Chapter 7
Felix had summoned all his pack members to the training grounds to address the new situation. Everyone was murmuring among themselves about what they thought their Alpha called them for. Some of them knew it was about the mysterious human girl they had seen around. They even heard she had been rescued in the woods from a feral rogue. Now it would finally make sense. They would know about her and not just speculate on what might be going on.
Felix stood tall and seriously in front of his subjects. All of their murmurs stopped in recognition of his presence. He beckoned a scared Mercedes to come out from behind him. She was not used to so many eyes on her, much less Werewolf eyes. She wished that the earth could open up and swallow her whole. Mercedes felt so embarrassed and inferior to their supernatural superiority. She was at their mercy. She imagined all of them turning off her and attacking her and having a feast. A horrific thing to imagine. She shook her head to get it straight and stop imagining nonsense.
Once she was by his side, he began talking.
" All of you must be wondering what you have all been called here for," he said and paused briefly to look at Mercedes. She stood stiffly, all gathered and head facing the floor.
" This person beside me is Mercedes Underwood. She will be our guest for a few days. As you all might have already gotten a whiff of, she is human. She was rescued outside our pack borders from a rogue. I will need you to cooperate with me and do her no harm and not let her get harmed. Let us all try our best to accommodate her for the time being. It is in our best interest that when she leaves us she doesn't have even so much as a scratch on her. That will be questionable. I hope you are all up to the task."
One of the pack members raised his hand. He was a warrior in training. Felix nodded his head for him to go ahead and speak.
" Alpha, I don't understand one thing. Why can't we just let her go home? What if her family comes to the woods in search of her? Won't we be compromised?" Felix wished what he said had been as simple as that.
" We cannot let her leave with what she already knows. That is more dangerous than her family coming to look for her. As soon as there are any developments, we will safely let her leave to reunite with her family." The other pack members nodded their heads in understanding.
Mercedes felt emotional at the mention of family. It opened wounds for her that would never heal. Those they spoke of were never a family at all. Not the one she wished she had. It was of no use to think about the past. They were dead anyway, and she had nothing or no one to get back to. A lone tear dropped on the floor. Her heart was in pain with the cruel reminder of what she had been through before.
Felix noticed the change in her and saw that she was crying. He quickly dismissed everyone and pulled her into the packhouse. They were in the living room, and he made her stand in front of him.
" What's wrong with you? Why are you crying?" his gruff voice demanded a little bit too harshly, making her flinch. He could be insufferable sometimes.
" I-I am so sorry si-Alpha. I just got emotional, that's all," she sniffled, wiping her tears away.
He sighed and reached inside his pocket and gave her a handkerchief. She was taken aback by his action and hesitated to take it. Eventually, she did, and he turned and left her right where she was standing. The fabric was so soft and his scent emitted from it. She slowly placed it under her nose and sniffed it with her eyes closed. Immediately she felt better about everything. He had that effect on her. She never found his rude and grumpy behavior towards her offensive. He hardly ever talked to her unless he was angry with her, and she was fine with it. It was a strange attraction that even she couldn't understand.
She placed the handkerchief in the back pocket of her jeans and went in search of Crystal. For the time being, she promised to assist Crystal in the clinic. Just so she does not get bored by staying inside the house all day and so that she does something productive with the time she has in her hands. Crystal agreed to it and said she could use her help. Mercedes was headed over there all in a daze thinking about the earlier encounter. It was unexplainable but it felt good.
Her head suddenly hurt and she felt dizzy. Everything was spinning and she tried so hard to make sure she did not fall. She suspected it was the effects of Alexa's spell. She was about to fall backward, and she closed her eyes tightly awaiting the impact, but she never felt it. Instead, she felt electric sparks on her waist and she shuddered. Big strong hands held her steady and she looked up behind her to see who her savior was. To her amazement, the one who rescued her from a painful fall was the one she least expected.
Felix helped her stand up straight and immediately let go of her like she was on fire. His face was still serious and broody. Mercedes tucked a hanging strand of her hair behind her ear and blushed. " T-thank y-you," she stammered, shyly. " Be careful of your steps. We wouldn't want you to fall and break your neck. You need to return in one piece, but I have a feeling that will prove to be a difficult task.
Mercedes scowled at him. " You don't like me very much, do you?" she asked with her arms folded and making her breasts rise higher. Felix's gaze fell upon her cleavage, but he quickly averted his eyes and looked in her eyes instead. " When did you figure that out?" he said sarcastically. Felix was having a strange reaction. It was happening to him for the first time, and he was trying really hard to fight it off, but it was difficult. What confused him was that it was supposed to happen with his name, but it was happening to a human. The pull towards her was stronger than anything he had ever felt.