Becoming a Leader

Chapter Eighteen - Questions and Feelings

 Merrick POV

I’m sitting in my office waiting for Zane, Griffin, and Fennick to get here. Skylla is resting in our room right now and I’m trying to figure out how Alec found a chance to attack us. I’m so f*****g angry that I missed my chance to snap his neck. My hands start shaking just thinking about the situation and how Alec got close to my mate. I hear a knock on the door and I watch as Zane enters the room with Griffin and Fennick behind him. 

“Alpha we’ve got some information you need to hear.” Zane says when they close the door. 

“When we were at the bank the manager was giving off some weird vibes. It was like he was stalling us and Luna was asking about him. I think she felt the same way.” Fennick tells me. “I think he may have played a part in the accident.” 

“I think you may be right, Fennick. I want you to gather a team and bring his ass here. Lock him in the interrogation room in the dungeons and wait for me to start the questioning. I want to hear first hand.” I order them.

“Yes sir.” Fennick and Griffin leave the room to follow out orders while Zane stays behind. 

“Merrick, with everything going on how are you handling this?” He asks while taking a seat.

“How do you think?” I reply and drop my face in my hands. “He got close to me and I missed my chance to kill him. He got close to Skylla and not only her life but our unborn childs’ life was at stake. He could have taken her and I wasn’t conscious to stop that from happening.”

“She’s pregnant?” Zane asks, surprised.

“Yeah but she’s afraid that something may have happened because of the accident.” I look up at him with tears in my eyes. “I’m afraid for her. We’ve known each other all our lives so you know I don’t fear much. But I am scared shitless right now.”

Zane lets out a breath and says, “This entire situation is f****d up.” 

“Hey babe.” Skylla says as she opens the door to my office. She looks tired and like she’s been crying again. 

“Hey, you should be resting.” I tell her and stand up, I walk over to her and wrap her in my arms.

“I’ve had enough resting, I need to get out and go for a run. It’s been two days and I need to stretch my legs. I can’t keep held up in our room, I’m still a leader, I need to lead.”  She says into my chest. 

“You know a run does sound good.”  I look down into her eyes. “Let’s go, my love.”

I take Skylla’s hand and lead her to the front door. “Zane please make sure the patrols are active on the borders.”  I mindlink him.

“Yes sir.” I hear his reply right away. 

Skylla and I walk into the woods to the right of the pack and strip our clothes before we shift into our wolves. It feels nice to finally stretch my muscles and to shift into my powerful wolf. I feel Sky brush against me and purr into my ear. I lick her face and purr back to her. I start our run together by taking it easy but I notice Skylla pushing herself, I can feel her trying to release some of her pent up frustration. 

“Baby take it easy.” I link her.

“Merrick I don’t want to be a porcelain doll during this pregnancy.” She replies. “I can’t be weak.”

“You aren’t weak, no one thinks that way of you.”

“I have to stay strong for you, our child, and this pack. Laying in bed all day is not staying strong, it’s giving in to the fear. Until we see the doctor I can’t walk on eggshells, it just gives me too much anxiety.” 

We continue running within the border of our lands until we are both ready to go back inside and relax before dinner. This woman amazes me everyday with her strength and wisdom. She may not see it but I do. I see everything about her. The way she moves when she doesn’t think I’m looking. The way her smile brightens up an entire room and brings everyone around her happiness. Her beauty is unparalleled and I could never look at another woman the way I look at Skylla. She is my everything and seeing her so f*****g strong gives me strength. 

Skyllas POV

After we are done running I feel so much better, like all my frustration has been drained out of me. I appreciate Merrick letting me vent and just be free to run. I could feel Merriks emotions as strong as my own before we went for our run and I knew he needed it just as bad as I did. He’s afraid for me, that the loss of this unborn child will break me somehow and I feel the same so I can’t let myself crumble just yet. I can’t break down and wait for something terrible to happen. I have to lead this pack with my mate and protect them until my last breath. 

“Let's relax while we wait for dinner.” Merrick says while we walk back to the house. 

“Sounds good to me.” I tell him and wrap my fingers around his large bicep. “You know what sounds relaxing?”

“What’s that?” He asks.

“Maybe a hot bath and a massage.” I tell him with a sly smile. I pull him up the stairs until we make it to the fourth floor. Merrick picks me up and kisses my lips as I wrap my legs around him. My fingers move through his soft, black hair and he moans against my mouth. He carries me all the way to our room where he lays me down on the bed. I quickly take off my shirt and pants, tossing them near the other end of the room. He removes his clothes and then looks down at my body with his lust filled black eyes. Merrick leans down and kisses my lower belly gently causing me to melt at the sight of his tenderness. 

“You wait right here, I’ll go get that bath started.” Merricks says, then heads to our bathroom.  

I stand up and take my undergarments off, throwing them into the hamper near the closet door. I walk to the bathroom and look in to see Merrick staring at his phone and quickly texting someone.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’ve got some... Things to attend to.” He says without looking up from his phone. 

