As if the universe was equally shocked and perplexed the torrential rainstorm suddenly stopped altogether and the clearing was swept over, consumed by a storm of silence. What was Luke trying to accomplish here? I knew he meant well but this declaration was so easily seen through, if anything it was only going to cause me more harm now. My mother looked stunned as well, I searched her features for any kind of explanation but found none. What was the end game?
Azrael wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and hoisted me off the hard ground, his cold touch sending shivers down my spine as he angled my head to the side and pushed my hair away. His movements weren't rough but they certainly were not gentle either, I felt his wolf simmering beneath every movement and I hated how much it affected me.
With my neck angled to the side my mark was on full display but also a show of submission in wolf behavior. My cheeks burned as I heard him chuckle and felt Azrael's thumb trace over the bite mark he'd left in my skin, if I didn't know any better I would have thought his touch felt lovingly. But I did know better...sadly.
"I think this speaks for itself, does it not, boy?" Azrael taunted squeezing the back of my neck ever so slightly harder before releasing me. "I won't entertain an unrequited childhood crush when the proof is right before us all." He tucked me back into his side again, a satisfied flint to his eyes.
I cringed internally at the mention of Luke having a crush on me even though I wasn't entirely certain that's what this was. Growing up, everyone in our pack assumed we were going to be mates—especially once Weston ran away and I become the next in line for the title. Luke was from a respectable family, good fighting genes and we got along better than anyone. Admittedly there had been times over the years where I could tell Luke had more than friendly feelings towards me but once we were of age and learned we were not in fact mates, I figured all of that would disappear. However, seeing the pain flash before Luke's eyes as he was forced to take in my mark said otherwise.
Luke's eyes practically bore a hole into the nape of my neck, my mother took his forearm and tried to usher him back and calm him down. He shook off my mom's touch, "Mercy, how could you?"
My head pulled back in confusion, I couldn't tell if this was all a ruse or if Luke was genuinely processing feelings right now. I pursed my brow and took a step away from Azrael, this time he allowed it. "Luke...please...I-I don't understand.." I took another hesitant step forwards, testing the waters of freedom Azrael would allow me.
My foot hovered over the damp grass about to venture closer to them but something gave me pause. I turned around to face Azrael, I held my hands in front of me to try and stop them from shaking. "Ten minutes alone with them in a secure room, please."
Azrael shook his head instantly, "Not a chance."
Tears brimmed my eyes, I wanted to scream in frustration while all the while I felt the affects of McCoy's temporary fix slowly drain out of me. "Please, I'm begging you. I'll do anything you wish." My head hung in shame as I pleaded for minutes with my loved ones with my mate, my captor.
He sighed, even his breathing marred with clear annoyance. "Ten minutes—not alone—out here."
I roughly brushed the tears that rolled over my cheeks, "Five minutes alone, please. I...I've been good..." I felt my knees begin to wobble ever so slightly as the dull pain and suffocating weakness crept back over my body; and in that moment something flashed inside Azrael's eyes.
No, like quite literally flashed. I watched as a shadow danced across his dark irises for a split second before disappearing and fading into their normal light grey color. Azrael nodded once, "Use your infirmary room. Five minutes, not a second longer." With that, Azrael silently turned away and stalked back in the direction of the pack house opposite to the infirmary. The moment Azrael was far enough away both my mother and Luke took off across the clearing towards me, I felt my knees buckle just as my mom appeared beside me and instantly her arm was around my shoulder supporting me as we walked into the infirmary.
I knew time was of the essence but all I wanted to do the moment we were alone was just be held by her and cry for hours.
As soon as we stepped foot in my room in the infirmary McCoy was by my side fretting and trying to reapply all the wires back on me to reconnect to the machines for monitoring. My mother glared at him and batted his hands away from my body as she and Luke set me down into a chair beside the hospital bed, "If you really cared about helping Mercy, you'd make yourself useful and take this damn bracelet off my daughter or get lost." She growled out, her nerves clearly on edge.
McCoy instantly stopped what he was doing and stared down at my bracelet looking like he was at a loss for words. I sighed and placed a hand on McCoy's forearm to ease his conscience, "It's not his fault, Mama." I absolutely hated how weary my voice sounded, even talking seemed taxing suddenly.
My mother wound her hands through her hair as she paced in front of me, a nervous habit I picked up ages ago as well. "We have to get you out of here and that *thing* off of your wrist right now."
Tears welled in my eyes, I wanted nothing more than to be home and to be free from the bracelet but I knew if I left blood would be spilled on my behalf and frankly, I couldn't live with myself knowing that. "I cant..." I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence.
She suddenly glared at me, "This monstrosity is killing you, Merc! You can't just let this happen, please let us work something out and bring you home."
"We need you, Mercy...I need you." Luke murmured softly which drew my attention to him. I wanted to punch and berate Luke for pulling that stunt in the clearing not only because it had gone down in front of Azrael but because there was a time and place, a version of myself that would have given anything to hear those words from Luke.
My earliest memories involved Luke, he and Serena had been by my side from day one. Every spare moment was spent together, the three of us were inseparable—Luke and I more so than anyone else. It wasn't intentional but over the years, the constant closeness and pinings of puberty lead to one thing or another and admittedly Luke and I had shared a few kisses. Everyone in our pack believed we were going to be mates when we turned eighteen and after a while I even began believing it too.
Any and all displays of romantic affection were before either of us were of age. I recalled sitting in a circle with Serena and Luke on the floor of Serena's bedroom with a clock situated at the center as we waited for Luke's birthday to officially begin. We watched with baited breath for midnight, a heavy silence that was once filled with naive wishes quickly mutating into thick almost tangible disappointment. It was instantaneously clear that Luke was not my mate, we would have known otherwise the moment the clock struck twelve but in the end, everyone had been wrong about us. So, in my eyes, without skipping a beat we both went back to being what we did best, the closest of friends since there was the unspoken recognition of the sacristy of the mate bond. After hearing Luke in the clearing, it's obvious that I might have slightly misjudged things.
Luke ardently took hold of my hand, stoking the top of my knuckles with his thumb. "Don't you see? We are destined to be and I don't need a mate bond to tell me that, Mercy." There should have been warmth behind his words but for some reason it came off ominous and chilling. My wolf was not enjoying the contact nor the promise of being together with Luke, she was on edge.
An annoyed growl snapped me out of my train of thought, "That's enough out of you, Romeo." My mother muttered, "What did you say the name of that male healer who was in here before with us?"
"McCoy." My voice came out dry and hoarse.
She walked to the door of the room, "We've only got a few moments alone together left, I'm going to find this McConnell and convince him to help us get you out of that bracelet. From one healer to another, we have a code to protect life and if he values that at all, McDonald—McWhoever will help us." She slipped out of the room and I immediately felt bad for McCoy because I knew any helping us would be directly putting himself in harms way. The guilt was overwhelming.
Luke's hand shifted to my cheek where he stoked it lovingly, a gesture that he'd done a million times before but I now stiffened under his touch. I quickly covered my flinching with a sheepish smile, I moved create some space between us as the sound of shuffling outside of the door approached. Four guards burst into the room, one already roughly holding my mother by her forearm and the others advanced towards Luke.
Strangely enough, despite the flood of panic crashing over me, my mother looked all too serene—there was even a ghost of a smile on her features. She held my gaze and nodded slowly, mouthing the words 'it's gonna be okay' as she was whisked away and two more people entered the now packed room.
I was face to face once again with Weston, he crossed the room and roughly took ahold of Luke arm, Luke's eyes widened in pure shock no doubt similar to how I looked when Weston visited me in jail.
This couldn't turn out well.
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