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.”“She should have come to one of us, not Gina.” He shook his head worriedly.“I had hoped she was feeling better about us, but Marlo did warn me that she was not as accepting as she seemed.I suppose this proves she still has some issues we need to work out.”“I think she puts up a good front, but now I can see what Marlo was trying to tell me.I have to stop excusing her behavior and teach her how to be a member of the pack, even if she resents me for it.”Nina wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him close, knowing how worried he was.“Hopefully after this she will understand better why Gregory or Alec needs to be with her when she shifts.”“Alec must have been terrified,” Gregory said, knowing if anything happened to Mercy his son would never be the same again.The loss of a mate was the most traumatizing thing a wolf could endure, very few moved on with their lives after such an occurrence.It was devastating to the surviving mate's mind and many a good wolf had turned rogue after experiencing their mate’s death.Gregory knew firsthand how the loss of a mate affected their kind.He had been there, wallowing in grief and self-pity, when his own mate was murdered.If not for Alec, he too might have chosen to die; it would have been easier than living every day without his mate, but his son and heir gave him a reason to go on, and he would never want him to experience the devastation he did back then.“It is going to take time for her to adjust.It was unrealistic of us to think that such a short time with Marlo was enough,” Lucan said.“We should go and see how she is doing,” Nina said, rising from the table.Lucan stood, dreading what he knew was going to be a long night, and Nina placed her hand in his.Together they all walked up the stairs, but uncertainty about what was going to happen if Mercy could never accept her Were side tore at him.*****Alec sat by Mercy’s side, listening to each breath she took, thankful she was alive.The moment he had seen her on the ground in such agony, he had known the true meaning of fear.He couldn’t help her, he could not stop her pain, and that upset him tremendously.Nina assured him that she would be fine, but still he worried.If anything happened to her, he knew his life would be over.He had known her too long to be able to live without her presence in his life.She was his light when the world was dark, his sanity when all else was in chaos, and the calm he sought when he lost control.Simply put, without her he was nothing.“Alec,” Mercy whispered, struggling to open her eyes.“What happened?” she asked wearily, clutching her tender abdomen.“Don’t talk,” he told her, seeing that it clearly caused her considerable pain to do so.“But…” she whispered.He placed his finger over her lips silencing her.“We can talk later, when you’re fully healed, for now you need rest.” She nodded, gripping his hand tightly in her own, looking around the room for her brothers.“They are on their way,” he told her, understanding immediately she sought the comfort of her brothers’ presence.The door opened, Lucan walked in, followed closely by Nina and Gregory.“How are you?” Lucan asked, coming to her side and taking her other hand in his own.“Fine,” she murmured, tears misting her eyes.She hated that once again she looked like a failure in his eyes.“You don’t need to say anything, just know how very thankful we are that you are alive and how much we all love you.” He kissed her forehead and let go of her hand, backing away so Nina could check her over once more.By the time she was done and she had given her some pain medicine, Mercy was once again sound asleep.*****Alec watched Mercy as she slept throughout the night and as the morning sun filtered into her bedroom, she finally reopened her eyes.He held her hand, as he had throughout the long night and she squeezed it softly, meeting his gaze.Never had he seen her look more beautiful than she did in that moment, and he wasted no time with words.He leaned over, brushing her lips with his own, trying to understand the hesitation he felt coming from her.“I was so afraid.I thought that I had lost you,” he whispered.“I’m sorry,” she replied softly.Her last conscious thought before blacking out was of never seeing Alec again.It made her realize just how important he was to her that the idea of his loss took precedence over her brothers, whom she loved dearly.“The thought of never seeing you again … I …” His eyes grew moist, and he squeezed her hand so tightly she cried out.“Sorry,” he murmured.“Don’t cry,” she told him, upset with herself for being so stupid as to believe she could shift on her own.“I am alive.Do not dwell on what might have happened.”“How can I not, when I saw you there like that…?”He was so upset that she reached out and took his hand in her own, ignoring the panic just touching him brought her.She wanted to tell him how she felt, to admit that she too knew he was the one for her, but she wasn’t ready to commit to a life she knew little about, and he would want that.He couldn’t help it, he was Alpha, and he was used to things going his way.“Well, look who’s up,” Gregory said, striding into the room followed closely by Lucan and Cade.“Hey kid, how are you doing?” Cade asked, coming to her side and placing a kiss on her cheek.“Sore, but considering I almost killed myself yesterday I can deal with the pain,” she told him as Lucan leaned down to kiss her cheek too [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]