Mercy (Tails Book 2) Read online

  The door shut loudly behind them. “Oh?”

  “Come on, man. There’s no way in hell I’d want her working here. Too many unmated males. I’d get fired for punching patrons.”

  Hemi snorted. “The protective stuff is strong?”

  “Yeah. I mean she’s everything to me. If she got hurt, I’d never forgive myself.”

  “That’s cool.” Hemi stepped behind the counter and rested his hands on the worn surface. “Tell you what. You ever want her to come in for a visit, you sit her right up at the counter and I’ll keep an eye on her until you’re free.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Absolutely. I already keep an eye on Demi when she comes in with her girlfriends, and China when she’s working. You do that kind of shit for family and I think we should do it for pride members, too. Especially mates.” Demi was Hemi’s twin sister, and they were the only black-furred lions in the pride. China was his cousin, and also a waitress.

  Barron was touched. “Thanks, I appreciate it. She mentioned coming in for a drink with Ree.”

  “I don’t think Duke would let Ree come here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He leaned forward a little, his voice dropping low. “I heard that there’s a bit of bitching about the mating law changes.”

  Barron thought back to the night Byron had announced Duke and Ree’s mating. The two were slated to take over the pride as the alpha pair in about three weeks. “I didn’t hear anything myself, but my grandpa did. He’s not sure who it was.”

  “Of course no one spoke up when Byron was talking. There were too many in support of the changes to speak up publicly. I don’t know who’s leading the chatter behind the scenes, but someone is pissed. I have my guesses, but I’d just be adding fuel to the gossip fire. I figure you should know, since your mate is human.” Hemi gave Barron a long look. “If I had a human mate, I’d sure want to know if someone had a problem with changing who can be a member of the pride.”

  Barron nodded, his thoughts in turmoil. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  “No problem.”

  Barron made his way to the front door, where Diesel was already checking IDs and letting people in. It was Monday, so the bar wasn’t busy yet. Mondays, like most weekdays, were just a steady influx of patrons, not the huge numbers that showed up on Fridays and Saturdays. He took up his post at the door.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey, how was your long weekend?”

  “Great. Did you have time off at all?”

  “Just Saturday because of the pride meeting and hunt. Some of us told Titus we’d come back after the meeting and not hunt, but he said everyone should celebrate Duke finding his heart-match and us narrowly avoiding war. We all also got paid for the night.”

  “Nice.”

  Conversation stopped for a few moments as patrons walked up. Barron scented them discreetly before letting them in.

  Keeping his voice low, he asked, “You heard anything about someone being pissed the mating laws are changing?”

  Diesel’s brows winged up. He looked around for a moment and then said in a low voice, “I didn’t hear anything myself, but my mom did.”

  “When?”

  “She went to pick up my meds from Doc since she was out running errands. When she dropped them off, she said she overheard Lenn Sr. and his mate talking about how two humans were ruining everything.”

  Barron frowned. Lenn Sr. was the father of Lenn, the second-ranked male and a close friend of Duke’s. Lenn Sr.’s wife Raquel was the office assistant for Doc, the pride healer. “I didn’t peg either of them for not liking humans.”

  “I guess you don’t know people until they’re faced with that kind of thing. They’re both old-school, so my mom wasn’t surprised, and I guess I’m not either. It doesn’t matter, though, right? I mean Byron’s the law and he’s changing the mating laws and allowing humans to join the pride. Duke and Ree will take over in less than a month and there’s no way in hell that Duke is going to change the laws once they favor his heart-match.”

  “Good point.”

  “I think it’s great, personally,” Diesel said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Hell yes. No lioness will touch me with my bum leg, but human females don’t necessarily care about the fact I’m low ranked and can’t run fast. Gives me hope.”

  Barron looked down at his friend. “You’ll find your heart-match when the time is right, I fully believe that. I mean, hell – Mercy just walked right by me one random night. That’ll happen for you.”

  “I fucking hope so.”

