"Ro, Ray," I greeted with a small scowl when we walked over to them, and they grinned and bowed. "What are you two doing over here?"
"To check on you, of course," Ray replied while she gave me a hug. She squeezed me harder once before she pulled away and grinned, but the grin didn't reach her eyes. "Why else would we be here?" She raised an eyebrow in question and cocked her head while she studied me.
I rolled my eyes but didn't say a word while I gave Ro a hug and cleared my throat.
"It is good to see you two, though," Brody said while Ro released me. He shook the Lion King's hand and gave Ray a half hearted hug before he moved back to my side. "How are you two?"
"We are fine," Ro said and cleared his throat. He bowed his head and cleared his throat again. "How about you?" He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "I heard that you had the meeting with the other clans. How did that go?"
I grimaced before I shook my head and bit back a small sigh. "It went ok," I said before I cleared my throat and shrugged. "Surprisingly."
"Good," Ro said and nodded, looking relieved. "Have they signed the treaties?"
I was about to shake my head but stopped when someone crossed my mind. "Only King Paul," I said. "The others wanted to check with their councils before they signed it."
Ro cocked his head and looked mildly impressed. "Why didn't he look it over with his council first before he signed it?" he asked while he raised an eyebrow in question, and I shrugged and grimaced.
"I wish I knew," I said before I cleared my throat. "However, I do not."
"Hmph." He slowly nodded and pursed his lips in annoyance. "Interesting," he said, and I rolled my eyes and scowled. "Did he ask you if he could change anything?" he asked and raised an eyebrow, and I slowly nodded in confirmation.
"It did shock me, but I am grateful for it. I hope that the Council will understand why he signed it before he showed it to them. I know that he trusts my judgment, which is a scary thing."
Ro chuckled and nodded before he grew serious. "What are we going to do now?" he asked and raised an eyebrow while he changed the subject.
"Well, I am going to contact Amity and get her fully under my command," I replied and shrugged. "I don't know what you two are going to be doing, but that is what I am going to be doing."
He chuckled again. "Well, we are going to visit with you and Amity," he said.
"And to check up on you," Ray added, "because we knew that you were going to be meeting with them and wanted to know what they had to say."
"But we can do that later," Ro said while he gave his sister a sideways glance before he looked at me again, his face a mask, and his sister shifted nervously. "Right now, let's work on getting Amity back on our side."
I narrowed my eyes and scowled while I looked between them. "What is it?" I asked, my voice turning slightly darker. "What are you two getting at? What are you two hiding from me?"
"Nothing," Ro said while he shook his head, and his sister stayed silent and looked at her feet, growing tenser. "Don't worry about it."
My scowl grew deeper, and I set my jaw and dipped my head closer to my chest while I looked at him. "Ronan," I warned coldly, and he cleared his throat and shook his head again.
"Again, don't worry about it, Kat," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Please." He dipped his head closer to his chest while he studied me, and I bit back an annoyed sigh before I rolled my eyes and scowled.
"Fine," I grumbled before I cleared my throat and shook my head. "I hope that you know I don't like it."
Ro bit back a small smirk and nodded, and I could tell that he was relieved. "I know," he said. He moved a hand through his hair and shook his head before he sighed. "But it is something for us to deal with and no one else, ok?" He raised an eyebrow in question, silently telling me that it was personal but not dangerous.
I pursed my lips in annoyance and narrowed my eyes while I studied him, silently debating if I wanted to start a fight or not in front of everyone.
Finally, I sighed and shook my head, feeling slightly tired and still annoyed. "Fine," I grumbled, relenting, and Ro chuckled and nodded, relief filling his eyes. "Just know that I don't like it."
"Oh, you'll be fine," he said, and his grin grew wider while he dipped his head closer to his chest. "Now, come on, let's go and see if we can't get Amity under your control." He winked, and I rolled my eyes and scowled.
"He's right," Carver said, and we looked at him. "Now, come, Kat," he said and placed his hand on my shoulder before he squeezed it reassuringly. "We can go further in. No one will hurt you because they do respect you."
I pressed my lips into a thin line before I slowly nodded, hesitating. "I know," I said before I cleared my throat and rubbed my hands together, feeling anxious and nervous but also excited.
Carver squeezed my shoulder reassuringly before he slowly started to walk again, and I followed him with my mate by my side and Trevor behind us.
My mate grabbed my hand and squeezed it reassuringly, and I looked at him and smiled, feeling grateful that my mate was there and beside me. He nudged my shoulder and rubbed against me, silently telling me that I wasn't alone and that he would be by my side no matter what.
Ro walked on my other side with Ray by his side. He had his hands behind his back while he walked, and I could tell that he was getting a little nervous as well.
When Ro felt his gaze on me, he looked at me from the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked while he turned his head to look at me fully and cocked his head. "What can I do for you?"
"Why are you nervous?" I asked while I cocked my head and studied him, and Brody looked at us before he looked forward again, not bothering with it. "You aren't the one that is going to be scrutinized."
Ro bit back a small smirk and dipped his head closer to his chest. "You aren't being scrutinized, Kat," he said before he cleared his throat and moved closer to his sister for some reason. "You are welcome to be here. Everyone is relieved that you are here and will treat you with respect."
I pressed my lips into a thin line and didn't say a word. My whole body was tense, and my heart started to pound faster in my chest with each passing step we walked closer to the main area.
"Breathe, Kat," Brody said with a small laugh in his voice, amused. "You are safe, my Love. You got this."
I pressed my lips into a thin line before I slowly nodded. "I know," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, "but that doesn't stop me from feeling nervous."
He sighed and nodded. "I know," he said before he cleared his throat and squeezed my hand reassuringly. "You won't be left alone in doing this. I promise."
"I know," I said before I cleared my throat and rubbed up against him, "and I am grateful for everything that you and everyone do to help." I bit back a small smile when I looked at Ro and Ray, and they looked at me and smiled before they bowed their heads in respect.
My mate chuckled and squeezed my hand again, and I looked at him and then forward to see that people were staring at us and waiting for us to get closer, and I took a deep shuddering breath and released it with a small whoosh, trying but failing to get rid of the anxiety that I felt.
Goddess, protect me, I silently prayed while I bit my lip. Please.