My Guardian
Author: Alanea Alder
Date: 2016-03-30 23:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Romance; Vampires
Description: The next chapter in the Bewitched and Bewildered series is about to begin. Meryn and Beth have been summoned by Beth’s uncle and council elder, Magnus Rioux to the vampire’s pillar city of Noctem Falls. Meryn in a city of vampires, what could go wrong? Aiden and Gavriel are about to find out. Eva Mae Miller has been around for a long time. But never in all of her centuries has she ever had to turn to vampires for sanctuary. But when whole paranormal families begin disappearing in her quiet Texas suburb, Eva knows that it’s time to set her pride aside and join the other refugees heading to Noct
Publisher: Sacred Forest

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

About the Author

Coming Soon

Other Books on Amazon

My GUARDIAN

_________________________________________________________

Bewitched and Bewildered

_________________________________________________________

ALANEA ALDER

Copyright © 2016 Alanea Alder

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address below.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

www.sacredforestpublishing.com

P.O.Box 280

Moyock, NC, 27958

Digital ISBN- 978-1-941315-12-5

Print ISBN- 978-1-941315-13-2

Sacred Forest Publishing

Dedication

~Omnia Vincit Amor- Love Conquers All~

This is dedicated to the Meryns out there, anyone who has ever felt different, as if they didn't belong. You do. There is only one of you, only one, in this whole universe, if that isn't special, I don't know what is. Celebrate what makes you different, let your weird and crazy light shine, so that others can be drawn to it.

Remember, Meryn lived her life believing that she didn't belong, when in fact, she did have a special place, she just had to find it.

PROLOGUE

"Admit it. You like the fact that I don't automatically genuflect when you speak." The blonde woman stood with her hands on her hips and smirk on her lips. Adriel was torn between wanting to throw up his hands in exasperation and kissing her into submission. He went with the latter option.

When she saw him step forward, she laughed and began to run. She sprinted down the dark corridor until he couldn't see her anymore.

"Wait for me!" he yelled. He didn't know why, but it was imperative that she wait for him. Why was he suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of dread?

"Come out now!" He ran as fast as he could. The strands of her white-blonde hair seemed to glow in the torchlight; they moved farther and farther away.

When he lost sight of her completely, his heart seized.

"Please, love!" he begged.

He slowed down when splatters of blood began to appear on the stone floor. The trail led to a large wooden door. With a shaking hand, he turned the doorknob, and the door swung open.

His mate dangled from a large hook in the center of the room, her eyes unseeing as her blood dripped down her body and onto the floor.

"No!" His rage consumed him, sending his heart into darkness. Just when he felt his soul slip away, he jolted awake.

*****

Adriel sat up in bed and tried to remember how to breathe. He had been having the same nightmare for weeks. He was never able to save her, and he never saw his enemy. He was no witch; why did these dreams plague him?

He got out of bed and ran a hand over the glow basket; immediately, the room was bathed in a soft warm light.

"I'm too old to believe light keeps evil at bay." He shook his head at his own actions and began to get dressed.

More than ever, he was going to miss Leif Grassfield and Travis Hickory. Last week, the two seasoned witches had been recalled to Storm Keep and replaced by the Morninglory twins, Nigel and Neil. He had never felt so ancient and jaded as when he was around those two. They had just turned one hundred and were practically babies. He wanted to send them back to Storm Keep to give them a chance to grow up, to keep them safe while they matured and gained experience, but they had begged to stay, stating there was nothing for them to go back to. He had handed off the twins to their respective unit leaders. Nigel had gone to Dimitri Romanov of the Theta Unit, and Neil had gone to Godard Kipling of the Kappa Unit. They were now their headaches.

Maybe he could call Leif later and ask him about the dreams. Looking in the mirror, he straightened his tie, pulling it tight to fit snuggly against his starched collar. His long navy blue coat was spotless and pressed to perfection. As the leader of the units here in Noctem Falls, he always made sure he was impeccably groomed so that none of the Noble or Founding families could find fault with his appearance.

Grabbing his clipboard, he left his quarters and headed to the galley where his men gathered to eat. It was just another day in the City of the Night. To take his mind off the haunting dreams, he began his daily routine with his men and let the repetitious and mundane tasks soothe him.

CHAPTER ONE

Adriel ran a finger around his collar and cracked his neck. They had been waiting at the fae portal for nearly an hour for the visiting delegation from Lycaonia. It had been almost two months since their prince had extended the invitation, but they were finally on their way. While he had initially been excited to learn that little Bethy was returning for a visit, he was less than happy with the arrival of her companions. He wasn't sure he would be able to stay in the same room as Gavriel Ambrosios without calling him out. The Royal family of Ambrosios had died out long ago, there was no way this man could claim that name. Despite reassurances from Prince Magnus, he harbored a deep-seated mistrust for the warrior.

Next was Aiden McKenzie. He had never had the chance to meet his commander so he was looking forward to meeting the man, but his mate was another story. He had heard rumors that the woman was a complete menace. Not only had she insulted a member of the Noble family Evreux to his face, she also seemed to cause chaos and destruction wherever she went. The city's gossips reported that she had been directly responsible for the destruction of not only Lycaonia's five-thousand-year-old Council Manor, but she had also ruined the city square. Why his prince invited such a troublemaker to their city was beyond him. They had enough on their plate searching for missing families to deal with an unbalanced human.

When the portal in front of him lit up, he stepped back.

"I can't wait to see Bethy." Declan Lionhart grinned beside him.

Adriel straightened. "We have all missed her." He heard a snort and turned to raise an eyebrow at his oldest friend. "Yes?"

Declan shook his head, his mouth twitching. "Nothing."

Behind them, Adriel heard more chuckles. He turned around to find that Grant Douglas, Etain Vi'Aerlin and Micah Sageson were hiding smiles behind their hands.

"What?" he demanded.

Micah rolled his eyes. "Come on Adriel, we all know you've missed her more than anyone, except maybe her family. Admit it, you've had a soft spot for the accident prone bunny since she asked you to be her valentine when she was four."

Adriel cleared his throat and turned back to the portal. "She is an endearing individual who takes her responsibilities seriously. I respect that."

"And the fact that she became an organizer with her cute little planner, which is her own version of your clipboard means absolutely nothing," Etain teased.

Adriel fought a smile. "Here they come. Look sharp," he commanded.

A dark haired man came through the portal first carrying a black suitcase. He waited and held out his hand. Seconds later, Bethy came through and seemed to trip over nothing. Instantly, the dark haired man helped her to stand upright, and they moved out of the way. Adriel turned to Declan, who looked as shocked as he felt. The vampire was huge. He had never seen another of their race who stood as tall as the man before them.

The next person who came through could be none other than their commander. Aiden McKenzie was easily as tall as the first man, but he carried more muscle. The portal practically disappeared when he stood in front of it. He turned, rolled his bag to one side, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Aiden turned to Bethy. "Where is she?"

Bethy shrugged. "How would I know? I came through before you."

Suddenly, a single hand popped out of the portal, waved, and then disappeared.

Aiden sighed, and Bethy giggled.

When the hand appeared again, Aiden grabbed it and pulled the person through. Adriel blinked. This had to be his commander's mate. Gods, she was tiny! Was she fully grown?

The small woman frowned up at her mate. "Rude!"

Aiden rolled his eyes. "It's not a toy, Meryn."

Just when Adriel thought that the portal would close, a tall, slender man of Japanese descent stepped through pulling a large, square, rolling crate behind him. He immediately went to Meryn's side. "I told you he would pull you through."

Meryn shrugged and looked around. "So. Where are we?"

Adriel stepped forward. "Welcome to the fae portal for Noctem Falls. This portal is located approximately one hundred and fifty miles west of Albuquerque in the El Malpais National Conservation Area. From here, we will escort you down into the canyon to the Ledge, which serves as the main entrance for the City of the Night."

"Adriel!" Bethy exclaimed and rushed forward.

The next thing he knew, he had his arms full. He smiled softly. "We have missed you, Bethy."

The man in front of him growled low. "E-liz-a-beth." He drew out her name in slow syllables.

Bethy pulled back and winked up at him before turning. "Gavriel, my love, let me introduce you to one of my oldest and dearest friends, Adriel Aristaios, the unit leader for Eta and the man in charge of running the units here in Noctem Falls. Behind him are Declan Lionhart, his second in command, Grant Douglas, his third in command, Etain Vi'Aerlin, Eta's fae warrior, and Micah Sageson, their witch." The men inclined their heads at the introductions.

Bethy walked over to stand next to her mate. Beaming up at him, she continued. "Gentlemen, this is my mate and love, Gavriel Ambrosios." She turned. "You may have figured it out, but the huge warrior behind me is your Unit Commander, Aiden McKenzie, and the small woman at his side is his mate and my adopted sister, Meryn McKenzie." The men bowed to Meryn who watched them with an untrusting look on her face. "Last, but certainly not least, is Meryn's squire, Sei Ryuu."

The squire crossed his arm over his chest and bowed. "Gentlemen, it is an honor to meet the men Elizabeth has told us so much about."

Meryn looked at the men. "So, if I understand what Aiden told me about how rankings in other cities work correctly, then Adriel is a vampire, Declan is a shifter, Grant is a shifter, of course Etain couldn't be anything other than a fae, and Micah is a witch."

Adriel nodded his head. "That is correct; in each pillar city, the predominant race of that city leads the units, then the structure falls into place accordingly. If this were Éire Danu, the structure of the units would be fae, shifter, vampire, shifter, witch."

Meryn shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. This is my first time going to another pillar city besides Lycaonia."

Adriel nodded. "We hope you enjoy your visit to Noctem Falls."

Meryn walked over to the edge of the canyon and looked down. Aiden was at her side in a heartbeat, pulling her away. "Meryn!"

Meryn swatted at his hands. "Ryuu wouldn't let me fall. Where's the city?"

Adriel held out his hand to Meryn. Meryn looked over to Bethy who nodded encouragingly at her. With the hesitancy of a trapped animal, Meryn scooted forward and took his hand. He led her to the edge and pointed. "See that large out cropping?" Meryn nodded. "That is the Ledge. We will fly you down, and Micah will de-spell the entrance for you since this is your first visit. If it is not de-spelled, you will not be able to see the door. It is a security measure we have to keep unwanted visitors at bay."

Meryn turned to look up at him. "You can fly?" she asked with the awe and wonder of a child.

He nodded. "Yes, of course, almost every vampire can fly. So can most fae, and nearly all witches can float."

Behind them Gavriel groaned.

Meryn spun and pointed a finger at him. "You never told me you could fly!"

Gavriel held up his hands in a defensive measure. "Now Meryn, there are not many places to fly in Lycaonia, there are so many trees..."

"Don't 'now Meryn' me." She walked up to the large vampire and put her hands on her hips. "You knew I wanted to fly!"

Gavriel paled and looked over at Aiden who shrugged as if to say, 'You're on your own.'

When Gavriel lowered his hands, Declan and Micah took a step forward to defend the small woman. Bethy held up a hand and shook her head. They stared in shock as the petite human pulled her foot back and kicked the hulking vampire in the shins.

"Meryn!" Gavriel shouted.

Meryn crossed her arms over her chest. "Now we're even."

Adriel couldn't contain his laughter. He felt it bubble up from his gut, and he couldn't hide it. He grabbed his stomach, trying to catch his breath. He'd wanted to be the one to take the fake Ambrosios down a peg or two, but the tiny woman beat him to it.

"Adriel?" He heard Declan ask incredulously. He knew his men would be shocked; he rarely ever gave in to his emotions.

He looked up, chuckling. He kept wiping his eyes, but the tears of laughter kept coming. He tried to explain why he was laughing so hard but couldn't. He just pointed at Meryn.

Adriel's contagious laughter set off the men. One by one they also gave in to their own mirth.

"I thought he was going to throttle her, looks like I was worried about the wrong person," Micah managed to say between bouts of laughter.

Gavriel frowned. "I do not know how things are run here in Noctem Falls, but in Lycaonia, we do not assault our women. I have never, nor would I ever, hit a woman, especially my commander's mate, who is not only human, but also pregnant."

The word 'pregnant' seemed to shake the men out of their playfulness. There was no creature in their world that was to be more protected than a pregnant female.

Adriel looked again, and sure enough, the woman had a small but pronounced rounded belly. All at once the men's focus became her wellbeing.

"Lady Meryn, if you would allow me the honor of escorting a beautiful and delicate flower such as yourself down to the Ledge, I would be eternally grateful," Micah offered in a grandiose manner, kneeling down on one knee.

Meryn smiled shyly. She looked over to Ryuu who nodded. "I'll be right beside you."

Adriel looked at the squire. "You can also fly?"

Grinning, the squire stepped off the edge of the canyon with his rolling crate and simply hovered in mid-air. "But of course."

Micah swept Meryn up in his arms. "Come with me, princess. Let me show you the world." He jumped off the edge, and Meryn squealed in excitement.

Declan turned to him. "Isn't that from Aladdin?"

Adriel gave him a look, refusing to acknowledge that he had also recognized the line from a children's movie. He turned to Bethy, but before he could make the offer, Gavriel inclined his head and, grinning, swept Bethy into his arms and walked past them.

Adriel fought back a growl. "Etain, you're responsible for our commander."

As he and Declan stepped off the edge together, he heard Etain ask, "So, Commander, how much do you weigh?"

*****

They reassembled at the front gate, and Micah recited the spell that would reveal the enormous carved stone door.

"This looks like the one from Lord of the Rings!" Meryn said excitedly.

Micah winked, and the door swung open. Before them was the Grand Hall of Noctem Falls.

Adriel leaned down. "Welcome home, Bethy."

She smiled up at him and everyone started forward.

"Thank you for welcoming my mate," Gavriel said, smiling tightly.

Adriel's smile was sly. "It is the least I could do for my favorite valentine."

Gavriel's mouth snapped shut before he turned to look at Bethy who was excitedly pointing out things to Meryn. He glared at him and hurried to catch up to his mate.

"Now that wasn't nice," Aiden chided, matching his stride so they walked together.

Adriel was afraid he had angered his commander, but when he looked up, he saw that Aiden was grinning.

Aiden looked down. "You look surprised."

"I would have thought you would be angry that my words perturbed your second in command," Adriel admitted.

Aiden shrugged. "He needs to be shaken up now and then. As long as it's all in good fun."

This time, when Aiden met his gaze, the warning was clear. He could tease his second in command, but any action that was meant to harm the vampire would be dealt with swiftly and painfully.

Adriel inclined his head. "It was all in good fun."

"Good. Now, when can we eat?" Aiden asked, changing subjects.

"Sir, are you hungry?"

Aiden shook his head. "Not me." He pointed to Meryn, who turned around as if on cue.

"I smell food. I'm hungry."

"Then, by all means, let us find you some sustenance." Adriel bowed.

Meryn threw both arms in the air. "Yes! Food!"

"Denka, you're going to have them thinking I don't feed you. We ate less than an hour ago," the squire said, smiling softly at his charge.

Meryn stopped walking and faced the group. She pointed to her squire. "Ryuu feeds me."

The announcement was so blunt and unexpected the men began to chuckle.

Micah wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Of course he does, how could he leave such a gorgeous flower to languish without food." Together with Bethy they steered Meryn toward the transport tunnel.

"Your witch. Do I have to kill him?" Aiden asked, growling.

Adriel pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, sir. He is like that with every woman he meets."

"Every woman?" Aiden asked.

Declan nodded. "Yes, sir. Young, old, thin, curvy, shifter, vampire, it does not matter. He treats them all like goddesses."

"He must be popular." Gavriel said, clenching his teeth.

Adriel sighed. "He is, but he is never inappropriate with anyone's mate, despite what the men here in the city may think. Micah is beloved by all the women here because in some sad cases, his words are the only ones of kindness they hear."

Adriel watched as Gavriel and Aiden's expressions changed from suspicion to respect.

Aiden shrugged. "I don't see the harm."

Adriel hid a smile. As he had suspected from previous correspondences, his commander was a softie when it came to matters of the heart.

Aiden was all smiles until he watched as Meryn dropped out of sight down the transport tunnel. "I'll kill him if she's hurt!"

Adriel pulled out his pocket watch. Half-past eleven. Wonderful. His day was just starting.

*****

"Oh! I want to try some of those!" Meryn said, pointing excitedly to the shish kebab vendor.

Adriel turned to Etain, who nodded. "Be right back." Etain jogged to the vendor.

Meryn frowned. "I could have ordered for myself."

Bethy looked at him, and Adriel nodded. She sighed and turned to Meryn. "Noctem Falls doesn't receive many human visitors; it's best to let the men order for you."

Meryn tilted her head. "How will they get used to dealing with humans, if the few times humans visit, a unit member runs interference?"

Adriel blinked. He had never thought of it like that.

Meryn sighed and walked after Etain, Ryuu right behind her. When she popped up beside Etain, the fae looked back to where they stood, a questioning look on his face. Adriel nodded. Etain stepped closer to Meryn in a protective manner.

Adriel turned to Bethy. "Is she always like this?"

Bethy smiled. "If you mean does she somehow manage to look into the heart of matters and deal with things in an efficient and fair manner, the answer is yes. She may not do well with strangers, but she definitely marches to the beat of her own drum."

"How remarkable," he murmured.

At the food vendor, the vampire who was handing over the kebabs was smiling down at Meryn and laughing. Meryn stuck her tongue out at the man making him cackle harder. A second kebab joined the first and Meryn's face lit up. She took a bite off the first stick and began bopping around in an impromptu little dance.

The next vendor down, who had watched the entire interaction with curiosity, leaned over his counter and shouted to Meryn. "If you like those, you have to try some of my meat pies. On the house and welcome!"

Beside him, Declan exclaimed, "What?"

Aiden turned to him. "What is the matter? Is she safe?"

Adriel shook his head and just stared. "Old man Richter does not give anything away. He usually charges people he does not like double, just because he can. If he could get away with charging for napkins, he would; he is that tight with a dollar. He must be taken with your mate."

Meryn made a beeline to the pie vendor. She handed her squire two empty sticks and hopped from foot to foot in anticipation of her next treat.

With a gentle smile, the older vampire handed Meryn a napkin-wrapped pie. She smiled up at him and took a bite. She swallowed quickly and began to blow on the hot snack.

"I'll be damned. How did she charm that old bastard?" Micah whispered.

"She's Meryn," Bethy said, an amused look on her face.

Adriel turned to Aiden. "You never stood a chance, did you?"

Aiden shook his head. "Nope. She beat me into submission. I'm glad though; I've never been happier."

Startled, Declan turned to their commander. "She beat you? Sir?"

Aiden smiled wide and rubbed his chin. He looked at Declan and winked. "And set my car on fire. But I'll tell you all about that later, when were in a less public place."

Declan nodded then turned and stared at Meryn who was waving her meat pie around, exclaiming it to be the best meat pie in the whole world.

"Look at their faces," Micah said, pointing to the crowd. "They're enchanted by her."

"They do not see many pregnant women nowadays. It has been quite some time since our last birth here in the city." Adriel sighed.

"As soon as we show Aiden and Meryn the city, we need to meet with my uncle," Bethy said before she looped her arm around his.

Adriel patted her hand. "Of course, dearest."

"She's going to eat herself sick," Aiden said as Meryn was invited to another food cart.

"Today is a hungry day, Aiden. Let her get as much nutrition as possible. Tomorrow could be a sick day," Beth admonished.

Aiden nodded quickly. "I know; I just don't know where she puts it. She's only so big."

"She is eating for two, sir," Micah added.

Aiden turned to Adriel. "Later, I want to talk to you about something that happened up at the portal."

Adriel inclined his head. "Of course, sir."

After another twenty minutes of bouncing from vendor to vendor, Meryn patted her belly. She waved goodbye to everyone and walked back over to where they waited. "The food here is amazing!" She looked up at her squire. "Can you learn how to make those little meat pies?"

Ryuu nodded. "Of course, denka."

"I am glad that were able to find something you liked." Adriel nodded his head to the open square where dozens of merchants were set up.

"Me too! So, what is this, like, the shopping place?" Meryn waved around them.

Micah stepped forward. "Sir, may I?"

"Of course, Micah." Adriel nodded.

Micah bowed low and stood up, a charming smile in place. "My lady, after entering the city from the Ledge, you entered the Grand Hall. From there we used what we call the transport tunnel to drop down to where the Levels begin. When the city was first designed, there was a bit of prejudice left over from the old days, so the levels closest to the surface, or where the humans were, denoted a drop in class in the social structure. This is Level Six, the Market Place. Here vendors and merchants of all kinds set up daily to sell their wares." Micah pointed to the rows and rows of carts.

Meryn smiled. "It feels like a Middle Eastern bazaar."

Micah grinned broadly. "It does, doesn't it? Now, here's where it gets a bit tricky. As you descend lower into the city, the higher the social standing. On each level, the closer you are to the transport tunnel, the better your standing. Vampires are extremely class conscious."

Adriel cleared his throat.

Micah rolled his eyes and continued. "Each of the residential levels is ruled by a single Founding Family and the two Noble families that report to them. For example, Level Five is ruled by the Founding Family of DeLaFontaine; their quarters are the closest to the transport tunnel. Then we have the Noble families DuBois and LeBeau. DuBois outranks LeBeau, so they are located in the quarters after the DeLaFontaine residence making LeBeau the innermost located ranking family. After the LeBeau quarters are your everyday people, or citizens. With me?" he asked, pausing his explanation.

Meryn had her eyes closed and was tracing lines in the air with her hands. She nodded. "Yup. Keep going."

"Right. The next level is Level Four. The Founding Family is Géroux. The Noble families are Fabre and Tremblay. After Level Four is where we lowly grunts live. It's not a numbered level, as we were not given such a distinction, but as luck would have it, we're located right in the middle of the city, so it makes patrolling pretty easy. Under us is Level Three, the Founding Family is Régis; the Noble families are Evreux and Delacroix."

"Yikes!" Meryn's eyes popped open as she grimaced.

"What darling?" Micah asked.

Bethy waved her hands frantically. "We'll explain later."

"You both tease me mercilessly, I find myself loving your tortuous ways," Micah sighed.

"Get on with it," Declan growled.

Adriel watched as Micah winked at Meryn before continuing.

"Level Two, the Founding Family is Belle Rose. The two Noble families are Voclain and Richelieu. And last, but certainly not least, is the much-coveted Level One. That is where the Royal Families, as leaders of the Founding Families, established their residences. At the time of the city's creation, there were four royal families. After much tragedy, there are now only two. Level One is divided into four quarters. House DuCoeur and House DuSang are now extinct. But House Rioux and House Ambrosios, as you well know, exist today. That's where we are heading, Level One. Prince Magnus is most eager to see his niece."

Meryn's eyes narrowed into little slits. She turned to Bethy. "Prince?"

Bethy grimaced. "It's a lingering title. Outside of Noctem Falls, he's more recognized as the vampire Elder."

Meryn turned her attention to Gavriel. "Prince?"

Gavriel shrugged. "The House only became active again when I stepped forward to be a member of the Alpha Unit. I gave up such titles a long time ago. I happily leave that to Magnus."

Meryn tilted her head. "Which level are the council members on?"

Etain stepped forward. "The fae, witch, and shifter council members maintain a residence in the Noctem Falls estate in the human city of Albuquerque. They use a portal to travel here for council meetings."

"I'd like to see the estate later." Meryn smiled at Aiden who just nodded. "Good idea."

Micah extended his arm and pointed to the transport tunnel. "Now, if you don't have any questions, I'll joyously escort you to Level One."

Meryn scrunched up her nose. "How do you poop? Where does it go? If you get more prestigious as you go down, aren't you shitting on the upper classes?"

Micah froze and then blinked. No one seemed to breathe.

Behind them, the meat pie vendor began to howl with laughter and beat on his counter. "She got you with that one did she not, pretty boy!"

Adriel winced. Maybe a public explanation hadn't been the best idea. Beside him, Bethy had her face in her hands.

"I... uh... Adriel?" Micah stammered.

"Come back up here to visit, girlie; I will show you how the common folk live and how the city really works," the vendor promised.

Meryn turned and gave him a thumbs up. The older man just chuckled.

"Micah, let us escort our guests to the prince," Adriel suggested.

Micah nodded and shook his head. He smiled, and the flirt was back in action. "Come, my turtle dove, I'll escort you down."

Meryn walked with Micah and Ryuu back toward the transport tunnel.

As Adriel walked behind them, he heard a snort. He turned to find Declan grinning like an idiot. "What?"

"I have been here for over six hundred years, and I never thought to ask how shit works." Declan began laughing uproariously.

Adriel gave him a flat look before turning to Etain. "I will escort our commander, you deal with the laughing hyena."

Etain's mouth twitched. "Yes, sir."

Adriel moved over beside their commander. Aiden shot him a sympathetic look. "I have one just like him. Can't kill him since he's my best friend."

"So what did you do?" Adriel asked curiously.

Aiden gave him a slow grin. "I left him in charge."

Adriel nodded. "Not a bad idea. Maybe a few days in my shoes will give him an appreciation for decorum."

Aiden stared down the transport tunnel. "Or the men will kill him."

Adriel sighed and agreed. "Or the men would kill him. Ready, sir?"

Aiden swallowed hard. "No, but let's go."

*****

"Uncle! Uncle, I'm home!" Bethy called out, swinging the large wooden door open.

"This is not her home." Adriel heard Gavriel mumble under his breath.

Aiden patted his second in command on the back, and they walked into the opulent residence quarters for House Rioux.

"Bethy!" Magnus Rioux came barreling toward them, a huge smile on his face. He swept up his niece and swung her around as she laughed.

"Gods girl! I have missed you!" He peppered her face in kisses.

"And I've missed you!" Bethy laid her head on her uncle's shoulder.

Adriel smiled at the pair. Growing up, Bethy had spent more time with her uncle than with her fathers. The man spoiled her outrageously, but not with material things. He had spoiled her with attention and unconditional love.

Magnus set her down and kissed her cheek one last time.

"Where's Daddy and Papa?" she asked, looking around.

"We were not expecting you quite this early. I believe they are working on a surprise for you. I sent my secretary, Cheryl, to Broderick's lab to let them know you had arrived." Magnus kissed Bethy's temple.

Gavriel cleared his throat loudly.

Bethy shook her head. "I'm so sorry my love." She walked over and grabbed Gavriel by the arm before she dragged him over to her uncle. "Unky, this is my mate, Gavriel."

Magnus eyed Gavriel then grinned. "I know who the bastard is."

Gavriel rolled his eyes and extended his forearm. They clasped arms in a warrior's greeting before stepping back.

"She made it all the way through the city, and she is not bleeding. I commend you." Magnus said smiling.

"It was not easy," Gavriel admitted.

Magnus shook his head. "Tell me about it." He turned to Bethy. "Tarak and Kuruk Géroux have insisted on being your guards again."

Bethy's eyes widened. "I thought you sent them to the Caribbean to recuperate after my last visit."

Magnus nodded. "I did, but when they caught wind you were returning, they made it back to the city in record time. They are adamant that no one except for them can keep you safe."

"It is true," a deep voice rumbled from the doorway.

"Tarak!" Bethy squealed and ran toward the huge vampire smiling at her.

She was almost to them when she clipped her shin on the coffee table and started to go down. Before Gavriel could react, both vampires had Bethy in their arms holding her above the floor.

She gave them a goofy grin. "Thanks!"

Kuruk shook his head and looked at Gavriel "She always seems to trip or fall at the exact same points throughout the city. If you stay close, we can teach you where they are."

Gavriel nodded with a tight smile. "Perhaps you can let her go now?"

Meryn giggled and poked Gavriel in the ribs. "Your eye is twitching."

Tarak chuckled. "No need to get riled up, Your Highness; we have been watching over Bethy since before she could walk. Kuruk and I would rotate with a witch healer to keep her safe."

Kuruk nodded, an absent look on his face. "Remember the time she almost suffocated in her crib by wrapping herself up like a burrito?"

Tarak shuddered. "Gods, yes. That was just the beginning."

Gavriel's eyes widened in surprise. "You have been with her that long?"

They both nodded.

Gavriel walked over and extended his arm to Tarak in greeting. He clasped arms with both of them. "Thank you. Thank you for keeping her alive."

The men exchanged looks, and each clapped a hand on Gavriel's shoulder. "We know your pain." The three of them seemed to share a moment.

"I'm right here!" Bethy exclaimed.

"Now, now angel, you know they are not exaggerating." Magnus wrapped an arm around Bethy's shoulders.

"It's embarrassing," she admitted.

"They love you. They've watched after you since you were a baby. That's not embarrassing," Meryn said quietly.

Bethy stepped away from her uncle and pulled Meryn into a hug. "You have us now."

Meryn nodded then turned her attention to Magnus. "Yeah, the human runt is here."

Magnus winced and then turned to Micah who nodded. Micah began whispering a spell. "Tarak, the door."

Tarak walked over and closed the door as Micah was finishing the soundproofing spell.

Meryn crossed her arms. "Okay, spill it. What in the hell is going on?"

The joy from Bethy's arrival seemed to drain out of Magnus. He looked at the group before turning to Aiden. "My people are disappearing."

Meryn sat down on one of the couches. "Well, fuck!"

Adriel couldn't have said it better himself.

CHAPTER TWO

"This sounds vaguely familiar," Ryuu murmured.

Aiden nodded then tuned to Magnus. "What have you heard about what happened in Lycaonia?"

Magnus shot a look to Meryn who crossed her eyes at him. He smiled. "I heard you are mated to a walking disaster who destroyed the city square and leveled the Council Manor."

Meryn gasped. "That's so not fair! Kendrick leveled the Council Manor; I just coated everything in flour glue."

Magnus continued. "I also heard that you started taking in paranormals around Lycaonia since it was not safe for single families to be alone, that they were being hunted down and killed by a new faction of ferals."

Aiden nodded. "Did you get the report on the necklaces?"

Magus walked over to a polished wooden sideboard and picked up a file. He began to flip through the pages. "According to the last report I got from your father and René, the necklaces are being created by using the souls of unborn shifters to house the abilities of their shifter parents and also halt the decay process, which eliminates the foul odor we have used over the centuries to track and find ferals. Amongst those hunted to near extinction are chameleon shifters, which give these new ferals the ability to become invisible."

"Gods help us!" Tarak whispered.

"Reapers." Meryn corrected.

Magnus paused. "I am sorry darling, what?"

"Anne helped us name the super ferals. We're calling them reapers, like the Grim Reaper, because they take souls," Meryn explained.

Magnus blinked and then picked up a pen. He wrote down the word on the paper. "That is a very apt name."

Meryn shrugged. "We liked it."

Adriel felt as if his blood was about to boil. "And why were the units not told?"

Magnus winced. "At the time, it was believed that this was confined to Lycaonia. Recent events have proved that assumption false. I am counting on you to get the men up to speed."

Adriel clenched his teeth together to keep from being disrespectful to his prince. "Yes, sire."

"Well, that's fucking bullshit!" Meryn exploded.

All eyes turned to the small human. Adriel wanted to throw his fist in the air in support, but knew that would be considered inappropriate.

"Now, Meryn," Aiden began.

"No. No more keeping things from me because I'm pregnant. I can't keep y'all from being stupid if you don't tell me things." She began to pat down her jacket. "Where's my phone?"

Ryuu stepped forward and handed her the small cellphone. "Here you go denka."

"Thanks Ryuu." Meryn looked down and frowned. "No service?"

"Meryn..." Aiden stepped forward.

Meryn held up a hand, silencing her mate.

Ryuu pointed to the wooden table in the corner of the room. "Denka, there is a land line."

