The Pack Read Free Page B

uncomfortable . Co nversation throughout dinner had been strained and lacking substance , very unlike their usual boisterous meals . It was oddly unsettling and she looked at them all suspici ously sensing something was wrong . “So w hat’s up?” she asked deciding to get it over with.
         Lucan took her hand in his and lifted his brown eyes to hers hating himself for the pain he was about to inflict upon her . “We are moving.”
         “What?” H er voice came out a mere whisper and her small hand trembled in his large r one .
         “My father need s your bro thers to take care of businesses in another state , they must to go immediately, ” A lec said , giving her the excuse they had all agreed upon using .
         “No… I can’t go. Wh a t about school and my friends.” She pulled her hand away from Lucan’s, shoved her chair back and stood , staring at them defiantly . “This is my home , the on ly place I have felt safe since my parents died! ” Tears welled in her eyes , but she brushed them away.
         “We have no choice, ” Lucan said his own heart breaking for her .
         “There is always a choice!” s he screamed . “I’m not leaving , you can’t make me.”
         S he ran out of th e back door and into the woods seeking solace from the surrounding trees and wildlife there, letting the forest camouflage her from her brothers who she knew would soon follow . T he dreaded words repeated over and over in her mind as she flew through the evergreen filled acres that surrounded their home .
         Leaving! T hey wanted to take her away from her home , from everything she knew. How could they even think about it? How coul d they destroy her life after all she had already suffered ?  

Chapter Two
     
         Mercy was racing towards t he heart of f orest when the sound of someone or s omething pursuing her broke through her melancholy . A musky scent , foreign to her senses, brought an immediate sense of panic . S omething primal , deep inside of her screamed at her to get out of there. B efore she could change course though a lean young man dressed in hunting fatigues , his straggly brown hair hanging over one side of his face , jumped down from a tree branch next to her . She tried to step aro und him, but he blocked her, she tried again, but this time he growled , a low deep sounding noise that had her gasping in surprise. His nostrils flared as h e began circling her , his dark eyes taking in everything about her and she sto o d frozen in place afraid to move .
         “Please ,” s he whispered her voice trembling uncontrollably .
        His hand snaked out connectin g with the back of her neck pulling her face within an inch of his own . “Where have they been hiding you?” he snarled his other hand down moving up the side of her hip pulling her firmly against him . She struggled, but he tightened his grip, leaning closer , pressing his nose against her neck as he moaned low and deep.
         “Don’t hurt me,” s he begged.
         “Hurt you?” he murmured his lips trailing over her collarbone . “I am trying to make you mine . I won’t hurt you unless you force me too.” His lips fell on hers roughly , his tongue pushing betwee n her clenched lips .
         Mercy gagge d choking on the vomit that rose in her throat .
         H e r attacker pulled back and stared her then moaned again burying his face in her ha ir, as he tightened his arms around her .
         “Release her, ” Alec commanded from across the clearing , having j ust arrived to find the most horrible scene he could have imagined before him. The rage he felt for the young wolf in front of him daring to touch Mercy , threa tened every lesson in calm reasoning he had ever learned from his father . His every muscle was taunt, ready to fight , only the idea of Mercy getting in the middle , kept him from attacking .
         The young male growled, turning towards