Page 66 of A Lion's Heart

“We’ve all lost in this war, Decan.”

“With all due respect, Assembly Leader, this is not a war,” he said barely holding on to his anger at the moment. “You packed every shifter up and put them into a life of hiding with no escape plan. You’ve created this underground world with all the luxuries you could possibly think of. You’re using your personal fortune to finance the bulk of this effort and you think that’s fighting a war. I know what it means to fight a war! I’ve been on the frontlines of battle and this is not it. Not down here.”

Rome gave a curt nod. “So you and your friends decided that the smart move was to take the battle to the doorstep of those responsible. Well, I can tell you that in the beginning, the other FLs and I contemplated doing the exact same thing. The problem with that was collateral damage. How many innocent lives would be lost because we stormed into what was once the White House, or the new Ruling Cabinet’s house, shifted into our cat form and killed the ones responsible for causing the widespread panic about our kind? How many of the people who we want to convince we’re not animals, would see that as an animalistic act?”

“We just think differently,” Decan told him, refusing to back down.

“We’ve lived differently,” Rome said. “We come from a different cat species. But our goal is the same, Decan. I not only wanted to keep you close so that I could be there to stop you the moment I felt like you were messing up for more than just yourself, but I also wanted to show our people that we could come together. That we could work on one accord.”

“One accord meaning your way,” Decan said.

“One accord meaning the right way,” Rome stated and then turned to open the door.

When he had his hand on the knob, Rome paused and then turned back to look at Decan.

“In addition to leading the Shadows, you should remember that I’m her father.”

His gaze was intent, the yellow of his cat’s eyes, flickering between the dark brown of his human ones.

Well, damn.

“I have no intention of hurting her,” Decan told him because he didn’t. That had never been a possibility for him. Which also solidified the fact that leaving her was the best idea.

“You will have no mission, no revenge to appease, no life, if you hurt her,” Rome said and then walked out of the room.