Elizabeth turned. "Because you won't be able to win them over by being blunt and funny. They only respect one thing and that's power. Frankly, you haven't built up enough of a reputation for them to take you seriously. These men were around before the pillar cities, Meryn; they live and breathe etiquette and deportment. Please, just this once, listen to me on this," Elizabeth begged.
Meryn sighed and nodded. She took pinched fingers and dragged them across her mouth. "I'll be mute."
Anne exchanged glances with Rheia who was looking equally as nervous. Anne turned to Elizabeth. "What do we do?"
Elizabeth smiled. "If asked, just introduce yourselves. Keep it short and polite, either Amelia or I will do most of the talking."
Amelia stood and straightened her sweater. "I'm used to these types of men. I sit in for Caiden all the time at home for council meetings. I may carry some clout since I'm an Ironwood and can trace my line back to the royal palace."
There was a knock on the door and Ryuu stepped in. Anne could see that he did not look happy. "Ladies, you have visitors in the front room." Penny and her grandmother walked in. They had been displaced by the visitors.
Elizabeth turned to Noah and Jaxon. "You two stay here, I don't think they're here to question you." Both Noah and Jaxon looked relieved. She turned to the room. "Come on ladies, let's not keep them waiting."
Rheia kissed Penny on the cheek and ruffled her hair.
"They can die of old age for all I care," Meryn muttered.
Elizabeth shot her a dirty look. Meryn rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and right in front of Anne, it was as if she transformed. Gone was the quirky, vibrant woman and in her place was a wide-eyed, scared looking creature.
Elizabeth patted Meryn on the head. "Good girl." Meryn held on to the hem of Elizabeth's sweater and they walked out of the room.
"Freaky," Amelia and Anne said at the same time.
Rheia shook her head. "I think that transformation will give me more nightmares than the ferals."
They left command central and headed to the front room. Ryuu had brought in more seating to accommodate so many people. In addition to the seven-man council, there were also the three Lycaonian council members seated before them. The men rose as they entered the room. There were only enough empty seats left for the five women to sit down. Anne looked around the room, trying to spot Kendrick. Darian stepped forward from where he had been standing next to the wall with the other Alpha and Gamma Unit members and leaned down to her ear. "He had to run to the city to do some errands; he should be back any minute now."
Anne nodded and turned back to face the imposing men in front of her. To the left, an older version of Aiden smiled at them. Beside him, a blond fae man was nodding encouragingly. Elizabeth and Meryn both smiled back at him. Next to him was a man in emerald green robes. There was a small coffee table between those three and the seven committee members. The dark haired, oily-looking man bowed and remained standing when the other men sat back down.
"Ladies, thank you for joining us. Allow me to introduce everyone. To my far right, the Lycaonian Shifter representative, Elder Byron McKenzie. Then we have the Lycaonian fae representative, Elder Celyn Vi'Ailean, and then our esteemed Lycaonian witch representative, Elder Rowan Airgead." He pointed to his chest. "I am Daggart Hemlock, a witch representative of Storm Keep and head of the newly formed Committee. To my left is my colleague, Adalwin Dulse, another witch representative of Storm Keep."
Anne thought both men looked like they belonged in a dungeon as torturers. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were up to no good. Adalwin looked like he had been up for days. Since being introduced to paranormals, she had never seen any of them looking so tired and haggard. He looked like he should be in bed, not out causing trouble.
"On the other side of Adalwin are the fae representatives of Éire Danu, Brion Li'Aereil and Varis Vi'Eilendis."
Anne noticed that Elder Celyn flinched at Varis's name, which made her like Varis even less. If Elizabeth and Meryn liked Elder Vi'Ailean, then she would trust his opinion, and judging by the way he was looking at Varis, there was bad blood between them. Of the two fae introduced, Varis was the more arrogant one. Brion twitched nervously and kept looking around the room.
"Beside Brion, we have our vampire representatives, Edmond Devan and Jourdain Régis." Daggart continued.
Anne thought that Edmond looked like every version of vampire she had ever seen on television. He wasn't handsome like Gavriel; he was very ordinary, from his stereotypical dark hair to his Victorian style dress. Jourdain, on the other hand, was handsome, and he knew it. His lip seemed to be stuck to the tip of his nose in a permanent sneer. Anne instantly hated him.
"And last, but certainly not least, our Lycaonian representative, Réne Evreux." Daggart sat once he concluded the introductions.
Anne thought that Réne looked sullen, as though he wanted to be anywhere but here. If she didn't know better, she would have said he looked angry with the other committee members.
Anne looked over as Elizabeth stood gracefully. "Thank you for such a thorough introduction. Allow me to do the same. I am Elizabeth Monroe. My uncle is Magnus Rioux of Noctem Falls, and I am mated to Gavriel Ambrosios. To my right, we have Meryn McKenzie, the mate to our esteemed Unit Commander and future Elder, Aiden McKenzie. Next, we have Rheia Bradley, a much-respected doctor and mate to Colton Albright. Beside her, we have Amelia Ironwood, daughter to Elder Ironwood of Storm Keep and mate to Darian Vi'Alina. And this is our newest family member, Anne Bennett. She has just completed arduous schooling to become a nurse, and she has been taking care of Keelan Ashwood, the warrior who sacrificed his life so that the Alpha Unit would live." Elizabeth sat back down and took Meryn's hand in a gesture of support.