Meryn put her phone away and walked over to the black phone. She lifted the handset and reached out to dial. "Dammit!" She had to pull out her phone and scroll through her numbers.

"You don't know the number?" Aiden asked.

Meryn gave him a sour look. "I haven't memorized a phone number since like nineteen ninety-eight." She carefully dialed the number and lifted the handset up to her ear.

Adriel watched the entire process in fascination. He looked over and saw that Magnus had a shit-eating grin on his face. He knew his prince loved the fact that the small, wacky human was going against every protocol established since the pillar cities were created. Adriel knew Magnus had been dying to do something similar for decades.

Adriel loved protocol. He loved established sets of rules; they were comforting. He always knew what was the right thing to do. But even he had to admit, the processes they had now were broken, and people were getting hurt because of it.

"Amelia. Hey. No, I'm fine. Listen, can you get a message out to your friend in Éire Danu? You need to tell her everything we have discovered about the ferals and make sure she tells the units. No, I don't know exactly what they've been told. Evidently, the council has been sending out bits and pieces and didn't think it was important enough to let the men guarding the cities know that they could be facing a new, souped up, invisible enemy. I know right? Make sure your brother knows too. Okay. Lurves you, too! Bye-bye." Meryn slammed the handset down on the phone. She looked up grinning. "I've totally missed being able to do that." She walked back over to Aiden. "We need like a new phone tree or something. Because leaving it up to the council isn't working."

Adriel coughed into his hand, gaining her attention. "What exactly did you just do?"

Meryn gave him a sly smile. "My big sister-cousin has connections in Éire Danu and Storm Keep. The units in both cities will be up-to-date within the hour."

Adriel looked over at Aiden who was grinning. Aiden caught him staring and shrugged. "Meryn seems to fall into this strange gray area when it comes to authority. She's my mate so she's afforded the respect my position demands, but she also has acquired ties of her own, placing her just out of reach of reprimand. Her actions are always brutally direct but usually the most efficient way to do something. She also doesn't let silly things like etiquette, protocol, custom, or rank get in her way. What she did in less than thirty seconds would have taken Magnus and I at least two to three weeks arguing at council level."

"Extraordinary," Magnus whispered.

Bethy smiled. "We think she is, too."

Meryn ducked behind her mate to remove herself from being center of attention. "I'm hungry again, and you promised me you would tell me how you poop."

Magnus's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "What?"

Micah began to chuckle. "What she means to say is she is curious about the city's infrastructure, utilities, and sanitation."

Meryn peeked out from behind Aiden. "Yeah, what he said. But more importantly, I need your Wi-Fi password."

Magnus shook his head. "We do not have Wi-Fi."

Meryn gasped and nearly fell backward. Ryuu helped keep her upright. "What do you mean you don't have Wi-Fi!?" she demanded.

"Meryn, this is a stone city, the signals cannot penetrate thirty to forty feet of solid rock per level. So, no Wi-Fi and no cellphones," Magnus explained.

Meryn's lower lip began to tremble. "I can't do this." She turned to Ryuu. "I can't do this!"

Ryuu looked at a loss for words. He turned to Aiden, who looked at Gavriel, who turned to Bethy.

Bethy frowned as she thought the problem over. "Uncle, you do have internet don't you?"

Magnus nodded quickly. "Of course. We have to use wired connections though."

Bethy thought for a moment more then went to Meryn, wrapping her arm around the small woman. "Okay, this is what we're going to do. Uncle will get in contact with one of our city engineers to get you a map that shows where all the Ethernet ports are in the city. That way you'll know where the internet is no matter where you go. How's that?"

Meryn sniffled. "I guess. But it's like I'm cut off; I can't see or hear anything."

Bethy rubbed her back. "I know, darling; we'll find you some long cables and, after a while, you won't even notice the difference."

"I'm being confined! Tethered! Chained!" Meryn shouted dramatically. Then she stopped and took a deep breath. "And I'm starving!"

Adriel looked over at Declan to see the warrior had turned to him. Adriel shrugged. He had no idea what to make of the crazy human, either.

Ryuu bowed to Magnus. "Sire, if you would allow me to make use of your kitchen, I could prepare denka her afternoon snack."

"Didn't she just eat like six snacks in the Marketplace?" Etain asked in wonder.

"Don't judge me! Meryn-two-point-oh likes to eat." Meryn rubbed her belly.

Etain nodded. "Of course, I didn't mean to offend."

"No need, Sei Ryuu. I've brought tea and small finger foods in case anyone was hungry from traveling through the portals," a light male voice announced.

"Sebastian!" Bethy ran to the handsome man and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Magnus chuckled. "Gentlemen, Meryn, may I introduce my squire, Sebastian Hearthstone. Without him I would starve to death."

Sebastian ignored Magnus glib remark and wheeled the serving cart into the room. "I see you have yet to ask our guests to be seated. Really Magnus, have I taught you nothing?"

Magnus rolled his eyes and gestured for them to take a seat among the room's many sofas.

Bethy giggled. "I told you Sebastian keeps him humble."

Aiden looked over at Magnus. "I know exactly how you feel." He indicated Ryuu, who also ignored him.

Ryuu bowed to Sebastian, who returned the gesture. "I have brought a pot of hot water in case your charge has a particular tea she enjoys."

Ryuu nodded and went to the large, rolling crate. He opened it and pulled out a small box. He carried it over to the cart Sebastian had wheeled into the room. He started to make a pot of tea for Meryn.

Sebastian watched carefully. "I say, is that blessed chamomile?"

Ryuu nodded and let the tea steep. "It was a gift from a friend. My denka is expecting, so I try to ensure she is kept calm; this tea helps."

"Understandable." Sebastian turned to Aiden. "A thousand blessings on your child, may they know only happiness all their days."

Aiden smiled. "Thank you."

Sebastian's smile widened as he walked over to Meryn. "Is this delicate creature your charge?"

Ryuu beamed proudly. "Yes, isn't she adorable?"

Meryn blushed furiously and ducked behind Ryuu.

Sebastian chuckled. "I remember when our Bethy used to do that. Ahhh, to have a youngster in the home again." He stared flatly at Magnus who threw his arms up in the air.

"It is not like I have not been looking for a mate, you know," Magnus countered.

Sebastian sighed. "I know."

Meryn came around to stand next to Ryuu. "We can come visit after the baby is born; I mean you are family," she offered shyly.

Sebastian brightened. "That is right! Bethy adopted you. We do have a youngster in the home again."

Meryn frowned. "But I haven't had the baby yet."

Ryuu smiled and leaned down. "He meant you. By paranormal standards, you're still very young."

"Oh. Okay." Meryn absently played with the napkins on the cart.

Ryuu steered her over to Aiden, who pulled her onto his lap. She yawned and snuggled into his chest.

For a brief instant, Adriel remembered how it had felt to hold the elusive woman from his dreams. He shook his head, trying to dispel the image from his mind.

"Adriel, what is it?" Bethy asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing, dear heart. I have just been having odd dreams lately, that is all." He gave her a reassuring smile.

Bethy gave him an odd look. "They wouldn't be about a possible mate would they?"

Adriel stared. "How did you know? I have not told anyone about these dreams."

Bethy turned to Aiden. "Is it possible?"

Aiden was silent for a moment then nodded. "I think so. The way the spell was worded, I don't think it was limited to a certain city, just to unit warriors."

"What spell?" Adriel demanded.

"Y'all seriously need to work on your communication skills," Meryn murmured.

Declan sat forward as did Micah and Etain. "What spell?" They asked in unison.

Aiden exhaled and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Last year, due to reasons I can't go into at the moment, Lycaonia's matriarchs were concerned that we as warriors weren't being given enough opportunities to find our mates. So they convinced Lycaonia's witch Elder, Rowan Airgead to cast a spell to draw our mates to us. So far, all five of the Alpha Unit warriors have mated, with the exception of Keelan, who's... unavailable."

Adriel felt a pang of sadness at the mention of the young witch. "We are sorry for your losses. We heard that young Keelan gave his life to save his unit, and Rowan died trying to save the city."

Meryn turned to frown at Adriel. "Keelan isn't dead; he's just not in his body right now," she refuted.

"I am sorry, what?" Magnus asked, a confused look on his face.

Bethy shook her head. "Never mind, Uncle."

Adriel felt his head spinning. "Excuse me for being blunt, but, what?"

Bethy clapped her hands together, and her eyes filled with tears. "You're finally getting mate! Oh! I'm so happy for you!" She pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and covered her face.

Gavriel stared at his mate in shock. "Beth, my love. What is wrong?" He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his body.

Bethy just shook her head. "I'm so happy. He's been alone so long."

Magnus, Tarak, Kuruk, Sebastian, and every man of the Eta Unit stared, and Adriel knew why. Bethy never cried. Never.

Adriel stood and walked over to Sebastian. "Call the healer, something is wrong."

Magnus paled even further. "I want him here at once!"

Sebastian paused while reaching for the phone. "One moment." He hurried down the hall and out of sight.

Meryn looked around a frightened look on her face. "What? What's wrong?" Aiden looked just as concerned.

Gavriel gently rubbed Bethy's back trying to stem her tears. He looked up. "What do you know that I do not?"

"Bethy does not cry," Tarak whispered.

Kuruk nodded. "I have seen her break both legs, catch her arm on fire, and get impaled on a steel rod. She never even teared up." He choked up. "She must be dying."

"What!" Meryn and Gavriel exclaimed at the same time.

Meryn burst into hysterics, wailing she didn't want to lose her sister, which caused Bethy to sob even harder.

"Oh for heavens sake! She is not dying!" Sebastian said, striding back into the room. "Bethy my love, open your hand."

Bethy tried to catch her breath while she held her hand open. Sebastian dropped a medium sized stone in her hand that immediately began to glow bright enough to nearly blind everyone in the room. Sebastian gently lifted it from her palm. "She is not dying; she is pregnant," he said, choking up.

Adriel blinked. The sound of two loud thuds behind him had him turning in his chair. Tarak and Kuruk were both passed out on the floor.

The door stood open and two men walked in looking confused. "Who's pregnant?"

*****

Adriel watched as Broderick Monroe and Caspian Rioux took in the scene before them.

Caspian gasped. He looked from Sebastian to Bethy and back. "Bethy! Our Bethy is pregnant!" He screeched loud enough to rupture eardrums then launched himself at his daughter. "Oh my darling, I am so happy for you!" Caspian collapsed next to Gavriel and wrapped his arms around both him and Bethy and rocked them from side to side.

Broderick dove into the empty space beside his daughter and wrapped his arms around them from the other side. "Sweetheart, is this true?"

Bethy only sniffled now and was smiling wide. "If Sebastian says I am, you know it's true." She turned to Gavriel. "So?"

Gavriel was as white as a sheet and was absently being swayed back and forth by his two fathers-in-law.

Bethy looked closer. "Gavriel?" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

He blinked then his eyes seemed to focus. "A baby."

She nodded. "Yes, what do you think?"

He blinked again. "A baby."

"A jackalope with fangs!" Meryn exclaimed, giggling.

"Meryn!" Laughing, Aiden put a hand over her mouth.

"Ohh! Ohh!" Caspian waved his hand in front of his face. "I am not gonna cry!"

"Too late, Papa," Bethy laughed, wiping his cheeks.

Gavriel turned Bethy to face him and swallowed hard. "Are you well? Hungry? Did the portal hurt you? Should you be resting?" He looked over at Aiden. "What do I do?"

Aiden pointed to Meryn. "It's not like I have a normal case to go by."

Meryn elbowed him in the stomach. "Just love her like you always do and feed her lots of chocolate."

Aiden nodded, rubbing his mid-section. "Chocolate cures all ills."

Gavriel nodded quickly, his eyes unfocused. "Right. Chocolate. I can do that."

Bethy took in the sight of her dazed mate and sighed. "Oh dear."

The sound of low groans had everyone turning to where Tarak and Kuruk were standing again and looking just as shell shocked as the expectant father.

Adriel didn't know who looked more terrified at the prospect of a pregnant Bethy, the Géroux brothers or Gavriel.

"Our present was finished just in time! It is almost like it was meant to be." Caspian beamed.

Broderick reached into a satin pouch and handed Bethy a small rectangular box.

She reached for the box, her face lit up with excitement. She lifted the lid and inhaled. "Oh Daddy! Papa!"

Meryn tried to lean as forward as she could in Aiden's lap. "What? What is it?"

Bethy immediately took out her gift and handed it to her father. "Daddy, would you?" She extended her wrist out.

With trembling fingers, Broderick worked the clasp of an intricate silver charm bracelet. He sniffled. "I'm no good at these things." He secured the clasp and raised her hand to kiss it. "Your Papa and I figured between two cities, you would need more keystones. This way you're safe in both cities. By having a necklace and a bracelet, it will free up the keystones dedicated to us for Lycaonia."

"I love it!" Bethy touched each charm smiling. "Let me guess. The rabbit is Daddy, the book is Papa, the feather is Tarak, the spear is Kuruk, the wand is Tarragon, the sword is Adriel, and the crown is Uncle."

Broderick nodded then stood. He passed out small keystones to Tarak and Kuruk. When he stepped in front of Adriel, he passed the keystone to him. "Thank you," he whispered.

"As if I would say no," Adriel chided. He tucked the stone away in his pocket. Later, he would determine the best way to carry it.

Gavriel nuzzled Bethy's neck. "Who is Tarragon?"

She turned to face him. "His full name is Artemisia Dracunculus. When I found out that his parents had given him the scientific name for Tarragon, that's what I started calling him. I was young, and it was much easier to say. Unfortunately for him, it stuck. Growing up, I always had a witch healer and a vampire with me. Tarak and Kuruk took turns being my guard, but Tarragon was always my healer."

Broderick smiled. "Tarragon will be joining us soon. He's at Storm Keep. He wanted to study a few more bone healing spells before returning home."

Kuruk chuckled. "Do not let him hear Bethy is pregnant, we may never see him again. He will lock himself away to learn spells about healing infants and delivery."

Meryn tilted her head and looked at her adopted sister. "You're pregnant."

Bethy wiped her eyes smiling. "Yes, dear, I know."

Meryn scrunched up her face. Adriel was quickly learning the human's many facial expressions; this one was her thinking face.

"But aren't you a shifter? I thought shifters could only conceive during summer solstice?" Meryn asked, looking around the room for confirmation.

Adriel sucked in his breath and turned to Bethy. She placed a trembling hand to her stomach before leaning into her mate. "How?" she whispered.

Magnus rubbed his chin. "Not to pry, but how often do you feed from Bethy?"

Adriel watched Gavriel's eyes shift from gray to red. "That is none of your business."

Magnus sighed. "I am trying to be delicate."

Gavriel growled. "That is private."

Magnus ignored Gavriel's aggression and continued. "I will take that to mean often. What I am trying to get at is this has happened before. It is extremely rare, but in the vampires written history, the Book of Life, there have been recorded examples of women conceiving out of season. In every instance, the male is an ancient vampire and the female another type of paranormal. It was theorized that the act of multiple feedings"--he cleared his throat, blushing--"while being intimate, passed along something of the vampire to stimulate his mate to ovulate. It has not happened in nearly five thousand years, but then again, most of our older generations were lost in the Great War. There are not many old enough that can do such a thing anymore."

Bethy looked around the room, her face haunted. "What if something is wrong with my baby?"

Magnus was up in an instant and kneeling down in front of his niece. "There is nothing wrong with your baby. He or she will be perfect just like you are. You will have every possible resource and healer at your disposal, I will see to it myself," he promised. He lifted her hands and kissed them.

"Plus you have Kendrick and Rheia and Anne and Amelia and me and..." Meryn rambled until Aiden once again covered her mouth with his hand.

Bethy took a deep breath. "Of course, you're right. I'm being silly."

Meryn shook her head, moving Aiden's hand. "Little Jack will be just fine." Meryn cooed wickedly.

Bethy's eyes narrowed. "Stop calling my baby a jackalope, Meryn!"

"I'll love the little thumper no matter what," Meryn said solemnly.

Bethy growled. "Thumper?"

Meryn began to giggle. Aiden gently tapped her on the nose. "Fine! I'll be good. Promise."

Sebastian handed Bethy a cup and saucer. "Here love, Ryuu said this would help calm you. Two babies in the family, we have been blessed by the Gods!" Adriel watched in amazement as the man practically danced his way back toward the kitchen.

Magnus stood up and resumed his seat. He looked from Meryn to Bethy and hesitated. "Maybe you ladies should go lie down while I go over some things with your mates," he suggested.

Bethy raised an eyebrow, and Meryn snorted. Adriel turned his face to hide his grin. He had only just met Meryn, but he had a feeling she was just like Bethy. They wouldn't let Magnus exclude them so easily.

Meryn turned in Aiden's lap to look at Magnus. "I thought you called Beth and me here specifically; why send us away?"

Magnus looked at them with a pained expression on his face and grimaced. "I actually needed Aiden and Gavriel here but did not want to alert the Founding Families by sending for the Unit Commander and his second in command." He turned to Bethy. "Not that I was not desperate to see you again, dearest heart."

Bethy tapped her finger against the side of her tea cup. "You might as well begin. We're not budging. Besides, Gavriel and Aiden would probably tell us later anyway. What you have to say can't be any worse than what we have been through in the past few months."

Magnus nodded more to himself than to anyone in the room. He stopped then looked at Aiden. "Everyone at the council level believed that what was happening in Lycaonia was a localized attack. We assumed that since the ferals were going after shifters the other cities would be safe. We were wrong."

"Uncle, what's happened?"

Magnus leaned back in his chair. To Adriel it seemed as if all of Magnus's years caught up to him at once. He looked tired. "Whole families have been disappearing. Not just in New Mexico, but as far east as Texas and as far north as Colorado. Reports trickled in at first, since whole families were disappearing, there was no one around to report them missing. But last month, I started getting four and five reports a day from local Vanguard units. You have to keep in mind, each report contained anywhere from four to ten people per family."

Aiden growled low. "Why didn't you report this immediately?" he demanded. He stood and placed Meryn down in his chair. He began to pace back and forth. "Every single delay must have cost dozens of lives!"

Magnus stood, his eyes shifting to crimson. "You think I do not know that? That I do not lie in bed each night and recite the names of the families, the children who were reported missing that day? My hands are tied! I had to send a cryptic message to my own niece just to get you here! The Founding and Noble families would have protested outside interference!" he roared.

Adriel stood and went to his prince's side even as Gavriel stood beside Aiden. "We are not enemies here," he reminded them both.

The two powerful men stood, eyes locked glaring at each other. Adriel turned to Gavriel, who gave a quick shake of his head, advising him not to interfere. Adriel was about to physically get between the two of them when the face of his prince changed from anger to startled pain. Adriel looked down in time to see Meryn turn and kick her own mate in the shins.

Both men looked down at her in astonishment. A human woman not even half their size managed to put both of them in their place.

Adriel shook his head. "Meryn, you are a wonder."

Meryn wedged herself between Aiden and Magnus and pushed them apart with her tiny arms. They let themselves be moved and each took a step back.

Meryn glared up at both of them. "And what in the fuck do you think is going to get accomplished by snarling at each other? Of anyone in this room, the two of you need to work together. People's lives are at stake; you don't have the luxury of whipping out your dicks and seeing who's bigger."

Adriel felt his mouth drop. In all his long centuries, he had never heard anyone speak to their prince in such a manner.

Meryn crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, you're upsetting Beth. For that alone I could eviscerate you both, got me?" she threatened.

Both men turned to see that Bethy was pale and trembling. Magnus was instantly contrite. "Bethy, my darling, I am so sorry." He turned to Aiden. "As you can see, I am not at my best. This situation has sapped me of my patience and energy. My apologies." He sat back down, exhaling loudly. Once his prince was seated, Adriel himself sat back down. Behind him, he could almost feel the nervous energy pouring off of his unit. They were stuck in the middle between their loyalty to their prince and their Unit Commander.

Bethy smiled wanly. "Eviscerate, huh?"

Meryn stuck her tongue out at her.

Aiden turned to Meryn and Adriel instinctively leaned forward to get between his commander and the small human.

Aiden flinched. "That is the second time you or your men have tried to protect Meryn from me. Do I have a reputation of being a mate beater that I don't know about? I'm a unit warrior for Gods' sake; I protect people." Aiden scooped up his mate and sat back down with her on his lap once again. Gavriel sat back down next to his mate, pulling her close.

Adriel half bowed to his commander. He shot a look at Magnus, who nodded his permission. He regarded Aiden for a moment and deliberately chose his words for his explanation. "Sir, it is not you. Unlike Lycaonia, Noctem Falls is not diverse. The city is primarily made up of vampires. Many of these vampires have an ingrained way of thinking, including what is and is not acceptable behavior in their own homes. As you visit the different levels you will see an enriched culture that has pulled the best aspects from previous centuries and emulates the social decorum and graces of the Victorian Era. Despite the acute attention to detail given to etiquette by embracing this certain age, the people have also subconsciously accepted the myriad of underlying social injustices that were prevalent during that time."

"What the fuck?" Meryn asked.

Aiden gave him a dark look. "Any abuse of the people here should have been reported to me."

Magnus leaned forward placing his hands on his knees. "A few bad apples can spoil a bunch. The council here is aware of the behaviors of certain high ranking family members, but unless someone comes forward with a formal complaint there is nothing we can do." He looked at Bethy. "It is why I supported Bethy leaving the city. The higher you go in the city, the more the people accept modern culture. I wanted Bethy to be able to learn and experience all that the human world has to offer. As much as I would like to make changes, I am only one man, representing the last of the Royal Families. I am outnumbered at every turn."

Meryn looked at Gavriel. "You always said House Ambrosios was a founding family, but here Magnus is saying you're royal, what gives?"

Gavriel winced. "Originally, there were eight Founding Families and eight Noble Families. After the Great War, House Ambrosios, House Rioux, House DuSang, and House DuCoeur were elevated to Royal Houses by the four councils for their contributions to peace after the war. Those four Houses did not allow rank to sway them when it came time to administer aid and distribute supplies to war ravaged areas. They had the trust and love of the people. So, technically House Ambrosios and House Rioux are Founding Families."

Magnus gave Gavriel a sly look. "If another royal were to return, prove his lineage, and take on the mantle of House Ambrosios in truth instead of name only, our Houses united could sway many of the fence sitters."

Gavriel sighed and shook his head. "You know why I cannot. I do not want the responsibility that my position would demand. I am dedicated to serving in the Alpha Unit. My home"--he looked down at his mate--"our home is in Lycaonia."

Adriel eyed the large vampire closely. He had never gotten an explanation or proof from his prince as to why Gavriel was who he claimed to be and why he was allowed to claim the name of Ambrosios. "You cannot prove you're a royal, can you?"

Gavriel simply shrugged. "It is a moot point."

Magnus turned to Aiden. "In that case, I will need your support and the support of the units. The council here backs my lead, but some of the Founding Families, and through them the Nobles, do not. I would like to declare a state of emergency and call my children home. I would also like to open the city to any paranormal in the area who needs refuge."

Aiden frowned. "Why wouldn't the Founding Families support that?"

Behind them Declan barked his laughter. "Because sir, the prince wants to open up the city to any local paranormal, not just vampires. The locals do not want to sully their precious city with shifters." Declan sounded bitter.

Aiden's expression turned frosty. "Is that so?"

Magnus nodded. "I hate to admit it, but they would probably protest younger vampires with mixed bloodlines as well. It is why I had to get you here. They will hate having shifters here, but they will not dare speak against it while you are in the city."

"Why me? I'm not a vampire?" Aiden asked.

Declan, Etain, and Micah chuckled.

Adriel just started at his commander. "Are you serious, sir?"

Gavriel smirked. "Aiden, I keep telling you that you are popular; you do not listen."

Tarak stepped forward. "Your Highness, if I may?"

Magnus nodded smiling.

Tarak turned to Aiden. "Sir, you have had sway over the Founding Families since the day you brought back the bodies of the murdered Alpha Unit to Lycaonia, nearly six hundred years ago. Jean-Marc Géroux, my uncle, was very much beloved here in the city. When his final words pledging his loyalty to you reached us here in Noctem Falls, along with the story of what you had done, every single member of the Founding Families swore to support your position as Unit Commander in his place. They recognized that if you risked your own life to bring Jean-Marc home, we could do no less than honor his wishes to respect your authority. You may not hold the rank of a Founding Family member in their eyes, but they will respect your orders. To do otherwise would bring dishonor on their Houses and their names. They would never deny your request for assistance in saving shifters when you have done so much to save our kind." Tarak placed his fist over his heart and bowed, his brother bowed beside him.

"Now do you see why I needed you here?" Magnus asked.

Aiden blinked in astonishment. "I only did what any warrior would do."

Tarak grinned at him. "It is also because you honestly believe that, that so many follow you without question."

Bethy turned to Tarak. "Is that why you volunteered to guard me? Because I was a shifter needing to be saved?"

Kuruk nodded then laughed. "That and you were the cutest little thing we had ever seen. You have to remember Bethy, we do not get many babies in the City of the Night. You have had most of the city wrapped around your finger since you were a toddler."

Aiden strummed his fingers on the chair arm. "What exactly do you need me to do?"

Magnus's face lit up. "Just support my decision in opening up the city. Make it known that you are counting on the citizens of Noctem Falls to help save your people, and possibly have dinner with two or three Founding Families. A week of your time, two tops. By then, having shifters and witches in the city will be an everyday occurrence." His face softened. "They are not a bad bunch, Aiden. Old fashioned, stuck in their ways, but they are not bad. If I have to use you to make it fashionable to assist shifters, I will. At the end of the day, they will do the right thing. I have to believe that."

Aiden looked down at his mate. "Just two weeks. I'd like to get Meryn back home as soon as possible."

"Whoo hoo! Vacation!" Meryn threw her tiny arm in the air.

Bethy looked from Meryn over to Adriel then at her Uncle. "Oh dear."

It was just one tiny human, what trouble could she possibly cause?

CHAPTER THREE

Adriel stood in the back of the large meeting hall where members of the Founding and Noble Families gathered to hear Aiden's speech informing them of the new dangers the ferals posed and asking for their support in opening up the city to save as many paranormal lives as possible.

In every word, Adriel could hear Bethy's influence. She, more than most, understood the politics of their city. Aiden had proven his leadership skills when he asked for her assistance in writing the speech. Very few people with power ever realize that they aren't all-knowing and all-powerful. For Aiden to have learned that lesson at such a young age gave Adriel hope for their future.

Grant leaned in on his left. "So you are getting a mate huh?"

On either side of Adriel, all thirty members of Noctem Falls six units lined the back and side walls of the room, lending their support to not only their Unit Commander, but also to their prince.

Adriel kept staring straight ahead but gave a slight nod. "Evidently."

On his right, Declan growled. "As am I."

Adriel turned to his second in command. "You have been having nightmares?"

Declan just nodded.

"Why did you not say anything?"

Declan raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you?"

Adriel turned back to face the room. He knew why he had not said anything, sharing the death of the woman of your dreams was not high up on his things to do list. Was Declan seeing the death of his mate too? "How bad?" he asked.

Adriel could hear Declan grinding his teeth. "She dies, trapped in a fire. You?"

"Femorals cut, hung from a meat hook, and drained." Adriel shuddered at the memory.

"Gods!" Grant whispered harshly, sounding shocked. "I am making it a point to beat the shit out both of you in training tomorrow for keeping secrets like that. You know we would never let that happen to either of your mates. We can't help if you do not tell us."

"I'm tempted to cast a spell to make you cluck like a chicken for a week," Micah threatened, sounding pissed. Adriel leaned forward to look at the witch; for once, the jovial man wore a serious expression.

"What?" Micah demanded. "I'm angry because you didn't come to us. We're your brothers; who else are you going to turn to?"

Adriel straightened and refused to answer, Micah's honest words touched his heart. As the leader of all the units in the city, he maintained a certain distance from the men, even his own unit. He believed that was the only way to keep their respect, but watching Aiden today, seeing him joke and smile not only with his second in command, but with others, he started to wonder if maybe he had the wrong idea.

After Aiden wrapped up his speech, there was a smattering of unenthusiastic, polite applause. As predicted, no one overtly opposed the plan, but Adriel was willing to bet that they would somehow find small ways to sabotage their efforts. He watched as Jourdain Régis made his way over to where Bethy stood with her mate.

"Declan," Adriel hissed.

"On it." Adriel watched in amusement as the crowd parted for Declan. The shaggy redheaded shifter was one of the largest men in the city. He made even the haughtiest elitist think twice before tangling with him.

Declan grinned evilly as he stepped in front of the odious man. Jourdain Régis had been dogging Bethy's steps since before she was legal by their standards. Adriel was surprised and a bit disappointed that Magnus had not had him killed before now. Jourdain had made his interest in Bethy known, and he always managed to make her uncomfortable, pushing the limits of polite behavior. Tarak had almost lost it and challenged Jourdain when he found Bethy shaking in a corner in an attempt to steer clear of the Founding Family member. Bethy was only sixteen at the time. Jourdain's father had to step in, using his rank to keep his son in one piece. He assured Magnus that his son would leave Bethy alone until she was of age.

Now that she was mated, Adriel had hoped the man would give up, but Jourdain was proving him wrong. Declan simply stepped left and right, blocking Jourdain's path to Bethy. Jourdain's mouth twisted, and he said something under his breath.

Adriel could not hear what was said but knew it was bad when Declan smiled wide, showing off his perfect pearly whites.

"Etain," Adriel barked. But the man was already moving. Seconds later, Etain laid a friendly hand on Jourdain's shoulder, and with a tightened grip, steered the offending vampire away from the angry grizzly-shifter.

"Would you please let one of us kill him?" Grant asked in a congenial manner, as if they were not discussing cold-blooded murder.

"We will have too much on our plate in the next few months, dealing with new people in the city without the headache of facing a tribunal for killing that waste of blood." Adriel looked at his clipboard.

"Micah, are you comfortable being assigned as Meryn's guard while she is here?" he asked.

"Absolutely. That woman is hilarious. I can't wait to see what she does next." Micah's eyes sparkled with laughter.

Grant shook his head. "Better you than me. Women confuse me, and she is baffling even for a woman."

Micah sighed happily. "Women make this life worth living. They add color to these gray walls and perfume to the air."

Grant scratched his head. "I have paintings in my quarters and air fresheners, I am good."

Micah looked around. "Speaking of my little firecracker, where'd she go?"

Adriel studied his roster and, without looking up, pointed to the far side of the room where Meryn was standing next to Aiden, practically behind her squire as her mate greeted a line of Nobles.

"How do you do that?" Micah demanded.

Grant snorted. "Adriel has a built in trouble detector."

"He is just amazing at what he does," Bethy said, walking up with her mate and Declan in tow. She leaned over and looked down at his plans. He watched her read over his lists, nodding. She looked up. "Sorry, old habits die hard." Her cheeks flushed.

"Not at all. In fact, I was going to ask your opinion regarding unit assignments. You may have learned your organizational skills from me, but you learned just as much from watching your father anticipate Broderick in the lab." Adriel handed her his clipboard.

Bethy's mouth formed a small 'o'. He never let anyone handle his clipboard. With her eyes gleaming, she accepted it and started skimming his meticulous notes. As she was flipping through the pages, Etain returned.

Gavriel clapped the man on the back. "Many thanks. I saw what you and Declan did; I owe you."

Bethy looked up confused. "What did they do?"

"Nothing," all three of them said together.

Her eyes narrowed. She looked at them for a few more seconds then returned to his notes. "I think you should split up the units by level. We don't know how many people we'll be getting, but I have a feeling we'll have fewer "accidents" if we have warriors visible on every level." She handed him back his clipboard.

He nodded. "Excellent. I agree. Let us not give them an opportunity to make mischief."

