Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

“Thanks, Jesse.”
    She handed him the phone and peered around the door to look at me. Her eyes were puffy. Had she been crying?
    â€œYou go get ready for school,” Adam told her. “Mercy’s going to be fine.”
    Today was Thursday morning. The thought galvanized me—I had to get to work…Then I settled back into the bed. I wasn’t going back to my garage, not with stray bits of Tim scattered here and there. I should call Gabriel and tell him not to show up after school. I should…
    â€œâ€¦someone sent them the video of you tearing Mercy’s rapist apart. While I appreciate the sentiment, and doubtless would have done the same thing, it leaves us in an awkward position. That bill cannot pass.” Bran’s voice wafted over me like a cool breeze of calm that had nothing to do with what he was saying, and everything to do with his being Bran.
    â€œHow much of the video did they get?” Adam growled.
    â€œNot enough, apparently. Whoever sent it represented it as an Alpha werewolf attacking a human without provocation. I would like you to take the whole video—I trust it doesn’t show our Mercy changing shape?”
    â€œNo. But it shows her without clothes.”
    â€œMercy won’t care, but perhaps it might be possible to add those black rectangles the news reporters use.”
    â€œYeah. I’m sure Ben can do it.” Adam sounded tired. “You want me to go with it, don’t you?”
    â€œI’m sending Charles with you. I’m sure that once they have seen the entire video, most of the men on the committee will be ready to cheer you on. The others will keep their mouths shut.”
    â€œI don’t want that video getting on the Internet,” Adam growled. “Not Mercy’s—”
    â€œI think we can make sure that doesn’t happen. The congressman was very clear about who sent him the tape. I’ll see that it is taken care of.”
    Adam wasn’t looking at me. I hopped off the bed and slipped through the still open door.
    I didn’t want to hear any more. I didn’t want to think about people watching a video of last night. I wanted to go home.
    Warren was standing at the foot of the stairs talking to Ben, so I dodged into Jesse’s room before he looked up.
    â€œMercy?” Jesse was sitting on her bed with her homework scattered in front of her.
    I’d hopped onto the sill of her open window, which was still screenless, but something in her voice made me pause. I jumped onto her bed and nuzzled her neck. She gave me a quick hug before I wriggled free and darted out the window.
    I’d forgotten that Tim had mangled my arm—foreleg in coyote form—but it held up just fine when I jumped off a low spot of the roof onto the ground. Nemane had been as good as her word about the other things the goblet could do.
    I ran all the way home and stopped on the front porch. I couldn’t open the door as I was, but I didn’t want to change to human anytime in the next decade.
    Before I had time to worry too much, Samuel opened the door for me. He closed the door and followed me to my room, opening that door as well.
    I jumped on my bed and curled up with my chin on my pillow. Samuel sat down on the foot, giving me plenty of room.
    â€œI have, entirely illegally, snooped into the medical records of one Timothy Milanovich,” he told me. “His doctor is a friend of mine and agreed to leave me in his office for a few minutes. When Milanovich’s fiancée left him, he had himself tested and was negative for any disease that you might worry about.”
    And I didn’t have to worry about pregnancy either. As soon as I’d realized that there was a possibility of ending up in either Adam or Samuel’s bed, I’d started on the pill. Being illegitimate makes you sensitive about things like that.
    I sighed and closed my eyes, and Samuel got off the bed. He closed my door behind him.
    It opened again after only a few minutes, but it wasn’t Samuel. Warren in his wolf form lurked solemnly behind his Alpha.
    â€œI meant what I said, Mercy,” Adam told me. “No running. I have to go to Washington and you’d better be here when I get back. Until then, one of my pack will stay with you.”
    The bed sank heavily under Warren’s weight as the huge wolf tucked himself beside me. He licked my face with a rough tongue.
    I lifted my head and