  As he’d expected, the night crawled by. On his breaks, he video-chatted with Mercy, but only until midnight. He didn’t want to keep her up when she needed her rest. She was on her feet all day at the salon, and while it warred with him to have to say goodnight when he wasn’t snuggled up with her, he wanted to be a good mate and that meant putting her needs above his.

  When the bar finally closed, the last patron hustled out by Hemi and Titus, Barron hurried to set the chairs up on the freshly cleaned tables. As he worked, he was aware of the house band putting their instruments away on the stage. The band was led by Jake, Lenn’s brother. When Duke took over at the end of the thirty-day time period, Lenn would become the second most powerful male in the pride. He’d never be alpha, of course, unless Duke and Ree failed to have any male heirs. There were no other males in Duke’s family that lived in the Kedrick pride, so the alphaship would slide to the number two male, and an entirely new family would take over.

  Two of the males on the stage whispered, and Barron caught a gesture out of the corner of his eye. They were pointing at him. With a frown, he straightened and looked at the males. Jake was mid-ranked like Barron, but the males in the band were from another pride. He was about to ask them what was up when Titus walked over to him.

  “You have a sec?”

  “Sure, thing,” Barron said. He finished setting the chairs upside down on the table and followed Titus upstairs to his office, which overlooked the bar.

  He sat across the desk from Titus.

  “How are things going with Mercy?”

  “Great.” He tapped his temple. “My cat hates being away from her.”

  “I’m sure.” Titus folded his hands on the desk, looking serious. “I told Duke I’d talk to you about your mate.”

  Barron straightened, worry filling him. “What about her?”

  Titus lifted his hands in a calm-down way. “It’s nothing bad, I promise. Duke’s getting some push-back in the pride from a couple of disgruntled males about the mating laws being changed. Byron and Duke aren’t planning to bow to pressure, but for the time being in the interest of safety, Duke doesn’t want Ree or Mercy at the bar. He’s concerned about backlash.”

  Barron’s thoughts turned to Jake. “Do you know who the push back is coming from? I got the distinct impression from Jake and his band buddies that they were talking about me earlier.”

  Titus nodded. “It’s Lenn. His family is against the blending of humans and lions. I don’t think they’d mind as much if it were other types of shifters, but they have a problem with humans. They feel superior to them.”

  Although Barron had grown up in the pride with Lenn and Jake, who were both a few years older than him, he couldn’t ever recall hearing either of the males share disparaging views of humans. “I wouldn’t have pegged them for that, but their parents are pretty old-school.”

  “Definitely. It’s not that we think they’d do anything against the females, Duke just feels it’s better to be safe than sorry, particularly where mates are concerned.”

  “I agree a hundred percent. Thanks for the heads-up.”

  “Sure thing. Before I let you go, I wanted to find out if you’d rather work Friday night or Saturday night going forward. We can alternate one Friday off, then one Saturday off, if that would work for you, also.”

  “Mercy works most Fridays and Saturdays and she doesn’t work late either nig
ht, but I know she’d prefer if I didn’t work Saturday nights.”

  “Consider it done.”

  “Thanks. For everything.”

  “Go home to your mate, Barron. See you tomorrow.”

  Barron said goodnight to his boss and walked down to the first floor. The stage was empty, the bar dark and silent. He walked down the hall to the exit, but when he pushed on the bar, it clanked but didn’t open. “What the hell?” he murmured.

  The hairs on the back of his neck rose, his lion on alert. Something menacing was coming his way.

  * * *

  Mercy rolled over with a groan and stared at the ceiling as she came abruptly awake. Blinking into the darkness, she waited for her eyes to adjust. Although the blinds were closed, light from a lamppost in the parking lot seeped around the edges of the plastic slats. Lifting her phone from the nightstand, she saw it was nearly two thirty. The bar would be closed by now and Barron would be helping to clean up before heading home. She checked her messages and didn’t find any new ones from him, not that she expected to. He’d video chatted her during two of his breaks but said he wouldn’t call her again because he wanted her to get a good night’s rest.