Gavriel pulled Bethy under his arm. "What kind of mischief are we talking about? Should Aiden know?"

"Should Aiden know what?" Their commander walked up to them with Meryn and Ryuu. The hall was empty now except for the unit warriors. All of the Founding and Noble families had returned to their levels.

Adriel gave a half shrug. "You saw their lukewarm reception of the plan to open up the city. I do not believe they will stage open protest; do not be surprised if supplies for any newcomers go missing, we experience an unexpected level escort shortage, or if suddenly all of the bed and breakfasts and hostels on Level Six are filled."

Meryn raised her hand.

Adriel stared at her. "Meryn, you do not have to raise your hand to ask a question."

Meryn shrugged. "It's your clipboard; you remind me of my eighth grade math teacher."

"I am sorry?" Adriel asked, unsure if that was a good thing.

"It's cool. Anyway, what's a level escort?"

"Of course, you would not know that term. My apologies. A level escort is a low ranked vampire who transports persons between levels. They are usually used for citizens who do not have the ability to fly, young vampires who have not learned how or sometimes by the Founding Family members as a service, so they do not have to."

Meryn turned to Bethy. "Is that how you got around?"

Bethy blushed a bright red.

Meryn's eyes brightened, and she grinned. "Tell!"

Bethy cleared her throat. "Either Tarragon, Tarak, or Kuruk would escort me between levels."

Declan snickered, and Bethy shot him a dirty look. Declan held up his hands. "Come on, it was adorable!" he protested.

Bethy crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

Meryn poked Bethy in the side. "Tell."

Bethy threw her arms in the arm in exasperation. "Fine! When I was little, I wanted to be like my Papa and Uncle, so I thought that if I tried hard enough, I could fly, too."

Meryn's eyes widened, and she winced. "How deep is that tunnel?"

Tarak sighed. "Deep. When Bethy was five, Prince Magnus had us install a huge net fifteen feet below Level One after she ended up in the healers' quarters with two broken legs and a concussion. We had to fish her out of the net twice a week until she was eight and at least once a month after she was eight."

Meryn turned to Bethy. "Why did you keep trying after you were eight?"

Bethy's shoulders sagged in defeat. "I kept falling in."

"Oh." Meryn turned her head to look out of the door to the hall that led to the transport tunnel. "How safe is that net?"

"No." Aiden shook his head.

"But..."

"No, Meryn." Aiden firmly wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Okay," Meryn said quickly.

Aiden looked down at her. "Really?"

"Yup." She nodded and smiled up at him.

Adriel looked over at his second in command. No words were needed. Declan walked away to ensure the net was intact. Between Meryn's sense of adventure and Bethy's luck, one, probably both would end up in the net during their stay.

Gavriel rubbed his nose up and down Bethy's neck until she giggled. "I have even more reason to stay glued to your side," he murmured.

Bethy turned to Adriel. "If you assign all the units out to monitor each level, who will be with your trainees?"

Adriel frowned. "What trainees?"

"What?" Aiden asked.

"What?" Adriel echoed.

Aiden looked around. "Don't you have an academy?"

Adriel shook his head. "Not for some time. We contact Adair when we need replacements for shifter and fae warriors, and we contact Storm Keep directly for new witches. Last year, when the council approved Meryn's idea to move the trainees to the unit estates so that Lycaonia's academy could take in new cadets, the compromise was that the other cities did not have to maintain their own academies. Since the program has done so well, there have been talks at council level to permanently remove the academies in the other cities and reappropriate the funds to other programs."

Meryn looked shaken. "That wasn't the plan! Each unit was supposed to get five trainees, and the academies would take in thirty new cadets per city. It was supposed to triple your manpower!"

Aiden clenched his teeth together. "I bet Adair and Father didn't mention anything because they didn't want to upset you in your condition."

"Fuck my condition! Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm suddenly weak or stupid. Just wait until we get home," Meryn fumed.

Bethy rubbed a hand across her forehead. "Oh dear."

Micah clapped his hands together to get the women's attention. "I know just the thing to help you de-stress."

Grant cuffed him upside the head. "Micah! They are mated!"

Micah rubbed the back of his head and frowned up at his friend. "I didn't mean sex, you insensitive clod. What I was going to say is that it's getting late, and I'm sure these two beautiful goddesses are getting hungry. I know for a fact that Sebastian has been cooking up a storm in our absence, and I'm pretty sure I smelled cinnamon wafting up from Level One." He winked at Bethy.

"He remembered!" Bethy was now all smiles.

Micah snorted. "As if that man has ever forgotten a single thing about you. He started stocking up on your favorites the second he learned you were returning to the city, and that means lots of cinnamon and vanilla."

Meryn licked her lips. "What'd Sebastian make?"

Bethy spun to face Meryn. "It's the most wonderful dessert I've ever had. He creates this masterpiece with graham cracker layers, homemade vanilla pudding, cinnamon, and whipped cream. Gods, it's divine!" she gushed.

Meryn looked around. "So, we're done here right? Good. Let's go." Meryn grabbed Bethy's hand, and they practically began to run toward the transport tunnel.

"Meryn! Wait for Ryuu! Do not jump into that net!" Aiden yelled after them.

She was just one human female; there was nothing she could do that his units couldn't handle. Right?

*****

Adriel looked around the large dining table. He had never been invited to dine with Magnus before; the prince was usually too busy hosting dinners for the Founding and Noble families, keeping them placated.

So he had been pleasantly surprised when Bethy invited the entire Eta Unit to dinner. Aiden had been given the seat at the end of the long table opposite Magnus. Adriel sat to his left and Meryn to his right. To Adriel's left were Declan, Etain, Broderick and Caspian. Across the table, Micah sat to Meryn's right, then Grant, Gavriel and Bethy. The four corners of the room were filled with Tarak and Kuruk on opposite sides acting as guards and Ryuu and Sebastian across from them.

For once, Magnus looked relaxed, as if he was truly enjoying himself. Adriel knew more than most how difficult the past couple months had been on their prince. He hoped that Aiden would be able to provide the support needed to get their people to safety.

Bethy's voice brought him back to the present.

"Meryn, didn't you pack? When Darian escorted us to the portal, all you had was your backpack, and Aiden only carried a small suitcase."

Meryn glared at her mate. "No. I've been wearing my super gown because someone won't let me go get maternity clothes because they are being a paranoid, drama bear."

Bethy blinked. "You're using the Gown of Éire Danu for maternity clothes?"

Meryn nodded. "I think it likes me. I mean, think about it. It has all this cool power but only gets pulled out a couple times a year for the same ole boring stuff like, poufy dresses. I could be wrong, but I think I gave it a graphic tee shirt addiction."

Bethy groaned and buried her face in her hands.

Gavriel rubbed her back trying to fight back a smile. "There, there love."

Etain was staring at Meryn, his face a mask of concentration.

Meryn caught him staring. "What?" she demanded bluntly.

Etain tilted his head. "Is that truly the fabled Gown of Éire Danu? One of the most powerful fae relics in existence?"

Adriel really looked at Meryn and saw what Etain was talking about. Meryn had on a tee shirt that looked like it had zombie teddy bears on it. Over the tee, an unzipped grey hoodie covered her arms and, if he remembered correctly, earlier Meryn wore faded jeans and scruffy sneakers.

Meryn rolled her eyes before she closed them. Seconds later, the air around her shimmered, and she was now wearing an emerald green gown with an empire waist that draped demurely over her rounded belly. Her short curls were arranged and a silver circlet sat on top of her head.

"There, better? Does it look all regal now?" Meryn pointed to the dress.

Etain smiled. "I don't know why, but I think you're right Meryn. I feel like the gown is having fun dressing you."

Bethy shook her head. "Zombie. Care. Bears. Meryn! Where did it get the idea for Zombie Care Bears?"

Meryn concentrated on her silverware. "I may or may not have a Pinterest board dedicated to tee-shirts I like, and it may or may not be on there for reference." Meryn closed her eyes again and her tee shirt, hoodie and jeans were back.

"What's wrong with a nice pair of khaki capris and a light green cardigan with pearls? Or a sundress and sandals? Why zombies?" Bethy asked.

Meryn picked up her butter knife and set it on her empty dinner plate. Absently she began to spin it. "Because when I wear dresses my thighs rub together, and it sucks. Capris are weird because sometimes they aren't short enough when I'm hot, but too short when I'm cold. Jeans and hoodies are always perfect.

Declan turned to him. "I never knew women felt that way about dresses."

Adriel shrugged. He had never given women's fashion a second thought; evidently more planning went into it than he knew.

A throat cleared and the table turned to look at Sebastian. "Meryn, while you are here, I could take your measurements and begin some stylish yet comfortable maternity clothes for you. I make all of Bethy's clothing."

Bethy's face lit up. "Sebastian, you are a life saver! We've been trying to get her to a tailor for months!"

Meryn scowled. "They poke me with pins on purpose! And it's always, 'Hold still!' and 'You can't have to go to the restroom again!' Mean old biddies!"

Sebastian made a clucking noise. "Poor darling. Do not worry Meryn, I have never stuck Bethy with a pin, and you can take as many breaks as you like."

Meryn thought for a moment then nodded. "Okay, but only to give my super dress a break every now and then. I had to stop wearing my other hoodies when they started to fit."

Declan frowned. "That's good right?"

Bethy grinned. "She wears them three sizes too big."

Understanding dawned on his face. "Oh."

Magnus chuckled. "On that note," he turned to Sebastian and Ryuu. "Whenever you gentlemen are ready, let us begin."

Sebastian and Ryuu worked seamlessly serving the entire table. A large roast was brought to the center of the table along with three bowls of steaming vegetables. Basket after basket of fresh bread was set down and wine and water goblets filled. When everyone was served, Magnus smiled. "Micah, if you would please?"

Micah looked surprised but then started a low incantation. Adriel felt the pressure around them build then settle. Micah had encased the room in a sound-proofing spell.

Magnus relaxed against his chair. "Thank you Micah."

Micah inclined his head. "Anytime, sire."

Magnus was about to begin speaking when a low vibration echoed throughout the room. Everyone turned to look at Ryuu. Frowning, Ryuu pulled a small phone from his pocket. "My apologies. I usually never receive any text messages." He looked down and scowled. Without even replying, he tucked the phone back into his vest pocket. Seconds later, another vibration sounded throughout the room.

Meryn's eyes narrowed. "How are you getting texts?"

Ryuu raised a brow at his charge and smiled wickedly. "How else? Magic. I took the liberty of casting a spell on everyone's phones by zeroing in on your device's batteries and used water particles to carry the signals. It isn't permanent, it will only last a day or two, but my denka, should have a solution figured out by then."

"Damn, skippy!" Meryn muttered.

Ryuu's phone dinged again, he looked down chagrined.

Aiden began to laugh. "It's Colton, isn't it?"

Bethy's eyes widened, and she, too, started laughing. Meryn smirked, and Gavriel shook his head.

Adriel tuned to Aiden. "Why is your second in command texting your squire?"

Aiden shook his head chuckling. "Ryuu is Meryn's squire, not mine. And Colton has a man crush on Ryuu, mainly for his ability to cook. I'm guessing Colton isn't liking his first night fending for himself for dinner."

Ryuu exhaled loudly. "I left plenty of food in the kitchen, along with planned meals and recipes. They shouldn't be running into issues the first night."

Meryn got up on her knees and turned in her chair so she could see her squire. "What happened?"

Ryuu rolled his eyes. "The men assumed the women were cooking, and the women assumed the men were. It's ten o'clock there now, and they are having sandwiches. Colton keeps texting me pictures of him pouting. It's getting ridiculous."

"Awww, they miss you." Meryn giggled. Another phone vibrated and everyone looked at Ryuu, who shook his head. "That wasn't me."

Meryn sat back in her chair. "That one was mine." She checked her phone and smiled softly. "Felix, this one is for you." She propped up her phone against her water glass.

Adriel looked around. "Who is Felix?"

Meryn pointed down to the table. Seconds later, the air shimmered, and a tiny sprite became visible, sitting on the edge of Meryn's empty soup bowl.

Etain gasped. "Is that a sprite? I haven't seen one since I left Éire Danu. They never leave fae gardens." He looked at Meryn in wonder. "How did the two of you meet?"

Felix jumped down and hugged Meryn's phone before returning to his tiny perch.

Meryn smiled up at Aiden. "Penny sent a good night hug to Felix. She misses him."

Aiden nodded.

Meryn looked up at Etain. "I was invited to the fae gardens in Lycaonia. Elder Vi'Ailean and his mate Vivian had me over for cake. Felix was there, but it didn't look like he was having a very good time, so I jokingly invited him to hang out with me. He packed a bag and moved in; we've been together ever since. I couldn't do without my little buddy."

Felix blushed and reached up to his necklace; seconds later, he was gone again.

Declan's eyes were wide. He stared, entranced, at the place where Felix had been sitting. "How'd he do that?"

Meryn's face clouded. Bethy answered for her. "Keelan made a necklace for Felix that allows him to become visible or remain invisible."

The table quieted. Magnus broke the silence. "Never in my wildest imagination did I ever believe that we would ever have a sprite here in Noctem Falls. Thank you for such an amazing gift."

Meryn's face brightened a little. "All I did was bring him along; Felix is a gift all by himself," she paused and giggled. "He's blushing."

Adriel lifted his wine goblet. "You left Colton in charge?"

Aiden nodded. "He may seem carefree, but he's actually stricter than I am when it comes to drills and patrol. I've chosen him as my successor in the event I need to assume my father's Elder seat before my son is of age."

Magnus smiled wide. "You are having a son?"

Meryn shook her head. "We don't know yet. I'm hoping for a girl."

Aiden shuddered. "No way. I don't think I can handle a girl. I'd never get any sleep. I'd be worried about my tiny princess all the time."

Broderick chuckled. "I know the feeling, but let me tell you. Nothing in the world is better than the sweet hugs and kisses from your daughter."

Bethy blushed. "Oh, Daddy."

Aiden's face softened. "Maybe a little girl wouldn't be so bad."

Meryn rubbed her belly. "She can be a Doctor Who watching, hacker ninja!"

Aiden scowled. "No, she won't. She'll be delicate and demure."

Meryn looked confused. "You have met me, right?"

Gavriel swirled his wine in his glass. "She has got you there, Aiden."

Aiden leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Fine, we'll have a boy."

Meryn shrugged. "Then he'll be a Doctor Who watching, hacker ninja."

"No hacker ninja stuff."

"Too late."

Aiden froze. "What do you mean?"

"I've been putting headphones on my belly and playing lectures about coding and early Doctor Who episodes." She patted her belly. "Meryn two-point-oh likes it."

Aiden's face was priceless.

"I am sure it will be fine, Commander," Grant said trying to cheer Aiden up.

Aiden grunted and dug into his roast. The man seemed to be trying to devour his worries along with his dinner.

"You can't really count on little girls being demure." Micah waved his fork. "Little Bethy practically grew up around the units. She may have learned politics from Prince Magnus, but she learned how to throw a punch from Adriel."

Adriel smiled at the memory. Bethy had been such a tiny little thing.

Gavriel turned to his mate. "Speaking of which, what did he mean when he called you his little valentine?"

Bethy's eyes widened; she scowled at Adriel then looked up at her mate. "Caught that one, did you?"

Gavriel raised an eyebrow. "I do not miss anything when it pertains to you. Story?"

"When I was little, four I think..." She turned to him for confirmation. Adriel nodded and she continued. "...Papa was explaining the history of Valentine's Day and how it was observed. Since Adriel was the one that looked after me the most outside my family, I wanted him to be my Valentine. I drew a heart on a piece of paper and had Tarak escort me to the Unit Level. I walked right up to him in front of all six units and asked him to be my Valentine." She smiled. "He graciously accepted, and not once did he make me feel unwanted or as if I were a bother. He's a true gentleman."

"She was adorable; how could I say no?" Adriel set his glass down.

Declan laughed. "We were all jealous. Every year after that we competed to see if we could be Bethy's valentine; she usually chose one of her fathers, her uncle, or Adriel though."

Bethy giggled. "You all made me feel so special competing that way. You made every suitor that approached me later in life seem dull in comparison."

Caspian leaned back in his chair and gave him a thumbs up. Adriel winked. Of course, her fathers had been ecstatic when she showed little interest in dating while she lived here.

Bethy shook her head at her father's antics. "Adriel would escort me to social functions so I didn't have to go alone. He kept the more ardent suitors at bay."

"You mean like that douchebag, Jourdain?" Meryn asked.

Bethy frowned at Meryn down the length of the table. "What do you know about him?"

Meryn pushed her roast around her plate. "I saw your reaction to him in Lycaonia. I almost had Kendrick convinced to kill him, but you know, 'politics' got in the way. Evidently, he's like an important douchebag here."

Magnus's face darkened. "Did he do anything?"

Bethy reached over and patted his arm. "No, Unky, he didn't; he was just his normal obnoxious self."

"I still want to kill him. He upsets you." Meryn took a huge bite of mashed potatoes.

Declan growled. "Join the club. I've been dying to get my claws into him for decades."

"I will pretend I did not hear any of this; plan away." Magnus said and continued eating his dinner.

"What's his deal anyway? I mean I knew all vampires except Gavriel were douchebags, but he takes the cake." Everyone turned to stare at her. "What?"

Bethy cleared her throat and pointed around the room.

Meryn looked around. "Oh. Unit warriors are excluded since Bishop, Christoff, Drake, Griffin, and Malcolm are my peeps. And y'all are nice, practically normal, so you don't count as vampires."

Declan turned his head, his shoulders shaking; he was laughing so hard.

Magnus winced. "Thank you, I think."

Etain turned to collapse against Declan, both of them laughing uncontrollably.

"Are you quite finished?" Adriel asked.

That set them off further.

Across the table, Micah had his face buried in his hand. "The rumor is true! She called René Evreux a douchebag!"

Meryn huffed. "He deserved it. Jerk."

Magnus turned to his niece. "I see what you mean about being needed in Lycaonia."

Declan, who had just started to regain his composure, lost it again. He simply sat back in his chair and laughed loudly.

Adriel pinched the skin between his eyebrows. "Declan, really."

Declan bumped Adriel's shoulder with his own. "Aren't you glad you're a warrior 'peep'; that makes you normal."

Adriel looked at Meryn. "Do you prefer shifters because you are mated to one?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head. "I think that shifters are more fun, but I don't think that's because I'm mated to Aiden. If anything, Colton helped foster that idea. He plays with me in wolf form."

Declan smiled wide. "Seriously? Like stick fetch?"

Meryn shook her head. "No, we use a ball."

Declan simply slumped to one side laughing. "I can't take it anymore, please stop." He wrapped his arms around his stomach. "It hurts."

Etain smiled slyly. "Ask him what animal his is Meryn."

Meryn's eyes lit up. "What kind?"

Declan sat up grinning. "I'm a lion."

Meryn's eyes got huge. "Like Mufasa!"

Etain chuckled regally.

Declan swatted at him. "Not funny." He turned to Aiden. "You have no idea how good it is to have you here, sir."

"Nants ingonyama bagithi baba!" Meryn sang.

Micah pointed at Declan, laughing wordlessly.

Declan shook his head while smiling. "I happen to like that movie."

Meryn gave him a thumbs up. "It kicked ass."

Adriel looked around the table shocked. He could not remember the last time his men were so open and jovial. He turned to his prince. Magnus was smiling, Broderick was teasing his daughter about her charge, and Caspian watched enraptured.

"She does that back home, too. She somehow brings people closer together, and the funny thing is, she doesn't even try. She does it naturally," Aiden said quietly.

"What an amazing gift." Adriel looked at the small human in a new light.

When everyone's laughter quieted down, Meryn turned to Magnus, a serious expression on her face. "Will you tell me how you poop now?"

CHAPTER FOUR

It took another couple minutes for the men to catch their breath. Finally, Grant, the more stoic one of the Eta Unit, cleared his throat and smiled at Meryn.

"Ready for a history lesson?"

Meryn nodded eagerly. She pushed her plate to one side and propped her chin up on her hands listening intently.

"Once upon a time..." Micah teased.

Grant ignored him. "Before the Great War, each paranormal city technically existed. But nowhere on the scale and level of organization that we have now. After the war, with the extended help of the other paranormal races, each city began to take shape. The fae moved their entire city to a parallel plane of existence, never wanting the threat of invasion again. Lycaonia did the exact opposite; they opened their borders to all paranormals. The first elected Shifter Elder, Aaron McKenzie, declared that he wouldn't have made it home if not for the help of the enemy and that henceforth, Lycaonia would be home to any paranormal that needed a place to rest."

Meryn grinned. "I heard about him."

Gavriel coughed.

Adriel eyed the two as Grant kept going. "The witches built a regal castle, then a magnificent city to go around it. Their council concentrated on the education of their younger generation as many older witches had been wiped out. The vampires wanted to avoid humans altogether, so they decided to build their city below ground, in the sheer rock face of a deep canyon. With the aid of their old allies from Storm Keep, they used magic to make life below ground every bit as welcoming and convenient as living above ground.

"The witches and the vampire ruling classes came together and designed the city. Each Founding Family and respective Noble Families would receive their own level. Using earth magic, pipes were run for water and waste management. They used fire magic and crystals to create the glow lights that you have seen throughout the city. They activate with the touch of a hand."

Meryn frowned. "Where does the poop go?"

Grant smiled. "The waste is plumbed through the pipes down into a waste reservoir. Once the waste level reaches a certain height, a spell is activated and it disappears."

"Where is the reservoir?"

"Beneath the city in what is called the Pits. Waste removal, irrigation, and garbage disposal is all routed below the city and then obliterated," Grant explained.

"What if someone, I don't know, accidentally falls in? What then?"

Grant's nose twitched at the idea of falling into refuse. "There are safeguards in place; the spell will not activate if a living being is detected."

"Really?" This time Declan asked.

Grant gave his friend a sour look. "You really did not pay attention at all during the tour they gave us after we first arrived, did you?"

Declan winced. "I had other things on my mind."

Etain chuckled. "Like the two lovely vampire ladies that wanted to meet a lion shifter, if my memory serves me correctly."

Declan gave Etain a wide grin. "That would be an affirmative."

Meryn rolled her eyes. "Men!" She turned back to Grant. "Continue, please."

Grant nodded. "The vampires, like the witches and the shifters, made a deal with the fae queen. In exchange for the use of their portals, the respective cities would gift the fae with not only the land for the portal, but also all the land surrounding the portal for a one hundred mile radius. There the fae would be responsible for all traffic through the portals. They maintain a portal in each of the pillar cities, and only fae can activate them.

"In more recent years, Magnus arranged for a second portal from the fae queen. It opens to a large commercial building in Albuquerque. The building acts as a hotel, parking garage, and postal service for the city. Vampires call to the fae stationed in the city, they open the portal, and escort the vampires through. There they can shop, visit restaurants, pick up mail, do any business, and then return to the city. It was a major coup for Magnus and cemented his position as Elder until he passes it on."

Magnus shrugged. "Aleksandra is an amazing woman. Negotiations with her were delightful, unlike meetings with the Founding Families here. They make me want to stab myself in the eye with my stylus."

Meryn tapped her lips with her finger. "I haven't met her yet, but it's on my Things to Do list."

Etain shook his head. "Meryn, you can't just go visit my queen; it's extremely hard to get an invitation to Éire Danu."

Meryn grinned. "I've already been invited. Twice in fact."

Etain dropped his fork. "What?"

"She's cool peeps." She turned her attention back to Grant. "What about food? Is it all brought in via the city portal? What did they do before that?"

Etain looked at Aiden. "What?"

Aiden spread both hands in front of him. "Queen Aleksandra adores Meryn; she even paid for our city square to be rebuilt so Meryn wouldn't get in trouble for that tiny incident regarding her glue bomb."

Etain shook his head. "What?!" He turned back to Meryn, a new look of admiration and respect in his eyes. "I will be guided by my queen. On her behalf, I feel I must offer my assistance to you while you are here in the city. I will let my fellow fae warriors know that you are to be treated like royalty."

Magnus leaned forward, curiosity plain as day on his face. "That is a fairly dramatic reaction to such a small incident. I would love to know how you interpreted your queen's actions based on so few facts."

Etain took a deep breath. "My queen cares very little for the affairs of those outside of Éire Danu." He turned quickly to Meryn. "Not that she thinks little of humans or any other race. But only vampires come close to our longevity. The reason why the fae live on a different plane is because of the heartache and sorrow we were experiencing in losing our human friends. As a people, we were becoming withdrawn and depressed. By keeping us separate, my queen keeps us safe." He turned back to Magnus. "For her to reach out, by extending an invitation, and offering assistance, my queen is telling her people, all her people, that Meryn is a human who will be worth the great heartache my queen will experience when Meryn passes from this world. That alone tells me how my queen views Meryn. As a son of Éire Danu, I can do no less than offer my utmost respect, assistance, and protection." He placed a fist over his heart and bowed in his chair.

Adriel stared at Etain in shock. He had never seen Etain give that level of reverence to anyone, himself included. As his unit leader, Etain respected him and his orders. Magnus, as the prince of the vampires, was respected for his royal line. Adriel knew that Etain would listen and follow orders from either of them, but at that moment, he saw the difference. Etain would follow their orders, but he would die for Meryn McKenzie.

Magnus stared down the length of the table, his eyes locked on the tiny human who was oblivious to what Etain had revealed. She simply gave him a thumbs up and turned back to Grant for the rest of her story.

Grant gulped visibly. He picked up his water glass with a slightly trembling hand that confirmed to Adriel that Grant also realized the significance of Etain's declaration. He took a sip and shot Magnus a nervous look and continued. "To answer your question Meryn, most of the food for the city is raised and grown here on different levels. Each level being responsible for different types of foods. Level Five raises livestock, everything from cows and chickens to duck and quail. Level Four grows hay and grain. Level Three grows fruits in different climate controlled sections and Level Two grows almost every vegetable known to man. Spices and other major products like sugar, coffee, and tea are imported through the portal."

"But... but... how? Don't you need the sun?" Meryn stuttered.

The men laughed. Micah leaned in. "Remind me to show you Noctem Falls' gardens. It took the witches years to perfect the spells needed to create artificial sunlight. They used the earth witches to bring forth and arrange the needed stones and then stored the spells in the geodes and crystals in the walls and ceilings."

Magnus sat back. "We are looking to expand into medicinal plants. So many valuable resources are being lost to deforestation. I have been working with my counterparts overseas and in the Amazon to bring many of their endangered plants here. I want to donate space here on Level One for the endeavor."

"And for that, I will be eternally grateful." Broderick lifted his glass to his brother-in-law.

Meryn snapped her fingers. "That's right! You make the super vitamins."

Broderick nodded bashfully. "Something like that. Not many of the vampires are willing to take them, but all results show that when they feed from a shifter that has been taking the vitamins, the volume of blood required goes down." He looked at Gavriel. "My conversations with Dr. Adam McKenzie were most enlightening. We didn't have any results from a vampire going through transition, so your feedback helped enormously."

Adriel's eyes narrowed at Broderick's revelation. He looked at Bethy. "You were there for his transition?"

Bethy looked anywhere but at him as she nodded.

"It had to be his Fifth Millennial, I mean look at the size of him," Tarak whispered harshly.

Adriel felt his stomach clench and rubbed it absently. "Only you."

Broderick nodded in sympathy. "I said the same thing."

"Oh, really!" Bethy protested.

Caspian gave his daughter an exasperated look. "We know you do not cause these things, but darling, even you have to admit, only you would find your vampire mate during one of his major transitions."

Declan eyed Gavriel up and down. "What'd you look like before?"

Gavriel thought for a moment. "About Adriel's size, though leaner. After my transition, none of my clothes fit. Some of my original tailors are not even alive anymore. It has been a struggle to find quality garments."

"I will add you to the list," Sebastian offered.

The relief on Gavriel's face was almost comical. "I was going to ask later in private. Beth has sung your praises for months."

Sebastian looked down at Bethy with a look of adoration on his face. "Just for that you get extra dessert."

Bethy clapped her hands together excitedly. "I can't wait!"

Magnus chuckled. "As if you would not give her as many seconds as she wanted anyway. You have always spoiled her rotten."

Caspian, Broderick, Sebastian, and Adriel turned as one to stare at Magnus. Adriel spoke first. "Sire, I believe the saying is, pot meet kettle."

Caspian laughed. "Well said."

Magnus looked offended. "I am her uncle, it is my gods given right to spoil my niece."

"Because she is beautiful, like you," Caspian teased. Magnus nodded.

"Because she's a genius, like you," Broderick continued wryly. Magnus nodded again.

"Because she was the most adorable thing you had ever seen, and she stole your heart and wits the second you laid eyes on her," Adriel concluded.

Magnus looked at his brothers and the warriors around the table. "As if she did not toddle around the Unit Level and collect your hearts when she was a baby."

Adriel, Declan, Etain, Grant, and Micah all grinned. Adriel admitted to himself wryly that Magnus was right.

"She was all white blonde hair and huge blue eyes," Declan recalled, smiling.

Etain winked at Bethy who was blushing furiously. "She was so tiny I couldn't believe anything that small could be real. The first time I saw her fall and break her arm, I wanted to destroy the innocent item that broke it."

Micah laughed. "It was the floor."

Etain nodded. "Exactly. I remembered at the last moment that we needed the floor."

Grant rubbed a hand over his mouth, smiling. "I did not think she knew how to walk. Tarak or Kuruk carried her everywhere."

Tarak shrugged. "It was easier on our nerves."

Magnus took another sip of wine. "After the meeting today, I had my secretary send out the area-wide paranormal newsletter. A small town in Texas contacted me. They were already in the process of packing up when they heard we were opening the city. They have arrived in Albuquerque and are staying the night at our estate there. They should be arriving tomorrow morning."

"Maybe there will be some little ones coming to stay with us from that group," Caspian suggested.

"Hmmm, cowboys," Meryn said dreamily.

Aiden growled at her before lifting her hand up to his lips for a kiss.

Meryn shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, y'all in your spiffy uniforms are great, but there's something about a man in a tight pair of jeans and cowboy boots." She turned to Bethy. "Do you think they'll be in cowboy boots?"

Bethy grinned. "We can live in hope."

Gavriel leaned down and nipped her neck, causing her to giggle.

Meryn tapped her lips with her finger. "We'll need a new ranking system."

Aiden shook his head. "Meryn," he growled her name.

Meryn ignored her mate. "I'll have to take pictures and add them to my database so my minion and Anne can vote. Hot damn! Cowboys! Wait until I tell Amelia, I bet she'll want to vote then."

Caspian winked at his mate. "Count me in."

Broderick kissed Caspian's neck. "You can look, but don't touch."

Caspian blew air kisses to his mate. "Of course, darlin'," he said in a perfect Texas drawl.

One human woman.

Adriel was beginning to think that six units would not be enough to handle both her and Bethy's notoriously bad luck.

*****

The next morning

Eva Mae Miller ambled next to Josie McLauren as they made their way to the edge of the canyon where the entrance to Noctem Falls was hidden within the very rock. The two of them were the stragglers of the large wolf pack that was walking from the temporary fae portal toward the city. The pack had chosen to stay at the Noctem Falls estate instead of going through at night. It was now early morning, and from the growls around her, most of the pack hadn't had a chance to grab coffee.

The fae that had opened the portal had taken one look at their group and decided a temporary portal a couple miles from the city was safer than using the traditional one so close to the edge. It meant they had to walk, but this way, no one was accidentally falling over.

"I'm so sorry you have to walk with me Eva," the young pregnant woman huffed.

Eva wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Don't you worry about me one bit. In fact, I like this slower pace, it's really relaxing."

