August
August pushed through the door of the Health Center, coming as soon as his mother had let him know that the girl was awake and talking. He’d been in such a rush to get over to see her, he hadn’t let Isabella tell him much. For some reason he couldn't explain, the urge to see her for himself had compelled him to hang up the phone and jump up from his desk. Now, he did his best to slow his steps as he walked into the room, trying not to look like he was in such a rush, even though his heart was hammering in his chest.
The curtain around the bed was pulled back so that as soon as he stepped through the door, his eyes met the large blue ones staring at him from across the room. Her black hair stuck out around her pale face, and an inquisitive expression let him know she wasn’t sure what to think of him. His mother was standing at the foot of the bed, a smile on her face.
Words lodged in his throat as he wasn’t sure who to speak to first or what to say. The girl set a bowl and spoon she’d been holding on a tray next to the bed, the spoon clattering against the glass bowl as her hand quivered slightly. Was she… frightened? Of him?
“August,” his mother said. “Thanks for coming over.”
“Of course,” he said, glad that his voice didn’t expose the raw feelings that were churning inside of him. Whatever it was about this girl that had him all worked up, he couldn’t say, but it was uncomfortable in the same way swallowing a large pill as a child had been. Even though he didn’t particularly like it, he knew it was for the best.
“Mercy, dear, this is my son. August.”
“H-hi,” she said as he took a few steps over toward the bed.
August was about to say he was glad to meet her when his mother added, “The Alpha.”
Immediately, the girl’s posture changed. Despite the IV in her arm and the blanket on her lap, she swiftly moved into a crouching position on the bed, her knees bent beneath her slender form, and her head touching the bed, as if it were the floor and she was cowering before him.
His mom reacted more quickly than he did. “Oh, honey, you don’t need to do that,” she assured the girl, helping her back beneath the blanket and checking the IV. “Sweetheart, please be careful. We don’t need to pull this loose.”
“I’m… sorry,” she said, her eyes flickering from his mother to him. “It’s just… you said Alpha. Aren’t Alphas revered?”
August let a nervous chuckle slip from between his lips. “Not like that,” he said, approaching her bed. She didn’t move this time, but then, his mother still had a hand on her shoulder. August extended his hand. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?” He thought his mother had called her something, but he wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know,” she said, her tiny hand touching his, sending a spark of electricity all the way to his elbow.
“You don’t know?” he asked, puzzled.
She shook her head as she released his hand, leaving his palm cold. “I don’t remember.”
“August, she doesn’t remember anything,” his mother explained.
His eyes widened slightly but then he caught himself and lowered his eyebrows. No need to make a big deal out of it.”That’s okay,” he said with a shrug. “It’s probably temporary.”
His mother agreed. “I’m sure it is. We’ve decided to call her Mercy.” She smiled at the girl, and the corners of her mouth upturned slightly in response. Isabella picked up the bowl which contained just a small amount of soup in the bottom and patted Mercy’s shoulder. “I’ll let you two talk.”
August waited for his mom to walk out of the room before the awkward silence that invaded the space overcame him, compelling him to talk. He cleared his throat and asked, “How are you?”
“Fine,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “Thank you.”
She was clearly terrified of him, and he had no idea why that would be. But then, if she didn’t remember anything, he might never find out. All of the questions he’d been preparing to ask her since she’d been brought in were pointless now. Where had she come from? Why was she running? Was she safe? Did she want to go back or was there somewhere else they could take her? Hell, she didn’t even know the basic, first question he wanted to ask--what was her name?
“How are you feeling?” He realized as soon as the words came out of his mouth it was essentially the same question he’d already asked. He tried to hide the embarrassment that threatened to redden his face.
“I’m okay.” At least she hadn’t said the same thing in response to the similar question as she’d said before. “Tired.”
“Oh,” he said, assuming that meant she wanted to go to sleep. “Well, I won’t keep you up.”
“No, it’s fine!” she said, looking a little embarrassed herself. “I didn’t mean…. It’s fine.”
“Okay, well, uh, you can stay here as long as you need to. I mean not here--in the Health Center. Well, you can stay here. But I meant in the pack.” August rubbed the back of his neck. Why in the world did he sound like a tongue-tied prepubescent boy who’d never spoken to a girl before? This should be easy for him! He talked to pretty girls all the time.
Did he think she was pretty? She was unusual looking, and her hair didn’t look natural. But yes, she was pretty. More than that, there was just something about her that made him want to protect her from the world.
“Thank you,” she said, her smile wider than before. “I appreciate your hospitality, Alpha August.”
The way her lips formed his name made it sound sweeter than it ever had before. Again, his face threatened to turn red. “Of course,” he said. “I’ll let you get some rest now.”
“All right,” she said, looking up at him between her eyelashes before dropping her eyes again. “Thanks.”
“Have a good night.” He gave her an awkward wave and then headed for the door, knowing he was going to go back over this conversation a million times and kick himself for sounding like a big dork.
Maybe when she woke up again, she wouldn’t remember how silly he’d sounded during their first conversation. Did amnesia work that way? He didn’t think so.
As he walked back toward his office, one thing was for sure: he was never going to forget Mercy.
