Page 3 of A Lion's Heart
The President looked grim as he stared at Rome.
“You lied to me,” was the first thing the older man said, his glasses pushed up high on his face.
“I never lied,” Rome countered. “I did not tell you what you did not need to know.”
Wilson slammed his palms down on his desk. “I didn’t need to know that there were damned animals roaming around my country? Are you kidding me?”
“First,” Rome began. “The animals you refer to are housed in a zoo. What have been walking and mingling amongst the humans for hundreds of years are called Shadow Shifters. And up until last night you had no idea we existed.”
“That’s exactly what my problem with you is Reynolds! I allied myself with you. I supported you and your firm and the charities you reached out to.”
Rome interrupted. “Because those were the right things to do. I have always been an upstanding citizen, a successful lawyer and a contributor to this community as well as others. There was no need for you not to offer your support just because you had no knowledge of my DNA.”
“Don’t give me that smooth-ass lawyer crap! You should have told me!” Wilson was clearly outraged and he was afraid.
Sweat pricked his forehead and his hands shook after he’d slammed them on the desk, so he pulled them down to his lap instead. He was afraid of the shifters that had seemingly invaded his office.
When in truth, it was Priya and Dorian who had arranged for the private meeting as a form of damage control for the United States Government—to whom many countries were now looking at with thoughts of terrorism against their citizens, as last night’s attack involved several of their highest dignitaries. And for the shifters whose true nature had finally been unveiled… The President’s staff had jumped at this opportunity, but Rome had insisted it be a private meeting instead of a nationally-televised press conference.
“Now I want you to tell me where the rest of your kind are hiding and what you all plan to do now that you’re here,” Wilson told Rome.
The Assembly Leader shook his head. None of them had been overly optimistic about the human government being able to come to amicable terms with the shifters. That had been one of their greatest fears with exposure. But they’d agreed to the meeting, agreed with Dorian that it looked better for them, and it put forth the peaceful approach the agent now believed the shifters needed to take.
Dorian’s appearance had also been a huge question. But the agent had explained how he met Rayna and how the Lormenian shifter had wanted to help the Shadows by exposing and killing Boden. She’d wanted her sister’s safety, but she’d also wanted them to be able to live cohesively with the humans in this world. She’d left him a letter with the directions to the tunnels—which she knew because she’d been there to help them work on the construction—and she’d told him that if she did not return to the hotel by a certain time that night that he should assume that she was dead and get to Rome as quickly as possible. The agent had done just that.
“We are a peaceful species,” Rome told the President. “What happened last night was not our fault.”
“Big ass cats jumping over cars, biting and killing people, that’s not your fault?” Wilson inquired “When I’ve been told that you are yourself one of the big cats.”
Rome paused a moment, the room going completely silent as everyone waited for his response.
“Yes. I am one of the big cats. I am the Stateside Assembly Leader of the Shadow Shifters,” Rome said with confidence and pride.
Wilson stood then, squaring his shoulders so that his stance mimicked Rome’s.
“Then I command you to release the names and locations of every member of this species. I demand to know where every one of you are hiding so that we can deal with you appropriately,” Wilson said without hesitation, his angry gaze locked with Rome’s.
“I will not do that,” Rome told him calmly. “There’s no reason for any of us not responsible for last night’s fiasco to be, as you put it “dealt with”. And furthermore, I will not stand for the persecution and execution of my kind.”
Wilson nodded as if in resignation, before saying, “Then you have made the United States and possibly the entire world your enemy.”
Rome’s reply was immediate and was said just seconds before the Assembly Leader turned and left the room, his team following dutifully behind him.
“No, Mr. President. It is my goal to work with the humans, with your government, so that there will be no need for any of us to be enemies,” Rome said seriously. “You knew my parents. You know what type of man I am. You know what I stand for and what I believe. There is no reason for us to work against each other here. The Shadow Shifters simply want peace.”
Wilson Reed looked from one of his advisors to the next, then back to Rome and the others who stood with him. He sighed heavily, smoothing down his tie as he lowered himself slowly into his seat.
“I only want peace for my country,” the President said to Roman. “Can you promise that from your people?”
“We only want peace as well,” Rome told him. “So yes, I can promise you that. And if we all work together peace and harmony shall be what we have.”
