by Alanea Alder
Ari stopped dead in his tracks and looked down at her. "What?"
"You didn't notice?"
"No. Wait. Seriously?" She could tell he was mentally going through the entire evening.
She pulled on his arm to get them walking again. Her third margarita had her wanting to strip down and face plant into bed.
Absently, he walked a few more feet then placed his hand on the center of the door before him. She heard a faint click, and he swung it open for them. She stepped inside and looked around. The room was clean and tidy. He had decorated it in shades of blue, and while everything looked nice, it felt empty.
"Where's your stuff?" she asked, figuring out what was missing. There were no personal affects here.
"At home," he answered and pulled his shirt over his head.
"Home?" She looked at him confused.
Ari turned to her, and she looked her fill. His broad chest was nothing but compact and defined muscles. When she saw the way his hips dipped into his slacks in a 'v', she almost groaned. Was there ever a more beautiful man?
"I maintain quarters here and split my time between the warrior villa and the Lionhart estate. It's somewhat unorthodox given the way other units are run, but considering my family plays major roles in the city's politics, it works better for everyone. I get updates from my father and pass them on to the units so that Brennus doesn't have to."
"So, you come here when you want to be pampered," she teased.
Ari shook his head. "Until you said something, I never even noticed they did that." He frowned. "I wonder if Gage, Priest, or Kincaid knows." He sighed. "Sometimes it's hard being the youngest in a city of paranormals that can lives for thousands and thousands of years."
"It may not be a paranormal thing. In Monroe, the firehouse is across the street from our station. I've watched the older firemen coddle their probies. Don't get me wrong, they torture the hell outta them too, but yeah, the probies are treated like baby brothers."
"Probie?"
"Probationer, someone whose performance is evaluated before acceptance."
"We don't have those. Once you're moved up to serve as a unit warrior, that's it."
"You don't have any form of training?"
"We used to have an academy, but Meryn made a suggestion last year to move all trainees to stay and train with the units to allow for more cadets to move up. In theory, it was supposed to increase the number of trained men that could assist. However, many Founding and Noble families pointed out that if the trainees were moved up, then only one academy was needed. So, Adair McKenzie is in charge of all cadets now in Lycaonia's academy."
"I bet you Meryn was pissed."
"You have no idea."
She pulled off her robe, then paused. "Are we having sex tonight?"
Ari, who was in the process of stepping out of his slacks, turned to face her and tripped, falling against the mattress before bouncing onto the floor.
"Are you okay?"
"Don't mind me. I'll be sleeping with my tattered pride here on the floor," Ari said, sounding disgusted with himself.
"Don't be silly. Now, sex, yes or no? Because to be honest, I'm tired and not sure I can muster up the enthusiasm despite how incredibly hot you are."
He grinned. "You think I'm hot?"
She let her robe fall to the floor and began walking toward him completely nude. She put a little sway in her step, causing her breasts to bounce. She watched in fascination as his eyes turned the color of honey. "I think you're so incredibly hot that we need to invest in birth control, because I plan on jumping your fine ass every chance I get." She yawned wide, then blinked down at him.
His expression softened, and his eyes returned to their normal shade of gold. He stood and held out his hand. "You can jump me tomorrow, after we both get a good night's rest."
She took his hand, and they both crawled into bed. He immediately curved his body around hers, tucking her head under his chin. Her body relaxed almost instantly in response to his touch.
"Goodnight, my 'supposed' soul mate," she said, yawning again.
Her yawn was cut short when he nipped the back of her neck. "Goodnight, my mate," he countered.
And for the first time in her life, she fell asleep within moments of her head hitting the pillow.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, she went to stretch and realized she was still completely cocooned in her own li'l Ari nest. As they were lying on their right side, his right arm curled under the pillow to cradle her head, and his left hand was latched onto her breast. She could feel puffs of air on her neck and found that she didn't mind it.