  Setting her phone on the bed next to her, she rolled to her side and stared at the window. She was tired, but she didn’t feel like she could go back to sleep. Something was bothering her suddenly. She rubbed the space over her heart, her mind on Barron.

  She wondered if he was okay. The rational part of her brain was very certain he was fine. He didn’t work in a dangerous job, and he was a big lion who was strong and smart.

  The irrational part of her, which was making her heart pang with worry, wanted her to make sure.

  She sent him a text and waited. Minutes ticked by as her message went unread, her anxiety spiking with each passing second. She tried to connect with him with the video chat app. She sat up and gripped the phone, the request to chat going unanswered.

  “Shit,” she whispered. She tried two more times to no avail.

  Ten minutes had passed, and the feeling of foreboding rose. She swung her legs to the floor and stared at the carpet. Was she overreacting? Was he already on the way and just not answering his phone? Or was something more sinister going on?

  Deciding she couldn’t wait any longer, she dressed in leggings and a top. She found her sandals on the floor by the bed and walked out of the room, dialing Ree’s number. It went to voicemail.

  “Hey, I have a weird feeling so I’m going to the bar. Barron’s not answering his phone and I can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong. I’ll keep you posted.”

  After grasping her car keys and wallet, she walked out into the hall. Twisting the key in the deadbolt, she dialed Barron’s number again, choosing a regular phone call instead of a video chat.

  When there was no answer, she sent a text and told him she was coming to find him because she was worried.

  Ree’s apartment door opened and Duke stared out at her. “Something wrong, Mercy?”

  “Hey. I don’t know actually. I feel weird and I can’t shake a bad feeling I have about Barron.”

  He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “You called him?”

  “Of course. Many times. He hasn’t answered texts, phone, or video calls.”

  He lifted his phone and poked around on the screen. A call rang unanswered and then she heard Barron’s voicemail message. “No offense, sometimes males will answer a high-ranked male calling when they’re too busy for their mates. Not that I think Barron would do that, but it was worth a shot. Let me try Titus.”

  She nodded and waited while he called. Ree appeared, tying her robe closed and yawning. “Merc? Are you okay?”

  “I left you a voicemail.”

  “I didn’t check my messages. Duke said he heard someone moving around a lot and wanted to check it out. I thought it was Barron coming home from work.”

  “He’s not answering my calls,” Mercy said.

  “Titus isn’t either.” Duke growled softly. “I’m going to the bar.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Mercy said.

  “Hell no,” Duke said. “If something is truly wrong, I don’t want you in harm’s way.”

  “You know you’re not my alpha yet,” she said, folding her arms. “I’ll just go on my own.”

  “Damn it you’re stubborn,” Duke said.

  “It runs in the family,” Ree said with a half-smile. “I’ll come, too. Give me ten seconds.”

  She raced back into her room and Duke said, “Let me grab my shoes and we can leave.”

  It felt like an eternity before they left for the bar even though it hadn’t been more than a few minutes. Mercy continued to try Barron’s number, fighting the worry in her gut that told her something was very, very wrong.

  “It’s the connection,” Ree said, her voice punching through the silence in the car.

  Mercy jerked her head up, blinking through her tear-blurred eyes until her sister’s concerned face came into view, lit by the dashboard lights. “What?”

  “You feel like something’s wrong because you and Barron are mated. The connection between you two as heart-matches, from what I’ve come to understand, means that you feel connected to him on a level that isn’t normal for us humans. Your subconscious is entwined with Barron’s. You’re sensitive to his feelings, even from a distance.”

  “You think so?” she asked.

  Ree looked at Duke and then back to Mercy. “Yeah. When Duke and I are together, I can almost feel his emotions like they’re my own. There’s a...kind of feral quality to them. He feels things differently than I do because of his cat. When we’re apart, I can still touch his emotions, they’re just fainter.”

