Alexander holds my hand as we walk up to Mercy's garage to pay her a visit. A teenage boy is sitting at the desk with a fan blowing on him while he goes through some papers. I smile at him when he looks up and then stares in awe at me like I am a model or something. Mercy comes into the office while wiping her hands with a rag and she smiles widely the moment her eyes catch mine. She runs over to give me a hug, forgetting she is a mess, and then she reaches down to scoop Alexander up into her arms. Alexander hugs his aunt with a bigger smile after not seeing her for a long time.
"Hello, my little ninja," Mercy says.
"Hi, Aunt Mercy, you are icky," Alexander giggles.
"What are you two doing here?" Mercy asks me.
"Visiting in hopes of just staying here permanently," I say with a smile. Mercy takes my hand in her hand, she knows something is bothering me and she is trying to make me feel better. "Alexander wanted to treat his favorite aunt to lunch before his nap."
"Oh, that sounds really nice and I would like that very much," Mercy says while nuzzling Alexander's cheek. "You came just in time for us t close up for the day. I am only working a half day today."
"Good, I will get Alexander back in the car and then we can decide where to go for lunch," I say. Alexander wiggles out of Mercy's grasp and heads to the car. Mercy tells the boy at the desk what they need to do to close up, while I walk towards Alexander. My cell phone rings with Samuel calling from work, but I ignore it in hopes that Mercy not hear our conversation. No one knows about me and Samuel besides Bran or my relationship with Mercy. Mercy comes out once the garage is closed up and the boy is picked up by someone not long after. I smile when I see Mercy walk over, still messy from her time in the garage.
"Where do you want to go for lunch, sister?" Mercy asks.
"Maybe we should go to your house to let you clean up a bit," I giggle. Mercy pushes my shoulder before heading to her car and leading the way to where she lives. It is a small trailer, but big enough for her and Samuel, of whom I can smell once I get out of the car. Alexander holds my hand as we walk to the front door, but he stops when he sees someone walk from around the house. The person is a fit man with gentle eyes, but he has a stern look on his face. His eyes drift over to Mercy as she opens the door and then stops when he sees me.
"Am I seeing double right now?" the man asks.
"Adam, this is my twin sister, Marie, and her son, Alexander," Mercy says. Alexander smiles widely and waves his little hand proudly.
"A pleasure to meet you, I have never met any of Mercy's family, nor did I know she had a twin sister," Adam says.
"You must be Adam Hauptman, alpha to the Columbia Basin pack," I say quickly. Adam raises a brow wondering how it is I knew that and I let my head drop to avoid his gaze.
"She knows Bran like I do and keeps up with the werewolves where she lives. Come on inside," Mercy says. Alexander runs after her while I walk inside with Adam behind me. Mercy shows Alexander around the small place while Adam remains close to me.
"You smell like Samuel," Adam says softly, but does not look at me.
"I do not know anyone named Samuel, I only just arrived a few days ago with my son to see Mercy," I say with my chest puffed out and my head held high. My phone rings again with a strange number popping up. I step outside to answer it, only to realise it is Samuel.
"Why didn't you answer my call?" Samuel asks with worry.
"I am with Mercy and I would very much like to not have her find out about us right now," I hiss.
"Wait, you are at the house?" Samuel asks. A new car pulls up and I blanch when I see Samuel in the driver's seat of that car. He hops out to walk over to me, but I remain frozen.
"No, you need to leave right now," I say quickly.
"This is my home and you are the guest," Samuel taunts with a crooked smile. I glare at him while pushing on his chest, but he pulls me close to him and my face heats up.
"Someone is going to catch us," I gasp. Sure enough, the door opens for Adam and Mercy to look out and catch us like two teenagers. I push myself away from Samuel to give us some distance just moments before Alexander runs out calling for his father. Samuel scoops my little boy up with a big smile and kisses his cheeks.
"What is going on?" Mercy asks.
"Well, since Samuel is here, Mercy and I can go to lunch on our own," I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her to my car. She gets in reluctantly and sits with her mouth open in confusion as I drive away. Alexander does not look upset because he gets to spend time with his father instead. After driving for ten minutes, I pull over to the first park I see to sit for a minute.
"Marie, what was that just now?" Mercy asks.
"You remember how I got married just out of medical school and then left the man only to find out I am pregnant with his child?" I ask quickly. Mercy only nods to let me continue and explain. "Samuel is the man I married and ran from. When we told Bran about us, he told me the story of you and Samuel when you were sixteen. I thought that is why Samuel wanted to be with me and why we got married when we did. We lost our first baby due to a heart defect and I left him not long after that. I tried to get myself to get a divorce lawyer, but every time I did I stopped myself from hurting Samuel anymore then I did when we lost our baby. I found out I was pregnant again with Alexander just after leaving him and I told Bran the news. Bran helped me get on my feet and care for Alexander as best as he could. I sent photos of Alexander to Bran and kept him updated, while hiding who his father was from you and mom."
"Marie, you should have told me," Mercy says after a minute of silence. I look down at my hands on my lap hoping she will yell at me, instead she pulls me into a hug. "I am glad you came to see me and Samuel to let him see his son. You did the right thing in bringing Samuel into Alexander's life."
"I am sorry," I whisper.
"No need to apologise to me," Mercy says with a small laugh. She lets me go with a big smile and caresses my face. "You just need to talk to Samuel about what is going to happen next and then tell mom the truth about the secrets you hid from her all these years."
"She is going to be hard to calm down at the end of that conversation," I giggle. Mercy laughs with me and the two of us end up going back to her house instead of going out to lunch like we planned.