She eased out of bed, placing a pillow in Ari's arms so that he continued to sleep. Her hand flew to her lips to keep her laughter contained as he squeezed the pillow and grinned lecherously. Shaking her head, she quietly gathered up her real clothes and went to the bathroom to freshen up. She made quick work of her hair and make-up, then, not for the first time, sent up a prayer of thanks to Rathais, who required his deputies to wear only the uniformed shirt. Instead of hot polyester slacks, she pulled on her favorite pair of jeans. She belted on her holster and instead of repining her badge to her shirt, she slipped the sash on that held her new broach.
She tiptoed out the door and headed downstairs. She found a handful of men in the kitchen prepping breakfast. Outside the window, the world brightened slowly.
"Morning, fellas," she said, in greeting.
Aeson and Matthieu waved, and Aeson pointed to the frying pan. "Early birds get to pick their egg style."
"Scrambled for me and thanks. Any coffee?" she asked, looking around.
Matthieu pointed to the small alcove where multiple industrial coffee urns burbled. "Just finished."
She went over, poured a cup of black ambrosia, added sweetener, and took a sip. She sighed, leaning one hip against the wall. "This is amazing."
"Thank Izzy. She is setting up a small coffee shop in Dav's pub and offered to order us coffee from her wholesaler account. We could never get beans this good otherwise," Aeson explained
Ramsey came around the island, holding a small pitcher. "You should try with half-n-half. I had Leo show me how to get the milk to cream ratios right."
Normally, she didn't take cream in her coffee, just a bit of sweetener, but he looked so excited, she found herself holding out her cup. He poured then stopped, eyed the swirling brew then added a bit more. He went to the coffee station and grabbed a spoon and stirred for her. "Try now."
She took a sip, fully expecting to hate it, but found for once, the cream didn't overtake the taste of coffee, just added a smoothness to the experience. "That's freaking amazing!"
Ramsey beamed. "I know, right!"
She looked at the guys in the room. "Okay, what's the catch?"
The exchanged confused expressions. "What do you mean?" Ramsey asked.
She pointed first to Aeson then to Ramsey. "You guys are just too perfect. Last night, you did everything you could to welcome me for Ari's sake." She raised a brow. "And don't think I didn't notice how you spoil him and the Tau unit." Ramsey winced, and she continued. "Creating name tags was freaking adorable, and you're all so domestic, my ovaries are spiraling in shame, so what gives?"
Aeson laughed at her last statement then went back to his frying pan. "Unlike the other pillar cities, until very recently, the units of Éire Danu really didn't have much to do. Patrols were pointless in a city that had no borders. It's true that we still trained and did drills, but there was no urgency behind it."
Ramsey set down the cream pitcher by the coffee bar. "Éire Danu is known amongst the warriors as the transition city. We are a pretty evenly split between older warriors about to enter inactive status or turn Vanguard and recently promoted warriors. It makes for a very nurturing environment where we, the younger warriors are treated like baby brothers, and our estate has a less military vibe."
Matthieu smiled. "As for Ari, well, he is the baby. He is the youngest here by alm
ost a hundred years. He was born and raised right here in Éire Danu, so we all watched him grow up. It is hard not to spoil him, and by extension, the nearly as young Tau unit."
"I never even noticed," Ari said, stepping into the room. He went to her, tilting her head back for a kiss. "I woke up molesting a pillow. Your work?"
She giggled. "You looked like a cat kneading his blanket."
He leered down at her. "I'll knead something later," he promised.
"Later?"
"Later. I had a few texts waiting for me on my phone this morning. Tau and Chi have been summoned to the palace. Tyrien Ri'Aileanach has declared a case of No Confidence in the way the murders are being handled."
Aeson whistled low. "From what I heard, that goes directly against the queen's decree to allow Brie to handle things."
Ari nodded. "It's the first time in Éire Danu's history that a case has been filed countering the ruling king or queen directly." He went to the coffee bar then opened the cabinet above the urns pulling out six travel mugs. "Thank the gods Rex is home. He was at the palace at the crack of dawn, scraping Brennus off the ceiling. Brennus wanted to challenge the pissant directly."
