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Kari gave Declan's hand a gentle squeeze. She gave him a look as if to say it was up to him.
Declan nodded. "I would consider an advisory role, though, advisory only."
"Excellent!" Rex exclaimed looking much happier. "Father will be ecstatic when I call him later. Though you should call them yourself. Mother, more than Father, has a thing or two to say to you," he teased.
The color drained from Declan's face. "What did she say?" he asked.
Rex shrugged. "You know Mother. You almost died, got mated, and you never called. Yes, she's most eager to speak to you," he said diplomatically. Declan buried his face in his other hand, groaning, and Rex chuckled.
Mention of the attack reminded Kari to ask what would happen to her mate's attacker. She turned to Magnus. "What are we going to do with DuBois?"
Rex growled. "The rest of the council members will be coming in tomorrow. We will be deciding what to do with him.
"Will he be moved?" Meryn asked.
Aiden shook his head. "No, Meryn."
Magnus eyes narrowed. "What are you up to?"
"Two words," Meryn said holding up her fingers. "Plausible deniability."
Rex gave her an evil grin. "I like the way you think. I wish I could just skin that man alive and mount his head on my wall.
Eva gasped. Adriel wrapped arm around her shoulders. Rex, along with everyone else, looked on in confusion. "Was it something I said?" he asked.
Eva swallowed hard repeatedly, unable to speak. Adriel rubbed her back. "Eva lost her parents when she was young. As you know, she is a tiger shifter; her parents were hunted in tiger form and killed for their skin."
Around the table there were gasps. Meryn frowned and turned to Aiden. "When I thought Colton was killed, you said that shifters turn back to humans when they die."
Aiden nodded. "That's true for the most part. It's very rare to encounter a shifter that stays in animal form after death." He turned to the table. "Father and I are finding that the more endangered the species of animal the shifter is, the more likely it is that they remain as an animal upon death. With the skyrocketing number of endangered species now, more and more shifters are staying in an animal form when they die. It's making it very difficult to find people if they're killed while shifted."
Rex turned to Eva. "You have my deepest and sincerest apologies. I did not mean to bring up such horrible memories."
Eva shook her head. "No, it's okay; you didn't know. Besides we have happier news to discuss. Did I hear that someone else is pregnant?" she asked smoothing over the painful subject.
Meryn laughed. "Someone else is preggo? Sweet. Who else is joining the bloated, cranky, and crazy team?"
Adriel turned to Declan. "Rachelle," he informed him.
Declan smiled wide. "Get outta here! Are you serious? That's freaking awesome." Kari could see the wheels turning in her mate's head. Declan was now twice as glad he was hurt instead of either Rachelle or her wolf mate. Rex groaned and put his face in his hands at Declan's language.
Kari smiled. "Yes, darling, I can see politics is definitely not one of your fortes."
Meryn flashed Declan a thumbs up. "I've been trying to tell Aiden that sometimes you guys act too stuffy."
"Stuffy?" Magnus asked incredulously.
"Yes, stuffy," she said, pointing to his suit and tie. "Would it kill you to wear a pair of sweatpants?" she asked.
Magnus and Bethy's eyes widened, and they shuddered in unison. "Sweat. Pants?" Magnus asked, enunciating each word.
Bethy leaned over and looked down the table at Meryn. "You just stop that crazy talk. The Prince of Noctem Falls in sweatpants?"
Meryn looked confused. "Don't you have sweatpants? Doesn't everybody own sweatpants? They are the most comfortable things ever." Her clothes began to shimmer, and then right before her eyes, Kari watched as Meryn's normal t-shirt and jeans morphed to sweatpants and a hoodie.
Kari turned to Declan. "How did she do that? I thought she was human."
Declan chuckled. "She's also the person who inherited the Gown of Éire Danu."
