Novels by Mercy Lance

Chapter 40: QUESTIONING The great hall had never felt this cold.Lights flickered along the stone walls, casting long shadows that danced across the faces of the gathered pack. Every elder sat at their respective chairs facing their alpha king. Bronze sat at the far end, his withered hands folded over the head of his cane, watching with the patience of a spider.Guards lined the walls, warriors filled the doorway, servants crowded the door outside, craning their necks for a better view.Hazel stood alone in the center of it all, as she bowed her head to avoid the judging gaze of the pack.No chair or table, nor shield, just her trembling in her day dress, her hands clasped in front of her so tightly that her knuckles had gone white.Arden sat at his throne, his hand tapping gently on the arm of his chair, his face unreadable. He had not looked at her since they entered. He stared straight ahead, at the empty air above her head, as if she were not there at all.Elder voss began."Sta

Chapter 39: THE EVIDENCE They tore the room apart.Not gently nor carefully, not even with respect owed to a Luna's private chambers. The guards ripped the sheets from the cot, they emptied the wardrobe, throwing dresses and cloaks onto the floor. They pulled the mattress off the frame and tossed it aside. They searched every corner relentlessly searching without asking permission.Mara had done her job well."What is the meaning of this?" The voice cut through the chaos like a blade.Hazel stood in the doorway, still in her day dress, her hair loose around her shoulders. Her eyes moved across the destruction, the overturned furniture, the scattered clothes, the guards everywhere ransacking her things like she had stolen something.She looked confused, then hurt, then angry."Arden?" She stepped into the room, her gaze finding him. "Arden, what's going on here, why are they searching my things like this, why are you letting them do this?"Arden didn't answer. His jaw tightened. His

Chapter 38: THE ACCUSATION The courtroom was cold. Not the cold of winter, that at least could be fought with furs, fires and close body contacts. This was the cold of stone walls and stone hearts, of an angry alpha's aura, of men who'd decided the truth before they'd heard a single word of evidence. Arden stood at the center of the room, flanked by Caden and Gaius. His hands clasped behind his back as he stared intently at the troublesome elders before him, his face was hard as a stone carved from granite. He stayed silent staring. Elder bronze sat at the front, leaning on his cane, smiling like a man who'd already seen his victory.Arden's jaw was so tight it ached. "You said you had the traitor, elder bronze. You called this council, you demanded my presence, so hurry up and don't waste Mt time, where is he?"Bronze stood slowly, using his cane for leverage. His joints popped in the silence. "She."The room went quiet."She," bronze repeated, savouring the word as he enjoyed

Chapter 37: THE BRIBE Midnight.The castle slept, or pretended to. Guards walking the halls with slow bored steps, the kind of boredom that came from too many quiet nights and tiredness. Their armor clinked softly. Their boots scuffed the stone. A few of them yawned, while the others leaned against walls when they thought no one was there to cause trouble only to jump back alert when they heard any noise.Marius moved like a shadow through the lower corridors, staying close to the walls, avoiding the pools of light as he tiptoed, bronze followed behind, slower his cane tapping softly against the stone despite his best effort to muffle it."You're too loud," Marius whispered over his shoulder."Im trying my best, it's not my fault I have a bad leg," bronze whispered back. They met in the servant's stairwell, a narrow, forgotten corner behind the kitchens. A place no one goes to at night, who would want to be there at such a time? They paused as they laughed at their success of gettin

Chapter 36: THREE SNAKES IN ONE HOLE The cave smelled like rot and cold iron. Water dripped from the ceiling in a steady rhythm that made Lyra's jaw ache, each drop, each drop a small hammer striking the same nerve over and over. She had been standing on the only dry rock for twenty minutes, arms crossed, watching the tunnel entrances like a hawk watches for snakes. Darian emerged first dripping wet from the rain outside. He didn't announce himself nor did he speak, he just leaned against the far wall, arms folded, eyes fixed on her with that particular gaze he'd perfected over years of being a betrayer."You are late," she said."You're just Early," he replied. " There's a difference." Before she could answer, footsteps echoed from the second tunnel. Ethan stepped into the room, cloak soaked through, his hair plastered to his forehead. He grinned, the kind of grin which infuriated Lyra, she wanted so bad to break his teeth and make him swallow it."I'm fashionably late," Ethan

Chapter 35: ACCUSE HAZEL. AT ELDER BRONZE'S HOUSE. The rain had stopped an hour ago, but the smell of wet stone still clung to the walls of elder bronze's house. It sat on the highest ridge of the pack's territory, separated from the main pack house. Every elder preferred to stay in the pack house alongside other vibrant wolves so they wouldn't feel alone and left out but the case of bronze was different, he preferred to live far from others. He needed distance from the wolves he judged. Bronze sat behind the low table, his fingers steepled and his eyes were half lidded, not with tiredness but from calculation. Across him Marius sat, arms crossed, jaw tight as he chewed his empty mouth grinding his teeth."You are asking me to lie?" Marius said. "To the alpha and to the pack?""I'm asking you to save us ," bronze replied.Marius scoffed. "Save us? Or save your face and your position?"Bronze didn't flinch. "Arden is becoming too soft. He focuses too much on that girl Hazel. Though