Josie ducked her face, smiling. "And you get to avoid Stefan back here."

Eva heaved an exasperated sigh. "That's a perk, too." Stefan Bolivar was the current pack Alpha, her best friend, and pain in her ass all in one.

After losing her family to human hunters in eastern Russia, she'd decided to leave the country. She was intrigued by the stories she heard about the Wild West in America, and before she knew it, she had paid for passage and begun her journey west.

Stefan had only been one hundred and fifty years old in eighteen-fifty, when she finally ended up in Wolftown, Texas, a small town run by a pack of Mexican Gray wolves. When she approached the pack alphas, Demetrio and Adora Bolivar, she had been warmly welcomed despite being a tiger.

She plunked down her life savings and opened up a saloon. She called it the Gold Penny, and she made sure it was a safe place for the locals to grab a drink. Over the years, Wolftown morphed from a dusty desert town into a thriving tourist attraction.

The pack had modernized all the buildings but kept them looking exactly as they had when the town was founded. The townspeople wore the same style clothing they wore over a hundred years ago, giving the town an authentic feel. Plus, it made it easy to know who was a shifter and who was a visiting human.

Eva understood why the pack decided to head to Noctem Falls for protection, but it had been hard to put up a closed sign in her bar. She missed her home already.

"We'll be back before you know it." Josie patted her arm.

"Am I that transparent?"

"I think we're all feeling the same way. If it weren't for all the missing families in the area, I don't think Stefan would have agreed to move us to Noctem Falls, even temporarily. You know how we feel about vampires." Josie shuddered.

Eva knew that the decision to move the pack to Noctem Falls had been a hard one for Stefan. He had spent nearly two days perched on one of her bar stools, spinning a half empty beer bottle in his hands. There was bad blood between the local vampires and wolf packs, and Eva really wasn't looking forward to the tension.

"Speak of the devil." Josie nodded ahead of them.

Stefan was walking back to them, he was frowning, and his entire body was tense. This wasn't a good sign. "Stefan, what's up?"

He walked up and wrapped a casual arm around her waist. She thought he was just flirting again when he began to lean in. She was about to grind her boot into his foot when he whispered in her ear. "We're being followed. Can't see 'em, but something doesn't feel right."

Eva felt a chill race down her spine. She slowly began to look around. Damn. He was right. To her left, she watched as the wind kicked up a cloud of dust that separated and blew around a large object.

She turned to Stefan.

"I saw," he whispered harshly. "When I give the signal, I need the two of you to run as fast as you can toward the ledge." His eyes met her, and she nodded. She would protect Josie so he could concentrate on the rest of the pack. "Father has already sent an emergency message to the head bloodsucker; they are sending help." With a quick grin, he leaned in, licked her cheek, and dashed off before she could smack him.

Seconds later, two of the pack's betas jogged back to flank them on either side. Eva should have known that Stefan wasn't taking any chance with a pregnant female. She grinned wickedly at Elias Santiago and Jorge Diaz. "Looks like we're about to have some fun."

Elias's answering grin was reassuring. "Can I put my arm around you too, Eva?" he teased.

"Only if you want Stefan to rip your arm out of its socket. You know how protective he is of Eva," Jorge warned. Jorge, however, didn't wait for permission; he wrapped a muscled arm around Josie's round belly. It was no secret in the pack that he was Josie's mate. Unfortunately, Josie had already been seeing someone else when they met. The past few months had been complicated for everyone. Ultimately, Josie's lover had left town, abandoning her and their unborn child. Josie's heart had been broken, but Jorge had been there every step of the way, picking up the pieces and handing them back to her lovingly.

Under her hand, Eva felt Josie tense. A long howl at the front of the pack had everyone running as fast as they could. After a few hundred feet, Jorge simply picked Josie up and ran. Eva didn't know what had her turning to her right, but she felt movement seconds before she placed her body between Jorge's and the attacker.

Eva was lifted up and thrown to one side. Growling, she extended her claws, partially shifting her hands. She extended her gait, running to catch up to the pack. As she was running, she saw Elias was on the ground, pinned by an unseen enemy. Without thinking, she flung herself forward, wrapping her arms around the mass over Elias, and crashed into the ground with them. Blindly, she swiped left and right. She felt with satisfaction her claws dig into a soft material seconds before warm blood dripped down off her hands.

"Gotcha, you son of a bitch," she growled.

"Eva, hurry!" Elias was up and heading toward the pack.

Eva froze as she sensed movement all around her. She was surrounded.

"Come on boys, I showed you mine," she held up her claws. "Now show me yours," she purred.

One moment she was carefully watching her surroundings, the next she was flat on her back and seeing stars. As darkness edged into her vision, she heard the sounds of commands being yelled.

"About fucking time," she grunted before passing out.

*****

Eva woke to a pounding headache, but truth be told, she was happy to be waking up at all. Things hadn't looked too good when her eyes had shut. With great effort, she opened one eye, then another, and looked around. The first thing she saw was a pair of green eyes staring at her.

"Hello," she said in greeting.

"Yo."

The woman with the spiky brown hair continued to stare at her.

"Can I help you?" Eva asked.

"Nope, I'm good." Again, her unblinking green peepers locked in on her.

"Why are you staring at me?" Eva finally asked.

"The witch from the Kappa Unit was directing volunteers; he took one look at you and said you were my person to watch over."

Probably because you're nutty, and I'm not that injured.

"Probably because he knew I couldn't fuck you up," the woman admitted out loud.

Eva grinned. At least she wasn't boring. "I'm Eva Mae Miller."

"Seriously? Did that name come with a pair of Daisy Dukes?"

Eva's mouth dropped before she burst out laughing. "You got a mouth on you, don'cha?"

"Yup! I'm Meryn McKenzie, pleased to meet ya." Meryn's eyes danced with mirth.

Eva groaned as she sat up. Small hands tried to push her back down. "Meryn, I'm okay, really. I just need to stand up and stretch."

Meryn's eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. "Okay, but don't hurt yourself, because I'm not a healer so you'd probably die or something."

Eva swung her legs over the side of her cot and stood up. Meryn did the same and now Eva was the one staring. "Where's the rest of you?"

Meryn crossed her arms. "Somewhere between 'fuck' and 'you', I think."

Eva chuckled. "I like you."

Meryn stuck her tongue out at her. "I think I like you, too. I'm glad you didn't get eviscerated. Damn, you're tall though; you're like, what, six feet?"

"Nah, only five-eleven and three quarters."

"That last quarter makes all the difference in the world, huh?"

"You better believe it." Eva looked around. They were in a large open cavern. "Where are we anyway?" She felt like someone was watching them. She was a cat; she knew what it was like to stalk her prey. At this moment, she felt like the prey.

Meryn rubbed up and down her arms in a nervous gesture. "This is called the Grand Hall. Everyone is being brought in from over there; that's the opening called the Ledge." Meryn pointed to the cavern's entrance. Men were rushing people through the doors and into the hall. "They have all the units out there guarding the rest of your pack until the witches can lower them down and get them inside. My squire went out to help since he can evidently lift and lower whole platforms, sneaky bastard," she grumbled.

Eva looked around, and all she saw were her fellow townspeople. Scattered amongst them were unit warriors with glowing hands healing the injured. "Where are all the vampires?"

Meryn snorted. "They had to be sent back down. There was so much blood; they were getting kinda out of control. Only Magnus and a handful of the older ones were able to keep their composure. Though in their defense, there's a lot of blood. If I had that much coffee around me, I'd probably lose my shit, too."

Eva watched as a tall, gorgeous vampire with blood red eyes and lowered fangs moved closer. "Ah, Meryn? You did say all the affected vampires went below right?"

"Yeah, why?"

Eva pointed to the man bearing down on them. She was about to push Meryn behind her when the small woman put her hands on her hips and drew back her foot. When the man was standing in front of them, she let her foot fly, kicking him in the shins. Eva blinked. That was not what she would have done to a bloodthirsty vampire attacking them, but it seemed to work. The man's red eyes faded to a mystical silvery gray color and a frown appeared on his face.

"Meryn, that does hurt, you know?"

"It was supposed to. Get your fang boner under control; you're freaking out my person."

The man stared down at Meryn with unblinking eyes. "Did you just say fang boner?"

"Yeah. Really, Adriel, I thought you had more control than that, being a unit leader and all."

Adriel rubbed between his eyebrows. "Meryn, my fangs are out because she is my mate."

"Oh. Well, shit. Then chomp away, I guess." Meryn scuffed her shoe on the floor, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Eva couldn't seem to take her eyes off the warrior in front of her. She had heard of the mating heat, but never in a thousand years would she have thought that it would affect her like this. Her hands actually ached to touch him. He was several inches taller than she was, for which she was grateful. He wore his long, dark wavy hair back in a ponytail, and there was a hint of a five o'clock shadow appearing along his square jaw. He exuded strength and power and her tiger was lapping it up.

He frowned down at Meryn. "I do not chomp." He turned to Eva and straightened his tie before smoothing down his shirt. He bowed, taking her hand. He kissed it lightly then rose to his full height. "My name is Adriel Aristaios. I am the unit leader in charge of the unit warriors here in Noctem Falls, and I am your mate." He allowed her hand to fall back to her side.

Eva swallowed hard; her stomach seemed to have grown wings and was currently fluttering around her midsection. "My name is Eva Mae Miller. I'm the only tiger shifter in a town of wolves. I own a bar called the Gold Penny, and I am your mate."

Meryn elbowed Adriel. "Bet you're appreciating cowboy boots now," she teased.

Adriel looked down at Eva's boots and then back up to her face. He swallowed. "They are quite fetching."

"He totally wants to fuck you in those, just those," Meryn interpreted.

Adriel looked around the room. "Where is your mate?"

Meryn rolled her eyes. "He can't control me either."

"Are you always this cranky?" Eva asked, scoping out their surroundings.

"Sort of. I came up because everyone was jumping up and running to help when the call came in, and I would have seemed like an asshole if I stayed down in the dining room eating pudding and playing on my laptop. But then Aiden and Gavriel disappeared to help the units." She stopped and pointed to a pretty blonde woman in the middle of the room. "Beth, my adopted sister, is directing people like an air traffic controller, and then Ryuu abandons me." Eva was shocked to see the tiny woman rubbing at her eyes angrily.

"Hey kiddo, it'll be okay." Eva ran a hand over Meryn's hair.

Meryn scowled up at her. "I don't like it here!" Meryn clutched at her chest.

Now, Eva really was concerned. This didn't look like a normal reaction to the confusion around them. She looked around frantically, trying to find anyone who knew the tiny human.

She looked at her mate; he wore an equally concerned look. "I take it this isn't normal behavior for her?"

Adriel pursed his lips. "I do not believe so. She is a bit different, but she looks to be in pain, and that is not acceptable."

"Denka, I am here." A tall Japanese man said, walking up to them quickly, reaching for Meryn's wrist.

Within moments, Meryn's erratic breathing had slowed, and she looked calmer.

"Is she okay?" Eva asked.

"She will be once I get her back to Level One," he responded.

"I'm fine. I have to watch after Eva; she's my assigned person," Meryn protested.

Eva met the man's eyes and they both seemed to come to an unspoken agreement.

"How about you show me Level One? We can eat some of that pudding you were talking about," Eva suggested.

"You're being too nice. I hate getting like this." Meryn scrubbed at her face with her sleeve.

"What's wrong? Or is it something you don't like to talk about?" Eva asked.

Meryn shrugged. "Kendrick thinks I'm part witch, but I didn't get any cool powers like fireballs or flying, just stupid emotions."

"You're an empath," Eva said, understanding her dilemma. She looked around the room. They were surrounded by pain, confusion, and fear. "We need to get you back to this other level."

"I agree. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sei Ryuu; I am Meryn's squire. You can call me Ryuu, it would be an honor to escort you both back down to Level One where my denka can rest." Ryuu's eyes darted to Meryn's midsection.

"Oh my Gods, you're pregnant." Eva exclaimed.

"Yeah." Meryn's eyes were starting to go blank.

Eva turned to her mate. "Point me in the right direction, I'll get us there."

Adriel pointed to the opposite end of the hall. "The transport tunnel is located along the far wall. Under normal circumstances, I would not leave your side, however," he indicated to the crowd around them.

"You go take care of my people, and I'll be with Meryn on Level One. I'll be waiting," she promised.

His eyes darkened. He hesitated for a moment, she could see in his eyes the desire to stay with her, but his sense of duty won out. "I will come for you."

"Find Stefan or Demetrio Bolivar. Stefan is the current Alpha, Demetrio is the previous Alpha, either will be able to tell you if anyone is missing and help organize the people."

"My thanks." He lifted her hand for one last kiss then headed toward the Ledge opening to assist with the townspeople.

Eva grabbed Meryn's arm and began to push her way through the chaotic crowd. The further they got away from the mob, the better Meryn seemed to get. By the time they were at the tunnel, Meryn's green eyes were focused and alert.

"Meryn, wait!" They turned to see a man running toward them.

"Hey Micah. I thought you were helping to heal people?" Meryn questioned.

Micah nodded. "I was, but everyone has been transferred down so the other witches don't have to worry about acting as transport; they've been moved to healing. It's not my strongest ability, so Adriel redirected me to you." He turned and looked her up and down. "And who is this Amazon goddess?"

Eva smiled. "I'm Eva, Adriel's mate."

Micah's face turned tragic. He mimed as if he were getting stabbed in the chest. "Cruel Fate! To see such an ethereal site and know that you belong to my brother warrior, the tragedy."

"You're fun." Eva shook her head smiling.

Micah turned to Ryuu. "Sir, if you would transport our delicate flower, I will assist my goddess." He lifted his arm, indicating to the tunnel.

"Of course." Ryuu walked Meryn forward to the tunnel entrance.

"Halt. No shifters are allowed down to the levels, they must remain here in the Grand Hall," the tunnel escort sneered at them.

Meryn scratched her head. "But we came up from Level One."

"I highly doubt that. Level One is reserved for vampire royalty, no shifters are allowed," he scoffed.

"What about Broderick and Elizabeth Monroe; they're shifters," Meryn countered.

The escort's eyes narrowed. "They are royalty. Broderick Monroe is mated to our prince's own brother and Elizabeth is their daughter."

"And I am her sister." Meryn crossed her arms over her chest, glaring up at the escort.

"Elizabeth Monroe has no sister. Now get back to your charity cot, cow!"

Meryn's mouth dropped as her eyes filled with tears. Eva might not have known her long, but she was betting those were tears born of anger and frustration rather than fear or weakness. She wasn't in the least bit surprised when Meryn lifted her leg as if to kick the escort.

"This. Is. Sparta!" Meryn crowed. She went to kick but couldn't lift her leg high enough. The escort laughed mockingly.

Meryn turned to them. "I can't kick! I can't do my kung-fu!"

"You know kung-fu?" Eva asked.

Meryn shook her head. "No, but what if I wanted to learn one day?"

"Get out of here, you useless sow!" The escort gave Meryn a not so gentle shove.

Without even thinking, Eva turned her body and roundhouse kicked the man square in the chest. The force of her kick flung him back into the tunnel. It took a moment for him to catch his breath, and then he was hovering in mid-air.

"Stupid bitch! Vampires can fly."

Ryuu snapped his fingers. The escort's body jerked as blue light danced across his body; he froze and then plummeted down the tunnel. "They can also fall." Ryuu sniffed in disdain. He turned to Meryn. "Denka, are you hurt?"

"I'm okay." Meryn answered before staring up at her with a look of child-like wonder on her face. "That was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life," she said in whispered awe.

Eva shrugged. "You're still young."

Micah turned to her. "How did you know there was a net at the bottom of the tunnel?"

Eva looked at him in surprise. "There's a net?"

Micah held out his arm. "My unit leader is the luckiest bastard I know. My glorious warrior goddess, may I escort you down to Level One?"

She placed a hand on his arm. "Yes, thank you."

They watched as Meryn leaned over the edge of the tunnel. "This. Is. Sparta! Bitch!!" She did a small victory jig and then allowed Ryuu to escort her down.

Maybe staying in a vampire city would be more fun than she thought.

CHAPTER FIVE

Eva walked through the opened door behind Meryn.

The handsome man who held the door open for them grimaced at the litany of curse words coming from the net below them. "Is everything okay? I am appalled that you would be exposed to such harsh language, little one." He quickly closed the heavy door, blocking out all sound from the hallway. Eva held her tongue. She had already heard some colorful language from the "little one".

"Sebastian, this is Eva Mae Miller. She is my person and Adriel's mate. She'll be joining us for lunch. Eva, this is Sebastian, Magnus' squire."

Sebastian's face brightened. "I have always believed the more the merrier. Congratulations on finding your mate. I must say, I am so glad our young Adriel found you; he was ever so worried."

"She is amazing! She kicked that asshole escort right in the chest, then POW! He flew backward at least fifty feet. Then Ryuu froze his ass, and he dropped like a rock. It was awesome! That's what he gets for calling me a cow."

Sebastian's eyes gleamed dangerously at the escort's words for a moment, but it disappeared when he turned and beamed at Eva. "Strong and lovely, was there ever a more intoxicating combination? Welcome to Noctem Falls dear. I hope that you will not encounter any more unpleasantness."

Eva felt her face flush then marveled that this man had caused her to do so. She was over five hundred years old, had owned a saloon during the Wild West then a bar for over one hundred and fifty years. Not much on this earth could make her blush; yet his sincere praise had blood rushing to her cheeks. "He only flew about fifteen feet, Meryn," she corrected.

"Whatever!" Meryn flung herself into a recliner that looked like it had been designed for someone twice her size. She reached down to the floor on one side and pulled out her laptop, which was connected to the wall by a long cord. She looked at Sebastian and stuck out her lower lip. "May I please have some pudding before lunch Sebastian? I think the baby is hungry."

Eva watched as the squire melted on the spot. "Of course darling, I will be right back." He hurried away.

Eva sat down close to Meryn on one of the many sofas. "Shameless hussy," she admonished.

Meryn shrugged. "For his pudding, I have no shame."

Micah sat down on the sofa opposite Meryn. "I get to spend time with two gorgeous women and partake of Sebastian's pudding; I must have done something right in a previous life." He leaned back getting comfortable.

Eva looked around. She had never been anywhere so opulent. She was beginning to feel her humble Texas roots. "I understand why Magnus has a squire, he's the prince around here. Why do you have one?"

Meryn tapped away on her keyboard while Ryuu busied himself at the sideboard making tea. "Because Aiden's mom said I needed one."

"Why?" Eva was quickly learning if you wanted a direct answer from Meryn, you had to ask a direct question.

"Because one day he's going to be the shifter elder, and I'll be Lady McKenzie. I'm kinda hoping that never happens; I don't really think I'm cut out for charity meetings and sewing circles."

"That sounds ghastly," Eva shuddered. No one back home had squires. Even the local get-togethers were casual.

"Thank you! Finally! I'd rather get bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails than attend a high society charity luncheon. It would be less painful to siphon off funds from some unethical corporations and donate that, than rub elbows with a bunch of uppity assholes."

Eva stared at the small woman. "I really do like you." It was true. Meryn's honesty and view of the paranormal world was refreshing.

"I think I'm going to like you too, my person."

"Are you really going to keep calling me that?"

"If it's not broke... Anyway, y'all got attacked by ferals, huh? That sucks." Meryn stopped tapping, stared at her screen, and then resumed pecking away.

Eva just gave her a droll look.

Meryn turned when she didn't answer. "What?"

"Is getting attacked by ferals so commonplace where you're from that you're this blasé about it?"

Meryn nodded. "Well... yeah. I've been attacked by ferals..." she scrunched up her nose. "Personally, I think it's been twice. Then they attacked the city; that's when I got in trouble for coating Lycaonia's city square in flour glue. But in my defense, it was the only way to see the invisible bastards."

Eva and Micah exchanged shocked expressions. She turned back to Meryn. "You're actually serious. How did you survive?"

"This first time, my sprite friend went for help, then Aiden went all shifter Hulk version and Loki'd the feral's ass. Whap, whap." Meryn mimed slamming something around. "The second time, my minion Wheels used a fireball spell to keep a feral from coming into the house. That was when Gavriel became super vampire. He was ripping out the feral's arms then beating them to death with them." When Sebastian came back, pushing a cart, her face lit up. "Magic pudding!"

Eva saw how Meryn's words pleased Sebastian. "It is just a simple recipe, little one," he refuted, serving her a huge helping. He turned to Eva holding a bowl. "Would you like to try some?"

She nodded. "Yes, thank you." When Ryuu walked around a moment later with a jasmine scented green tea, she knew she had died and gone to heaven. She could get used to being served like this. "Later, you'll have to tell me about your shifter Hulk version, minions, super vampires, and Wheels."

Sebastian handed Micah a bowl and they all dug in.

Meryn laughed and nodded.

Behind them, the door opened then closed as Adriel walked into the room. He smiled. "Am I in time for pudding?"

Micah stood and Adriel waved at him to sit back down.

Sebastian nodded and scooped out another serving.

Adriel pointed to the door. "Why is there a tunnel escort in the net screaming obscenities?"

Meryn didn't even look up from her laptop. "Douchebag."

"Ah. I see." Adriel walked over to Eva. She was about to scoot over more, to make room when he shook his head. "Stay comfortable. I learned later that you were one of the first brought in due to injuries. Are you well?" He sat next to her on the sofa. Though his words were spoken in a cool, casual manner, when he took her free hand in his, she could feel his heartbeat racing. He must have come directly to her after learning she had been hurt.

"I'm doing right fine. I have pudding and tea; I couldn't be happier." He simply nodded without saying a word, but his heart rate began to slow.

"Right fine," Meryn snickered.

"You makin' fun a me?" Eva drawled deliberately.

Meryn laughed. "I like the way you talk."

The door opened and closed again. This time Magnus, Aiden, Gavriel, and Beth walked in with Tarak behind them.

Magnus pointed to the door. "Why is there a screaming man in the net?"

"Douchebag," Meryn answered again.

"Ah." Magnus collapsed into an oversized chair and exhaled. He looked at the coffee table excitedly. "We are having pudding?"

Eva turned her head so the prince of all vampires didn't see her smile at his question. Man screaming in a net, helpless. No worries. Pudding? Stop the presses.

Aiden eyed Ryuu. "Why is he glowing blue?"

Ryuu gave a delicate shrug. "He was disrespectful to my denka."

Aiden turned as if to head back out. "Oh, he was, was he?"

"Aiden, need cuddles," Meryn said.

The Unit Commander did an about face and walked back over to the recliner. He scooped up his mate and sat down, putting her in his lap. He ran his chin over her head. Meryn hadn't even looked up from her laptop. Never before had Eva seen anyone so in tune with their mate. Meryn knew exactly what Aiden needed, and without giving it a second thought, gave it to him. Meryn yawned but kept typing.

Aiden nuzzled the back of her neck. "Do you need to rest?"

Meryn stopped typing and leaned back against her mate. "It won't do any good."

Aiden looked around the room. "She had a hard time sleeping last night."

Sebastian turned to them. "Do you require anything? New linens, more pillows, blankets, maybe a fan?" he suggested.

"More like a pint of Nyquil and a fifth of vodka," Meryn yawned.

Ryuu put down the tea pot and walked over to take her wrist. "You need to rest, denka; your body needs it, the baby as well."

Meryn nodded and pulled her wrist free. "It's not that easy you know. I can't seem to get comfortable." She looked over the top of her laptop. "Sebastian has ordered some computer equipment for me. I have a theory on how I can get Wi-Fi and cell service in the city. I'm just waiting on an okay from Queen Aleksandra to have Etain put my master plan into action. In the meantime, if you give me your email address, I'll send you a map of the city. I digitized the one Beth gave me."

Beth chuckled. "Of course you did. When did you contact Queen Aleksandra?" She dug into her bowl of pudding.

"I didn't, but I had Amelia reach out to her since she's met her."

"Makes sense."

Eva felt her head begin to swim. "You know the Queen of the Fae?" She looked around. It dawned on her that she was casually eating pudding with the Prince of the Vampires. Who were these people?

Beth turned to her. "We haven't been introduced. My name is Elizabeth Monroe; this is my mate Gavriel Ambrosios. Magnus Rioux is my uncle and leader here in Noctem Falls. The tall warrior behind me is my guard Tarak, and the large man cuddling Meryn is Aiden McKenzie. I'm assuming since you came down with Meryn you have already met Ryuu, Sebastian and Micah." Eva noticed that Beth was staring at where her hand was joined with Adriel's.

"My name is Eva Mae Miller. I'm not real important like, just a bar owner from Texas. I came in with the folks from Wolftown. While we were up on that top level, I found my mate." She smiled at Adriel.

"Oh my Gods!" Beth exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're here! He was so worried about you!"

She eyed her mate. "Y'all are close?"

He nodded briefly. "Bethy is the closest thing I have to family outside the units."

Eva thought of Stefan and panic began to set in.

Adriel squeezed her hand. "What? What has you so upset?"

"Did you ever find Stefan Bolivar? Are he and his parents okay?"

Adriel nodded. "I spoke with both Stefan and Demetrio. I let them know you were recovering and would be on Level One. They said they would be helping the others get settled."

"Was Adora with them?"

"I am assuming you're referring to the woman that had both of the male wolf Alphas jumping at her every command. Yes, she was there." His lips twitched in amusement.

"Gods, I love that woman. She could direct an army without blinking. She was an enormous help in calming everyone down," Beth added.

Eva had to smile. "She normally likes to sit back and let the boys handle things, but when there's an emergency, she just takes over."

Aiden kissed the top of Meryn's head. "I know someone like that."

Eva set her empty bowl on the coffee table.

Beside her Adriel stood. "If you will excuse us? I would like to show my mate our living quarters." He turned to her. "I did not want to seem presumptuous, but considering the lack of storage space available, I left word that when your belongings arrived, they should be sent to my home."

"Bow chica wow wow!" Meryn sang.

Adriel just shook his head as Eva giggled and stood. "I'd love to see where you live." She turned and winked at Meryn. "If he's lucky, I'll let him make a dishonest woman of me."

"Gods give me strength," Adriel murmured as he walked over and took her hand.

"More like stamina," Meryn murmured, still glued to her laptop.

"Meryn!" Beth chided.

*****

Adriel walked a bit behind Eva as they walked toward the transport tunnel. The poor bastard that had pissed Meryn off was now whimpering in the net below. But not even that could pull his attention away from the perfection before him.

Eva's hips swayed back and forth, hypnotizing him. Meryn had been right; there was nothing sexier than jeans and cowboy boots. Except in his case, a cowgirl held him in rapture. Not just any cowgirl: his mate.

Eva turned to him. "You're gonna hafta take it from here darlin'."

For a moment, his brain ceased to function. "Excuse me?"

She bit down on her plump lower lip, hiding a smile. "I can't fly."

"Oh." Right, of course she couldn't. Shaking his head, he walked to stand beside her. When he wrapped his arm around her waist, he thought he'd never let go. "My apologies, but I will need to hold you close to carry you up." The way her eyes danced with mischief, he could see that she knew he was lying.

She leaned against his body, pressing every soft curve against him. "Considering I'm planning on fucking you in the next hour or so, I don't think you need to be apologizing." Her lips seemed to caress his ear with every word spoken.

"I am ever your most humble servant," he whispered back. He felt like crowing when he saw her shiver at his words.

He easily lifted them up to the Unit Level. Not surprisingly there wasn't anyone guarding their entrance. With great reluctance, he set her down. When he went to step back, she grabbed his hand and smiled. "Lead the way."

Adriel stared at their hands for a moment. He had never really held hands with a woman before. Bethy did not really count because if you did not hold her hand, she would end up killing herself walking to the bathroom.

"I can let go if it bothers you." Eva's voice broke his train of thought.

"No! I mean it is perfectly acceptable." He began walking toward his house.

"You seemed really deep in thought. Wanna share?"

"I was just thinking you are the first woman I have ever held hands with. Bethy does not really count because you have to hold on to her wherever she goes."

Eva stopped. "What exactly is she to you? Don't think I haven't noticed the affectionate way you say her name."

Was his mate jealous? He looked her in the eye and saw hesitation. He shook his head. "I have known Bethy since she was about a year old. That was when her father moved to Noctem Falls to begin research on creating a blood substitute. We all quickly learned that Bethy has the world's worst luck. She had broken every bone in her tiny body by the time she was three. She has tripped, fallen, crashed through, set fire, got trapped in almost every inch of this city. Magnus assigned her both a vampire guard and a witch healer just to keep her alive long enough to grow up."

"Oh Gods! That poor woman. She's better now right?"

Adriel shook his head. "No, but I think everyone around her is so used to it, we manage to avoid the dangerous injuries."

Adriel pointed to the large building in front of them. "That is our meeting and dining hall. Each unit warrior has their own small house on this level. Unlike other cities, where the units live together in estates, we were given an entire level to keep us segregated from the upper classes, so we had enough room to build as much as we liked."

He guided her down the middle of the cavern that acted as their 'main street'. "Across from the dining hall, we have our training grounds and a recreational center. We have our own library, movie room, small commissary, pool, and storage center."

"Pool! Y'all have a pool! Where is it?" Eva looked around excitedly.

"Behind the mess hall. I take it from your reaction that you enjoy swimming."

"I'm a tiger shifter, of course I love swimming. When can we go?" She looked up at him as if he had promised her the sun and stars.

"I have something better, remind me to show you later."

Her eyes narrowed. "Better than a pool?"

"Better than a pool."

"Okay, I'm trusting ya on this. So how does the commissary work?" Eva walked over and peeked in the window.

"It is on an honor system. Because the city is impregnable, we do not have to do patrols the way other city's units have to, so we have more downtime. In that downtime, we have all taken up hobbies. The Kappa Unit likes to garden, so they have their own indoor hydroponics building. They keep us in fresh vegetables and fruit year round. Beau and Riordan from the Lambda Unit like to build things, so every couple months they head to Albuquerque to hunt for quality wood pieces, and they have their own workshop. Deacon and Belenos from the Theta Unit love to cook, so they run our mess hall. Grant from my unit knits; he says it calms him. Anyway, he creates the most intricate blankets I have ever seen. Everything gets put in the store along with anything extra picked up in the city. If someone needs something, they grab it, but they will always leave something in exchange or offer service hours, for example, trading tunnel escort shifts with the item's creator."

Eva laughed. "I'd rather have one of the unit warriors escort me than that asshole from earlier."

"What exactly happened?" he asked.

When she told him what was said and how the escort had shoved Meryn, he felt his blood pressure begin to skyrocket. Not only was Meryn mistreated, but was done so in full view of a unit warrior. Which translated into showing no respect for Magnus or the unit warriors; it was a treacherous mix.

"I will speak to Magnus at dinner. Since Aiden is visiting, my entire unit is invited to dinner during their stay."

"Was that Aiden's request?"

"Yes. He does not often get the chance to travel around to the different cities and meet with the other units, so he wanted to take advantage of his visit."

"So where do you live?"

Adriel lifted their joined hands and pointed down the street. "I am the very last house. It is set a bit apart from the others. As the unit leader, I did not want to make them feel like I was breathing down their necks."

"Or they could think that you were trying to act superior to them."

Adriel froze in his tracks. "You do not think they really viewed my actions in that manner, do you?"

Eva tilted her head and looked at him. He found her orange and amber colored eyes mesmerizing. "Probably not since you're very sincere, and your actions show you put the men first. But it could be seen that way by others."

Adriel began to go over his interactions with the men. Did they believe him to be rank conscious? Was he alienating himself from them, and if he was, was he missing things that a good leader would see because of it? He frowned until he felt soft lips on his. He stepped back, surprised. She laughed at his expression.

