Mercy Reunited (Lost Souls #3)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Mercy

I waited patiently, pretending to be asleep in the guest room, though I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I tried, given my anxious state.

One by one, the wolves left the premises, but Randy remained, sulking, pacing outside beneath my window.

Waiting for me to attempt to escape.

The guy might be an asshole, but at least he was smart, I’d give him that.

A part of me thought he’d never actually leave, and I’d have to formulate a new plan. And then I heard it.

The howl echoed in the distance outside the window, causing my skin to crawl and my gut to twist.

Somewhere inside me, I knew. This was it, this was the moment, my moment. I pushed myself up on the bed as the sounds of wolves echoed in the distance, answering the first howl, and I heard movement down the hall, likely Sarah waking up.

I wanted to check on her, my captor. My heart twinged with concern, knowing somewhere deep down that the cry I heard outside was one for help.

What sort of fucked up person did something like that?

Though I couldn’t entirely hate the girl; after all, she wasn’t that much older than me, and even though I didn’t know everything, what I did know of her... she seemed like a good person.

Good people don’t keep lost souls hostage in their cabins.

Good people don’t want your fucking soul for their own gain.

“Come on, Mercy.” I tried to convince myself to move and focus on the one thing I needed to do.

Escape and find Endor and Valory.

Find my body, and...

I’d just have to figure the rest out later.

I carefully crept down the hall, toward the bathroom. The window was small and I knew it’d be a tight fit, but I knew I’d make it.

Something deep in my bones told me this wasn’t my first rodeo, even if I couldn’t remember how I knew, or why I knew this.

Guess I’m just going to have to trust my instincts.

I stood on the back of the toilet, carefully propping the window open. Howls sounded outside among growls and what sounded like fireworks.

Or gunshots.

When I was on the ground, I had all of three seconds to get my bearings, because a large wolf came barreling at me, knocking me to the ground.

I don’t know how to explain it, except that I should have been scared, I should have been frozen with fear at the sight of its gigantic maw, its glowing eyes.

I should have been shitting myself right about then, but instead, I was furious.

I kicked out, throwing a punch to the wolf’s jaw, causing it to whimper only slightly.

It was enough of a momentary distraction that I could scramble to my feet, grab my satchel, and run.

Run, run, run!

The wolf growled as it picked up its pace, chasing me through the dark field toward the woods.

Gold light sparked through the trees as the sounds of howls and growls became more evident. My legs burned with the strain of using muscles that I didn’t even know I had.

The wolf was close. One look back showed me he was not alone.

“Mercy!” My name rang out, and I was forced to tear my gaze away from the wolves to see...

Endor!

I never thought I’d be so happy to see a demon in all my life.

Or is it afterlife? Unclear.

My thighs burned as I pumped my arms, racing against the fangs snapping at my feet.

Fangs that tore into the edges of my jeans as Valory came beside Endor, her golden light flickering like a dying candle.

“Mercy!” she called, her eyes glowing as she reached for me, Endor punching the wolf square in its jaw, which caused the creature to open its mouth, enough for me to leap into Valory’s arms.

I watched as Endor fought the wolf, as three others came our way, one from each side of us. We were surrounded.

Valory’s arms encircled me, their warmth familiar and foreign at the same time.

I didn’t know her, not really. But something about her felt so safe, so loving , it was hard to discount.

When Valory held me, it felt like how my mother used to hold me.

Comforting.

But I supposed that was on brand for an angel. They weren’t known to be assholes, like demons.

Endor isn’t an asshole.

I watched him straddle the wolf, choking it with his bare hands. The fury in his dark eyes was evident, and something about that triggered me.

“Stop!” I shouted as Valory sent out a jolt of energy, like lightning, toward the wolf on our right.

My gaze fell on the wolf beside us. The dark eyes were familiar.

Randy.

As much as I wanted to hurt him for taking me in the first place, I knew if I did...

What would happen to Sarah?

If I hurt her... boyfriend... her alpha?

Something about that reality caused my insides to twist, caused panic to flood my system in an entirely new way I’d never felt.

It was like a wave cresting through me, stirring up settled debris and buried skeletons.

Energy rippled through me, coursing through my blood, making my entire body feel like I was on fire.

I could hear Valory and Endor beside me, but their voices were white noise.

Energy flared from my fingertips as the memories resurfaced.

No! Stop! Leave him alone! I tried my hardest to pry the man’s hand off of...

Why can’t I remember his name?

It was no use, though. I was too small, too weak to effectively make a dent in the large man’s grip.

Terror swept through me as the sound of a blade popping out echoed in the space of the alley.

“Take me instead, just leave him alone!” I fought as the boy from my dreams cried out in pain.

I couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not before we’ve even made it to Jasper Springs...

My heart ached with fear. If I lost him, I’ll be alone.

Alone, miles away from home. I couldn’t go back there, but I knew for certain I couldn’t make it on my own without him, either.

The energy was more than anything I’d ever felt in my entire life. It was warm and bright, but it was also cold, and dark. Both sensations mingled together like a double helix, wrapped around one another, dancing together in a ghostly waltz.

The world around me was bathed in light.

My light, I realized as the dark green fractals danced with black smoke and golden tendrils to create a color so vivid, it almost looked like a prism.

Somewhere in my consciousness, I knew this was what they were after.

This was what they needed.

My soul.

My vision was hazy as I focused on the wolf, who whined as he knelt before me. Glancing around me, I could see all the wolves had knelt, their eyes glassy and full of hope and despair.

Endor gazed up at me with awe, clutching his chest. Valory’s arms still encircled me, tightening their grasp as if she too was afraid.

But what would an angel have to fear?

Instinctively, I broke free from her hold, taking one step toward the wolf beside me.

Randy.

I reached out my hand, letting it slide through his fur, and I could see everything.

From the moment he was born, to his trials to become alpha, to his love affair with Sarah. All their losses. Five of them.

Her declining health, his broken heart.

His desperation.

I could feel it all coursing through my veins as if it were my own. I could feel his love for her, for his pack.

Desperate people do desperate things, Mercedes. My mother’s voice rang in my head. People often feel the ends justify the means, because they have no choice in the matter. But you always have a choice, sweetheart.

I smoothed Randy’s fur as peace flowed through me, and I understood in a way I couldn’t describe, that I could choose to punish this creature, or to simply give him what he needed.

The choice wasn’t mine, but yet it was. I didn’t know that I’d made my decision until the energy flowed, taking with it my warmth.

The light around us dimmed, and my legs became weak, my eyelids heavy.

Randy nuzzled my hand, just before it fell from his soft fur. My light was diminished as I fell into darkness once more.