Mercedes sat in the middle of Bran's kitchen floor staring grumpily at the ash-brown haired man speaking in hushed tones to Bran.
"Sammie, Sammie!" she wailed, continuing until Samuel finally turned and walked towards her, crouching and giving her a lopsided smile. "Hey there cheeky girl, I'm surprised you've even learnt my name, I've only been here a few days and I'll be off soon again" and he ruffled her hair affectionately. At 12 months of age Mercy's ability to memorise names and vocabulary was quite astounding. More astounding was the fact that Mercy had never actually met Samuel in his human form before. "I wonder how she knew it was me?" Samuel said, speaking to his father. "Scent" said Bran smiling, "the girl has a better nose than me, I tell you. She can find chocolate chip cookies anywhere within a ten mile radius" and he laughed affectionately.
"Woof woof!" The girl interrupted, pulling at Samuels collar in an attempt to pull herself up and try to climb on his back as she had seen the other children of Aspen Creek do yesterday when he was in his wolf form. Her earnest face was so endearing that Samuel did not want to disappoint her but he had other more serious matters to attend to. "Maybe some other time" he said to Mercy and distracted her with some pans out of Bran's pantry, which she banged together enthusiastically instead.
"Perhaps that wasn't a great idea..." Samuel reflected at the clanging sounds of pans being banged together by the clearly over-enthusiastic Mercy. "I don't suspect anything else would have distracted her Samuel, she's quite stubborn" Bran said unhelpfully.
"Da, I have not seen you this entranced since..." Samuel paused, he knew that Blue Jay Woman was a sensitive topic for Bran. Bran had barely managed to hold himself together after she had died- and only had been able to due to the birth of his son Charles that accompanied Blue Jay Woman's death. "I know" Bran interrupted heavily, saving Samuel from having to finish his sentence.
"You know she cannot stay here" Samuel added, "It's not safe". And they both knew he was talking about Leah, Brans mate. Before Mercy had interrupted them Samuel had been telling his Da about the dissent that was amassing in the Montana Pack due to the coyote pup being raised by the Marrok. Werewolves that were a part of the Montana pack were mostly there because they were old, too old to maintain their control very well. And old wolves were not very liberal. Anything unusual usually brought about change- and most of them had been through enough change in their lifetimes to wish to avoid any more. So Mercy would have to live outside of the pack- they would not tolerate her becoming a part of the pack if that was even possible. And Mercy had so clearly enthralled Bran that if she stayed living with him his wolf would insist on her becoming a part of the pack so he could claim her as his to protect. And that would be a danger to the public, his pack and Mercy herself. The wolves would be infuriated, most would be unable to control themselves and bloodshed would ensue- hopefully it would be contained to only the wolf pack, but Bran had the human family members plus the general public which sometimes passed through Aspen to consider as well. And eventually, Leah would kill Mercy. And the pack would see only Leah's proclamation that she was acting to protect the pack- and she would gain respect from the wolves, and respect meant power. Power was a dangerous thing. Few of them would see that Leah was acting out of selfishness. She despised anyone whom Bran showed affection, because he so clearly lacked any for her. He could not risk Mercy, who was human-weak and unable to protect herself. Bran knew that Leah would have killed Samuel and Charles a long time ago had they not been able to protect themselves. But Mercedes would be another matter. When she fell, she bruised and didn't heal. She was fast, but not strong.
So Bran would send her away, and hide the fact that he cared for her any more than someone cares for a stray pet a child brings home and begs to keep instead of sending her out to her doom. In doing so Bran could ensure that she was still protected but his wolf would not insist on having her as a pack member. If Bran's wolf were to grow to love Mercy as a daughter, her being so weak and unable to protect herself, well it was unsafe for everyone. The rest of the pack will eventually accept her- perhaps even grow fond of her in a funny way. She could run alongside the pack, but never within it. Bran relayed his plan to Samuel who agreed, "But who will agree to take a coyote pup in? Especially one who has the rest of the pack so divided" he asked his father. "Bryan will take her" Bran said, he and Evelyn are more than willing to take her- she has charmed them quite thoroughly.
Samuel thought about it- Bryan and Evelyn were good candidates. Bryan was a werewolf and well liked in the pack- not too high up but by no means at the bottom either. Evelyn was his wife, a human. She would be able to provide Mercy with the more normal experiences and she too was well liked and accepted. She could also teach Mercy that one could live happily as an outsider to the pack- even though Evelyn was Bryan's mate she was still technically not a part of the pack as she was wholly human. Samuel nodded, "they are good choices", he agreed. "When are you taking her over?" he asked Bran.
"Shortly" Bran said absently and looked again at little Mercy who had only been with him for a few months but had won his heart. He knew she would be a terror to raise- but somehow felt saddened that he would not be the one to do so. Samuel placed a reassuring hand on his fathers shoulder and squeezed, "she's tough Da, I dare say she'll find her own path in life" and Samuel picked Mercy up, "I'll take her over now. You should be here when Leah gets home" and Samuel walked out the front with Mercy in his arms while Bran resolutely accepted that life was not always kind or easy- it simply was.
Author's note:
I know this chapter was kind of short and boring, but I thought it was an essential part of her story to explain why Bran gave her up and how he really cares for her (as evidenced by the novels in later years). I also thought it was interesting to see Samuel at this point, considering their future love interest. The next chapter will explore Mercy's relationship with her foster parents Evelyn & Bryan. Mercy at a young age learning about the wolf pack, and her figuring out how to manipulate it. After that chapter concerning Mercy's youth the next chapter will be about her teenage years, prominently about her foster parents death and subsequent re-acquaintance with Bran and particularly Samuel.