Declan - Heart of a Tiger (Royal Taiga Streak #1) - J.R. Loveless Page 0,66

end up living a half-life.”

He covered his mouth with his hand. “Is that how you feel?”

She shrugged one slender shoulder. “Sometimes. Ronnie helps. More than he knows.”

Before he could ask any further questions, Sam and Tara wandered into the room, Vicky between them. “Hey, Sean,” Tara greeted. “Rose, we thought we’d come help you prepare dinner.”

“That sounds wonderful. I would never turn down help, especially from a cutie like you,” Rose chirp, gently tapping Vicky on the nose with one finger.

Vicky giggled and lifted her arms for Rose to pick her up. Rose didn’t hesitate and Sean could see Vicky had come so far out of her shell in such a short time. He hoped one day she’d feel safe enough to talk again. “Ronnie mentioned something about a movie night?” Sean asked while Rose ended Vicky’s hug and set her back down.

“Oh, now that is a great idea,” Rose said. “Let’s see how much time we have after dinner tonight.”

Sean nodded eagerly, excited at the prospect of watching an actual movie. “I’ve never seen a movie in full. What can we watch?”

Rose closed her eyes for a split second and he saw her take a breath before she replied, “Anything you want, Sean. You choose.”

“But I don’t know what there is,” Sean said.

While prepping dinner, she started to list off movies and explaining what each one was. He couldn’t wait to see every single one she mentioned.

18

Declan

Declan followed a somber Victor into his office where Victor waited for Declan to close the door before relaying his news. “We’ve finished exhuming the remains, Alpha.”

“Have all of the clans been identified?”

Victor shook his head. “Three are still yet undetermined. Cameron has started documenting the cause of deaths and validating the ages based on what the Alpha-mate has given us.”

Declan growled low. “Are the others from either of the clans coming in two days?”

“No, Alpha. The rest so far are either from packs further out or packs we hold strong alliances with.”

“Put together a list of the clans and the associated names and shifters for each child. I will request their presence on the same day. It may prevent escalation. I also don’t want this information leaked until we are ready with answers.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Victor hesitated and then asked, “What of Mr. Hunter’s contact?”

“Kyle has left to retrieve the witch responsible for that abomination around Sean’s neck.” Declan could hardly wait to incinerate the damn thing. Such a contraption should never exist!

“Does he require assistance?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I will inform you as soon as Mr. Hunter arrives with the package.”

“Thank you, Victor. Also, please inform the streak I would like them to attend a meeting this evening. I apologize for the late notice, but with the clan members arriving tomorrow I need to make everyone aware there will be others in the compound and why.”

Victor grimaced. “Yes, Alpha.”

Declan sighed. “Please call me Declan, Victor.”

Tipping his head in acknowledgment, Victor said, “Yes, Alpha.”

Declan knew Victor wouldn’t ever change his ways. The man had been around since his father’s time as alpha and he’d rarely ever seen Victor even angry or happy. He didn’t know why Victor seemed to keep himself closed off, but Declan appreciated the man more than anything for everything he’d done for him and his family for several decades. “Thank you, Victor. That’ll be all.”

Victor nodded once and left the office. Declan paced to the window and stood there, arms crossed over his chest, while staring out at the streak’s land. He knew the next few days would not be pleasant ones. His streak needed to know the true details of what lay ahead to prepare for any potential backlash. There was nothing else to do except wait for the chips to fall where they may.

He moved back to his desk and took a few moments to comb through his emails. There were several which needed to be answered, but they could hold until the next day. Declan saw another from Nicole and Arthur Bianca. They were heading back home the following week. He shot off a quick reply to wish them a safe trip and he would see them when they arrived. After, he rejoined the others in the dining room and tried to push the weight on his shoulders away for at least a couple of hours.

Dinner was the usual loud affair and Declan couldn’t be happier when he saw the way Sam, Tara, and Sean opened up to Clarissa. They seemed excited at the prospect of