Merged

Addy

I blink my eyes open, the room around me shrouded in darkness. I push myself up, my legs trembling beneath me, my hand reaching out to steady myself against the wall. My chest aches as if it’s been scorched by flames, and I gingerly touch it, checking for any visible marks. A wince escapes me as my fingers graze my skin, but the pain begins to recede, healing. The distant sound of shouting reaches my ears—his warriors are out in the woods, looking for us.

I lean against the wall, the blanket slipping from my shoulders, my feet attempting to take a step forward despite the shaking of my legs. “What did you do?” I ask.

She snorts in response. “It’ll pass soon. You woke up before the merging was complete. Once you step out onto the porch, your body will feel normal again.”

I make my way down the stairs, leaning heavily on the wall, the voices outside growing more frantic. My hand fumbles with the doorknob, finally managing to turn it and push the door open. I stumble out onto the porch, collapsing onto the familiar wooden planks. I lift my gaze just in time to see a figure rushing towards us.

“Addy, thank the goddess we found you,” he says, his voice gentle.

He lifts me up, supporting my weight against his as he settles me onto the swing—the one I was always forbidden to use. His hands hold me gently, his eyes misting over for a moment. Soon after, a black SUV skids into the front yard, brakes screeching.

Drake jumps out, sprinting onto the porch as the warrior steps aside. He scoops me up into his arms, holding me close. “Thank goddess, we found you. I was so worried. You’ve been gone for hours. What brought you here?”

I glance around at the crowd emerging from the multiple cars that have arrived. “She wanted somewhere no one would think to look.”

Tate rushes over, prying my eyelids open to examine my eyes. “Damn you, Mystic. We told you she wasn’t ready for this, but you never listen to us.”

Drake pulls me closer to him. “What’s done is done. We can’t undo what she did; we have to learn to live with it.”

Soloman approaches, shaking his head. “Learning to live with this is an understatement. She’s not a regular wolf; she’s ten times more.”

Drake chuckles. “She’ll be a handful, I can see that. But she’s safe in my arms now. That was our main concern. Now that she’s found, we can return to the packhouse for some much-needed rest.”

Myra laughs. “It’ll be dawn soon, and I could use a long nap. You sent all the males back to your pack when we entered Dad’s office, right Tate?”

He nods. “Yes, they all went back to take their shift if their mates weren’t found. I must say, many of my men were quite pleased when they left, but others weren’t. Many females left to join our pack.”

Drake stands, nodding to the man beside us. “Good work, Danny. Thank you for not giving up the search.”

He bows. “This was my next stop after the other houses were searched. I asked if anyone had searched her old home, and no one had. It was a shot in the dark, but you said not to leave any structure unchecked. They all said she would never return here because of her past, but I guess they were wrong.”

Drake carries me back to the car, settling into the passenger seat without letting me go. Ryan takes the driver’s seat while Tate and Myra climb in behind us. We head back towards the packhouse, the other cars following.

“Did the entire pack come out looking for me?” I ask, watching as wolves and men scatter into the darkness.

“Of course they did. I ordered everyone to get up and start searching for the future Luna. No stone was to be left unturned; they were to search until you were found,” he says, nuzzling his nose into my hair.

“Myra, can we go to your room when we get back? I’m exhausted from running around for the past four hours,” Tate asks, looking over at her.

“Yes.” She snuggles into him. “We can go home after we both get some sleep. Your pack needs their Alpha while there’s so much work to be done.”

His chuckle is tired. “That can wait. We can pack your things after we wake up. Addy, can you help her with that?”

I nod. “I’d be honored to. You’ll be missed around here, Myra.”

A tear trickles down her cheek. “We’re only a few hours apart, so I can come back here, or you can visit. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”

The cars pull up at the packhouse, which is lit up like it’s Christmas. I don’t think there’s a single room in the massive building that isn’t illuminated as women rush to the windows to watch as the caravan arrives. Drake opens the door, still holding me as he steps out and adjusts me in his arms. We enter the house, and he takes the stairs two at a time, heading to our room. I reach down to open the door, but his foot nudges it open since it wasn’t fully closed. He kicks it shut behind us, the door clicking into place as he sets me down on the bed.