"Didn't mean to startle you, but you looked too serious. Your thoughts were taking you away from me, and I didn't like it."

"You can reach my lips." He blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

Her cheeks flushed as she dropped his hand to wrap her arms around his neck. "I am kinda tall."

"I like it. Truly. I do not have to bend in half for a kiss. I do not know how my commander manages with his mate being so tiny."

"She's pregnant; I'm pretty sure they figured it out."

He laughed. In the past two days, he had laughed twice. That was more than he had in years. Maybe the city had needed a crazy human and a sexy tiger to breathe new life into the ancient halls.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For this." He pointed to their path. "For walking with me and talking. I cannot remember having so lovely a time."

She gave him a wicked smile and stepped back. "Get us to your house and it will get better."

He tilted his head back and began to picture anything but his mate naked and begging. He had sworn to himself that whenever he was blessed with a mate, he would court her and take things slow; he would do it right. He looked back down, and she winked at him.

Gods above give him strength.

They started walking again and his eyes strayed to perfectly rounded ass encased in worn denim.

And stamina.

*****

When they arrived at his house, he found that he was nervous. He had been living alone for centuries, but despite the many years, he had not accumulated much. He opened the door, and she walked inside.

"There is not much..." he began. But he caught her expression. Her eyes were wide with wonder, and she took in every small detail.

Though he did not have a lot, what he did have was very special to him. He had collected small pieces here and there in his travels; in the human world, they would be considered priceless, but to him each told a story.

"Everything is so clean and perfect. I mean, I kinda figured it would be clean since your collar is starched and your uniform looks like it's made of cardboard, but I thought it would be like hospital clean. This feels homey." Her nose twitched. "Is that cinnamon?"

He nodded and led her to a small kitchen. When he was home, he kept a handful of cinnamon sticks in a small pot of water on the stove.

He pointed to the small silver pot. "My mother taught me that. Growing up, I believed that her kitchen was the most magical place in any of the four cities."

Eva turned to him her eyes sad. "You miss her very much, don't you?"

He took a deep breath and froze his features. "I do."

She walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You don't have to do that, you know. I won't tell anyone if you get upset. You're my mate, and anything that happens between us, stays between us. You can drop your mask with me."

Her words snapped the strings that held his facade in place. When his mask fell away, it felt as if a huge weight fell to the ground with it. He slumped forward and rested his cheek on her shoulder. "I love how tall you are," he murmured, breathing in her scent.

"I've always hated it, but if it helps to support you, then I won't curse Fate for my extra inches anymore."

Adriel stood up straight and looked down. "I do not understand. You are perfect, how could you hate anything about yourself?"

She sucked in her breath. "You really mean that, don't you? You really do."

"Of course I do, I do not make it a habit of saying things I do not mean."

"Maybe someday I'll see myself the way you see me, until then... show me the rest of your house."

"There is not much. Here is the kitchen. There is a half bathroom for guests tucked under the stairs." They walked back the way they came. "This is the living room and on the other side of the stairs is my office." He led her up the stairs. "To the left is the master bedroom, to the right a guest bathroom and two guest rooms. It is not much, but it suits my needs perfectly."

"Do you want me in the guest room?" She arched an eyebrow.

"No, but I swore I would treat my mate with utmost respect. I would court you properly and shower you with gifts until you felt ready to be claimed. I did not want you to feel rushed."

"What if I don't really need any gifts and would prefer you to court me in bed? We can claim each other when it feels right."

He swallowed hard. "I could show you the master bedroom."

"Sounds like a right good idea to me."

He opened the door and paused. Turning to her, he cleared his throat. "Would you allow me to carry you over the threshold? It is a human tradition, but I feel we need to do something to honor the occasion."

She blushed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes, please."

He easily swept her up and held her close to his chest. "Welcome home, Eva Mae Miller."

CHAPTER SIX

Eva felt her mouth go dry when he welcomed her home. She didn't want to ruin the romantic mood she had finally gotten him into by bringing up the fact that she already had a home back in Texas. Once inside the room, he set her down gently.

"It is just a simple bedroom suite, we can order new if you would like."

She took in the dark wood furniture and cream linens. From the outside, she had expected his house to be all metals and chrome, but once inside, it was warm woods and soft creams and whites. She had a feeling that the house very much reflected the man.

"I love it; don't you dare change a thing." She walked over to the bed and hopped up, which was saying something. She usually didn't have to hop for anything. She stretched out, extending her toes and her fingers. She didn't hit a headboard or footboard. She sat up to see him smiling at her.

"Is this custom built?"

He nodded. "I'm six five. Even with a king size bed, I felt like my feet were about to hang over. I had this built and some of the craftsmen in the marketplace made the linens."

"I'm never leaving this bed!" She rolled around never hitting the edge.

He walked forward and gently pulled her boots off. Once her boots were off, she had to come out of her clothes. Forgetting he was even in the room, she yanked off her shirt and jeans. Down to her panties, bra, and tank top she resumed rolling around on the bed. She had never felt anything more decadent in her life.

"You look like a kitten kneading her blanket."

She stopped flexing her fingers and looked over at him. His mouth was twitching with a smile, but his eyes were dark with lust.

"I really do like your bed."

"Yes, I can tell."

She patted the space next to her. "Come lie down with me."

He frowned. "In the middle of the day?"

"It feels even better in the middle of the day. You take some time to relax while the whole world is carrying on outside, and you carve just a bit of time for yourself. Come on."

"This is highly irregular," he said, pulling off his tie. He folded it carefully on a wooden stand in the corner. Next was his shirt, which was carefully arranged on a hanger and hung from the closet door. He paid no less attention to his slacks. She noticed that her vampire mate was nearly hairless. He was just inch after inch of smooth marble-like skin. No matter how simple or mundane the task, like hanging up his shirt, his body moved with an effortless grace. She could watch his body move and flex for the rest of her life and never tire of the sight. When he was down to his boxers and socks, he stepped forward as if to climb on the bed. She held up her hand. "Socks hafta go."

He looked at her feet. "You still have yours on."

She wiggled her foot at him. "Mine are cute with baby horses on them."

He tugged his socks off and placed them on the dresser. He climbed into bed next to her and exhaled. "This does feel wonderful. I never knew lying down in the middle of the afternoon could feel so good."

Wait until I introduce him to nooners.

"So tell me about your job." She turned over on her side and propped her head up on her hand.

He turned to face her and did the same. "I manage the units here in Noctem Falls, reporting only to my prince and my commander. There are six units in the city: Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, and Mu. Our original function was to protect the city, but in more recent decades, we have not had to do much protecting, so we altered our roles a bit."

"How so?"

"We maintain a neutral stance in the city, often acting as arbiters. The Founding and Noble families know that as unit warriors, we do not show preferential treatment, so we can be trusted to be fair. We also help train young vampires to fly and manage their gifts. We rotate shifts patrolling the marketplace to keep the peace. Every once in a while, a fight will break out over a deal gone sour; we help calm things down. Hearing what has been going on in Lycaonia, I almost wish they had called on us for assistance. The men would have been climbing over each other to assist Alpha and the other units."

"Why did they keep things quiet? I'm not afraid to tell you that I'm pissed that we weren't told to be on guard. If we had had the time, we could have fortified our city, but it's hard to fight what you can't see. Did you know the ferals could turn invisible like that?" Eva was beyond pissed that they had been blindsided. She had nearly gotten killed because she wasn't able to fight an enemy she couldn't see.

"No. The only thing we were told was to be on the lookout for any missing person reports for neighboring cities. Aiden assumed that the information they were learning about the ferals in Lycaonia and releasing to the council was being passed on to the units.

"My prince has come forward and said that, at council level, the information was deemed as 'need to know' only. As the units here do not patrol outside, we were categorized as individuals that did not need to know. Even now, the message that Prince Magnus put out in the newsletter is extremely vague. He states there is a new threat to paranormals across the country and, if possible, relocate to or nearby a pillar city as soon as arrangements can be made."

Eva growled. "The people have a right to know," she fumed.

"Eva, sweetheart, where would they go?"

Eva looked at him. "What do you mean? They could come here, like we did." There was a pain in his eyes she didn't understand. "What am I missing?"

"Eva, ever since I met you, I have been thanking the Gods that you were amongst the first wave of refugees. Dearest, Noctem Falls is not big enough to house everyone. At a certain point, we will have to turn people away. That is why the message was so vague, if they alerted the entire paranormal world as to what was going on, there would be a panic and everyone would be rushing to the four pillar cities, even those paranormals that would have never been on the enemy's radar.

"In the end, you would have thousands of people milling around the pillar cities, possibly exposing us to humans, but ultimately creating the perfect circumstances for our people to be killed."

Eva gasped. "It would be like shootin' fish in a barrel."

"Your colloquialisms are like music; they add spice to the conversation."

"Glad you like 'em. So we just have to hope to Fate that the ones that need protection go to a pillar city?"

Adriel closed his eyes and rolled onto his back. "I think I understand my prince's impotent anger now. He knows that we are going to lose people; there simply is not anything that can be done about it."

"He should ask Meryn. I swear that tiny dynamo has an answer for everything. I bet you I already have those maps she promised."

"She is surprisingly organized and efficient. Considering her personality, I was expecting her to be a bit more scatterbrained."

"She's adorable."

"You like her already, do you not?"

"She's just so small and mouthy, how can I not like her?"

Adriel rolled back over to face her. "I heard from your former Alpha that the reason you got hurt was because you were saving a pregnant female from the ferals."

Eva shook her head. "Technically, that's not true. Josie was already out of harm's way. I got hurt pulling a feral off our beta."

"I also heard that you left a few dead in your wake."

Eva felt acid building in her throat. "Is this the part where you tell me to stay out of danger?"

"No."

She blinked. "What?" She had fully been expecting him to give her the 'you are my mate, I need you safe' speech she had heard other females get on more than one occasion.

"Actually, I was hoping I could persuade you to take over for Micah in guarding Meryn. I could really use him back in rotation, especially now with so many refugees needing both medical attention and transport up and down the tunnel."

"You trust me?"

"Of course I do."

"You believe I'm strong enough to keep her safe?" Was she dreaming? She never would have imagined her older, stuck in his ways, vampire mate would buck traditional gender roles and ask her to guard someone.

Adriel chuckled. "Sweetheart, I saw the bodies of the ferals you killed, I know for a fact you are strong. You can partially shift your hands, correct?"

She shrugged. "Maybe."

"I thought we were not wearing masks with each other?" He leaned forward and brushed his nose against hers.

"Fine! I'm a badass. Happy?"

"Very, actually. I will still worry, of course, but it makes me feel better that you can shred a man's chest if he tries to harm you."

"So what are they after, these crazy new ferals?"

"Meryn has informed me that they call these new ferals 'reapers' because they steal shifter's souls. They have been killing pregnant female shifters to harvest the soul of the unborn child to act as a container to house the souls of the shifter parents. This gives the reapers the abilities of the shifters they kill."

Eva felt ill. That's why they had been after Josie. "How do they become invisible? I didn't even smell them approaching."

"They have hunted the chameleon shifters to the point of extinction. They have also discovered that since the necklace contains souls, it completely stops the decay process, hence no smell."

Eva felt ice flood her veins. "They could be anywhere, anyone, and we wouldn't know until it was too late."

"Yes."

Eva rolled on to her back and stared up at the ceiling. The council was right. If this information got out, people would panic, never knowing if the person sitting beside them was one of the ones hunting them down. Last week, her biggest worry was if she'd ordered enough beer. Now, she was scared to death for her fellow shifters. This was like losing her parents all over again. She hated the feeling of being hunted.

"You know we will do everything we can, do you not?"

"You're referring to all the unit warriors, not just the ones that report to you aren't you?"

Adriel snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her body close to his. At first, she thought that she would get too hot; it's why she usually hated spooning. Eventually, her shifter temperature would be too much for her. But his skin was slightly cool to the touch. Absently, she ran her fingers over his arm. "You feel good."

"Not too cold?"

"No, am I too warm?"

"No, it feels amazing."

"So the porridge is just right," she joked.

Behind her, he chuckled. "I think we are a perfect fit in every way."

"Tell me about Gavriel."

Under her fingers, his muscles tensed.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I noticed you looked at everyone in the room except for him; I'm curious as to why."

"Long version or short version?"

"Let's start with short, and I'll ask questions."

"Basically, I think he is lying about who he is. The name Ambrosios died out nearly five thousand years ago, right after the Great War. Then, six hundred years ago, he pops up out of nowhere and joins Alpha and the House is re-established."

Eva thought about what he said. "Wouldn't your prince have verified his claim?"

"He says he has, but I know for a fact he is not being truthful."

"How are you so certain?"

"I have the Book of Life for the royal House of Ambrosios. Prince Magnus did not check the book to ascertain whether Gavriel was telling the truth."

"Why do you have it? Your last name is Aristaios."

"Now, we are getting into the long story. My great-great-great grandmother was human. After her mate was killed, his relatives ostracized her. Instead of keeping his name, Ambrosios, she changed it so that they could not find her. Over the centuries, changing the name has become somewhat of a tradition. The last incarnation was chosen around the time I was born when my parents decided to return to a vampire led city. My mother picked Aristaios to honor my great-great-great grandmother and, in her own way, trick the vampires who lived here."

"Why was it a trick?"

"Because Aristaios is the name of the Greek god that was born of Apollo and a human woman. Someone immortal and someone mortal."

"That's ingenious. Why did you never claim Ambrosios?"

She felt him shrug. "There was no point. After my parents' deaths, I was promoted to unit leader for Eta. I am happy commanding the men. I did not want to associate with the families that had turned mine out into the cold for something beyond their control. I am happy as I am."

"Gavriel doesn't seem like a bad person. Besides claiming the name, has he asked for any family money or used the name to pull rank?"

"That is the confusing thing; he has not. Not once. Every week, I go down and check the family vault for House Ambrosios, and nothing has been taken. If anything, he has eschewed any attempts my prince has tried in giving the man privileges and rank. He simply uses the name."

"Then I wouldn't let it bother you. He may have his own reasons for claiming the name. If it isn't hurting anyone by letting him use it, then I don't think it's worth any hard feelings. Maybe you should try to get to know him better. He may tell you why." For a moment, Eva feared that she had overstepped her bounds. She barely knew her mate. Who was she to tell him how to feel?

"Do you really think so?"

She breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn't mad. "I really do. I've never seen any male so attentive to their mate as that man was to your Bethy. Except for maybe the bear. He seemed like the type to rampage first and ask questions later."

Adriel grunted. "At least he is a good mate to Bethy, I will give him that. He has kept her alive practically all by himself, and that is saying something. I will do as you suggest and try to get to know him better, but I still do not like that he is lying."

"You're a rule follower, aren't you? And how bad is that girl's luck?"

"Rules bring order to chaos and turn animals into gentlemen. Structure helps one know how to act or respond in any given situation and makes things simple. And to answer your second question, I secretly believe that Bethy may have been cursed or something. I have never seen someone so afflicted with not only bad luck, but also bad coordination and balance. It is like watching a drunk stagger around a ballroom, barely missing tables stacked high with champagne glasses only to get to the doorway and trip, break their arm, and then have a bowling ball land on them out of nowhere."

"You're not serious."

"Very. There was a reason why Tarak and Kuruk rotated shifts guarding Bethy. One would need to practically go on a bender to recover from watching her. Not that they ever did, but if there were ever two men on this earth that deserved to, it was them."

"She's pregnant, you know; I could smell that when I met her."

"Which is why both Kuruk and Tarak passed out at the news. I do not know which aspect of her pregnancy scared them most: protecting her while she is carrying or once she has delivered, having two special ones to watch over with the same bad luck."

"Poor things."

"What about you? Do you have family?"

"No."

"Just no? You managed to drag my entire sordid tale from me, can you not trust me with your story too?"

When he leaned forward and kissed the back of her neck, she felt the walls around her heart begin to crack. "I was barely an adult, still a cub really. I remember asking my Papa if I was old enough to visit the human towns. He would laugh and ruffle my hair and tell me I could go when I was older. I think I was about two hundred at the time. We had a happy life living in the forests of what is now eastern Russia. Nature provided us with everything we needed, so we stayed in tiger form most of the time. One day, I was coming home from a hunt and had a bad feeling. When I arrived at our den, there were pools of blood. Both of my parents had been skinned and their bodies left behind like trash. I got so angry that I blacked out. When I woke up, I was lying in the middle of a human home. I had killed the men that had my parent's hides drying in the back." Eva felt the old nausea rise as it did every time she remembered what she had done. Her mate rubbed soft circles on her back. He didn't say anything, allowing her to choose to continue or not.

"I shifted back to human and walked to the back. I wasn't used to human hands, so my fingers were having troubles with the knots. That's when I heard the sound of a hammer being drawn. I turned and a small boy, no more than five or six, was pointing a gun at me. I just stood there. I knew no matter what had happened to my parents, I could never harm a child. So I waited. He looked at my parent's hides behind me and then at me. He asked if I was the one that killed his father. I told him yes. He asked if I was a tiger and I told him I was. That's when it dawned on him what was hanging behind me. He asked me if they were my friends. I told him that they had been my mother and father. He looked so shocked, so confused. He put the gun down and ran back into the house. I didn't know what to do.

"He came back out carrying a knife; he walked past me and tried to cut the ropes that had drawn my parent's hides taut. I asked him why he was helping. He turned, and I saw he was crying. He said his father had killed my mother and father, but I had only killed his father. He told me even in my snarling rage, I had spared him, his mother, and his two baby sisters. I took the knife and cut down my parents' skins. He asked me how he could tell a regular tiger from a human tiger so he wouldn't kill someone's mother or father by mistake. I told him not to kill anything he didn't have to. If he killed a tiger that was attacking him, he was within his right to kill it in return, but killing just to kill was wrong.

"I took my parents home, wrapped their skinned bodies in the hides, and buried them both by the river they loved. After that, I couldn't stand living in the forest alone, so I made my way to the human's city. I stole some clothes from a clothesline and a purse off a man who was trying to rape a woman. I slowly learned how to be human, saved my money, and headed west. I didn't stop until I reached Texas."

Eva didn't even realize she had started crying until Adriel turned her to face him, and he began to kiss her tears away. It was the first time she had ever told anyone what had happened to her parents, and she was glad that the first person she told was her mate.

"Gods, my love, I wish I had been there with you. It hurts my heart knowing you were out there alone, dealing with such grief at a young age when I existed in this world. I would give anything to take this pain from you."

She sniffled as a smile began to form in her heart. She looked up and, for the first time in centuries, she truly didn't feel alone. "I know of a way you can make me feel better."

"Maybe that is not such a good idea; you have relived a trauma. It would be wrong of me to press advantage while you are in a delicate state."

Eva saw the sincerity in his eyes and realized that at that exact moment, she had fallen head over heels in love with him. She rose to her knees then straddled him. "You are my mate, and your mate needs you very much. Will you deny her?"

Already, his body was responding. At the junction of her thighs, he was starting to harden, and his eyes had shifted to a ruby red. "I could deny you nothing in this life. If you asked for my still beating heart, I would rip it happily from my chest. Anything in life you desire, I will give to you, for I will never be able to repay the gift of you."

"You can keep your heart darlin'; you're gonna need it. I'm asking for another part of your body." She reached down and began to stroke him over his boxers. He threw his head back, hissing.

"The things you do to me, woman."

"Buckle up, cowboy, this ride is about to get rough."

He sat up, flexing every single one of his ab muscles. He held himself at the perfect angle to kiss her gently. "As you desire."

"Yes, please." She ground her body over his.

"If you wish to keep those clothes in one piece, I suggest you remove them," he whispered lowly. "But know this, the fact that you have no replacements is the only reason they are still intact. I truly do not think I could help but murder any man who saw you without underthings, and that sort of behavior is frowned upon by the ruling classes."

Eva laughed and jumped off her mate. She shimmied out of her clothes, throwing them haphazardly around the room before pouncing on him again. He had matched her speed, and when she returned to the bed, he was as naked as she was. When their bare skin made contact, they both groaned; it felt like heaven being this close to him. He rolled them until he was kneeling between her legs.

"It has been a long time since I have been with anyone." He stared down at her body.

She raised an eyebrow, and he smirked. "Not like that. Sex sometimes is just sex. What I am referring to is intimacy."

"It's never easy to let someone get close. That's why the mating heat is so important. Over the years, I've heard different descriptions of what mating heat was like, but what I feel for you pales in comparison." She threaded her fingers behind her head.

He leaned down and started placing small kisses on the inside of her thighs. "I think I know what you mean. If it were just attraction, then sex would be the answer, but it isn't. I have shared things with you in the short time I have known you that I have never told another living soul." Every small touch sent electric jolts to her clit, building her passion, higher and higher.

She nodded. "Me too. It's like Fate has crammed decades of being the best of friends into moments. The level of comfort means more to me than sex."

She nearly groaned in frustration when he worked his way past her mound and started making his way up her belly. Though she was enjoying the feel of his lips, so soft and gentle on her body, her core was begging for relief. His nose nuzzled between her breasts, and he inhaled as if memorizing her scent.

She wrapped her legs around his body as he nibbled at her collarbone. It wasn't until he ran a tongue up her neck to tease her ear that she realized he hadn't touched her intimately, and yet she was so primed, it was as if he'd spent hours between her legs. She never before had a man take his time with her. The way he touched her, it was as if he was worshiping her body.

"Could you..." She paused. She didn't want to sound needy.

He pulled back and looked her in the eye. "Never hesitate in asking for something from me. Or, for that matter telling me if I do something you do not like. It may take me a century or two, but I do plan on memorizing every inch of your body."

"Would you kiss me?" she blurted out.

His eyes widened. "Gods forgive me. Here I am enjoying your body after I said I would take my time and do things right, and you have to ask for a kiss. I am a cad for indulging in my own desires."

Eva traced her fingers across his brow and down his jaw. "I want to know how you taste."

"Then by all means, feast." He lowered his head and took complete possession of her lips. This was what had been missing! She drew his tongue into her mouth as her hips bucked against his body. He dueled with her tongue, drawing out her pleasure. When her tongue nicked his lowered fang, she felt his deep growl along her chest.

He pulled back, panting hard. "Will you allow me to give us both what we need? Will you tie your breath, your heart, mind, and soul to mine? Will you place yourself into my keeping for all eternity?"

"Yes! Gods anything! Please!" Eva was so strung out from his barrage of teasing, she would have agreed to anything.

"Thank you," he whispered before he buried his fangs deep into her neck. For a split second, she had to fight her tiger to prevent her from flinging him off of her, but then the pleasure came. Wave after wave of pleasure. Tingling explosions erupted from her core, ripping scream after scream from her throat.

Just when she thought she could take no more, he plunged his body deep into hers. This! This is what she'd been craving from the second she had scented him. She tightened her legs around him and lifted her hips to meet him thrust for thrust.

As he fed and the pleasure began to build again, she felt a warmth begin to spread at the center of her chest. The very essence of who she was began to lift toward her mate. When her soul merged with his completely, she knew she would never be alone again. Their intertwined souls flared and started to pull apart and, for a brief moment, she felt panicked; she didn't want to leave the haven his body and soul provided. But as her own soul tucked back into her chest, she felt a piece of him pulsating happily along with it.

The pounding of his body into hers, the feeling of his fangs deep in her neck, and the warmth of his soul next to hers proved to be too much. This time when she screamed, he pulled back and roared his release along with her.

She felt her eyelids begin to flutter as she tried to stay awake. His rapid puffs of breath on her shoulder assured her that he was just as wiped as she was. Gently, he withdrew from her body and lay beside her.

For a couple minutes, neither of them said a word, but they didn't have to. Their fingers twisted around each other's as they held hands. This was no awkward silence; it was a moment of reverence for the beauty they had shared.

When her breathing had returned to normal, she turned to face him.

"That was one hell of a first kiss, Professor."

When he turned to her, he looked like a debauched god of sin. "I aim to please." He paused. "Professor?"

"It's the clipboard." Smiling, she closed her eyes and let sleep take her away.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Eva laughed as she batted his wandering hands away. After their nap, her mate had been appalled to discover that they had slept for over seven hours. It was now nearly time for dinner, and he had yet to check in with his men.

But, despite it all, he couldn't keep his hands to himself. "I thought you said we needed to head to the mess hall to check in with your warriors?" she demanded as she pulled on her tank top.

"I do." He nipped her shoulder then moved across the room to pull on his immaculate looking clothes. To go to dinner, he simply swapped out his short uniform jacket for a longer, dressier version.

Eva looked down at her boots, jeans, and button down shirt. "I'll look ridiculous if every one else is dressed up."

He shook his head at her concern. "Not to worry. Meryn wore a zombie Care Bear shirt last night. Compared to that, I think you look perfect."

"You just like my jeans."

"Gods above yes!"

Once dressed, he picked up his ever-present clipboard, and they walked hand and hand downstairs and back out to the main road that divided the Unit Level in half. Unlike before, the mess hall was now lit up, and men's laughter could be heard from outside.

"Sounds like everyone made it back okay."

"Let us head inside so I can introduce you." They walked up, and he held the door open for her. She stepped inside and nearly laughed out loud. It looked like the men had taken the large room adjacent to the dining hall and turned it into their huge man cave. Arcade machines lined one wall; there were a couple Ping-Pong tables, dartboards, and five large screen televisions set up with different game consoles. She could easily see men carrying their food from the dining hall and plopping down in any of the worn leather sofas or gaming chairs.

"At attention!" Adriel barked.

All noise stopped as they realized their unit leader was in the room. Chaos ensued as games were paused and the men tripped over themselves to stand before them.

Adriel winced at their display. She laughed.

"Men, I would like you to meet my mate, Eva Mae Miller. She was one of the refugees you rescued today, and for that, you have my eternal gratitude." Adriel bowed, and from the shocked expressions of the men, they had no idea what to do.

"I can't tell you how happy I am that we saved your mate. A thousand blessings on your mating," Micah said, walking up to kiss Eva on both cheeks.

Adriel stood and scowled at the witch. Micah leaned in and whispered. "See, he does like me."

"You're going to get your fool ass killed one of these days, Micah," Declan warned, pulling him away from her.

Declan took her hand and kissed it. "Welcome to Noctem Falls. If you need help, let any of us know." He jerked his head backward, indicating to the men behind him.

"At ease. I just wanted you all to know how grateful I was," Adriel said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I'd be grateful too, if I had a mate like her," one of the men teased.

"We are about to head down to Level One; can I get a quick update from the unit leaders?" Adriel asked.

Two men stepped forward. "Evening..." They nodded to Eva. "My name is Dimitri Romanov, and this is Godard Kipling; we lead the Theta and Kappa Units." Dimitri turned to Adriel and continued. "Godard and I met with the townspeople. Thanks to Eva and their betas, no one was taken. Everyone who needed medical attention received it and are recuperating in the Grand Hall."

Dimitri was dark haired and dark eyed. Godard was his opposite with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. One was like the night sky, the other like a sunny afternoon.

The three other leaders pushed through the gawking men. "My name is Beau Westerly," he pointed to the man on his right. "This is Viktor BelleRose, and this is Warrick DuBois. Both Viktor and Warrick were raised here in Noctem Falls, so if you have any questions, they can help." Beau clapped both men on the back, causing them to wince. "Sir, before returning to our level, we took turns patrolling the other levels to keep an eye on the vampires affected by the blood. Everyone has calmed down and, for now, are keeping to themselves."

Beau lived up to his name, reminding Eva of the wholesome 'boy next door' stereotype. Unlike the other vampires she had met, his light brown hair was cut short and he was clean- shaven. He had light blue eyes and a friendly smile.

Viktor had her staring. She knew she was being rude, and she knew her mate was standing right beside her, but she couldn't help it; he was beautiful. His hair was the closest thing to silver she had ever seen in hair. It wasn't quite gray, more like a gray and white mix. She half expected it to shine metallic in the light. But what was more unique than his hair were his eyes. They were a true deep purple. He smiled warmly and she blushed. "It runs in the family. Anyone born in the BelleRose clan has silver hair and amethyst colored eyes."

"You're very beautiful. I've never seen that combination before," Eva said. Beside her, Adriel cleared his throat. She placed her hand over his at her waist. "Of course, I prefer dark haired men with unhealthy obsessions with clipboards." She winked at Viktor who cracked up.

Eva looked up at her mate to find that he was staring down at her affectionately. She blew him kisses, and he winked at her.

"I do not think I am pretty enough for her," a deep voice rumbled.

She looked at Warrick and shook her head. "No, but you're one big boy. I'd love to know what you eat. What are you three fifty?"

He chuckled. "Three sixty," he admitted. "BelleRose family gets sparkly hair and purple eyes, and every other generation or so in the DuBois family, we grow as big as the fae. I think we got the better deal."

Until Eva saw Gavriel, she hadn't known vampires came that big. "I wonder if that's why Gavriel is so massive."

The men quieted. Eva looked around. "Okay, what did I say?"

"Gavriel used to be my size, sweetheart. Last year, he went through one of his major transitions. The result is what you see. He gained four inches in height and nearly sixty pounds in muscle. I heard he has to train with Aiden and the fae now."

"Sweetheart?" Declan choked on the word.

Adriel frowned at his second in command. "Is there a reason why I should not use terms of endearment with my mate? I thought it to be a standard process."

"Now that sounds more like you." Etain nodded.

"You should hear him in bed." Eva sighed happily.

Adriel kissed her temple. "Only for you."

"This is just weird," Beau said, eyes wide.

Adriel's mask of indifference fell into place. "Is it so hard to believe that I could be caring?"

You could hear a pin drop. She moved out from under Adriel's arm and stepped forward. She noticed with satisfaction some of the men took a step back. "Now y'all listen up. I don't talk proper or fancy like my wonderful mate does, so I'm gonna tell ya plain. No one, and I do mean no one, gets to hurt my mate or belittle him in anyway. I don't care if you're a unit leader or the prince himself." She focused and let her hands shift. Now, the entire front row of men, including the unit leaders, did take a step back. "I will gut you before I allow you to hurt him, hear?"

"Gods, isn't she the sexiest thing you've ever seen?" A male voice said from the back.

Eva rolled her eyes. "Get up here, Micah." Micah had stepped back when the unit leaders came forward to report.

Micah pushed his way back to the front. "Yes, my gorgeous little kitten?"

Eva turned to Adriel. "You know he's playin' right?" She froze; her mate was half turned away from them, his hand over his face.

"Adriel?"

When he turned back, he had tears streaming down his face, and he was gasping for breath. "Adriel!" She went to his side, and he leaned against her. Seconds later, a deep, rich belly laugh escaped, and Adriel was gasping for breath again. Her mate was laughing so hard; she literally had to hold him up.

"He's laughing," someone whispered.

"Looks damn good on him," another commented.

When she looked around the room, the men were smiling wide.

"What'd we miss?" a light male voice asked. Seconds later two young, orange haired men skidded to a stop in front of the group.

"Who made him laugh?"

"Yeah, who?"

Eva blinked. "There are two of you."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Adriel wiped at his eyes. "I think Declan pissed himself."

His remark had the men joining him in laughter.

Declan sputtered indignantly. "I did not!"

"We should check," one orange haired twin suggested.

"Yeah," the other responded. And together, they de-pantsed Declan right there in front of everyone. "Nope, no piss here."

"Nope."

"Dimitri! Godard! Get these brats under control!" Declan roared, fumbling for his pants.

Adriel leaned over her body in an effort to stay upright. He wrapped his arms around his stomach. "Oh Gods! Did you see his face?"

By now everyone in the room was crying they were laughing so hard, Eva included.

Declan reached out, but the twins evaded his grasp and ducked behind their respective unit leaders.

