MercyMercy was glad to see Isabella. She was so kind and refreshing. She’d brought Mercy some clean clothes and made sure she was able to take a shower without any help. She’d also brought her a snack, which was great, even though Cleo had brought her a full breakfast. Mercy felt like her stomach was turning inside out, she was so hungry. Now, she was sitting on the bed, feeling comfy in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. They smelled like flowers and fresh cotton and made her skin feel all soft and snuggly. There was something going on with her hair, though, and it was bothering her almost as much as the fact that she couldn’t remember anything. The urge to flip her hair back over her shoulder was driving her mad, but every time she went to move it, there was nothing there.“Would you like to watch some television?” Isabella asked, once Mercy was settled in.‘What’s that?” she asked. It seemed like it was something she should’ve known--the way she knew what clothes, food, and showe

August“What did you say to that woman?” Isabella asked as they stood outside of the healing center. “Really, August! The television exploded!”“I know, Mother. I was there.” He tried to keep his tone light because he didn’t want to upset her anymore than she already was. Clearly, he was good at upsetting women. “I made a mistake, all right?”“Did you try asking her about her past? You didn’t show her those damn pictures did you?”“No, and no. Not exactly, anyway. On the first one.”“What’s that now?” Isabella folded her hands beneath her bosom and waited for an answer that made sense.August wasn’t sure he had an answer that made sense. “Mom, I just said she’d never have to go back. That’s all!” More or less, that was true. Did his mom really need to know where he’d said Mercy didn’t need to go back to?“That’s all?” she repeated. “Are you sure about that, son? Because that doesn’t seem like the sort of thing a person would say that would make a television explode. I’ve never seen an

The look on Mercy’s face before she’d turned to acknowledge him was haunting. August wasn’t sure what to make of it. She was just staring at the wall, as if she was watching television, but since he hadn’t replaced the broken one yet, that wasn’t what was happening.What was she looking at?When she turned to acknowledge him, the vacant look faded, and a smile came to her lips. She was so beautiful. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would ever want to hurt her.Sitting the pizza on the tray next to her bed, he went to the supply closet and got a couple of paper plates and napkins. He almost asked her if she wanted a soda, but then he realized she wouldn’t know what that was. “I’ve got a couple of cans of Coke in the refrigerator. Do you want to try that, or would you rather just have water?”“Coke?” Mercy repeated. “What is that?”“Tell you what. You can try it. If you don’t like it, no big deal. Okay?”She nodded, and he went into the other room to grab the drinks. When he came back, sh

Lying in his bed that night, August stared up at the ceiling, wondering what it was going to take for him to figure out a way to talk to Mercy to keep her from freaking out every time he opened his mouth. He felt so terrible for upsetting her like that. But… this time he’d had no idea that just the question of whether or not she’d want to move in with him and his mom would make her react that way.At least she hadn’t had the same reaction as she had the time before, when he’d mentioned Black Hole Moon. He’d been able to talk her back out of this reaction much better. Whether or not it was a true sign of progress, he wasn’t sure, but he’d take what he could get.It was past midnight. He’d been lying there for a few hours, and so far, he hadn’t even started to feel drowsy. He considered getting up and doing something else, maybe going for a run to tire himself out, but he didn’t want to be too far away from Mercy just in case something happened. He knew he had some of his best Omegas on

Isabella had insisted on waiting for August to be available in order to take Mercy to the house that they shared in the center of the village. Mercy could understand that. After all, she hadn’t exactly proven herself to be the sort of person one could trust not to have a problem on the short walk. For all Isabella knew, she could faint, take off running, or set the house on fire….Mercy didn’t think there was much of a chance of any of those things happening, but that didn’t mean Isabella trusted her.Once August arrived, there was a private conversation in the storage room of the medical center. She heard whispering, but she had no idea what mother and son were talking about. Other than the fact that it was probably about her. She hoped she wasn’t stirring up any trouble between the two of them. They were both such wonderful people. She’d hate to come between them in any way.After a few moments, August walked out first, a smile on his face. “Hi, Mercy,” he said. “How are you today?”