Leon walked in and went right to the fridge. He pulled out a small container of yogurt and an apple. "I would pay a hefty sum to watch that."
Aeson turned to Ramsey. "Go flip Carson's mattress. If we start now, he might be fully awake by the time he reaches the palace."
Ramsey nodded, then jogged out of the room. A few moments later, a loud thud followed by shouts were heard. She turned to Ari, who held up a finger. "Wait for it."
Seconds later a resounding boom shook the walls of the villa. "What on earth?" she asked, as the vibrations in the floor drifted away.
"Carson's a fire witch. I wonder if Ramsey avoided the fireball this time?" Ari poured coffee into one of the travel mugs then began to doctor it.
She heard footsteps on the stairs before Ramsey flew into the room. "I always forget he can do that!" The hair on one side of his head looked a bit singed.
Aeson smiled and slid her eggs on to a plate. "Which is exactly why I keep asking you to wake him."
Gage and Priest were the next to walk in, Kincaid behind them. Gage held up his phone. "Did you see this?" he asked Ari.
Ari nodded, then pointed down to the travel cups. "Grab your coffee."
Brie picked up her fork and began to inhale her eggs. She loved her morning coffee, but she needed fuel to face the day. Ari looked at her plate longingly, and she held up a fork. He leaned down and took a bite. "Thank you." He took her cup and poured it into one of the mugs. He added fresh hot coffee then pointed down. "How do you take yours?"
"An extra sweetener and some of the cream. Ramsey has made me a fan." He nodded, then fixed her to-go cup before handing it back to her.
Kincaid whimpered, staring at Brie's plate, and Ari winked. "I'm sure if we look pitiful enough, Cord will feed us."
Kincaid brightened. "That's worth having to attend the meeting."
They all heard loud footsteps before a dark-haired warrior thumped into the kitchen, glaring at Ramsey. Before he could lay into the lion shifter, Ari held out a travel mug. "Tau and Chi have been summoned to the palace; grab your coffee." The warrior stopped mid-snarl then marched over to the coffee bar. Now the six mugs made sense.
Aeson removed his apron and handed the spatula over to the warrior that had been working the toaster. "Saxon, can you take over?"
"Sure thing." Saxon took Aeson's place at the stove, and the men headed toward the door.
Brie shoveled the last of her eggs into her mouth and washed them down with some coffee. She took Ari's hand, and they followed the guys to the palace.
*****
The difference between the laid-back, fun, warrior kitchen and the tension-filled queen's chambers was drastic. No wonder Kincaid felt nervous coming here.
"I want to gouge out my eyeballs with that prissy, silver, sugar spoon," Meryn complained, pushing her fruit around on her plate.
"Normally, I'd say you may be feeling a bit anti-social, but it's almost oppressive in here," Amelia agreed, closing her eyes and sitting back in her chair. Darian wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his body. "Do you need to lay back down?"
She opened her eyes long enough to glare at him before closing them again. "Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I should be treated any differently."
Nearly every man at the table snorted.
Aiden actually nodded in agreement with Amelia. "Pregnant women are incredibly strong and very fierce."
Meryn beamed at those seated around the table. "Grrrrrr."
On her other side, Kincaid let out a breath he had been holding. Slowly, he began to relax. Across the table, Kendrick tilted his head, then stood. He walked around the table until he was behind Kincaid, who now looked petrified.
"Sir?" he asked.
Kendrick ignored him and simply placed his hand on Kincaid's head. When he lifted it, he was smiling. "I think being around Meryn has made me somewhat an expert with empaths."
"What?" Ari asked, sitting up straighter.
Kendrick smiled down at Kincaid before returning to his seat. "You hate political meetings, never go to the Upper City, and avoid the palace like the plague. You looked like you were two seconds from being ill at out last meeting here, and just now, when the tension broke, you looked like you could finally breathe. Kincaid, you're an empath."
"Is that why my magic never works right?" he asked, eyes wide.
Kendrick frowned. "It shouldn't affect your magic."