Grant leaned in. "Thank you. Thank you, for helping him remember how to laugh."

Eva felt her heart swell. She couldn't imagine how long her stoic mate had tried to be strong alone. But having taken the mask off with her, he seemed to be having a hard time keeping it on.

When his breathing slowed, he smiled at her and wiped his eyes.

"The two mischievous devils are Nigel and Neil Morninglory, recent transfers from Storm Keep." Adriel pointed to where the two were peeking out from behind Dimitri and Godard. The two unit leaders both wore exasperated expressions.

"Nice to meet you," she said waving at them.

"Nice to meet you too," the one behind Dimitri called out.

"Which one are you?"

"I'm Nigel."

Eva turned to Godard. "That means you're Neil. Thank you for such a warm welcome."

Neil grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"Warm welcome, my ass! I'm going to shove those two monsters into the refuse tube!" Declan threatened.

Adriel looked over at Micah. "I'm reassigning you to patrol the levels. Eva will take over guard duty for Meryn."

Micah's face fell and assumed a wounded expression. "To be parted from my delicate flower pains my heart."

Adriel ignored him. "On that note, we better be going. Are you ready Declan? Your shirt is untucked; you know we have an image to maintain here in the city," Adriel said in a perfectly serious tone.

Declan eyed her mate, and then slowly began to smile. "Was that a joke? Was that you cracking a joke?"

"The world may never know." Adriel turned and offered her his arm. "My lady."

She rested her hand on his forearm and let him escort her to the door.

"I can't wait to see what dinner is like," Eva murmured.

"It was a joke. I'm sure it was a joke," Declan told Etain as he tucked in his shirt.

Adriel inclined his head. "After you."

*****

Adriel noticed a few new faces at dinner. Demetrio, Stefan, and Adora Bolivar had been added to the guest list. Sebastian glided from person to person, filling glasses and smiling; he was totally in his element. Everyone was standing around talking in the antechamber while waiting for dinner to be ready.

Eva was pulled from his side and into the arms of a handsome wolf shifter. Adriel had to remember at the last moment that killing this pup at dinner would be something of a political faux pas.

"Stefan, let Eva go. Her mate looks like he's two seconds away from strangling you, and I don't blame him one bit," the older wolf said to his son.

"That can't be her mate; he's a vampire. I bet her mate is the wolf they came in with," Stefan said, pointing to Grant who shook his head.

Stefan frowned. "The lion then." Declan also shook his head.

Adriel pulled Eva to his side. "She is my mate. I am Adriel Aristaios, the unit leader here in Noctem Falls. I believe we met earlier to discuss your people's settlement."

Stefan growled low. "That was before I knew you had mated to my Eva."

Adriel felt his fangs extend. "Your Eva?"

Eva stepped between the two of them. "Stefan, you better be nice to my mate, or I won't be in your fantasy football league anymore."

Stefan snapped his mouth shut. "You don't know what they're capable of."

Gavriel left his conversation with Aiden to stand beside him. "They, who, exactly?"

Adriel was surprised at the show of support.

Stefan snarled. "They murdered my cousin!"

Demetrio sighed. "It is true that Angel was killed by vampires, but son, that was nearly four hundred years before you were born."

Stefan's eyes never left his. "I heard the stories from my uncles; they kill shifters. I bet the problem with the ferals is their doing."

Adora slapped her mate's arm. "Those would be your brothers he's referring to."

Magnus walked over to stand between the two of them. "Son, it is true that seven hundred years ago many shifters were killed by vampires." Magnus lay a supporting hand on Adriel's shoulder and squeezed. "But it is also true that shifters hunted down and killed innocent vampires as well, including Adriel's parents."

Adriel heard a soft gasp, and then Eva was suddenly at his side. Gavriel took a step back to allow his mate to stand next to him in a show of support.

Some of the fire seemed to drain out of Stefan. "I'm sorry about your parents." Stefan's eyes filled with sympathy.

Adriel did not know what to make of the young wolf. One second he was snarling and barring his canines, the next he was sincerely sorry for his loss.

Eva laid her head on his shoulder. "Stefan is very young for an Alpha. He is sometimes rash and impetuous, but he is never insincere, fake, or a liar. Our people love him for those reasons."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "I'm not that young."

Gavriel and his prince chuckled. Adriel could not help but smile. "Pup, I am probably older than your parents, and Prince Magnus is at least three times older than I am."

Stefan frowned. "I can't be the youngest one here."

Bethy walked over to stand by her mate. "You're older than I am."

"Me too!" Adriel heard a voice call out.

Meryn's head popped up next to Bethy.

Stefan smiled; he started to speak then stopped. He sniffed the air and walked over to Meryn, frowning. He sniffed her hair then her neck.

"He's doing a sniffing thing! I've already been through this; it's how I got stuck with Aiden!" Meryn yelled.

Aiden stalked forward, his eyes jet-black. "Why are you sniffing my mate?"

Stefan looked up at Aiden. "She smells familiar." He leaned in again, sniffing around her ear."

"He's doing it again." Meryn waved her hand in front of Stefan's face. "Shoo. Shoo."

Stefan looked at his parents, perplexed. "I never forget a scent. I know hers from somewhere." His head snapped back to Meryn. "Mate? How can you be mated? You're just a baby!"

Beside him, Eva snickered and leaned in to whisper. "I thought the same thing when I saw her."

"I'm fully grown! Really people! I'm not that short! Y'all are just huge." She stomped her foot.

Stefan looked down. "You're pregnant." He glared at Aiden. "Dirty old man."

Aiden's eyes bulged. "What?" he demanded in a strangled voice.

Meryn started giggling. "Dirty old man! Wait until I tell Colton!"

Demetrio turned to them, his face red. "Now that my son has managed to put both feet in his mouth and offend everyone here, we'll take our leave."

The prince waved off his concerns. "No worries. Being around these young people has made me realize how dull and dry my day-to-day life had become. We need more Stefans and Meryns in this world."

Both Stefan and Meryn turned to the prince, grinning. "Thanks!" they said together.

Aiden clapped the young wolf on the shoulder. "Let me tell you about how humans age. I am not a dirty old man."

"Forget that, I want to hear about what happened seven hundred years ago," Meryn interjected.

Bethy sighed. "Meryn! Social cues remember. This isn't a topic for discussion at dinner."

"Why?"

Bethy looked around the room as if asking for help answering the question.

The prince raised an eyebrow at his niece. "Well Bethy, aren't you going to answer her?"

Gavriel took pity on his mate and answered for her. "Meryn, I know that you have been obsessed with paranormal history, but it is a bit different when the events being discussed personally affect the people in the room."

"Yeah, but if Stefan is right, a lot of shifters were killed, and according to Magnus, vampires were hunted down. Why isn't any of that in the history books?" Meryn asked, crossing her arms.

Bethy frowned. "It is, isn't it?"

Meryn shook her head. "Nope. I read up on Noctem Falls, and it didn't mention any of this."

Bethy pulled out her phone. Seconds later, she handed it to Meryn. "There."

Meryn used her finger to scroll and read. "In the summer of 1315, a skirmish broke out between the vampires of Noctem Falls and a local wolf pack. Reason unknown." She turned to Stefan. "How many shifters were killed?"

Stefan turned to his father for the answer. Demetrio rubbed the back of his neck. "The entire western pack was decimated. We buried three hundred and twenty nine pack members. The remaining wolves had to join our pack; there weren't enough members left to sustain themselves."

Meryn pivoted and stared at Magnus. "Well?"

"Two hundred and four," the prince answered, frowning.

Meryn handed Bethy back her phone. "Skirmish, my fucking ass. More like pitched battles, why isn't this in the history books?"

Magnus looked a bit shocked. "I had no idea it was not there. Demetrio?"

The older wolf looked just as surprised. "This is news to me as well."

"Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is ready." Sebastian's booming voice had more than one person jumping. The unsettling news about past events had everyone preoccupied.

Magnus walked over to Meryn and offered her his arm. "Aiden, if you would allow me to escort your beguiling mate to dinner?"

Aiden smiled and bowed to Magnus, extending him the honor. Slowly, everyone made their way to the dining room.

*****

Once everyone was seated, Sebastian and Ryuu walked around and served dinner. Eva was nervous about her jeans until she saw Meryn in the same Ghostbusters tee shirt she had on earlier.

"No, thank you, Sebastian, I'm not really feeling like beef stroganoff tonight." Meryn held her hands over her plate to avoid being served.

"Denka, are you unwell?" Ryuu asked.

"I'm not feeling nauseous if that's what you mean; it's just that nothing looks good to me right now. All I really want is some more of Sebastian's magic pudding."

"Meryn, you can't live off pudding," Aiden said, a worried expression on his face.

"I can't help it."

"I will go get her some right away. I have heard more than one woman say that when they carried, if they denied their cravings, nothing else tasted right." Sebastian passed the large serving bowl to Ryuu.

Adora nodded. "It's true. When I carried Stefan, I went an entire month living off venison stew. It was years before I was able to eat it again."

"Thank you, Sebastian," Meryn said, looking relieved. Sebastian headed toward the kitchen as Ryuu began to serve everyone's dinner.

Magnus turned to Demetrio. "How are people settling in?"

The older wolf gave a terse smile. "I think it would be easier on everyone if we knew an exact date of when we could head home. We were still getting arguments against coming here last night at the city's estate. The attack this morning has really spooked a lot of people. I think in the back of everyone's minds, we didn't really believe we'd be attacked."

Adriel looked down the table to Magnus. "Sire, we need to think about where these people will go. We have already received more than was projected, and your announcement was only sent out yesterday. We simply do not have any plans in place to house this many people."

Beth turned to her uncle. "He's right. Just organizing trips to the bathroom became a logistical nightmare this morning. More tunnel escorts are desperately needed along with semi-permanent living quarters. They can't stay in the Grand Hall forever."

"I do not think any of us were prepared for this many people, this soon," Magnus admitted.

Sebastian returned with a large bowl of pudding for Meryn. She picked up her spoon and dug in.

Eva liked the pudding, but she was a shifter; she needed more than sugar and milk to keep her satisfied, and Sebastian's beef stroganoff was the best she had ever had.

Gavriel twirled the noodles on his fork. "For the time being, we could set up temporary housing in the Grand Hall. We could send someone to the city for tents and more cots."

Eva thought back to the Unit Level. The small houses looked like they had been carved directly out of the stone walls. "Do we have anyone who can create houses similar to the ones on the unit level?" she asked.

Etain nodded. "I bet the twins could do it, if shown how. What they lack in knowledge, they more than make up for with power."

Eva was intrigued. She had just met the twins; they wouldn't have been her first choice. "How are they more powerful than older witches?"

Etain shrugged. "I'm no expert, but I think because they are twins, their abilities are magnified between them if they cast a spell together."

Magnus slowly began to smile. "Eva, I think that is the best suggestion we have had on the subject." He turned to Adriel. "Do you think they are up for it? We can have Micah or Emlyn Blackwood show them how it is done."

"I believe they are capable, and it would keep them out of trouble," Adriel said, a faint smile on his lips.

"Thank the Gods!" Declan breathed.

"Who are the twins?" Meryn asked.

Eva couldn't help but smile. "You're going to love them, Meryn. I just met them before coming here. They are young, but full of energy, and they love pranks."

Meryn gave a sad smile. "Reminds me of Keelan."

"Now that we know what we want to do, my next question is where?" Beth asked, changing the subject.

"We can't create the houses in the Grand Hall; we'd be effectively creating a choke point for future incoming refugees," Meryn pointed out.

"What if they were done in the back of the hall?" Beth suggested.

Meryn shook her head. "At a certain point, we'd be right back to the original problem of too many people near the entrance." She turned and looked at Magnus. "According to the maps I scanned, the Founding Families have kept most of their people situated close to the transport tunnel. What if we went deeper into the earth? We could probably get the Founding Families to agree if we point out that we're expanding their level for future growth, and it won't cost them anything. People love free shit."

"I know my people would feel better if they could have some sense of normalcy. Having a place to return to that gives them privacy to relax would help enormously," Stefan added.

"Well said, Stefan. I wish the youngsters here acted with half your sense of responsibility. I have vampires twice your age who are not as mature." Stefan smiled at the praise.

Magnus looked down the table. "Meryn, you are a genius. That is exactly what we will do. Extra housing never hurt any city." He gave Beth a sly look. "Maybe the two of you should stay in Noctem Falls. I think I have gotten more accomplished in the couple days with you two here than I have in the past six months on my own."

"No thank you, Uncle. As soon as we're done here, we're heading back to Lycaonia. I've finally gotten my closet set up the way I like it," Beth replied.

Magnus pouted. "None of my secretaries compare to you."

Beth patted his arm. "You mean they don't spoil you the way I do."

"Exactly! I actually have to ask for my coffee."

"I'm sure you'll find one eventually that will last longer than a year." Beth looked down the table at Meryn. "Meryn, did you get a response back from Amelia?"

Meryn looked up, both cheeks were pouched full of pudding. She held up a finger and finished her bite. "Yup. Queen Aleksandra gave the okay. She was very impressed with my improvised method of getting Wi-Fi throughout the city. She will be implementing something like it on a larger scale for Éire Danu."

Etain rubbed his hands together. "Excellent. I can't wait to get started."

Meryn scraped her bowl with her spoon. "Magnus has already given me a large workroom here on Level One. Sebastian said that all the equipment arrived this afternoon, so as soon as you get the portals in place, I'll set up the communications hub, and we'll have city-wide Wi-Fi by tomorrow afternoon."

Meryn continued to scrap her bowl, clanking her spoon against the porcelain. Magnus frowned. "Sebastian, give that child more pudding; it is obvious she is still hungry."

Before coming to Noctem Falls, Eva had heard rumors about Magnus Rioux. He was known to be fair but demanding. Everyone knew he doted on his niece, but she didn't think many knew that he had a soft spot for young people.

"I have to know, Meryn, how did you manage to get Wi-Fi here in the city in less than two days, when city engineers have been trying different methods for years with no results," Magnus asked, looking impressed.

"It was easy, but probably because I'm used to asking questions when I want to know something. When we went through the portal coming here, I stuck my hand through and pulled it back before coming through completely. That means that once the portal is open, matter can pass through it in either direction."

"I asked Etain and the queen, via my big sister-cousin, a few questions and found out that portals can be created to remain open. It's not a current practice because it would present a security issue. But what I need the portals open for wouldn't create any gaps in security. Tomorrow, Etain will pop around the city placing dime sized fixed portals all over the place, all of them feeding back into the communications hub I'll set up using the equipment Sebastian got for me. Then he will place undetectable portals on the two closest cell towers in the region. The portals would simply act like tiny windows, allowing the Wi-Fi and cell signals to pass through to the communication hub and from there all throughout the city. I just had to get permission from the queen to open that many portals. What's even better is that knowing how these tiny portals work, I can network on a much larger scale. Muwahaha!"

Eva joined in the round of applause Meryn received at the end of her explanation. "Meryn, that's amazing work."

Meryn, looking embarrassed at the praise, concentrated on her pudding. "Thanks. I just hate being without the internet. I have to be able to look stuff up and access my files any time I want to."

Magnus held up a hand. "You are telling me, as of tomorrow afternoon, the entire city will have Wi-Fi?"

Meryn looked up. "Yeah. I mean you already had the service run to the city or we wouldn't have the Ethernet wires; that was the hard part. I'm just setting up a wireless network using some high-tech routers. I'll post the network name and general Wi-Fi password on all the levels so people can start using it. There's actually very little set up to be done once the portals are in place."

"Meryn, I feel like I should reward you somehow. Is there anything you would like for solving one of my longest standing complaints?" Magnus offered.

"Do you have one of those vaults Gavriel told me about? Do you have gold coins piled up like in DuckTales?" Meryn asked looking excited.

Magnus frowned, looking confused. "I do not know what DuckTales are, but yes, we do have a Rioux vault. As long as it is not a family heirloom, you are welcome to take something for your reward."

"Awesome! I get to go treasure hunting. I can't wait."

Eva thought Meryn looked like a kid the night before Christmas; she was practically bouncing in her chair.

Beth turned to Gavriel. "Did you want to check on the Ambrosios vault while we're here?"

Beside her, Eva felt Adriel stiffen.

Gavriel shook his head. "There is only one thing I would be interested in retrieving, and the last time I checked, it was not there. I have very little use for treasure; I have everything I need by my side." He raised her hand and kissed it gently.

A faint buzzing had everyone checking their phones.

Aiden held his up and shook it. "It's mine." He glanced down and handed it to Meryn. "I can't deal with him anymore, have fun."

Meryn's face lit up. "Is it Sascha again?"

Aiden grunted and took a huge bite of noodles.

Meryn's fingers tapped away on the phone. Giggling, she set the phone down and looked around the table. "Ever since Aiden put Colton in charge, Gamma's unit leader, Sascha Baberiov, has been texting Aiden non-stop."

Gavriel chuckled. "What did this last one threaten?"

"He said he was going to tie Colton to the bell towers and use him for knife throwing practice."

"What did you advise?" Gavriel asked Meryn.

"To make sure Rheia was on stand-by with bandages."

Aiden groaned. "I won't have any units in Lycaonia when we get back."

Aiden's phone buzzed, Meryn picked it up and began laughing so hard that Aiden plucked the phone from her hand. He looked down, started cussing, and stood. He was already dialing when he walked from the room.

Beth's eyes were huge. "Meryn, what happened?"

"Rheia texted a picture of Colton running after Sascha; he had three small knives sticking out of him."

"Oh dear," Beth murmured.

Gavriel turned his head away as his chest shook with laughter. At that moment, he reminded Eva so much of Adriel it was eerie. She would get to the bottom of this Ambrosios name mystery if it was the last thing she did.

"I would wait for Aiden, but he already knows." Magnus picked up his wine glass. "Adriel, you and your mate have been invited to dinner tomorrow night with the heads of the Géroux and BelleRose families. I cannot invite the entire Eta Unit, but I did want some familiar faces there to make it easier on Meryn."

Adriel inclined his head. "Of course, we will be there."

Eva felt a moment of panic. She was looking around the table when Beth caught her eye and nodded. "I'll help you get ready. We're about the same size, even if you're a little taller. My full length dresses will look perfect on you."

"Thank the Gods!" Eva said leaning back. "We weren't able to bring much, and what we were able to pack is somewhere between here and Albuquerque. But I can tell you this much, I know I didn't pack anything formal."

"Why would you dear? This was only supposed to be temporary, remember?" Adora reminded her.

Just when she thought her mind would explode with all the plans she needed to make to transition here, she felt a light kiss on her cheek. Adriel's calm gaze helped her to catch her breath. He smiled. "One day at a time. Nothing can be solved overnight."

Stefan laughed. "Except Noctem Falls' Wi-Fi problem evidently."

Adriel gave Stefan a flat look and turned to Demetrio. "Did you need this one? Do you have another offspring to carry your name?"

Demetrio chuckled. "We have another son. He ended up leaving his unit and working with the Vanguard."

Meryn snapped her fingers. "That's why their name sounds familiar. I just added his name to the database. Cristo Bolivar, right?"

Adora nodded. "Yes, that's our eldest."

"Come find me tomorrow and I'll get you ready," Beth promised.

Eva gave a pointed look to Meryn. "Doesn't she need your help more?"

Beth gave an undignified snort. "No. She has the Gown of Éire Danu; the little monster can be ready at the drop of a hat."

Meryn crossed her arms and sat back. "I don't know why I have to go. I'm just going to pretend to be mute."

Demetrio leaned in close to his mate. "And you wanted girls," he teased.

"Oh you!" she laughed.

"Meryn, I met Viktor BelleRose tonight. He's the unit leader for Iota, and if all the BelleRose men look like him, you'll want to go, trust me." Eva winked.

Meryn sat forward. "Really?"

"Maybe you should stay here," Aiden grumbled, walking back into the room and sitting down.

"No way! What did he look like?" Meryn asked.

"Long, silver hair and amethyst eyes, the most gorgeous smile, and impeccable manners," Eva described.

"All the BelleRose men are stunning," Beth said, ignoring her mate's growls.

"Totally going, but I may still pretend to be mute." Meryn rubbed Aiden's arm. "Is everyone still in one piece?"

Aiden sighed. "For now. I had to make Colton promise not to get retribution."

"Do you really think he won't?" Meryn asked, looking skeptical.

"No. I know he will, but I did tell him if the men weren't alive and in working condition when I got back, I was making Kendrick our son's athair."

Meryn winced. "Ouch. How'd he take it?"

"He promised they'd all be able to do patrols and then hung up."

"How much do you want to bet he is planning on doing something to Sascha that does not impair his ability to walk?" Gavriel asked.

Aiden rubbed his chin as a slow smile began to form. "I'd take that bet."

Meryn clapped her hands together. "So. Tomorrow we set up Wi-Fi, get Eva to Beth for girl stuff, and then go meet the hot vampires?"

Beth pulled out her planner. "I'll be in meetings with Uncle tomorrow morning." She looked up at Stefan and Demetrio. "I'd like for at least one of you to sit in on the early afternoon meeting I'll be setting up to go over housing requirements."

Demetrio nodded. "I can do the meetings, which will leave Stefan free to stay with the pack. They'll be more settled if the Alpha is with them."

Beth chewed on her lower lip. "How is Micah going to show the twins how to create the stone houses if he's guarding Meryn?"

Micah sighed dramatically. "Alas, duty pulls me away from my true loves. The lovely warrior goddess will be guarding my delicate flower in my stead. Such bittersweet goodbyes."

Declan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Adriel, do we really need him?"

Grant patted his shoulder. "Now, now. He's useful every once in a while."

Micah sniffled. "I'm unappreciated in my time."

Declan looked at Adriel, a pained expression on his face. "Do we really want Romeo here influencing the twin demons?"

Her mate chuckled. "I think they will be just fine. Unless you are volunteering to go with them?"

"No, sir," Declan answered quickly.

Meryn smiled. "I can't wait to meet them."

"Gods help us all," Declan, Grant, and Etain said in unison.

Eva threaded her fingers behind her head and tilted her chair back.

Buckle up, cowboys.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Later that night, as they were getting ready for bed, Eva kept waiting for awkwardness to set in. In truth, she had known this man less than twenty-four hours, and even though they had claimed one another, there were so many things she didn't know about him. He turned out the light, but she could make him out clearly from the nightlight in the bathroom.

"What has you looking so serious?" Adriel walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He had changed into a pair of loose pajama pants, but his chest was wonderfully bare. She leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers.

"What side of the bed do you sleep on?"

"That is what you were frowning over?"

She stared up at the ceiling. "No, not exactly." When she didn't elaborate, he simply held her. "We don't know each other that well."

"Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Of course not, we just met."

"And here we are about to climb into bed, turn off the light, and say 'goodnight dear'."

"We could jump on the bed, leave the light on, and say bonne nuit if that makes you feel better."

"Are you teasing me?"

"Maybe a little. Do we have to sleep? Yes. Do we have to share a bed? No. If you prefer, I will sleep in one of the guest rooms."

Eva spun quickly in his arms. "That's not what I meant."

He kissed her nose. "I know. So, mate of mine, would you like to join me in this bed to sleep for the night?"

"I like to stretch out."

"Okay."

"I toss and turn a lot."

"Not a problem."

"I've been alone for centuries; I don't know how to do this. What if your breathing keeps me awake? Or what if you wake up every time I get up to pee?"

"I have been alone just as long, but tonight is different from every other night that has gone before." He steered her to the bed and pulled back the covers. She shook her head and climbed in. He got comfortable behind her and held her close.

"How is tonight different for you?" She held his forearm against her chest like a stuffed animal.

"Because unlike the thousands of nights before I met you, I know how beautiful my mate really is. So many things I thought of, but it is the things I did not imagine that make me want to drop to my knees and thank the Gods you were chosen for me."

"Like what?"

"I did not think you would be a shifter. Living here, I always assumed I would have a vampire as a mate. But having touched you once, I know that would have been a travesty. I crave the warmth of your body. If I had mated another vampire, I would have been in the cold for the rest of my existence."

He kissed her neck and she shivered. "Your body is another thing I was not prepared for. You stand so tall and strong. As a warrior, I was ready to protect my mate against all things, but I find that I love that you can match my stride and walk beside me. The fact that you possess such strength means that when you give yourself to me I feel humble for being able to caress a body that is so powerful, yet so soft and delicate.

"These are things I could never have planned for; it means I will have to make adjustments to my way of thinking and to the way I do things, but that does not mean that what we have is not perfect. For every new thing we discover about each other, we receive a gift, and I for one am eternally grateful."

Eva couldn't speak; every single word he spoke tightened another knot in her throat. So she simply nodded and focused on keeping her tears at bay. When he was quiet for a while, she whispered, "Goodnight dear."

"Goodnight, my love."

*****

Eva woke up and stretched. Frowning, she realized she was alone in bed. She had been so worried the night before about sleeping next to him, and she had passed out the second he stopped talking. She sat up and looked around; a white piece of paper was on the nightstand.

It was pure hell leaving our bed this morning, but I had to meet with the men. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. The twins should be dropped off before you leave to be with Meryn. They will be with you until Micah can catch up with them later. Eternally yours, Adriel

Eva tucked the letter away under her pillow so she wouldn't lose it. She got up and headed to the bathroom. If she had to wear the same clothes from yesterday, at the very least, she would be clean. She quickly showered and dried her hair. She looked in the mirror and frowned. She didn't have so much as a ChapStick with her, and she doubted Meryn had any makeup. She definitely needed to get with Beth later for some help.

She went downstairs, following her nose to the coffee pot. Frowning, she noticed that there was no coffee. The pot looked like it had already been washed and put back, but she could smell coffee. Growling, she opened the pantry door and stepped back.

What the hell is this?

Quinoa, chia seeds, lentils, bran flakes, super green powder, whole oats. She slammed the door and opened it again. Yup, same stuff was there. She went to the fridge. When she opened the door and looked inside, she felt her mouth drop. One dozen eggs, whole milk, cottage cheese, bottled water, a drawer of green leaves, another drawer of vegetables, and yogurt. The man didn't even have a microwave.

"I'm gonna fuckin' die."

She was rubbing her temples, trying to stave off a caffeine withdrawal headache when there was a knock at the door. She swung it open, snarling. The two warriors she had met yesterday, Dimitri and Godard, stepped back. "We came to drop the twins off, but if this is a bad time..." Godard watched her carefully as if she were about to attack.

Eva stepped out on to the small porch. "No, it's fine. In fact, I was just heading down to Level One to meet up with Meryn."

Dimitri let out a breath of relief. "Great, they are all yours."

Eva thought it was comical the way the two grown men seemed to practically run to get away from them.

She leveled a look at the twins in front of her. "How old are y'all anyway?"

"One..." Nigel started.

"Hundred..." Neil finished.

"All right boys. Let's head down to meet with Meryn and no funny business. I haven't had coffee yet, so I won't feel bad about killing you until at least noon."

"Right."

"No worries."

Bleary eyed, she followed the twins to the transport tunnel, and they floated her down. She knocked on the large wooden door that acted as the entryway to Prince Magnus' home. Seconds later, the door opened and Sebastian smiled down at her. He looked at her a moment then frowned. "No coffee?"

She just shook her head. "He didn't have any food in the house either."

He swung the door open. "Adriel is very conscientious of the food he eats. He regards meals as ways to fuel the body."

"I'd kill for a pop-tart," Eva grumbled.

"Go ahead and seat yourselves in the dining room. Meryn is just getting up; I will bring coffee and breakfast out in just a moment."

"No organic wheat germ, right?"

Sebastian shook his head and smiled. "None, I promise."

Eva had to smile as she watched the twins walk through the prince's home. They stayed very close to one another, their eyes wide taking in everything in the room. Despite the lack of coffee, she felt her tiger begin to purr. She was always a sucker for young'uns.

Eva sat down in the same seat she had the night before, Nigel sat to her left, and Neil sat on the other side of his twin.

"This place is real swanky," Nigel said, staring up at the chandelier.

"Yeah, I'm afraid to breathe too hard," Neil confessed.

"Me, too," Meryn said, walking into the room her eyes half closed. Ryuu steered her to the table. She sat down and placed her cheek on the wood surface. "Ryuu, I can't do this anymore. I need coffee, real coffee. I'm tired of being fucking tired."

Ryuu stared down at her. "We'll try one cup and see how you do." He left and headed to the kitchen.

Nigel elbowed her side and bopped his head toward Meryn.

"Nigel, Neil, meet Meryn McKenzie. Meryn, when you're conscious, you can meet Nigel and Neil Morninglory."

"Word," Meryn croaked.

Neil covered his mouth with his hands to cover up a giggle.

They're just so dang cute.

"Here we go, ladies and gentlemen. Fresh ground coffee, biscuits, gravy, bacon, eggs, and assorted pastries." Sebastian swept into the room and started setting large serving platters down. The twins gulped, taking in the spread. All Eva was looking for was the coffee.

"Where's the coffee?" she and Meryn asked at the same time. Meryn opened her eyes and nodded as if to acknowledge their shared pain.

Ryuu set a cup in front of Meryn as Sebastian did the same for her. After adding her cream and sugar, she took her first sip.

Meryn shivered. "I think it touched my soul."

Eva sat back in the chair, holding her mug to her chest. "I know mine did."

She and Meryn nursed their cups of coffee, while the twins started decimating the food platters. Eva thought that Sebastian would get upset, but he was grinning from ear to ear. "I have not had to cook for a young appetite in ages. You boys keep eating; I will make fresh for the girls here." Whistling, Sebastian headed back toward the kitchen.

By the time Eva was done with her coffee, Meryn's eyes were open, and she was staring at the twins. "They are like baby Keelans!"

Neil looked over at Meryn with a mouth full of food. "Ooo no, Keelan?"

Eva gave him a look. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

He chewed quickly and swallowed. "Yes ma'am." He looked back at Meryn. "Do you know Keelan Ashwood?"

Meryn's joy seemed to dim. "Yeah, I live with him at the Alpha estate."

"That's so cool!" Nigel said.

"Do you know his brother Kendrick?" Nigel asked, practically holding his breath.

Meryn nodded. "Yeah, we're like this." She held up crossed fingers. "He's staying at the Alpha estate; we watch Doctor Who together."

The twins looked at each other excitedly. "He watches Doctor Who?"

Eva looked from Meryn to the twins and back. "Who's Kendrick?"

"Keelan's brother," Meryn said.

"Only the coolest witch that has ever lived!" Nigel exclaimed.

"Yeah! We used to hang out around the archives when we were growing up just to catch a glimpse of him. He's so awesome," Neil sighed.

"When we could get our courage together, we'd go down and ask him questions so we could pass our warrior exam, though sometimes, he was in the middle of an experiment, and he'd threaten to disembowel us, but even that was cool," Nigel explained.

"He's really good peeps; he stuck up for me when the asshole committee members were trying to trash talk me in Lycaonia. He was like, 'I don't think so peasants' or something like that. And I was all like, 'Ha! Eat that!' and they had to just suck it up and take it. He was so badass," Meryn said, waving her hands about.

Nigel and Neil bobbed their heads up and down in agreement.

"Denka, what would you like for breakfast," Ryuu asked.

"Magic pudding," she promptly replied.

He inclined his head and then went to the kitchen.

"What's magic pudding?" Neil asked.

"Is it good?" Nigel wondered.

"It's the best pudding ever. It's the only thing that settles my stomach. After having a cup of coffee, I feel almost normal." Meryn looked around the room. Her eyes landed on the coffee carafe. She eased from her chair and tiptoed over to the sideboard. She poured herself a second cup and then snuck back over to the table. She added her cream and sugar and took a sip. "I've missed this."

