Devin's Mercy [Shifters of Mystery 4] by Lynn Hagen Page A

the
    humans would be taken care of and sorted out. To everyone’s relief,
    none of them had been injected before they were rescued. That took a
    load off of Mercy’s mind.
    And then he came home to this.
    “Mercy, damn it. Will you stop? It’s about Devin.”
    Pausing on the bottom step, Mercy turned. “Talk fast.”
    “We were attacked.”
    “I’m aware of that fact by the body count out back.”
    Pat shook his head. “Stop being an ass and listen. Keegan went
    after Devin.”
    Mercy felt the air leave his lungs as he stared at Pat. The beta had
    gone after Devin? There was no way the small man would be able to
    defend himself against Keegan. The beta was a brute, muscular, and
    downright nasty. “Where. Is. Devin?” he asked through clenched
    teeth.
    “Devin grabbed an ax and defended himself.”
    Mercy quirked a brow. “He did?”
    Pat nodded. “He killed Keegan.”

    86
    Lynn Hagen
    Mercy nearly stumbled back. That was not what he was expecting
    to hear. “Devin killed Keegan?” He turned, running up the stairs. He
    wasn’t sure what he was going to find when he flew into his bedroom.
    Closing the door behind him, Mercy walked over to the cot and
    sat down. He placed his hand on Devin’s shoulder and pulled it back
    quickly, seeing blood coating his hand. “You need to shower, Devin.”
    The man was lying on his cot, still wearing Keegan’s blood. “Are you
    hurt?”
    Devin turned over, his eyes hollow. “No.”
    “Devin?”
    The man looked almost comatose. Mercy was getting worried. He
    pulled Devin up from the cot and carried him to the bathroom. Once
    he had the door closed, he started the shower and then stripped Devin
    down.
    “No worries,” he said when Devin lay naked in his arms. “You’re
    safe.”
    Devin didn’t answer him, and Mercy hadn’t expected him to. He
    managed to get his boots off, tossed the things in his pocket up on the
    counter, and then climbed into the shower fully dressed, cradling
    Devin in his arms as he washed the blood away.
    “Come back to me, Devin.”
    Devin just lay there, unblinking.
    “You defended yourself. There is nothing wrong with that. It
    doesn’t make you a monster. I promise,” Mercy softly crooned to the
    man as he washed the remaining dried blood from Devin’s hair.
    Mercy glanced down to see one lone tear slid from Devin’s eye.
    Not sure it was the right thing to do, he leaned forward and kissed the
    tear away. “You’re safe, love.”
    The change was slow, but soon Devin was curled up in Mercy’s
    arms, crying. Mercy slid down until he was sitting on the floor of the
    shower, holding Devin close to his chest, comforting him. “You did
    the right thing. If you hadn’t killed Keegan, then he would have killed
    you.”

    Devin’s Mercy
    87
    But Devin didn’t answer him. The man continued to cry. Mercy
    was beginning to realize that Devin was not only mourning the fact
    that he had taken a life, but for his past, for what had happened to him
    before coming to Mystery.
    So Mercy just held him.
    Time seemed to stretch on into eternity, but soon Mercy stood,
    still cradling Devin in his arms. The water had turned cold. He
    grabbed a towel from the cabinet and wrapped it around Devin and
    then exited the bathroom.
    “Is he okay?” Sage asked as he walked up the stairs to the second
    floor.
    Mercy shook his head. “Can you get mine and Devin’s things
    from the bathroom?”
    Sage walked past him, not saying a word as he did what Mercy
    asked. Mercy gently set Devin down on his bed, pulling the covers
    over him. He had to get out of his wet clothes. Sage came into his
    room, setting Mercy’s belongings on the dresser, tossing Devin’s
    clothes on the floor next to it.
    “I really thought he was on Martin’s side.”
    Mercy pulled off his soaking wet shirt. “And now?”
    Sage crossed his arms over his chest, staring at where Devin was
    lying. “He’s the same guy we remember, just screwed up in the head
    now.”
    Mercy watched as