Romans & histoires Traveling Mercies

“Maybe we should eat somewhere else, Maria.” Mercy opens the door to the bathroom and yells down the hall at the waiter, “Three menus. Table four.” Mercy smiles at Larissa, but it looks painful. “We have a table ready for you, ladies. You won’t find better burgers or margaritas anywhere other than Somewhere.” I don’t know what to say or do. Mercy straightens her shoulders and walks ahead of us. “Look, all I’m saying is no hard feelings. Give me your address, and I’ll mail you the day’s pay. Honest pay for a less than honest day’s work.”

For the time being, he had to figure out a way to break the news to Mercedes. Mercedes and Crystal came back to the house after a long day. They had been all over the place getting to know the people in the pack. Crystal knew everyone and was just accompanying her Luna so she could be acquainted with her people. First, Mercedes helped her with work at the clinic. She loved volunteering to nurse patients back to health. After the clinic, Mercedes was eager to go see orphaned kids at the shelter. They were orphaned because of the wars that occurred in the past. Seeing their bright and beautiful smiles brought her heart joy.

The traveler stopped a few steps away from the group and slowly lowered his hood. A young man looked back at them—or perhaps an old man. His face seemed to change every time someone blinked: sometimes he looked barely older than Aiden, and sometimes older than the mountains themselves. His eyes were gentle, filled with endless compassion. He bowed politely. "Moon Sister." The Moon Goddess smiled warmly. "It has been too long." "It always is," he answered with a small laugh. Killian stepped forward. "You are..." The traveler looked toward him. "I have been called many names. The Last Guide. The Silent Walker. The Lantern Bearer." He glanced toward the silver flame in his hand. "But before all

"You're Jason Leigh, right? Human resources informed me that you're only a high school graduate. Do you really understand all this?" "I used to be a mercenary," I corrected him in a calm but clear voice. Tony was taken aback, but he quickly laughed out loud. His laugh was so loud that it echoed throughout the workshop. The people standing next to him laughed along. "What's a mercenary doing here as a stockkeeper? Who would believe you, Leigh?"

I don't hold back, every word feels like lifting a stone from my chest. By the time the sun starts to rise, painting the sky pale pink, Aling Mercing's face is wet with tears-but she nods, squeezing my hands tight. She gives me names, writes down addresses on a scrap of paper, even helps me plan the trip. Her siblings live there, she says-far enough that we'd have to take a plane to get there. A place where no one would ever think to look for us.

Order above all. Yet as I watched them prepare, memory surfaced uninvited... A burning village. Bodies everywhere. An alpha who believed compassion made him strong had opened his borders. By dawn, his pack was gone. Mercy killed them faster than any enemy. I learned what the world keeps trying to forget: Kindness without structure is slaughter. “Elara,” I murmured to the wind. “You think you are freeing them.” But freedom is only beautiful from a distance. Up close… it looks like panic.

Kairos POV “When mercy spreads,” the distant voice had said, “someone will rise to end it.” I believed that long before the voice ever spoke. I had seen mercy fail in quieter ways. In back rooms where councils rewrote history. In clearings where mercy arrived too late and left carrying bodies instead of hope. This time felt different. More dangerous. We traveled east at first light, moving away from the ruined settlement and toward the fractured heart of the territories. Seren walked with Lira and two others who had chosen to leave with us. Not followers. Companions. That distinction mattered more now than ever.

Mercy blinked in surprise at the sheer scale of the display. "It's all for you," Isla said with a small, proud smile. As Mercy stepped into the vehicle and the door closed with a soft thud, the convoy began its slow crawl through the city. The journey had finally begun, and at the end of the road, the cathedral waited.

Rhea's POV After up to seven hours of traveling in silence, we finally arrived in Thorn pack. As soon as the car stopped, Mercy and I got off before our eyes widened in shock. "OMG! This is just like a paradise," I held her lips, stopping her from screaming. "This place really looks amazing, and more than fantastic..." we both nodded thoughtfully. This pack is unbelievable, since I was a toddler till now I have always heard about the mighty pack but today is the first time that I am stepping foot inside here. Everywhere screams luxury and seems breathtaking.

Traveling in a group was not strange and it was perfect for the spy who wished to enter the kingdom through the Southwest. As he expected, the topic on the lips of the travelers was the Extermination Campaign. Many of the people traveling were mercenaries who wished to offer their services to nobles without a powerful army to participate in the Extermination Campaign. It was a damgerous job but it came with many rewards and it was safer since they were traveling in a group.