend Rich in the lobby.”
    “What the hell!” Alec thundered. “I
thought I could trust him, I thought he was on our side.”
    “I don’t know what they were talking about,
I was too far away, but he seemed kind of dazed after she left.”
    Alec thought about Gina, and hoped she
wasn’t too attached to Rich, because he was going to kill him if he found out
he was the one who had told the Elders about Mercy.
    “Look, I don’t know what is going on,
but I know that you’re angry and probably want to strangle him, but the old
saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” really applies here. If
you tip your hand, Rich might run, and you will never know what is going on.”
He pulled his tie from around his neck and stuffed it in his pocket. “I’ll keep
my eye on him. If he meets her again I will let you know.”  
    “Thanks, Mason, I would appreciate it,
and please don’t say anything to Mercy about this, she had a wonderful night and
I want that to be what she remembers.” Plus, he didn’t want her to worry.
    Mason nodded and walked back into the
forest, leaving Alec to his own thoughts.
    Alec wasn’t sure what to make of Mason.
It could be he was lying and setting Rich up to get in good with him, or he
could be telling the truth, which meant Alec had to deal with the fact his best
friend had turned on him. Either way, his mate was in danger and he couldn’t allow
it to continue. No longer could he trust the people he had thought would never
betray him and now he would be forced to turn to someone he had never thought
he would