  “That actually makes me feel worse.”

  “How so?”

  “Because I feel worried. If I’m feeling only a fraction of what Barron’s feeling, then he’s really, really concerned.”

  “We’ll be there soon,” Ree said. “I’m sure everything is fine.”

  When her sister turned back around to face the windshield, Mercy looked at the phone, silently demanding that Barron return her calls. She didn’t want to think the worst, but until she saw him and touched him, she wouldn’t be able to feel at peace.

  I’m coming for you, Barron, she thought.

  * * *

  Barron spun on his heels and let out a snarl as he faced outward, claws bursting from his fingertips and fangs descending.

  Five males entered the hall, led by Lenn. Jake and his bandmates were behind him. Barron had known Lenn and Jake his whole life. He’d gone to school with them, hunted with them, drank at the bar with them. But these males weren’t coming to chat about the weather. There was something decidedly wicked in their eyes, and it wasn’t just because they were golden from their lions.

  Straightening slightly from his defensive pose, he kept his cat close to the surface. “Hey, guys. The door seems to be locked, so I’m going to go out the front.”

  He took a few steps away from the door, but the three band members spread out and fully blocked the hallway. Lenn had his arms folded, and Jake’s hands were loose at his sides, his dark claws a stark contrast against the light-colored jeans.

  “You’re not going anywhere until we talk,” Jake said.

  “So talk.” Barron relaxed his stance but kept an eye on the males.

  “You need to get rid of the humans,” Lenn said.

  “No, I don’t. Our laws have changed and now I don’t have to leave the pride to keep my mate with me.”

  “You can stay,” Lenn said. “But the two humans need to disappear on their own, or we’ll make them disappear.”

  Barron’s phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he resisted the urge to check it. Mercy was supposed to be asleep, but there was something niggling his subconscious that made him think it might be her. Could she feel his wariness through their connection?

  “That’s not happening,” Barron said. “Mercy is my heart-match and she’s wearing m
y mark. She’s not going anywhere, period. And you can go fuck off if you think Duke will allow you to force his mate out. The laws have changed – roll with the times or get the hell out of the way. Speaking of that, get the hell out of my way, or I’ll move you myself.”

  “You can try,” Liam taunted from behind Lenn and Jake. “You’re outnumbered.”

  “What’s the end play, here?” Barron asked. “You going to try to beat me up so I’ll tell Mercy to take a hike and take Ree with her?”

  Lenn’s fingers curled, the claws shining in the overhead light. “After we finish with you, we’ll take a message to her ourselves. She’ll take off on her own two feet or we’ll make her.”

  Everything within Barron went profoundly quiet for a heartbeat. He couldn’t believe there were males willing to harm innocents in the name of keeping the pride purely lion. He was dumbfounded.

  And pissed as hell.

  No one threatened his mate.

  With a furious roar, Barron barreled into the males, taking Lenn to the tile floor. The male was clearly leading the charge against Mercy and Ree, and he had to be dealt with. Slamming his elbow into the male’s cheek, he heard a satisfying thud as Lenn’s head smacked against the floor and he went limp. The other males piled on top of them, fists slamming into Barron’s body at every angle, claws shredding fabric and skin, beasts roaring. He managed to arch away from Lenn, taking Jake with him, hefting the male over his head so he fell to the floor a few feet away. Jake scrambled back as Jimmy grabbed Barron’s arms. Jimmy twisted Barron’s arms behind his back and held him for Jake, who advanced with a snarl.

  Barron slammed his head into Jimmy’s nose with a sickening crack, and the male released his hold on him. Barron ducked and Jake’s fist went past him, and he used his momentum to send Jake tumbling to the floor again. Another fist came out of nowhere, and Barron groaned as his head kicked back and pain exploded in his eye. He staggered, swinging wildly in the hopes of keeping the males at bay, but he was soon overpowered, one arm cranked behind his back and his knees slamming into the floor.