Page 15 of Deadly Reckoning
My instincts tell me that isn’t information that I need to share, not right now. But knowing that they are a True Pack, or at least the beginnings of one, makes me relax, and I smile when Neith’s body language relaxes when mine does. She probably has no idea that she’s doing it.
Logan lets go of Merrikh, and Dare moves to give him a hug instead.
Stepping back, he says, “We thought you were dead. Derek told us that he killed you.”
“He tried, over and over again. He couldn’t kill me,” Merrikh replies honestly.
The fact that he can be honest with them both is a really good sign. It means that he’s not going to keep what happened to himself, which would make it fester and mean that he never heals properly. He may never tell them everything, and that’s okay, just so long as he talks to someone about some of it.
Both of them growl when the implications of Merrikh’s words sink in.
“This whole time? He’s been torturing you this whole time?” Logan asks, horror and anger in his voice.
Merrikh swallows thickly and looks away before he nods.
“Your parents are going to be beside themselves,” Dare says, sensing the need to change the subject.
Merrikh winces and looks at Neith, “Can you explain it? You can probably do it better than I can.”
Neith smiles, “Of course. After being confined for a long time, it's going to take Merrikh some time to adjust and get used to not being in pain constantly.”
Understanding crosses their features.
Smart wolves.
“You need us to run interference and stop things before you hit panic attack, flashback, or lash out mode?” Dare summarizes, looking at Merrikh.
I raise my eyebrows in surprise, and Dare catches the expression, shadows dance across his expression, along with an unexpected edge of violence, “Been there, done that.”
I nod. “Understood, everyone in this room has to some degree.”
Dare nods, “I know.”
Merrikh clears his throat, “Yes, please. I don’t know if I can cope with the whole pack thing.”
“If you need to go solo, we’ll follow,” Logan immediately says, and Dare nods along.
“You’re the beta of the pack,” Merrikh points out with a grin, “congrats by the way.”
Logan shrugs, “You’re my best friend and brother, just like Dare. I’ll give up being a beta easily if you need to leave. We thought you were dead once, we’re not having you disappear on us again.”
“He’s right, we made the pact, there’s no take-backs,” Dare grins.
I clear my throat, and everyone looks at me. “Logan won’t stop being a beta when you split from the pack, he will just become yours.”
Merrikh’s eyes widen in shock, “Mine?”
I nod, “Yeah, you’re an alpha, and a pretty fucking strong one. You’re not going to be able to stay a part of this pack for longer than a year or so before it starts to become a problem.” I frown slightly as my alpha magic stirs, “If that, actually, you might have to leave sooner.”
“I fucking told you,” Dare says triumphantly, and Merrikh rolls his eyes like it’s a conversation that they’ve had millions of times before.
“It’s settled then,” Logan shrugs like it’s a no-brainer.
“I can see why you wanted to see them first,” Coen grins. “True brothers and packmates.”
Merrikh nods, “Ever since we were kids.”
I sigh, “I know I sure as hell want to get out of here. Do you want to see your parents here or out there?”
