No Mercy

Chapter 27

I hesitate at the entrance to the Underground, my whole body vibrating as I run through my entire plan once again. It's been 5 hours and I've gone through every response to every possible question with Sy and Denny, but there's only so much they can help me with. The Alphas are going to ask questions that Deniel and Silas could never think of. Questions that I don't know the answers to. I take a couple of deep breaths, my hand hovering above the handle to the stairs as I try to get a grip on myself.

You can do this Rylan. Najee consoles, her confidence making my heart beat a little slower.

I nod along with her before I push down the handle, jogging down the three flights of stairs before I can lose my nerve. The walk is a quiet one, not a sound greeting me as I step carefully down the worn-down stone steps until I finally reach the lowest level of our underground town. The air is stale, a sign that no one has been here in a while to air it out. I don't have to go far, stopping at the third room on the right-hand side of the empty hallway.

I walk into the room without stopping. My head is held high as I try not to let the dozens of pairs of eyes locked onto me shake my resolve. I can feel them evaluating my every step, judging my every move. I glide to the head of the table, stopping at the empty chair there. As my hand grasps the back of the smooth wood I finally look around the room, my eyes drifting to acknowledge every one of the 32 Former Great Alphas that sit around the table. No one smiles at me. They don't even blink. My heart flutters as I smoothly pull out my seat and sit down without a word, waiting to see what will happen first.

Call the meeting to order.My dad tells me through the mindlink.

I clear my throat, although I already have the attention of everyone in the room. "I, Rylan Kharis Mercy, youngest blood of the great Mathias Alric Mercy, now call this meeting to order."

If I thought the room was silent before it's practically stifling now. Everyone in the room stares at me, some of the gazes welcoming, others bordering on hostile. I take a deep breath as I remember Najee's positive affirmations earlier.

You're the one in charge here. My dad reminds me too. My eyes dart over to him, who sits farthest away from me at the other end of the table. Make sure everyone knows that. You make the choices. This is your Empire now. We do what you think is best.

His advice makes me sit taller in my chair, returning the glares with even fiercer looks of my own.

"As you all know, this meeting is to approve a declaration of war." My tone is hard and cold, none of my nervous ticks shining through. "Our plan will be carried out in three phases. The first phase will be a direct attack on Torrence Territory in broad daylight. The goal of this phase is to show Torrence that we aren't going to tolerate their games anymore; while also forcing the other packs in the Alliance to choose sides. The second phase will be the dismantling of the Alliance altogether, getting rid of the Council and building distrust amongst the packs so we'll be the only ones they can turn to. And the final phase will be the establishment of a new coalition, that the Mercy Empire will be at the helm of."

My eyes drift around the room again taking in the carefully neutral expressions on all of their faces. "I'll take questions now."

The silence holds for a few seconds after I'm done speaking, just long enough for me to hope that they will approve my plan without a need for further discussion.

"That doesn't sound like a bad plan." A wobbly voice whispers from the back of the room. "But have you thought this through, young one?"

The voice belongs to the oldest person in the room, my great-great-more greats than I want to recite-great-grandfather, Ashford Mercy.