Mercy and the Merciless Alpha

Chapter Eighteen

"The f:ck is West—"

Luke's exclamation was abrasively cut short by my half brothers elbow jamming into his side. I wondered the same thing myself, none of it made sense, I didn't understand how Weston was here and arrived to a station of such power so quickly. My mind drifted back to the girl from the jail cells, Mal. Even though I was pretty sure that she was borderline crazy, she was the only one who seemed to be able to offer me an inkling of information about Wes so I definitely needed to speak with her again and soon.

I jumped up seeing Weston try and tear his elbow back again but this time he aimed for Luke's temple and I sprung forward. I threw my arm up to block my half brother's blow but the sheer momentum from his swing pushed my own arm backwards into my jaw; the edge of the bracelet connecting hard into the side of my face. It left me seeing stars as I fell back onto my ass with a new found stinging sensation signaling a fresh cut.

My jaw ached instantly but what hurt more was the true knowledge of who had inflicted this injury on me. Luke strained even still against Weston, "Are you fuck:ng crazy? That's your—" Again, Luke was cut short when Wes all but threw him out of the room into the arms of waiting guards outside and closed the door behind him.

The other new face who had entered the room surprisingly rushed to my side, helping me up from the floor. Emmanuel scowled over at Weston, "Relax, man!" His eyes scanned over my face and based off of the unhappy expression I figured there was already a mark beginning to form. "Alpha is going to lose it when he sees this." Emmanuel grumbled and I watched his eyes flicker down to my bracelet almost longingly, it would certainly save his skin if I was able to heal myself right now.

Dimly, I listened to Emmanuel scold Wes some more and question him about just how exactly Luke knew about him but it was like I was underwater listening to it all. Everything felt warbled and distant. I felt a single hot tear roll down my cheek and despite the inescapable helplessness and shame I sensed my body being consumed by, that one tear was all I would further allow myself. The only light in my darkness was my mother, in the midst of all the chaos she had been totally calm and almost optimistic in a way. I had to hold onto that, perhaps she knew something that I did not and if that was the case, I couldn't lose hope just yet.

I hadn't noticed McCoy enter the room or the other two leave. I was brought into the present by the cool sting of an alcohol pad gently wiping the small cut on my jaw. The pain was welcomed in a way, I was glad to be forced out of my own thoughts because it felt like a very dangerous place to be in at the moment.

McCoy's features were tense, he too looked like he was dealing with a great amount of personal turmoil and weirdly enough that was comforting. He examined my jaw, gingerly shifting it to test the motion in case anything had been broken no doubt when suddenly his hands dropped from my face.

"I took an oath when I became a healer." McCoy suddenly announced, he took a deep breath, his entire body shifting from side to side nervously. "We are supposed to help and protect, to look out for those in need. And I have broken that oath, I've failed myself in my treatment of you."

Well, this certainly was a surprise. His words sounded familiar in a way, I remembered my mother reciting the oath to me time and time again when I complained about having to learn healing instead of fighting.

I didn't have time to respond because Azrael entered the room. McCoy quickly scurried out of the room without another word, his face buried in his clipboard. Smart decision.

Even though I was facing away from the door and hadn't heard Azrael enter, a shiver ran through my entire body and his intoxicatingly woodsy scent filled the room. I froze to my spot out of fear that Azrael might have overheard McCoy but I knew deep down that if he actually had, McCoy would have been long gone already.

"Quite a lot of drama caused from five minutes alone in this room." Azrael murmured with a hint of amusement in his voice which definitely caught me off guard. Still not moving, I listened to him cross the room and come to stand in front of me. Just as I dropped my gaze to stare at my feet and avoid all eye contact, he gently caught my chin and brought my face upwards. Azrael gently ran his thumb across my jaw, his eyes darkening ever so slightly the longer he stared at the injury. "He will be dealt with for laying a hand on you, I promise."

I wasn't sure what possessed me in the moment but I brought my hand up to Azrael's that was still holding my face and grasped it gently, "My mother and Luke are not to be harmed."

His eyes widened at my touch, surprising the both of us it seemed. Azrael took my hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing the top of my hand but his lips lingered on my skin for a moment longer. "You reek of the boy."

After what felt like a millennia Azrael released my hand, a warmth that had subconsciously been building suddenly dimmed from the lack of contact. A look of mild disgust marring his shadowed features, Azrael's jaw tightened as his gaze came to a rest on my cheeks. "He touched you there?" Gesturing to my cheek with a stiff nod where Luke had indeed touched.

My hand reached up to my cheek and as I recalled Luke gingerly holding my face, my stomach felt uneasy. My wolf hating the implications of another males touch on such an intimate area. Azrael sighed finally and stepped away from me, a spell breaking the moment distance was created between us. He opened the door to the hospital room, "No harm will come to them, you have my word. McCoy wants you back here tomorrow for another dose of that shot. You know the way to our room I am assuming?"

I barely had time to nod before Azrael walked out and left my completely alone. It surprised me how easily he'd agreed to not hurt my mother and Luke and despite the ever growing pain in fatigue from this bizarre sickness, I felt a small bloom of happiness within me over that small victory.

They would be safe and with that knowledge in my heart, I quickly exited the infirmary and made the short walk back to Azrael's large and rather dominating home. There was a chill in the air as I closed in on his home, I shoved my hands in the pockets of the pants I'd been provided. To my surprise, my fingers made contact with what felt like a scrap of paper at the bottom of one of the pockets.

Quickly, I slipped inside of the house and took off towards my room as fast as I could manage in my current state. I was anxious to see how a mysterious sneak of lapse ended up in my pocket without my knowledge, perhaps while I was unconscious?

As soon as I closed to door to my bedroom, I pressed my back against it and sat on the floor as I unfolded the scrap of paper. In nearly illegible scrawl was a note addressed to me: "Mercy—meet me in the rose garden at midnight tonight. MC".

There wasn't much time for me to ponder on the cryptic note because I heard footsteps quickly approaching. Shoving it back into my pocket i all but jumped into the bed, not even caring about being fully clothed still.

I hadn't done this since I was a child but in the moment I felt beside myself and out of options. I silently sent a prayer to the Moon Goddess that she would protect my family. I felt my eyelids getting heavier with every passing moment but just before they closed completely I remembered the note and how I couldn't actually sleep since I had no way of enduring I'd wake up at midnight.

But as the footsteps came to a stop outside my door I closed my eyes tightly, hoping that if whoever was out there came in they'd believe me to be asleep. When in reality, my mind was swirling with a million different thoughts a second.

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