“Mercy, hurry up!” August shouted up the stairs. “We’re going to be late!”“We can’t be late,” Mercy shouted back to him. “They can’t start without us. You’re the Alpha.”“Well, we’re supposed to be there in fifteen minutes, and it’ll take at least ten to get to the chapel.”“I’m coming,” Mercy said, sliding an earring into her ear and looking at herself one more time in the mirror. What her husband failed to realize was that she not only had to get herself ready, she also had to get the baby ready, and that took some time.She looked good in a nice red dress and silver dangly earrings. She wore a pendant around her neck that had a picture of August in one half and her daughter in the other. Her hair was up in a clip, and her knee length red dress was tight at the top but flowy at the bottom. Her red heels were not so high that she couldn’t walk in them easily.She hurried down the stairs to see August standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding their daughter, Abigail, in his arms.
“Put him down, Leeta,” Mercy demanded. “Unless you want your husband to explode all over the place. Put that wolf down.”“That wolf?” Leeta repeated. “Isn’t this your husband? The Alpha?”“No,” Mercy lied, hoping she’d buy it. “You’ve got the wrong one. That’s just an Omega.” August didn’t even look like a random Omega, but her sister wasn’t the brightest, perhaps she’d fall for it.“Don’t listen to her, honey,” Rider shouted. “That’s Alpha August.“Says the man who left you and ran away only a few minutes ago. I could’ve just killed him in the forest, but I didn’t,” Mercy reminded her sister.“Why didn’t you?” Leeta asked. “Why didn’t you just kill him while you could?”“Because they call me Mercy now,” she explained. “I want to live up to my new name. I wanted to give my husband the opportunity to spare yours.”Leeta pressed the knife so that a drop of blood appeared on August’s neck.“Don’t!” Mercy yelled. “If you kill him, you know I’ll kill Rider.”“Then let him go, and I’ll let
Mercy had a choice to make. She could either chase Rider down and destroy him, or she could stay there with her sister who had collapsed on the ground but could get up at any moment and begin to wreak havoc on the sleeping wolves that Mercy had immobilized earlier.She couldn’t leave the wolves unprotected, but she also couldn’t let Rider get away.With no other choice, Mercy hit her sister with a jarring bolt of energy, one that was sure to keep her from getting up for quite some time. She hated to hurt her own flesh and blood, especially since she was quite certain that her sister was misdirected in the decision she had made, but she had little choice because she couldn’t take the risk of Leeta getting up and hurting someone.Then, Mercy took off after Rider.She wasn’t going to catch him by running after him, though. He was a male, for one thing, so he was naturally faster than her. Also, he was an Alpha, so he was stronger, more muscular, bigger than she could ever hope to be. No,
It didn’t take long for Rider to come into view. He was about a quarter of a mile ahead of her, in between some trees, just stepping out of a clearing.Of course, he would be hiding from the battle, Mercy thought.He stepped out into the field. The fog curled around him, just as it had in her dreams. He was in his human form, just as she was, and for once, Mercy wished she hadn’t forced herself to wake up before the dreams had ended.At least then maybe she’d have some idea what was about to happen.Rider wasn’t alone.It took Mercy a few seconds to realize that there was another person following him, but when her eyes locked on the blonde woman behind him, a rush of memories came back to her, and she suddenly realized she knew exactly who she was.She looked so much like Mercy, even from a distance, she could tell that they resembled one another. It was almost like she was looking in a mirror. Except she was shorter and a couple of years younger.She was wearing a flowing gown, the s
August had made her promise to stay in the house, and Mercy had pretended to comply. It was better that way. Well, it was easier that way, anyhow.When she stepped outside, about an hour after the battle had begun, she knew exactly what to expect.She wasn’t wearing a long, flowing gown like she had been in her dreams, though. She was wearing a much more practical outfit. She had on pants and they were tucked into her boots. She was also wearing a long-sleeved shirt. It was a bit chilly in the predawn hours. A light fog hung over the village. It was fog–not smoke.Why would it be smoke? It wasn’t as if wolves fought with weapons that fired gunpowder like humans did. Still, she did smell smoke in the distance. As she began to walk toward the sound of fighting, the smell became stronger, more acrid, and she realized that there were some buildings on fire on the perimeter of the village.That bastard Rider had set some of the villagers’ homes on fire.Mercy shook her head and knew that t
It was no wonder that Rider had been quiet for so long.He’d been training his warriors.He’d been collecting more.As August made his way across the battlefield, it was clear that his enemy had been working hard to prepare himself for this night. Everywhere the Alpha looked, he saw his Omegas fighting with Rider’s ferocious wolves. Blood, sweat, tufts of fur, claws, and fangs…. It was a vicious battle, one of the worst he’d ever seen, and August was afraid to see the aftermath.If he survived the night.Before August could even think about what he needed to do next, a large male wolf stepped before him, and he found himself engaged again. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to fight instead of simply directing his warriors that night. He’d already dispatched four other wolves, and if he wanted to get back to overseeing the battle, he’d have to do the same to this large black wolf as well.Saliva hung from the wolf’s teeth as he stared at August, his eyes glaring with menace. August was