“What is it?” 

“Nothing I want you to worry about.” Merrick walks out of the bathroom and heads to our closet, not even looking up from his phone. 

“Merrick.” I say annoyed. “I’m your equal, so whatever is worrying you is worrying me.” I walk over to the closet and stand in the doorway so he has to look at me. 

“You really want to know what it is? I had a team go and capture that manager from the bank and bring him back here for questioning. Fennick said he got a weird vibe from him and there is no way Alec could have known that we were in the city without being told.” Merrick tells me while he pulls a pair of jeans on.

“Oh, well I want to come with.” I walk to my side of the closet and start getting clothes to put on.

“I don’t think that’s the best idea.” 

“Why not?” I whirl around to face him.

“We may need to do things that might bother you.”

“But you’re just going to be questioning him, right?” 

“We will be asking him questions but people aren’t always open to answering questions. Especially when it comes to situations where they had a hand in other people's safety.”

 “Wait, you think he helped Alec? Why would he do something like that? He wasn’t a rogue. I could tell he was part of another pack, an actual pack, not that faction of muts that Alec is leading.” I notice Merrick is surprised at my blunt reaction. 

“I do think he helped Alec, I don’t think he did so willingly though.” He steps forward and places a hand on my stomach and looks into my eyes, “If at any point you feel uncomfortable with what is going on or you’ve had enough you may leave but let me do the talking okay?”

“Okay. Wait does this mean you’re letting me go with you?”

“Yes. Now get dressed.” Merrick kisses my forehead and leaves the closet. I hear the water to the tub turn off. I pull on some underwear, jeans, and a black hoodie. I grab socks and some sneakers and walk back into the bedroom. I sit on the end of the bed and see Merrick lean down in front of me. He puts my socks and shoes on my feet.

“You don’t have to do that.” I tell him.

“I know, I like doing these kinds of things for you though. I will never stop showing you how much I care about you.” Merrick replies. He stands up and takes my hand, helping me to my feet. 

-------------------------------------------------------

“Come on Scott, it’s easy. You answer my questions honestly and this will end painlessly.” Merrick says while looking at the tools set up on the tab;e in the interrogation room. 

We’ve been in the room for about twenty minutes but Scott hasn’t started speaking yet. I’m standing in the corner closest to the door trying to hold back vomit. The smell of the dungeons are terrible, I couldn’t imagine being down here indefinitely. Merrick picks up a set of brass knuckles and slips them on. He walks back in front of the bank manager. 

“Last chance.” Merrick says. 

“Okay listen. I didn’t have a choice. He took my mate when he tried attacking my pack a couple months ago. He said he wanted information about your actions. When Ms. Layton came into the bank, I put it together that she is your mate. No one has a bodyguard if they aren’t a higher up. I was only trying to get my mate back but when it was time for him to drop her off he killed her. Right in front of me, he killed her. So do whatever you want to me because I don’t have anything to live for.” Scott says with tears streaming down his face. “I have nothing. I’m sorry for what I did, I really am but I had to get her back.” 

“Alpha, Luna we found him in an alley grieving over a dead body.”  Griffin mindlinks us. 

“Merrick what are we going to do? He’s already answered your question.” I link him. 

“What pack are you from? Why didn’t we hear anything about a mate being taken?” Merrick asks the grieving man. 

“I’m from The Sapphire Pack, we didn’t tell anyone out of fear. We thought he would kill our mates.” Scott answers.

“He took more than just your own?” 

“Yes he took five mates. I was the first one he reached out to. He left a package containing a disposable cell phone at the bank.”

“How often does he contact you?” 

“Once every week or two. But I called him after you got there. To tell him my suspensions.” He talks to me. 

Merrick steps in front of me and growls. “You aren’t talking to her, you’re talking to me. I’m not killing you because despite how much I would like to kill you right now, I need you. I’m going to be talking to your Alpha soon and need you alive for him to be an ally.” 

Merrick puts the brass knuckles back down on the table and walks over to me. He takes my hand and we walk back to the pack house. We make our way to his office and he starts flipping through his phone. Zane walks in and shuts the door behind him, taking a seat next to me in front of Merricks' desk. 

"What's the plan boss?" Zane asks.

"Do you have any contacts at The Sapphire Pack?" Merrick replies.

"Yeah, the Alpha's son Dominic." Zane says. 

"Alec took five mates and we need to get in touch with the people who's mates were taken. If we can get one of them to get in touch with him then we might have a chance to finally take him down." Merrick tells us. 

"But wouldn't you want to attack him on a field you know, opposed to unknown territory where he could hold the upper hand?" I ask.

"Of course that would be ideal but I don't want him stepping foot on my land and I just want him dead." Merrick answers. "I want this over, I want him in the ground now." Merrick slams his hand on the desk and makes me jump. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm trying."