Meryn turned to Kincaid. "You are my people. If you ever need to escape, you are welcome to use my Batcave."
Kincaid turned to Meryn. "Thank you. That helps more than you know."
Brie pointed to Carson. "Is he an empath too? Is that why he is barely functioning?"
Ari and Aeson laughed. "No, he's a night owl and detests mornings. He's not even fully awake right now."
Meryn pretended like she was wiping a tear. "Another peep for me." She turned to Izzy. "Can you fix him that black eye thing?"
Izzy popped up. "Absolutely, this makes him one of my people too."
"While my mate is whipping up some caffeine, Portia, will you recap the events that transpired first thing this morning?" Oron asked, nodding to the very put together female holding a quill.
Portia nodded. "This morning, right at dawn, Tyrien Ri'Aileanach along with several members of Founding Families arrived at the palace to register a case of No Confidence regarding the handling of the investigation into the murders of our people." Her eyes cut to the queen before she continued. "Though a case has not been submitted, many have voiced the question of the timing of this atrocity."
Brie couldn't imagine why that'd be a major concern. "What am I missing?"
"Motherfuckers," Meryn growled.
The queen, looking pale and wan, turned to her. "They are implying that my lack of action in the past seven days could have led to the deaths of my people, and had I acted quicker, their loved ones might still be alive."
Brie just laughed. Everyone—except Meryn—was staring at her as if she had lost her mind. "Your Majesty, no offense to you, but you're not a god. From the reports and timelines I have read, you acted very quickly when presented with possible threat to the city."
"But I…"
Brie continued. "You may not have directly had a hand in anything for the first seven days, but Aiden, as Unit Commander, arranged for improved unit training and updated patrols within minutes of the first confirmed sighting of a feral in the city."
"But…"
Brie gentled her tone. "Aleksandra, I'm no expert on paranormal decay, but from the report I read over last night at dinner, in regards to Dr. Rheia Bradley's findings about cellular degradation and how it is slower due to each races' regeneration abilities, I think it's safe to say your people were killed right about the time the shadows began to appear. There was nothing you could have done."
The queen practically collapsed back in her chair. "Gods, you're right."
Izzy breezed through the door with a tall mug, Cord at her side, carrying a platter of bacon. She immediately went to Carson. "Try this." She set it down in front of him.
Carson blinked up at her and lifted the mug to his lips. He took a sip, shuddered, then began to down the contents of the cup. When he was finished, he looked up at Izzy. "I love you."
Oron stood, growling at the witch. Izzy, however, just nodded. "I know."
"Coffee Goddess has a new acolyte. The empire of Merytopia grows!" Meryn crowed from her seat.
Amelia turned to Meryn. "Empire? I thought you were your own religion now."
Meryn shrugged. "Izzy is a better religion. I will be an Empress instead."
Izzy high-fived Meryn as she walked by, then pulled her mate back down into his chair. "I created a new place of worship at Dav's pub."
Aeson just stared slack-jawed at the women. "How did we go from mass murder, to cellular decay, to Merytopia?"
Aiden shrugged. "Welcome to my world."
Anne pointed to the table. "Meals are kinda always like this."
The queen had a bit more color to her cheeks. "And thank the gods that it is. You girls have given me so much strength," she turned to Brie. "And your level-headedness has saved me much turmoil."
Meryn snapped her fingers. "If we got Kari and Beth here, we could probably take over the world."
Aiden just nodded and grabbed more bacon.
Even Portia looked a bit more steady on her feet. "If we could get evidence that time of death occurred weeks ago, most of the concerns centering around the case of No Confidence would evaporate."
"I'll call River. He is a vampire that has been working as a Vanguard in Monroe. He is currently heading up the forensic side of this case. I'll see if he has an update," Brie volunteered.
Portia winced. "Could you do it in the next thirty minutes? That's when we go to Tribunal."
Brie pulled out her phone. "Calling now." She sent off a text first, to make River aware she was calling from the queen's chambers and that he would be on speaker. He sent back the devil emoji and answered his phone.
