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

ask for a favor. With little other choice, he took out his cell phone
and dialed the number of the one person he knew could never hurt Mercy, even
though it killed him to do it.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
    Mercy woke Sunday morning to the sound
of birds chirping and the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen downstairs. She
stretched and got of bed, anticipating seeing Alec again after such a magical
night. A quick glance in the mirror to be sure she didn’t look frightful, and
she was on her way out of the door. With a smile, she jogged down the stairs
and turned into the kitchen, faltering when she saw not only her brothers and
Alec at the table, but her ex-boyfriend Kirk, who had at best a tentative
relationship with Alec.
    “There she is,” Lucan said from the
stove where he was in the process of flipping pancakes.
    Every eye in the room turned to her and
she felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment.
    “Morning, Angel,” Alec said coming to
her side and placing his arm around her, escorting her to a chair.
    Cade slid a glass of orange juice in
front of her and she took a large swallow before turning to look at Kirk.
    “I know. Weird, right?” he asked with a
grin.
    Mercy nodded, not trusting herself to
say anything. Given their history together it was more than passing odd, but
she didn’t comment, instead she looked to Alec, who took one of her hands in
his and began stroking her fingers nervously. “Alec, what is going on?”
    “We need help and Kirk is about the only
one I trust to give it to us at this point,” he explained.
    “What?” Mercy shook her head in
confusion and looked to Cade, who sat across the table watching it all with a
grin.
    “I have reason to believe that Rich
might be the one who tipped off the council about your being a Born Were. He is
the one in charge of the pack members keeping watch over you so I can’t exactly
trust him, but I can’t pull him off that duty either without raising suspicion
so I asked Kirk to help us out.”
    “Alec, Rich wouldn’t do this. He is your
best friend,” Mercy said, unable to believe Rich would be capable of such
deceit.
    “It has always seemed that way, but I
have some evidence that is pretty damming and I can’t trust him until I know,
but I also can’t let him know I have evidence on him.  If he knew, it might
force his hand before I know exactly what it is he is up to.”
    “I can’t believe this.” She clasped his
hand, seeing clearly how upset he was by the news his friend might be the very
one that betrayed them.   
    Alec tightened his grip on her hand and
looked to Kirk. “I needed someone who had no reason to betray us to help, and
since Kirk is heir to his own pack and has always cared for you he was the
logical choice.”
    Mercy was stunned. Alec asking for Kirk’s
help was huge, and it meant he had no one else to turn to.
    “I have offered some of my father’s
people to keep an eye on things around here. Since we are the local pack, our
presence won’t seem odd to Rich or the rest of Alec’s pack.”
    She stared at them in disbelief. Not
long ago they were ready to rip each other’s throats out and now, to protect
her, they were working together. Tears flooded her eyes and Alec pulled her
into his arms. “Isn’t this going to be weird for you?” she asked Kirk.
    He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe a
month ago, but I know now that Alec is your true mate and I am dating Lane now
so, there’s no weirdness for me. Are you alright with this?”
    Mercy gulped and looked to Alec, who
seemed awfully calm about everything.  The only sign he was aggravated was the
tight grip he had on her hand. “I guess I mean you and I were friends long
before we dated, but won’t Lane mind?”
    “Nah, she knows how I feel about her and
she is your friend too, you know.”
     He gave her a charming smile that
melted the last of her reservations and she found herself agreeing with their
plan. “I’m so