Eva frowned. "Should you be drinking coffee, being pregnant and all?"

Meryn shrugged. "I feel better this morning than I have in weeks. I think the baby likes coffee, too."

"That remains to be seen," Ryuu said, walking in with a large bowl. He set it in front of Meryn and picked up her wrist with his thumb and forefinger.

"That's a lot of power," Neil said, shielding his eyes. Nigel had also turned away.

Ryuu looked at the twins and smiled. "Not many witches can perceive this type of magic. While I'm here, if you have any questions, you can come to me." He looked down at Meryn's wrist and a look of surprise appeared. "You're right denka; the coffee has actually helped your condition. Let's not overdo it though. Stick to two cups in the morning. If I don't see any detrimental affects to the baby, we can add another cup in the afternoon." He shook his head. "Your child would do better when exposed to coffee."

Meryn patted her belly. "That's my little Meryn two-point-oh!"

"Ah, sir, what should we call you?" Neil asked.

Ryuu placed a hand on his chest and bowed. "Forgive my manners, I was preoccupied by my denka's condition. My name is Sei Ryuu; you can call me Ryuu."

Nigel smiled shyly. "No one else besides Kendrick could see the magic we could."

Ryuu's eyebrows shot up. "You know Kendrick Ashwood?"

"Sort of. We just followed him around a lot when we were living in Storm Keep," Neil said, blushing.

"I'll speak with him later. I believe he is the best one to recommend learning materials for your type of magic. I'll arrange an assortment of books to be delivered later." Ryuu turned to Meryn. "Denka, while you are in your communications hub, I will be with Sebastian learning how to make your magic pudding."

"You're the bestest Ryuu!" Meryn threw her arm in the air.

Eva thought the poor twins were going to pass out from shock. Neil was even swaying slightly in his chair.

"Just for us?" Nigel whispered.

"From Kendrick himself." Neil turned to his twin. "Pinch me, are we dreaming?"

Absently, Nigel pinched Neil who squeaked. "Nope, we're awake."

"Ryuu, make sure you get everything they need. I'm hoping they can create cool magical devices like my sonic screwdriver. I am adopting them as my baby Keelans!" Meryn announced.

Ryuu placed a hand over his heart. "As you wish, denka."

Nigel looked around confused. "What does that mean?"

Meryn waved her spoon at him. "It means I'll help look after you."

"But we've been assigned here; we're unit warriors," Neil said.

Meryn shrugged. "That's cool; Keelan's a unit warrior too."

"We tend to get in trouble..." Neil started.

"A lot," Nigel finished.

Meryn's answering smile was downright scary. "Then you're in perfect company."

Sebastian was still humming happily when he walked back in the room. He set a plate of breakfast in front of her.

Eva eyed the excited twins then Meryn, who she could tell was already up to something. She looked up and Ryuu winked at her.

Oh well, life was gettin' too borin' anyway.

"Sebastian, could I have another cup of coffee? I think I'll need it." Eva held up her cup.

Ryuu nodded his approval.

Sebastian poured her second cup. "I love having young ones about."

Eva grinned. "I guess it's not too bad."

*****

"Meryn, where do I put this?" Nigel asked, holding up a box.

"Can you unpack it? It should be the routers. I'll need them over here." Meryn was uncoiling cable after cable.

Nigel and Neil worked together seamlessly to unpack the routers. When they were done, they carried them over to the large workstation that Magnus had provided. One by one, they handed them to Meryn, and she began to hook them up.

When they were done, they all stood back.

"It looks like a summoning circle for computers," Nigel said.

"Hopefully, it will summon my damn Wi-Fi and cell service into this city." Meryn checked her phone. "Where is Etain?"

"I am here, my lady." Etain smiled as he walked in. "There was a bit of trouble on one of the levels, but when I explained that what I was doing would give them wireless internet, they were more than willing to help."

"A city of assholes, I swear," Meryn muttered.

Etain walked around the room and placed portal after portal, dozens of them, where the wall met the ceiling. Wiping the sweat of his forehead, he sat down in one of the chairs. "That should do it. I made the trip out to the cell towers first thing this morning. Work your magic."

Meryn was already moving. She checked the internet signal on each of the routers. She pulled out her phone and let out a loud whoop. She held up her phone. "Look, I have service!" She ran over to a large box and started to drag it across the floor. In seconds Nigel, Neil, and Etain were at her side. Etain lifted the box and carried it to the table. "What's this?"

"A present from the Alpha Unit." Meryn grinned.

Etain reached in and pulled out a small handheld. "Are these like phones?"

Meryn nodded. "They're walkie-talkies. I used them with the units back home. Once you establish what channels are for what type of communication, these babies will allow you to position the guys as needed. For example, channel one back home is for Aiden and the council members to make big decisions. Channel two is for the unit leaders to receive orders or relay their location. Channel three is for everyone to receive orders. These actually carry a tiny portal on the back of the battery panel so that you have reception no matter where you are. Cool, huh?"

Etain shook his head, grinning. "If I wasn't sure my commander would gut me, I'd kiss you for these." He handed Nigel and Neil their handhelds.

Meryn pulled out six and set them aside. "These are for me, Aiden, Magnus, Tarak, Kuruk, and Eva. When we leave, y'all will have two extra you can use as needed." Meryn tossed one to Eva.

Eva shrugged and clipped it on to her belt. "I'm feelin' very official over here."

Meryn clipped hers on her laptop bag. "Now, I just need to come up with code names for everyone."

Etain turned. "Code names?"

"Yup. The guys use them at home."

Etain picked up the box that contained the handhelds for the other unit warriors. "I'll get these passed out. Thank you, my lady; you've done this city a great service today."

Meryn tapped away on her laptop. "Now I can check my Sim city and FarmVille."

Etain looked startled and turned to Eva. "Did she just restructure the entire city's technology so she could play internet games?"

Eva gave a lazy shrug. Knowing Meryn, it was probably half true. "I can check on my cats, so I'm grateful."

Meryn's head popped up. "You have the cat collection game? Is it any fun?"

"I like it, but then again, I like cats." Eva grinned.

"Oh, yeah." Meryn went back to her laptop.

"Thanks again, Meryn." Etain waved and headed out the door.

"Late-tah," Meryn said without looking up.

Eva leaned against the wall. Maybe keeping an eye on Meryn would be easier than she thought.

A few minutes later, Eva realized how naive she had been in assuming Meryn would be content to stay in the communications hub with her laptop.

Meryn closed her laptop with a click and looked at the twins. "So, what do you do around here for fun?"

Nigel and Neil exchanged glances. "We haven't been here that long; we just moved here from Storm Keep." Together, they looked at Eva.

Eva held up her hands. "Don't look at me, I just got here yesterday."

"When we arrived, they took us to Level Six, the Marketplace, which was fun. Plus, they have yummy food." Meryn rubbed her belly.

Nigel and Neil grinned. "We can take you," they said together.

"Let's boogie!" Meryn stood, looped her laptop bag around her shoulder, and headed to the door.

Eva followed. "What about your squire?"

Meryn shook her head. "He is on a mission of utmost importance and should not be disturbed."

Eva was confused until she remembered that Ryuu was learning how to make that pudding Meryn liked so much. "Whatever you say, squirt; you're the boss."

Meryn stopped and turned. "I like the sound of that. I'm the boss." She turned and kept going to the tunnel.

The twins lifted the four of them effortlessly up the transport tunnel to Level Six. When they stepped on to the level, Eva heard a low hiss to their right. The transport escort from the day before snarled at them, his eyes red. Nigel and Neil stepped between him and where Meryn and Eva stood.

Eva had to admit, despite being small for witches, these two had courage. Over their heads, she left her eyes shift to her tigers and hissed back. The vampire snapped his mouth shut in surprise. Her tiger already considered the twins and Meryn cubs to be protected, and she didn't like the threatening manner of the escort.

"Wicked!" the twins said together.

Meryn pulled on her arm. "Come on! I smell meat kebobs!" Eva gave one last snarl and let Meryn pull her between the vendor stands. They had almost reached the outermost section when a large, richly dressed vampire stepped in their way.

"No shifters are allowed on Level Six; you are to remain in the Grand Hall until our prince has figured out what to do with you," he said, crossing his arms.

"Fuck. Again? Do I need, like, a visitor's pass or something?" Meryn complained.

"Listen buddy, I don't know who you are, but this is Lady Meryn McKenzie. She is a special guest of Prince Magnus," Nigel informed the sneering vampire.

"Yeah! And she's our commander's mate," Neil added for good measure.

"I am Andre DuBois, you pathetic excuse for a witch. And things were fine here before she and her mate came and started changing things. Noctem Falls is a vampire city; we do not need your kind here," he said angrily, waving his arms. By now they had attracted a crowd.

Eva sighed. They really needed someone like Beth, who was more politically savvy, because her solution involved putting this asshole in a body bag.

Around them, half the crowd muttered in agreement with Andre, some were silent, and some spoke out in Meryn's defense.

"You do not speak for all of us, DuBois! I met that little lady and her squire day before yesterday; they are fine people, shifter or human notwithstanding. She is welcome at my stand any day," an old man said before spitting at Andre's feet.

It was as if the old man's words shifted the mood of the crowd.

"Look how little she is and pregnant too; why is he picking on her?"

"Is she not the one who just gave us Wi-Fi?"

All around them, more people were backing Meryn. Eva didn't care who said what; there were too many people crowded around them to keep Meryn safe. She stood on tiptoe and looked for an exit strategy.

"Come here, you little bitch, I'll escort you back up to the Grand Hall myself." Andre grabbed Meryn by the upper arm and jerked her whole body up.

Eva didn't even think; her hands shifted, and she sliced Andre's arm open. Hissing, he released Meryn and stood back, crouching in a defensive position.

Eva pushed Meryn behind her as Nigel and Neil stood on either side of them. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but they soon began to glow a faint green color. Nigel held up his left hand while Neil held up his right. Together, they released their spell that slammed into Andre.

Andre shook his head and then sneered at the twins. "Is that the best you can do? It did not even hurt," he said arrogantly.

Neil smiled devilishly. "Not yet."

The superior expression slipped from Andre's face as he grabbed his midsection. Everyone heard a large gurgle then Andre was grabbing his rear. Panic filled his eyes as he turned and raced toward one of the Level's bathrooms. He stopped halfway there, yelled, and then started running faster. The door slammed, and then there was silence.

It was muffled at first but slowly everyone around them began to laugh. The old man walked up and clapped Nigel on the back. "Well done, laddie, well done." He turned to Meryn. "You were not going to come up here and not visit, were you?"

Meryn was rubbing her arm, a distracted look on her face. "Actually, we were on our way to your stand. All I've been craving since I got here is your kebobs, those little meat pies, and Sebastian's magic pudding."

The old man wrapped an arm around her shoulder and escorted her through the dissipating crowd. He kept walking past the tables set up in front of his stand and sat her down in his small kitchen area. The twins sat on either side of Meryn, filling the small space. The older man pulled two skewers off a cooling rack and put them on a plate for her. He looked at the twins. "After a stunt like that, you can have whatever you like. It has been years since someone has put one of the Noble Family members in their place."

Nigel and Neil shook their heads. "Thank you, but we've already had two breakfasts today."

The old man sat down across from Meryn. "Is that what you were craving?"

Meryn was moaning and licking the juice that was running down her forearm. "I could live off these."

He turned to Eva. "You gonna sit down?"

Eva shook her head and leaned against the stand's frame. "I'm good."

"Suit yourself. My name is Aaron Culpepper. I am a sixth generation citizen here in the city," he said proudly.

Meryn shook her head. "I'm human so that doesn't mean much. What's that in years."

Aaron threw his head back and laughed. "Feisty little thing. Basically, what that means is that my family helped settle the city when it was being created."

Meryn frowned. "I thought the Founding and Noble Families created the city."

Aaron shook his head. "Do you really see a man like Andre DuBois doing anything more strenuous than pulling his head out of his ass everyday?"

Meryn giggled. "Nope. So y'all were like the grunt labor?"

He nodded. "You could say that. My family and families like mine are the ones that helped to carve the city out of the rock. We grow the food on the different levels and care for the animals. If a family has enough members where they are meeting quota then they can send members to the Marketplace to earn extra money, but even that is taxed by first the Noble Family and then the Founding Family."

"Sounds like a whacked out feudal system. Why stay?" Meryn asked, tearing into her second skewer.

Aaron shrugged. "There is nowhere else to go. With new dangers outside the city, the Nobles and Founding Family members are reiterating how lucky we are to live in the city. I have a feeling with space in the city going up in demand, we will have even more taxes."

"Can't you just tell Magnus?" she asked.

Aaron's eyes widened. "Not all of us are on first name basis with our prince. He does the best he can, but we all know he is walking a very fine line. The prince before him ruled the city with an iron fist, using fear and intimidation to keep people in line. Prince Magnus is more fair, but because he does not resort to fear and torture, the other families have been pushing to see exactly how much they can get away with."

"Can't y'all help him?" Meryn set her empty stick down on her plate.

He shook his head. "My first loyalty is to the Noble Family that oversees our quarter. Then to the Founding Family that oversees our Level. Even if I were in the right, if I went over the Noble and Founding Families' heads and went directly to Prince Magnus, I would be severely punished."

"That sucks!"

Nigel and Neil exchanged looks. "That's commonplace, Meryn. Even in the units, there's a chain of command for a reason. It does actually help keep things running smoothly."

Meryn strummed her fingers on the table. "He knew exactly who I was and still grabbed me. That is a blatant slap in the face to not only my mate but also to Magnus." She turned to Aaron. "What will happen to him?"

Aaron scratched his chin. "Depends on how the DeLaFontaine family views recent changes. If they support Prince Magnus, then what Andre did could impact their standing with the Prince. If they do not support Prince Magnus, then he will get a slap on the wrist. They will make a loud public apology of course, but nothing will be done to prevent it from happening again."

Eva snorted. "He'll have a hard time grabbing anyone if both arms are shoved up his ass."

Aaron smiled at her. "You going to do that?"

Eva shook her head. "I won't have to. Meryn's mate has to be one of the biggest shifters I have ever seen. He'd attack a hurricane to protect his mate, and if Aiden doesn't kill him outright, Meryn's squire can tie him in blue knots."

Meryn chewed on her lower lip. "What if we don't report anything?"

Eva eyed Meryn. "What are you up to?"

"I'm trying this politics thing like Beth does. Basically, it's like playing chess but with people. The only variable is not knowing for sure how a person will react." Meryn winked at her. "But I'm good at that, remember?"

Eva was about to say no when the scene from when she first met Meryn came to mind. Meryn was an empath! True, not a good one, hell, not even one that was trained, but she could read people. "What'dja have in mind, squirt?"

Meryn drew circles on the table with her finger. "If we don't report anything, then the first Aiden or Magnus will hear of this will probably be from Andre complaining about the twins. Neither my mate nor Magnus is stupid; it will take them all of about ten seconds to figure out what happened, and then Andre will have to deal with Aiden at the exact moment he discovers the man in front of him hurt his pregnant mate."

Aaron smiled wide. "And that is how you survive in the City of the Night."

Nigel and Neil looked nervous. "We still cast a spell on a member of a Noble Family."

Meryn turned to them and her eyes began to well up. "But... but... they were only trying to help me. He was hurting my arm so bad." She covered her face with her hands. "It's not like they hurt him."

Eva stepped forward to comfort Meryn when she heard a giggle. "You little actress!"

Meryn wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I've been studying politics back home. If everyone is going to hold my being a short human against me, I'm going to make it work for me."

Aaron got up and picked up two more skewers off the rack and placed them on her plate. "You do an old man's heart good."

Meryn pulled the piece of meat off the stick with her teeth. "I just hate assholes."

Aaron chuckled. "Then you are in the wrong city."

Nigel and Neil laughed. "We were nervous about coming here, but anywhere was better than staying in Storm Keep. We're glad you're here, Meryn," Neil said, speaking for both him and his brother.

"If I get to eat more food like this, I'll be glad too." She paused. "I don't like it here though, despite the yummy food; it's too dark."

Eva leaned back against the wood frame. "It is called the City of the Night, Meryn."

Meryn shuddered. "I know, and I still don't like it here. It's like the shadows have eyes and teeth, and they're hunting us."

Eva's breath caught. That's exactly how she had felt when she first woke up, like she was being hunted.

Meryn finished her snack and stood. "Thank you for the food again. I don't have any money though."

Aaron scowled at her. "As if I would take your money young lady. You have done enough to keep me smiling for decades."

Meryn smiled slyly. "Does that mean I can come back for more?"

Aaron threw his head back and laughed loudly. "For you? Anything."

Meryn rubbed her belly. "Good, because I was serious. So far the only things I've been able to keep down are your kebobs, your neighbor's meat pies, and Sebastian's pudding."

Aaron's expression turned thoughtful. "I will have my sister deliver some skewers every afternoon until you leave; we cannot have that babe of yours hungry."

Meryn's face froze, and she looked down. "I didn't mean to get free food; I was just kidding."

Aaron looked around the room trying to gauge what he did wrong. Finally, Eva realized that Meryn wasn't used to kindness. She stepped away from the frame and ruffled Meryn's hair. "Just say 'thank you' Meryn. I doubt a handful of skewers will put him out much." She winked at Aaron.

"That is right. Plus, I get to brag that my kebobs are being served on Level One," he said gruffly.

Meryn looked up. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yes. Now scoot. It will not do your plan much good if you are not down there to witness it, am I right?"

Meryn giggled. "That's my favorite part."

Eva steered Meryn to the exit. "Of course it is, you twisted little thing."

Nigel and Neil waved and they started walking toward the transport tunnel. They were just about to head down when a loud crackling was heard amongst the four of them.

"Meryn, Eva, Nigel, or Neil come in," Adriel's voice called clearly.

Eva pulled the walkie-talkie off her belt. "Ah, hello?"

"You have to say 'over'," Meryn whispered.

Eva rolled her eyes. "Over."

"Eva. Thank the Gods! Where are you?"

"We're just leaving the Marketplace about to head down to Level One, why?"

"Go there immediately. Do not stop for anything, do not talk to anyone, just go to Level One and have Sebastian put the level on lockdown."

Meryn gulped. "We're in a world of trouble now."

"Heading down there now." She clipped the walkie-talkie on her belt. She had a bad feeling about this. "I don't think this is about us, Meryn."

Nigel held her hand as Neil took Meryn's. Nigel had a serious look on his face. "You heard our unit leader, let's go."

I just hope everyone is all right.

CHAPTER NINE

Sebastian was waiting for them by an opened door. "Thank the Gods you are okay! Hurry inside so I can lock up." They quickly walked inside, and Sebastian bolted the door behind them.

Ryuu was waiting for Meryn arms crossed. "I can't protect you if you don't keep me at your side."

"How did you find out about that asshole in the Marketplace so fast?" Meryn asked, looking astonished.

Ryuu's eyes narrowed. "What's this about the Marketplace?" He walked over and laid a hand on her shoulder. Seconds later, he was gently pulling up her sleeve to reveal a large bruise. The air around the squire began to crackle. "Who is responsible for this?"

Meryn gently extricated herself and patted him on the chest. "Don't worry, the twins got him sorted. I bet he's still in the bathroom."

Ryuu bowed to the twins. "You have my thanks for protecting her when I could not." He straightened. "Because someone thought it would be a good idea to sneak out."

Meryn shrugged, unable to meet his eyes. "I got hungry."

Ryuu exhaled and pulled Meryn into his arms. He gave her forehead a brotherly kiss then steered her into her favorite recliner. "While I am glad you're eating something besides pudding, I don't ever want to experience the fear I felt when I realized that dead bodies were being found and you were nowhere to be seen."

Eva held up her hand. "Hold your horses. Dead bodies? What in the Sam Hill is going on?"

Sebastian motioned to the sofas and everyone sat down. He went to the sideboard where it looked like an entire teahouse exploded. Eva had a feeling that Sebastian was a nervous baker. "Micah came down here looking for the twins. When we could not find you, he reported to Adriel on those new handhelds. What we did not know was that Adriel had just been called up to the Grand Hall by Alpha Bolivar to report that two of his pack members had been killed. When we could not find you, of course everyone panicked."

Eva sat back, her mind reeling. Who? Which one of her friends had been killed while she was finding her mate and eating pudding? "Did they say who?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I am sorry, no, they did not."

They heard tumblers moving and the door opened. Adriel and Aiden rushed in, looking around. Micah closed the door behind them. Aiden went directly to Meryn and scooped her up. "They couldn't find you." He sat down and buried his face in her neck.

Eva stood and went to her mate. "Who?"

"A couple, John and Emily Wolfrun."

Eva grabbed at his arms. "They have a little boy; he's only one! Is he okay?"

Adriel swallowed hard. "He is with Adora. Thanks the Gods he was in the crèche they created to watch over the little ones."

Eva felt her legs give out, and he simply wrapped his arms around her to hold her close, easily supporting her weight.

"How were they killed?" Meryn asked.

Eva turned. "Why do you want to know such a thing?"

"Because it will help us catch the killer." Meryn met her demanding stare. There were no traces of mischief or goofiness now. Meryn was angry, and she was serious.

"They were drained," Aiden said, sitting up straight.

"They didn't come here to be food!" Eva yelled.

"Eva, you need to calm down," Adriel said, trying to get her to sit down.

"I am calm! I've had it with vampires treating me like a second class citizen and killing my friends!" Eva took a deep breath. Her tiger was close to the surface; she had to do better than this.

"We do not know for certain that vampires are responsible," Adriel said evenly.

She glared at him. "Really? So the neighbors that they grew up with were just waitin' for us to come here so they could drain them, for no reason?"

Adriel rubbed the back of his neck. "All I am saying is that we cannot rule anything out."

Micah crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "It looks pretty bad, Adriel. In the short time I watched over Meryn, she was verbally and physically abused. If she's being treated like that as the Unit Commander's mate and Prince Magnus' adopted niece and special guest, how do you think the others are faring?"

Ryuu stepped forward. "She was accosted again today, in the Marketplace. Whoever it was left a bruise the size of his hand on her arm."

Aiden's canines dropped, and his back began to curve. He was about two seconds from shifting. Meryn lifted her sleeve. "Kiss it." Aiden began to sniff her arm, and then gradually his body got smaller. He kissed her arm gently.

Eva turned to Adriel. "It was Andre DuBois, a Noble Family member. He knew who she was and didn't fear retribution."

Adriel's eyes flashed with anger. "Regardless of their personal feelings on the matter of opening the city, they are honor-bound to respect Prince Magnus' rule."

Eva put her hands on her hips and tilted her head back. "Somehow, I don't think this is about opening up the city. They have issues with Magnus, and I have a feeling it's been brewing for a while."

"We did not have any problems until the refugees showed up," Adriel said sharply.

Eva felt as if she'd been slapped. "Really?"

She headed to the door and was surprised when Micah pushed away from the wall to walk with her. She wanted to slam the door off the hinges, but she didn't want to break Magnus' property.

"Can you take me to the Grand Hall?" she asked softly.

"Of course."

*****

Adriel stared at the door. His mate had just walked away from him.

"Dick move dude," Meryn said.

Adriel shook his head. "I am sorry, what? I do not understand."

Meryn gave him a dubious look. "Maybe you don't. Did you seriously forget that she is a refugee? You basically said you were fine without her."

Adriel turned over the conversation in his head. "No, that is not what I meant."

Meryn eyed him. "You really mean that don't you?"

"I do. I want to go to her, but we have a meeting in a few minutes." He raked his hand through his hair.

He looked at Meryn. "With Micah escorting Eva, you will need a new guard."

Meryn eyed the twins. "Can I keep them?"

Adriel looked at the youngsters in surprise. "Really?"

"They totally protected me in the Marketplace, plus Ryuu is getting them some books to study for their magic. They can study and protect me. I can start going over forensic facts, and we can watch Doctor Who, it's like four birds, one stone."

Adriel turned his attention to the two in question; they both wore hopeful expressions. If he let them stay here, they could accidentally blow up Level One. But on the plus side, it would leave two of his unit leaders free to move about without worrying about one of the twins running off. He pinned them with a murderous expression. "This is your one chance. Show me that I can trust you to keep her safe, and I will not recommend you both return to Storm Keep."

They both gulped. "We swear. Nothing will happen to Meryn. We like her."

Adriel fought to keep his serious expression when he wanted to smile. They were both so eager and willing to please. He could not even remember being that young.

"I will hold you to that. She is your responsibility now. I have a feeling we will need Eva more in dealing with the refugees than on guard duty." He sighed. "Once she is speaking to me again that is."

"Give her some space," Meryn suggested.

"Maybe that is the best thing. She probably would not want to talk to me right now anyway." Adriel felt like his stomach was in knots.

Meryn rolled her eyes. "No, seriously, give her her own space. She's giving up like a house and a bar and stuff. Give her a place where she doesn't feel like a refugee."

"Meryn, you are a genius." Adriel felt a spurt of hope. He now had a plan of action.

"I know. It's what I do," she said matter-of-factly. Aiden stood and gently set his mate down in the chair. He cupped her face and kissed her softly. "For the sake of my heart, please, just stay down here and eat pudding."

Meryn nodded. "I'll even surround myself with pillows and soft blankets. I'll be in a safety cocoon."

"You're just going to binge watch Doctor Who and play FarmVille, aren't you?" he asked, smiling.

"You betcha. I didn't work my ass off to get Wi-Fi for nothing." Meryn rubbed her cheek against his. "Be safe."

Aiden stood. "Of course." He turned to Adriel. "Let's go."

*****

Eva walked into the large tent in the center of the hall.

"Eva!" Stefan called out.

The next thing she knew, she was swept up in a hug. Normally, she would squirm to get down, but she needed a hug after the fight with her mate. If she could call it a fight.

Stefan stepped back frowning. "What happened?"

"I heard about the murders; how's Benji?" Eva looked around.

"Mom has him. He's too little to understand what happened, but he does keep calling out for his momma." Stefan clenched his jaw. "When I find the bastard who did this, I'm going to rip them apart." Around them, the pack answered their Alpha's anger with low growls.

"Did you get a scent?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, whoever it was covered their tracks." Stefan led her to the table where other wolves were seated. Families stood crammed into the tent to discuss what had happened. She glanced back and noticed that Micah stayed in the background near the entrance. He nodded at her, letting her know he was sticking around.

"We have to do something; we're sitting ducks out here. They'll just pick us off one by one," a woman called from the crowd.

"It's not like we can leave either. One: we can't float outta here. And two: we'd have ferals on our asses the second we hit open desert," another male yelled.

Eva climbed on to a long bench. "They are making plans to get us into real housing. I was there last night when they were going over what problems had to be addressed first, so was Stefan. The unit witches will be working almost around the clock to carve houses out of the rock. It will get everyone out of the Grand Hall and into homes."

"Of course you'd say that, Eva; you're one of them now," a male called out.

Eva looked out over the crowd. "Was that Wade? Wade get your skinny ass up here!"

A tall lanky man came forward and was pushed until he reached the small opening at the front of the room. "What?" he asked defiantly.

"I babysat your pups when you got so drunk you were dry humping your mailbox when your mate was out of town visiting her sister." Eva stuck her finger right in his face.

He turned beet red as a female voice was heard above the crowd. "He did what?"

Eva looked around the room. "I've watched all y'all's kids, even Benji." The crowd quieted down in a respectful hush. "I'm the same person I was then, I'm just mated, that's all."

"To a vampire!" a woman yelled.

Eva rounded on the woman; she was Wade's mate. "At least my mate didn't try to fuck my fish shaped mailbox, Loradean, so don't get pissy with me because you found out that Wade did something stupid. Again. We all know it's part of his charm." Wade shot her a grateful look. Around them, folks started to chuckle.

"My mate is a good man. He's smart and loyal, and he cares too damn much about everything. Even now, I bet he's worried sick that he missed something that could have prevented this. But more than anything, he's fair. It makes no nevermind to him that we're shifters; he cares for each life equally." Eva stopped. Which meant he didn't see her any differently for being a refugee.

Well, damn.

"Like Fate would give Eva anything less than Prince Charming? If her mate wasn't on the up and up, y'all know she'd be the first one to put a boot in his ass," Josie yelled, her hands on her hips. Everyone was nodding now and smiling.

Stefan walked over. "What? You look like you just got smacked up side the head with a two by four."

"I gotta go. I've done fucked up, and I gotta say I'm sorry." Eva ran her hands over her face. She hopped down off the bench.

She felt a hand on her shoulder; Stefan grinned down at her. "He's got you running in circles; I think I may end up liking him after all."

"Thanks, Alpha. All right mutts, let me through. I gotta go find my mate." Eva squeezed between people heading to the exit.

"Give 'em hell, Eva Mae!"

"Tell that vampire prince we're not freeloaders, Eva. We can help."

"I'll do that!" Eva promised.

When she got to the exit, Micah smiled and held out his hand. "Ready?"

"Let's go!"

*****

Adriel felt impatient as everyone got settled. Magnus had called an emergency meeting with the Eta Unit along with Aiden, Gavriel, and Beth to discuss the murders.

Magnus sat down. "What do we actually know?"

Adriel stood and looked down at his clipboard. "Two refugees, John and Emily Wolfrun, went missing this afternoon. When they did not return to the crèche to pick up their son, Stefan, the wolves' Alpha, launched a search. Their bodies were found in the unused portion in the back of the Grand Hall. Both John and Emily had been completely drained of blood and had two puncture wounds on their necks consistent with vampire bites. Neither one had any previous interactions with any vampires from the city." He flipped a page and took a deep breath. "What some of you may not know is that just before the meeting, Dimitri called in a missing persons report. Augustus Pettier, a wine vendor under the Géroux family, has not been seen since last night. His sister says he never showed up to open their wine stand this morning."

Magnus had a pained look on his face. "Do you think he went feral?"

Adriel sat down and set his clipboard in front of him. "Unfortunately, it looks that way. A lot of vampires were affected yesterday with the smell of so much blood permeating the levels from the wounded refugees. It is very possible it was too much for him to handle."

Magnus looked at him. "I want Eta to move to the Grand Hall for patrols while housing is being arranged."

Etain leaned forward. "Sire, what about the mates? Eva, Beth and Meryn will be down on Level One."

"And they will have Sebastian, Ryuu, Aiden, Gavriel, Tarak, Kuruk, and me down there with them. The people need to see unit warriors patrolling to give them a sense of safety." Magnus turned to Adriel. "Any other issues?"

"No sire." Adriel shook his head.

To his right, Declan snorted. Adriel looked at his second in command. "What?"

"Sir, I mean no disrespect, but shifters were nervous before we had a double homicide to investigate. Your own mate and tiny Meryn were verbally accosted. Prejudices are rising to the surface, but they've always been there. With so many shifters here now, I'm afraid we'll see more incidents."

Aiden met Adriel's eyes before he turned to Declan. "Have they always given shifter unit warriors problems?"

Declan nodded, looking guilty. "Not just shifters. Just to give recent examples, Meryn and Eva were blocked at the transport tunnel despite being with Micah. And from what you were telling me before the meeting, Meryn was assaulted in the Marketplace by a vampire in full view of Nigel and Neil Morninglory. Granted they're young, but both are unit warriors. Non-vampires wield very little respect and power, despite position or rank."

Adriel felt like he had been sucker punched. "Why didn't you report any of this?"

Declan's expression became apologetic. "Sir, before the refugees got here, the incidents were so small they didn't bear reporting. For example, vampires not stepping aside for a unit warrior, or a unit warrior having to repeat requests before action is taken."

Adriel leaned back. "But they happened all the time, or am I wrong in that assumption?"

"No sir."

"I wish you had gone to your unit leader or me about this. You should know by now that my door is always open to the unit warriors." Magnus said looking as shaken as he felt.