“I’m so angry with you right now, Addy. We were all worried sick trying to find you. We thought you’d run into Tate’s territory, but his patrol never saw you. All our men were out searching everywhere, trying to find where you’d gone. This isn’t a game you can play with us. What was all that talk about earlier?”

I pull my knees up to my chin, tears streaming down my face. I wish I could tell him everything she has planned, but she told me I can’t say anything yet. She won’t let him know about the mission yet. He sits down beside me, wiping the tears from my face with his thumb.

“I can’t say much about it; she won’t let me yet. When the time is right, you’ll know everything that’s going to happen with us. Every detail will be explained, but she has some things to take care of first,” I say, looking out the window.

“If it puts you in danger, I need to know. If what they were saying about some powerful prince coming to kill both of you is true, I need to be informed. You’re my mate, and I won’t let you get killed,” he says, taking my hands in his.

I look into his eyes, wanting more than anything to tell him what she’s planning, but my mouth won’t let me speak. I shake my head. “We won’t be in danger; she promised me that. If we are, you’ll be the first to know.”

He studies me for a moment before helping me up. “You need to take a shower; you must be sweating after all that running and whatever happened when she merged with you. I wish you trusted me enough to tell me before all this happened.”

I take his hand. “I didn’t know about any of it. She didn’t let me see any of this, just the parts she wanted me to. This goes much deeper; I had no idea how much would come from this. Trust me; I want to tell you everything, but she’s holding me back. With this merge, she can control me. She can stop me from speaking or doing something she doesn’t approve of.”

He looks at me, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “Mates don’t keep secrets, Mystic. You know how our kind works on that level.”

She huffs, stepping forward. “It’s not keeping secrets when certain things don’t need to be discussed yet. The questions you have don’t need answers right now. Soon, yes, when you understand better what’s going to happen, but there’s no need to talk about any of it at this point.”

His face twists into a scowl. “Don’t test my patience; it won’t end well.”

She smiles at him sweetly. “I’m not testing it, love. You’ll understand soon enough, but not yet. The timing isn’t right.”

She starts to walk away, but his hand clamps down on my wrist. “I mean what I said, if Addy gets hurt because of this, you won’t like the outcome. You might be a powerful wolf, but you should know that an Alpha’s fury when his mate is hurt is not something to be taken lightly. I’m warning you one last time, don’t test me.”

She rolls her eyes at him, turning back towards the bathroom. Before she steps through the doorway, she looks over my shoulder at him, standing there seething. “You’re more than welcome to join us in here. If you wait for her to invite you, you might as well get used to blue balls from all the times you’ll be tempted.”

His jaw slackens, then snaps shut. “I’ll wait until she’s ready for that. You pushed this union even after Tate warned you not to. There’s no way you’re going to rush us into anything if she’s not prepared.”

She lifts our shoulders in a shrug. “That’s your call, but resisting us will only get harder as the week progresses. Believe me, you’ll be bonded before the week is out.”

She enters, her eyes a whirlpool of emotion as we catch our reflection in the mirror. I blink, reining her in. My hand reaches for the door, but she halts me, spinning us around and leading us to the chute. We begin to undress, slowly.

~Please, let me close the door,~ I plead, glancing at the gaping entrance.

~No way. You need to understand that this is our way. How many men and women do you see strolling around naked? He’s having them dress now to make it easier on you, but not for long. They’ll soon revert to our natural state, walking around without a care in the world about who sees us nude. Get used to it. This will be the norm from now on. We were born to live and behave this way, not to hide what we have,~ she asserts, turning on the water.

We step into the shower, grabbing what we need. I’m covered in mud, sweat, and who knows what else. This will make me feel better once it’s over. But there’s one thing I need to do without her catching on; she’ll have to yield to me again. I refuse to be a damn marionette, letting her manipulate me as she pleases. This is my body, and it will obey my commands when I give them. The only way the mating will occur is if my heat kicks in, which is still a few weeks away.