Page 17 of Mercy & Her Devils

I shove the file away from me, and it tumbles to the floor, spilling out its contents.

Gabriel’s photograph slips out and stares up at me.

Gabriel was cute when he was younger, but all grown up, he’s the most attractive man who I’ve ever seen.

Yet he’s in my Alpha’s file, marked for execution.

My best friend and first love is a criminal. If he’s caught, then he’s dead.

I rock backwards and forwards in alarm, scanning across the shadows, desperately relieved that Fletcher hasn’t come back in the time that I’ve been mesmerized by this glimpse of my lost — outlaw — love.

I need to tell someone that Gabriel’s in danger.

I need to tell Thomas.

He’s going to freak.

But terrorism? Treason?

Does this mean that Gabriel’s become an Omega resistance fighter?

These terrible sounding crimes are what rescuing Omegas have been labeled. It’s how Fletcher describes the attacks on his Institute.

My heart swells with a sudden pride because it’s exactly the type of thing that Gabriel dreamed about becoming, when we were kids, but at the same time, shatters because I’m part of the enemy pack who are right now, fucking hunting him.

All of a sudden, I hear the key in the lock.

“Fuck,” I hiss.

I only just have time to jump off the bed, before the door slams open.

Fletcher stalks into the room.

The burned coffee stench of distressed Alpha makes me scrunch up my nose.

My adrenaline spikes, and I whimper.

Instantly, Fletcher hesitates, keeping his distance from me.

“You’re not even kneeling,” he says, flatly.

His disappointment stabs me through the bond.

“It’s been six hours,” I reply. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t kneel that long. I showered.”

Fletcher avoids my eye, running his hand through his hair, mussing it. The action is so unlike him that I study him warily.

He’s not wearing his jacket, and his tie is askew.

He looks more messed up than I do.

What the hell has he been doing?

Agitated, Fletcher prowls around the room, as if he has something bursting to get out but doesn’t know how to begin.

Finally, he storms back to me, and I stumble backward, cracking my hips against the bedside table with a wince. “Why the hell did you have to act out like that in front of your brother? If you wanted to talk about things, then we could have done it in private, but now… I had to talk to your father. I had to complain about Thomas — again.”

My heart sinks, and concern for my twin bleeds through me. “Why are you always so competitive with Tom? Do you feel like a more powerful Alpha, when you get him punished? Why won’t you just accept that he’s my family?”

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