No Mercy

Chapter 12

No one says anything as we sit around the table eyeing each other. Silas has on his poker face as he sits in the chair on my right while Deniel is staring daggers from the chair on my left. Directly across from us is the Highland leadership, plus a few more unexpected guests. Luka is across from me, his eyes never wavering from mine. His beta, the blond haired boy from last week sits on his right and Ezra is on his left. I can feel Ezra's eyes on me trying to will me to look in his direction, but I don't give him the time of day; my staring contest with Luka too important to lose.

"Thank you for taking this meeting with us," Luka smirks as he runs a hand through his overly gelled dark hair.

I don't say anything in response, waiting for him to show his hand. The bright light that filters in through the drawn back curtains doesn't affect my ability to scrutinize the strangers sitting around the table. It seems that the hour and a half I made them wait didn't effect them at all.

"So..." His smile only grows more prominent as he highlights the awkward tension in the room.

No one on my side of the table says anything. We wait to see what it is that he truly wants. I can feel the electricity crackling through the open line of communication that is running between the 5 people sitting on our side of the table.

I can feel the curiosity coming from my mom who sits next to my dad at the end of the table, her hand interwoven with his. My dad sighs heavily every few seconds to give the impression that he is bored, but only those that know him can see the eagerness in his eyes as they measuredly shift between myself, Ezra, and the three other surprise guests that sit opposite the table from him.

My irritation flairs as I hear the relentless squeaking of Former Alpha Blair shifting in his chair, but I don't turn to look at him or his wife who sit to my right at the end of the table. I definitely don't look at the nervous little man who is trying not to stare too openly at me as he fidgets in his seat on the other side of Former Alpha Blair.

Who is that man?  Silas asks all of us. He wasn't in any of our intel files. I've never seen him before. 

No one even twitches at the sound of his questions, everyone making it seem as if we aren't communicating silently.

He's probably one of their advisers. I answer as my eyes remain locked on Luka's.

An adviser? Deniel asks. Why is he here? 

The answer is so obvious I'm surprised that they don't see it. To try and take the Mercy Empire away from us.

Deniel and Silas go eerily still at my conclusion and I decide now is the time to really get this meeting started.

I lean back in my chair and start drumming my fingers along the smooth wood. "I don't have the time for this Alpha Blair. I'm a very busy woman."

"Luka," he corrects with a raised finger while totally ignoring my question.

"What do you want?" I continue on, ignoring his preference.

"I told you I wanted a meeting Rylan." Luka's smile grows even more prominent, his pearly white canines poking at his bottom lip. "So here I am."

"You're meeting was scheduled for next week." I respond, my tone conveying how bored I am with the games he is trying to play.

"Yeah," he drawls as he twists slowly in his chair, "but today worked better for my schedule."

I don't say anything in response, finding it easy to look incredibly bored as I wait for him to finally get to the point. 

Luka sighs dramatically before he leans forward, his whole body conveying that what he is about to say is vey important. "Rylan I know you found your mate."