Page 137 of Mercy & Her Devils

Where’s Dad?

Is he still simply hanging back? Have we miscalculated?

What if he waited back at the house?

What if Fletcher pulls that trigger?

I didn’t expect him to be protective of me like this.

Kai turns around with a deliberately insulting casualness.

Then he quirks his eyebrow at Fletcher. “What next?”

Fletcher ignores him, attempting to peer round him at me. “Are you all right, darling? I’ve been so worried, since you were stolen from the Institute. Then we heard from a contact that you’d been forced into a bond by these wicked Devils. Dear god, I’m sorry. Of course, I insisted that I come on this mission personally. I didn’t even hesitate. If any of them dared to hurt you—”

“You hurt me!” I scream.

The words wing from me like birds taking flight.

They’re not rehearsed or part of the plan’s script.

This is my chance to say them, however, and I can’t hold back.

I’m never holding back again.

“W-w-what?” Fletcher stutters, wiping his sleeve over his face, and I can’t help hoping that he’s attempting to hide that he’s wiping off tears along with the raindrops. “I mean, I didn’t… I did what I could. I ordered the guards to never hurt you. I forbade them from taking you to the Discipline Rooms. I checked in on you, until your fever broke.” His desperate gaze slides to Lark, and his lip curls in contempt. “I saw how that bastard took care of you.”

Lark slides his fingers possessively up and down my back. “Oh, I know that you watched just how well I took care of Mercy.”

Fletcher’s jaw clenches. “I know that I was a terrible Alpha. I never knew how to be a good one. My mother was cruel. But I did try, despite the fact that I’m sure you don’t believe me. Breaking our bond was the hardest thing that I ever did. It hurt me too.”

I stare at him.

“Hurt you?” I hiss. “You could have killed me. You were going to sell me in an auction. If you were watching, then you know that I wanted to remain with Lark. Couldn’t you at least have allowed us that happiness? And why couldn’t I have returned to my brother? Tom must have been frantic. You know that he’d have taken Lark and me into his pack.”

For the first time, Fletcher’s expression twists with something that looks — almost — like genuine remorse. “How about I explain everything, as soon as these Devils are safely in custody? You must have truly suffered. I swear that I’ll make it up to you with your next pack. But whether you believe me or not, I did try to reunite you with your brother. Once I knew that you’d survived Broken Bond Syndrome, then you being at your twins’ side would have solved our problem.” I know that he means the files I wasn’t meant to see. “He could have cared for you without you telling strangers any secrets. But your father refused to accept you back into the Saint pack because it would tarnish his reputation and political ambitions. He—”

“Told him to stop being a sentimental fool,” a sharp voice rings out.

I stiffen.

Finally.

Dad steps out of the shadows.

He’s a strong man with muscular shoulders and a powerful chest. Like Thomas, he has copper hair, which is being plastered to his head by the rain. He also has a neat, matching mustache and sideburns.

I hate that his eyes are aquamarine like mine.

Once, he’d been the beau of the town, as Thomas and I were.

He’s dressed in a sweeping black coat and boots over an elegant suit.

My pulse roars in my ears. My breathing becomes ragged.

Dad, Raylan St Clair, is Chief Alpha of the Saints pack and Mayor of Haven.

He’s always felt like a god in my small world.

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