Declan shook his head. "No sire, we couldn't. All of us have seen how hard you're already working to change perceptions. It's taken you decades to get a majority of the city willing to try blood substitutes. We didn't want to undermine those efforts, so we basically picked our battles."

"I appreciate that more than you know." Magnus gave Declan a tired smile. "I want the unit warriors concentrating on keeping those refugees safe and tracking down Augustus Pettier." He turned to Bethy. "Did we get anywhere with the housing project today?"

Bethy shook her head. "No, but that may be a good thing. In light of the recent tragedy, I'd like to keep all the refugees together on one level. I don't think they'd appreciate being split up, and frankly, we don't have enough warriors for them to patrol every level ensuring that the shifters aren't being bullied. I'd like to put forward the idea of adding all the additional housing to Level Six."

Magnus frowned. "But that is where the Marketplace is."

Beth nodded. "Exactly. They will be surrounded by people. It's a lively atmosphere, they can stay together, and they'll have access to vendors. This will eliminate the need for tunnel escorts altogether. Later, we can manage the empty houses as hotels or quarters for visitors. As an added benefit, creating the housing will go much faster since we'll be concentrating on one area instead of splitting up the witches over 4 levels."

Magnus nodded slowly. "I like it. Let us do that instead." He rubbed both temples. "And of course, we would have dinner with the Géroux family tonight. Maybe we should cancel?"

Adriel spoke up. "I do not think that is a good idea, sire. The Géroux family, as you know, has always been one of your biggest supporters. I think having dinner tonight will reinforce your faith in them." Adriel looked at Aiden and continued. "In fact, I would recommend you have as many dinners with the different families as soon as possible to get a bead on their true feelings."

"There is no way to do that without using magic," Magnus said.

"Meryn could, sire; she is a natural empath. She had to leave the Grand Hall yesterday when the refugees arrived because their pain and confusion overwhelmed her," Adriel suggested.

Bethy shook her head, looking worried. "She's not trained, anything she might get could be unreliable."

"She could do it. In fact, she does it naturally." Aiden commented. "She really only has two readings, 'friend' and 'asshole'. She can tell you if she likes someone or she if she doesn't. It will be completely subjective though. And she can usually tell when someone is lying, but not always." He looked at Magnus. "But the second she gets tired or it's too much, that's it. I don't care where that leaves us. Her health comes first."

Magnus inclined his head. "That goes without saying. Sebastian would have my head if I put that child at risk."

Aiden smiled. "She has both of those squires wrapped around her finger."

Gavriel just stared at his friend. Aiden sighed. "Yes, she has me completely wrapped too, but I'm her mate; that's only natural."

Magnus stood. "Looks like we at least have a plan of action." He looked at Adriel. "Increase patrols in the Grand Hall and track down Augustus Pettier." He looked at Declan. "Start recording every incident the unit warriors experience with disrespectful vampires. If I have to go to the council for their support, I will need evidence."

Declan nodded. "Yes, sire."

Finally, Magnus looked down at his niece. "And let us get those houses built, the sooner the better."

"Yes, Uncle," she replied.

Adriel stood and headed for the door.

"In a hurry?" Declan teased.

Adriel stopped and turned to the room, wincing. "Yes, actually I am. I have a mate to locate and then grovel before."

Aiden nodded in sympathy. "There's an old man that gives me advice back home for when I mess up with Meryn. When you fuck up, chocolate and jewelry are your best friends."

"Thank you for the advice, sir."

"Good luck, son." Magnus grinned at him.

"I have a feeling I will need it."

"She's a strong woman from Texas, who happens to be a tiger shifter. You don't need luck, you need Kevlar," Beth teased.

Gods help me.

*****

As soon as he was clear of the doorway, he lifted the new handheld up. "Micah, come in."

"Yes, sir?"

"Where are you?"

"Do you mean me or your luscious mate?"

"Remind me again why I do not kill you?"

"Because I'm one of the most experienced witches you have since Leif and Travis have returned to Storm Keep, and you don't want to risk getting another headache like the twins as my replacement."

Adriel growled at Micah's smug tone. "I might chance it. Now, where is my mate?"

"At your home. She met with the wolves for a bit then insisted on seeing you, but as you were in a meeting, she decided to wait for you at home."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Adriel jumped into the transport tunnel and flew up to the unit level. He blew past the men doing drills and made a beeline for his home. He walked up to the door and froze. He had no idea what to say. He was about to open the door when it swung open. His mate stood before him, looking anxious.

He frowned. "Are you well?"

Her face relaxed. "Yes, I'm fine. How are you?"

"Good."

They stood there staring at each other.

Finally, she rolled her eyes and grabbed his shirt. "Get in here."

Adriel walked into the house behind her. "Before anything else is said, I must tell you how much I love you, and that I would never in a thousand lifetimes hurt you. I did not mean to reference you earlier when I was speaking of the refugees. In my mind, you belong here. This is your home now." Adriel paced back and forth in the foyer.

"I know. It hit me when I was defending you to the pack that you didn't mean it the way it sounded." She leaned against the banister.

He stopped. "You defended me?"

"Of course I did; you're my mate. They were making assumptions just because you're a vampire, and I didn't like it."

"I believe there have been a lot of assumptions and stereotyping going on in the city lately. It does not help when actions validate some of those beliefs."

"You were right in saying we shouldn't jump to conclusions; I was just so angry."

Adriel walked over and pulled her into his arms. "I am sorry about your friends."

She laid her head on his shoulder. "They were good people, Adriel, great parents. Now that little boy will never know them."

"You are very protective of little ones are you not?"

She shrugged. "Even after I joined the pack, I was still larger in shifted form than the Alpha. I kinda take care of everyone. But I think my tiger likes to protect little ones. She views anyone smaller than me as a cub."

"I am not smaller than you, will you let me protect you?"

"Only if I get to protect you, too."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "Deal. I declare our first and last fight officially over."

Eva laughed. "I have too much of a temper for this to be the last one."

"I love it when you get feisty." He grabbed her hand. "Come on, I have something for you."

"Really?" she asked softly, her face lighting up.

"Yes. I hope you will like it."

"Lead the way, cowboy."

CHAPTER TEN

Eva held on to Adriel's hand as he led her deeper into the dark, unused portion of the unit level. They had been walking a few minutes, and she still had no idea where they were heading. She was about to ask him where they were going when a familiar smell hit her.

"I smell water."

He turned and winked at her. "Very good."

He led her into smaller tunnel that opened up into a huge cavern. He tapped a small sphere to his left, and all around them soft golden light filled the cave as the glow spheres turned on. Her breath caught. "Oh Adriel." Before them was a small lagoon and high waterfall. "It's beautiful."

"I discovered this cavern a couple hundred years ago. The men know it is my special place so they leave it alone. I come here to meditate and do yoga."

She looked at him. "You do yoga?" She laughed. "I should have known; you're stocked in wheat germ and hippie food."

He frowned. "It is not hippie food. It is very good for the body."

"Your body maybe. Mine runs on beer nuts and taquitos."

He shuddered. "That is frightening."

"Show me."

"Wheat germ?"

"No, your yoga."

He smiled and began to unbutton his coat, his shirt, and then his pants. He carefully folded his clothes and took off his shoes and socks. Wearing only his boxer briefs, he stepped onto a smooth round dais. She wondered if he'd had it made, or if hundreds of years of use had smoothed it down.

Eva got comfortable, pulling her legs to her chest and resting her cheek on her knees. He started slowly, raising his arms up. Then he seemed to fold in on himself as he lowered his body to the ground. He easily lifted himself using only his arms and swung his legs in the air. He lowered himself again in an inverted push up. She was a shifter, a feline shifter at that, but she had never seen anyone move with such grace. It was as if his body was made of water.

Every time he inhaled, he moved; every time he exhaled, he turned. It was as if he was dancing in mid-air. At first, she thought he was using his ability to fly to keep himself balanced impossibly upright, but she saw the way his muscles bulged and moved under his skin. The way beads of sweat trickled down his chest to drip off his chiseled jaw.

With every movement, he seemed to be thanking the universe, worshiping it with his body. It wasn't until he lowered himself into a seated stance and brought his hands up to his chest that she realized she was crying. She had never seen anything more beautiful in her life.

She stood and began to remove her clothes. She wanted him. She let her clothes fall all around her as she walked slowly toward him. When he opened his eyes, she was standing directly in front of him. His eyes shifted from tranquil to heated in seconds.

"How do you feel about yoga now?"

"Please, my mate," she whispered.

He reached up, took her hand, and gently pulled her down beside him. As she lay back, she let the cold stone cool her heated skin. He pulled away for a moment, removing his boxers. Smiling, he returned and placed both forearms on either side of her head. He lifted his body over hers and then, with infinite strength, lowered it just enough to graze her body. She arched her back, needing contact, but he rose up farther out of reach. Over and over again, he lowered himself, letting his rigid length tease her before lifting again.

How could he possibly affect her so much by touching her so little?

The next time he lowered himself, she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him close to her core. He looked down and grinned. When he lifted again, she felt her body lifting off the floor. He lowered them again, this time allowing the tips of his toes to rest on the floor. He planked his body over hers. Arching his back, he lowered his hips. She reached down between them and guided his pulsing cock into her. When he flexed his hips, she hissed in pleasure.

Over and over again, he snapped his hips forward filling her completely. Yet no other part of his body touched hers. She needed more. She opened her eyes to find that he was watching her intently; the intimacy of the moment caused her to look away.

"No," was his single word command.

She turned her head and stared up at him. Without breaking eye contact, he gently pulled his body back and slowly entered her. She felt tears make their way down her temples. Slowly and ever so gently, he made her his.

"Please," she said softly.

"What do you need?"

"You. I need you."

"Perfect answer, my love."

Finally, he lowered himself. She felt his strong muscled legs nestle between hers. She immediately pulled them chest-to-chest by wrapping her arms around him. She locked her ankles above his firm ass as she tried to get every inch of their bodies to touch.

Her body craved his. Stroke after stroke, he built a fire, but it wasn't enough. Half-crazed, she looked up at him.

"I know what you need, and I will always give it to you," Adriel whispered against her neck. She convulsed as shivers raced down her body. When his fangs plunged deep into her neck, she screamed. Now! Now, they were one! Her body finally reached the pinnacle she had been racing after and exploded. He lifted his head and ran his tongue over his bite. "I love you Eva Mae Miller. I loved you before you were born, and I will love you after we've both left this existence to explore the hereafter. You are my solace, my peace, my strength, and my home."

Eva smiled up at his handsome face as gray spots started to collapse her vision.

"Ditto, cowboy. Ditto."

*****

When Eva woke up, she instantly became aware of two things. One: they were still in his cave. And two: they were in water. She turned in his arms and looked around. He had carried her into the water and was lazily floating around with her.

Laughing, she dove under the water and let her tiger free. When she broke the surface, her mate was smiling. She swam past him and nudged his back with her nose, causing him to shout.

"Your nose is like ice, Eva. Is it too cold for you? Should we get out?"

Eva did the best she could to stick her tongue out at him then headed for the falls. She left his laughter behind her as she ducked in and under the water. She loved playing in the water. After twenty minutes, she realized her mate was already out, dried off, and dressed.

She sighed but made her way out of the water. When her feet were solidly on smooth stone, she shifted back. Adriel wrapped her in his coat to dry. "Too cold?"

Eva's teeth chattered. "I wasn't in the water, but it is a tid bit nipply out here."

Adriel blinked. "I love the way you talk."

"And I love you." Eva used his coat to get most of the water off her body and stood, pulling her clothes on.

"I want to give this to you. The lagoon," Adriel said.

She spun. "No! This is your special spot, I can't take it."

Adriel stood. "You are giving up so much to be with me. I know we have not discussed it, but I cannot leave the city, and I will not give you up."

Eva nodded. "I realized that the second I scented you were my mate and saw your uniform."

"You deserve some place of your own."

Eva frowned. "Don't I get to live in your house with you?"

Adriel froze. "Of course!"

"If I need extra space I'll just claim one of your guest rooms. You keep your special space."

Adriel shook his head. "You need it more. It is perfect for your tiger."

Eva knew that his gift was truly about pleasing her and not as a way to say he was sorry. She tapped her foot. "How about this? We come here together. I get to watch you do yoga, we can make love, and I can swim. Ultimate relaxation."

"Ultimate relaxation, huh? It is only a deal if I get to teach you yoga."

"I don't think I'm that bendy."

"You are a tiger shifter. I believe you could be that 'bendy', which really opens up so many new positions." His eyes were bleeding back to red as he licked his lips.

She swallowed hard. "I could try."

"So, this will be our special place from now on?" he asked, walking up to pull her against his chest.

"I can agree to that."

He kissed her forehead. "Good. Now, let us get you down to Bethy. If I know her, she is already working buttonholes about tonight. Especially since it is with House Géroux, and our only suspect lives on their level."

Eva leaned back to look at her mate. "Isn't that the same family Tarak and Kuruk are from?"

"Yes, which is the main reason why this dinner is so important. House Géroux has always supported Magnus, so he will show his support by keeping their plans to have dinner."

"So it went from dreadful, boring political dinner to awkwardly painful political dinner," she surmised.

"I would say that is an apt assumption."

"Peachy."

*****

Eva sat still as Beth applied the last bit of glittery powder to her face.

"There, now you're done!" Beth put the make-up and brush down.

Eva looked in the mirror and stared. Her unruly long blonde hair had been pinned up in a neat, twisted chignon. Her make-up was natural but somehow highlighted her best feature, her eyes.

"You're a miracle worker."

Beth scoffed. "As if you weren't drop dead gorgeous before I got started."

"Not like this. This is polished and sophisticated."

"Get used to it. I have a feeling Adriel will be seeing a lot of Level One from now on. Uncle wants it to be known how much he supports the unit warriors." Beth looked in the mirror and dabbed on a bit more lipstick. She turned to her smiling. "Ready for the big challenge?"

"Dinner?"

Beth shook her head. "No. Meryn."

Eva followed Beth out of her room and down the hall. Without knocking, she walked in and sighed. Meryn was stretched out on a large oversized chair. She was wrapped up in a blanket that now sported orange powder stains. Eva looked down and spotted the culprit. An empty bag of Cheetos lay forgotten on the floor. Meryn's eyes were slightly unfocused and glazed over as she watched television.

"Oh dear, it's worse than I imagined." Beth's brow creased as she frowned.

Behind them, Ryuu walked in carrying a cup on a tray. Unless Eva's nose was playing tricks on her, it was coffee.

"Denka, here is your evening treat." Gently, he wrapped Meryn's fingers around the cup. Slowly, Meryn began to sip her coffee. It wasn't until she had drunk every last drop did she look around. She took in Eva and Beth's appearance and groaned. She pulled the blanket up over her head and burrowed between the cushions of the chair.

Exasperated, Beth stalked forward and began to unravel Meryn's blanket burrito. When she was finally uncovered, Meryn scowled up at her sister. "I'll eviscerate you."

Beth huffed and dropped the blanket. "No, you won't, because you would never hurt your niece or nephew."

Meryn blinked then smiled. "True." She closed her eyes and the air around her shimmered. Gone were the baggy sweats and t-shirt, in its place were jeans and a new hoodie. Beth stared, aghast at the change.

"Meryn! You can't wear that! Do something else."

Meryn closed her eyes again, only the hoodie's color changed from black to gray.

Beth's mouth open and closed in horror. "Okay. Okay. We can do this." She walked over and sat next to Meryn. "All right sweetie, picture this: A black tea length satin dress, off the shoulder with long sleeves. Imagine silk stockings and black kitten heels. You're wearing pearls and your hair and make up look like Audrey Hepburn." Beth stood as Meryn's clothes began to change. When it was done, Meryn sat primly in a gorgeous navy blue, satin formal dress. It was off the shoulder as Beth described and accented with tiny sapphires. The string of pearls was exactly as Beth planned and Meryn's hair was slicked back for a modern twist to a vintage look. Her eyebrows were artfully arched, her high cheekbones glowing, and her lips a perfect red.

"Damn Meryn, you look amazing." Eva said, shaking her head at the change.

Beth tilted her head. "Where did that hairstyle come from?"

Meryn shrugged. "This is how it looks after I get out of the shower and brush it, before it whacks out and get curly. I always thought it looked stylish."

Beth frowned. "I miss your spiky curls."

Meryn shrugged and yawned. Her outfit wavered for a second between evening glam and Pikachu pajamas.

"Don't you dare!" Beth shrieked.

The image stopped and Meryn was still dolled up. "Didn't you take a nap while we were gone?" Eva asked.

Meryn shook her head. "I can't sleep. I haven't been able to sleep since arriving."

Eva looked around. "Where are the twins?"

"Micah swung by and picked them up. They've been working on houses up on Level Six. I heard that the vendors found out what happened and donated a lot of house stuff. I think the first set of families should be moved in by now." Meryn smiled. "They even impressed Declan by redesigning the housing layout. The houses are being built in quads creating mini courtyards where the buildings meet. Nigel said that the kids would need a safe place to play."

Eva felt relieved. The sooner the pack could get into housing and return to a semblance of normal the better.

Beth reached down and helped Meryn to stand. "I heard that the pack is organizing a barbecue to get to know their neighbors better. The vendors are excited, it's been decades since they've had any type of a party."

Eva couldn't help but smile. "I hope your vampire vendors are ready for a good ole Texas barbecue."

Beth winked. "I think maybe that's exactly what they need." She turned to Meryn. "You up for tonight? You don't have to use your gift if you don't want to."

"What's this about her gift?" Eva asked.

"You mate Adriel suggested that Meryn use her empathy during the formal dinners to get a better sense of who supports Uncle." Beth looked over at Meryn, worry clearly visible on her face.

"How do you feel about that, Meryn?" Eva asked. She knew Adriel wouldn't have suggested such a thing unless it was absolutely necessary. He had witnessed how much people's pain had affected the small human and understood the price she paid. Determining these families' loyalties must be vital.

Meryn shrugged. "I can't really control it. I look at someone and sometimes I just know I don't like them. Then there are times I meet someone and I know I'll like them, like with you and Stefan."

That surprised Eva. "Stefan?"

Meryn nodded. "He's honest. He says exactly what he's feeling; I like that."

"Yup. That's Stefan all right."

Beth turned to them. "Are you ready, ladies?"

Meryn grinned. "Bring on the hotties!"

Eva laughed. The dinner might end up being awkward and political, but with Meryn there, it sure as hell won't be boring.

*****

"She is still staring," Javier BelleRose said, pointing to Meryn.

Eva had to admit, it was getting kinda creepy. Meryn had been staring at the head of the BelleRose house for at least ten minutes.

Aiden growled and nuzzled her neck. Meryn absently swatted at him. "But he's so pretty."

Javier's mate, Marie, raised her napkin to her mouth and laughed. Everything the woman did was elegant. "You are very pretty, darling," she teased her mate.

The older vampire actually blushed. "Well, thank you, I suppose. Though I do not hold a candle to your beauty, my love." Marie smiled.

Eva could practically see the love between the couple. Simon Géroux and his mate, Leana, were no different, though there seemed to be a sadness around Simon and his mate.

"I guess I am just a chopped liver in comparison," Simon joked.

Meryn turned her head to stare at him. "You're like warrior hot. Like if shit was hitting the fan, I'd totally duck behind you," Meryn said sincerely.

Beth covered her face with her hands as Simon blinked. He frowned, and then his lips twisted before he burst out laughing. "Gods, I needed that! Thank you, Meryn. Considering how many from my line have become unit warriors, I will take that as a compliment."

Meryn frowned. "Didn't it sound like a compliment?"

Leana smacked her mate on the shoulder. "Of course it did dear, do not mind him. We have both had a long day."

A long awkward silence filled the room. Everyone looked around, smiling nervously.

"Is that because one of your peeps might have gone bat shit crazy and exsanguinated two of the refugees?" Meryn asked bluntly, looking around the table in an air of innocence.

Eva watched as Beth and Magnus' eyes bulged. Aiden's mouth dropped, and beside her, her mate tensed.

Simon's eyes widened, and he looked around as if unsure of what to say. Leana, however exhaled and leaned back in her chair. "Thank the Gods! I thought we would be eyeball deep in elephant shit before someone pointed out the elephant in the room."

Meryn grinned. "I like you."

Leana laughed. "I think I am going to adore you as well. Such a breath of fresh air. I was dreading coming tonight, unsure of how we would be received, but your honest reaction is most welcome."

Marie glared at Leana. "You did not have to be nervous all by yourself. If you were concerned about tonight's dinner, you should have come to me, you know we support you."

Leana looked contrite. "I am sorry, it is just an awful situation. I did not want to get you or your mate involved in case things escalated."

Meryn looked at Magnus and pointed to Javier. "I like them, too."

Magnus nodded. "They are some of my closest friends. They have supported me at every turn." He leveled a look at Simon. "I would hate to think that my good friend would not come to me in his time of need."

Simon glared right back at Magnus. "I was trying to protect you. You have enough on your plate trying to open the city to protect people, you did not need more problems heaped up on you."

Magnus scowled. "I am getting real tired of people hiding problems in an effort to protect me."

Simon shook his head. "We did not hide anything."

Adriel cleared his throat. "No, sir. I believe that particular barb was thrown in my direction. My unit warriors have been picking and choosing what to report, with the good intentions of helping our prince."

"Is this about some of the other families being disrespectful to the warriors?" Leana asked.

Magnus pointed at her. "She knew? How did I miss such a thing?"

"Probably because you were meant to." Meryn looked around. "Can I have some pudding?"

Magnus had his mouth open to protest and shut it quickly. "Should you be having pudding for dinner?"

Ryuu stepped up behind her with a prepared bowl. "Actually sire, it's practically all she has been eating since she had it the first day, the only exceptions being her favorite Cheetos, and the kebobs and meat pies from the Marketplace."

Marie clucked in sympathy. "When I was carrying, I practically lived off of chocolate. Poor Javier thought our child would come out coated with the stuff."

Javier nodded. "I was never so grateful for the fae portals. She had me hopping around the world for different kinds of chocolate." He winked at his mate. "It was worth it though. Our son was born hale and hearty."

"Your son?" Meryn asked.

Marie smiled. "Our son's name is Viktor; he is a unit leader here in the city."

"I met him when Adriel introduced the units. He was very kind," Eva said, remembering his wonderful manners.

Marie beamed. "Thank you, and congratulations on your mating."

"She is more than I could ever dare to hope for," Adriel said.

Marie turned to Beth. "Are the rumors true? Are you with child?"

Beth looked around the table in surprise. "How..." She looked behind her. Suddenly, Sebastian had a keen interest in the wine selection. "Sebastian!"

He stepped forward looking a bit embarrassed. "I may have ordered a crib, bedding, clothes, blankets, and one or two toys."

Beth's anger melted in the face of such fatherly indulgence. "Thank you. My child will want for nothing with you helping to plan their arrival." Sebastian's face flushed with the praise. Beth nodded at Marie. "Yes, I am."

Marie clapped her hands together in front of her. "A thousand blessings on your child! The first baby to be born in Noctem Falls in decades, how exciting!"

Eva caught Gavriel's mouth moving and could have sworn he muttered that the baby would be born in Lycaonia. Poor Gavriel. Eva felt like laughing, even though he was the vampire, Noctem Falls claimed his shifter mate as their own, while he remained loyal to Lycaonia, the shifter city.

Beth leaned forward to stare at Meryn. "By the way, what's with your new word usage? First eviscerate and now exsanguinate?"

Meryn stuck her nose in the air. "I am trying to improve my vocabulary."

Aiden chortled next to her. "Ask her what's she's using to build her vocabulary."

Beth hesitated. "What?"

"It's a perfectly legitimate app."

Aiden nipped her shoulder. "Tell her."

"I downloaded the Serial Killer Word of the Day app," Meryn answered. She looked around as the table fell silent. "What! All the normal ones were boring, I mean who really wants to use words like 'mulct' and 'gormandize' in everyday conversation. The serial killer app came with cool information about blood splatter patterns and medieval torture methods."

Again, there was silence.

Javier regarded Meryn intently. "You are the most dangerous creature in the city, are you not?"

Meryn beamed at him. "I knew I liked you."

Simon shook his head once and then turned to Magnus, changing the subject. "Is it true that the warriors have already completed the first set of housing?"

"It is. Two small witches recently of Storm Keep managed to accomplish what their older counterparts could not. Under their own power, they easily carved building after building out of the stone walls. It was all the other warriors could do to keep up," Magnus said, practically bragging the two witches up. "And to think that Storm Keep begged me to accept them."

Eva watched as Adriel turned to his prince. "They did?"

Magnus nodded. "Evidently, they barely passed their warrior exams and were such misfits they did not know what to do with them. They did not want to be separated, so I told them we would try them out. Best thing I could have done."

Beth raised an eyebrow. "And you couldn't bear the thought that the two brothers would be sent to different cities."

Magnus cleared his throat. "Maybe."

Eva watched a thousand thoughts play out on Adriel's face. She hoped her mate never took up poker, because he couldn't hide what he was thinking to save his life.

"They're mine; I adopted them," Meryn declared cheerfully, taking another bite of pudding. Beside her, Aiden began to choke on his steak. Gavriel leaned over and whacked his commander on the back.

Once his airway was clear, he turned to Meryn. "What?"

She looked up, confused. "What?"

"Adopted them?"

"Yup! They are my baby Keelans."

Aiden's brow creased. "Baby Keelans?"

Ryuu stepped forward again. "She is referring to the fact that Masters Nigel and Neil look very similar to Keelan."

"I think it's the hair. And their sense of humor. And pranks," Meryn rattled off.

"But not really adopted, right Meryn?" Aiden asked, desperation on his face.

Meryn frowned. "They don't have anyone in this whole world, just like me. They are smart and funny and sweet. I want to help them. Can't I have them?"

"You can't adopt people like kittens!" Aiden growled.

"I wouldn't know; someone wouldn't let me get a kitten," Meryn retorted.

"Fine, you can have a kitten, no people."

"Too late."

Aiden rubbed circles around his temples with his fingers and then sighed. "How old are they?"

"They have just turned one hundred," Adriel responded, smirking.

"Gods, that's how old Keelan was when he joined Alpha." Aiden turned to Adriel. "I bet you feel like you're juggling glass."

Adriel exhaled. "I would say you have no idea, but from that statement you obviously do. I have seriously considered sending them back to Storm Keep. Being a unit warrior is not safe and they are so very young. I worry that something will happen to them."

Leana tapped the rim of her wineglass and turned to Magnus. "What if you reached out to Storm Keep enraged over something these boys had done. Let them think you are about to send them back then demand two more witches. Make them believe you are doing them a favor by keeping the boys."

Marie nodded. "Even better, we could ask to get Leif and Travis back despite their test scores. I heard Viktor say that neither of them wanted to return to Storm Keep anyway. They are experienced, seasoned witches, and they know the city."

Magnus exchanged looks between Javier and Simon. "Why do we even pretend to be in charge?"

Beth smiled and winked at Leana and Marie. "Because we let you."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Eva woke with a pounding headache. So had been so relieved the night before when the tension dissolved, she had indulged in more wine than she usually drank. She remembered apologizing to her mate, who told her if anyone deserved to relax, it was her.

All she wanted to do was drill a hole in her head and pour coffee directly on her brain. She knew if she got up and got to the coffee pot, she'd feel better, but she couldn't get her arms and legs to move. What in the hell was in that wine? She could drink all night with shifters, she owned a bar for goodness sakes; it wasn't as if she were a lightweight. Damn sneaky vampires.

Groaning, she sat up. She went to swing her legs over the side of the bed and ended up sliding off and landing on the floor.

"Gods damnmit!"

"Yup, she's awake. Stay here; let me check if she's naked." The bedroom door opened, and Meryn's head poked in. Eva heard laughter and then the sound of feet walking toward her.

"Here's your bra and tank top. Good thing you're already in underwear, I think that would be beyond your capabilities right now." Meryn dropped the items on the floor.

Eva pushed herself up and miraculously managed to put on the garments without choking herself. Having expended what little energy she had, she lay back down on the floor.

"Y'all are safe to come in now." She opened the door, and the twins walked in behind her.

They looked down at her and winced. "That bad, huh?" Nigel asked, kneeling down. Eva closed her eyes and laid her cheek on the floor. "Let me die."

"No way. We have stuff to do, houses to build, things to kill, the family business." Meryn was opening dresser drawers. "Where's your stuff?"

"Things to kill?" Eva asked ignoring her question.

"Yeah, I went to watch Doctor Who but Supernatural kept playing. I think something has jacked my Netflix account. I binge watched like five seasons yesterday. I now carry my sonic screwdriver, my laptop, and salt." She looked around. "Your stuff hasn't come yet, has it?"

"Nope." Eva cracked open one eye when she felt two hands on her head. "What are you two up to?"

Neil winked. They whispered, and Eva had to close her eyes at the green light. Slowly, the pounding in her head dissipated, and she didn't feel like she was about to cross over to the other side. She opened her eyes and sat up. "Don't let anyone tell you that the two of you don't kick ass."

Nigel laughed. "We learned that one very young. The witch that ran the house we grew up in liked to get drunk, but dealing with him the next day while he was hung over was dangerous. This spell pretty much saved our asses."

Eva growled. "One of these days you'll have to tell me more about growing up in Storm Keep."

"Yeah, I'd like to hear more, too," Meryn chimed in.

Eva stood and stretched. She pulled her clothes off the chair and got dressed. "So we're heading where?"

"The twins are going to the Marketplace to get more houses built, and I'm tagging along. There are so many unit warriors up there, we should be okay." Meryn headed to the door. "But before that, we're meeting up with Ryuu at the transport tunnel. He's bringing us coffee."

"Hot damn girl, why didn't you say so sooner, let's go." Eva herded everyone downstairs and out the door.

Meryn looked around and scrunched up her nose. "It's okay, but I like the Alpha estate better."

Eva bumped her with her hip. "Of course you do, you live there." Eva marched toward the tunnel with the single-minded purpose of getting her cup of coffee. When she saw Ryuu waiting for them, two to-go cups in hand, she almost cried. She walked up to him and took her cup. "Gods bless you, Ryuu."

Ryuu nodded with sympathy and handed the other cup to his charge. She and Meryn sighed happily at the same time after their first sip.

"I think I'd be okay with the world ending as long as I had coffee," Meryn admitted.

"Agreed." Eva took another sip.

Ryuu bent down and picked up a large cooler bag. "Ladies, after you." He bowed and motioned them to step into the tunnel. Unlike when the twins floated her up, Eva actually felt something solid under her feet. Looking down, she couldn't see anything, but it was if they were on a moving platform. The five of them arrived at Level Six and made their way to where the loud noises announced the housing project in progress.

She saw her mate talking with Beth. They were both bent over his clipboard, which now sported a pretty stone on the metal clasp. When she asked, he told her it was an alert stone in case Beth hurt herself. She was amazed that the girl had lived as long as she had if she had to pass out alert stones to ensure she got help. Beth pointed to the house in front of them, and they both nodded. Adriel looked over and saw her. His face transformed into a smile. Beth turned, and seeing them, walked over with Adriel.

"Looks like you lived," her mate teased kissing her gently.

"What in the hell was in that wine and why didn't you warn me?" Eva demanded.

Adriel winced. "It was not technically wine, more like a fruit flavored whiskey. The fae and the vampires discovered the recipe for it when attempting to create an alcohol that would not burn off with paranormal metabolisms. They call it Forbidden Fruit."

"I was drinking glass after glass of whiskey? No wonder I felt like dying this morning. You should have warned me." She poked him hard in the chest.

"I had no idea that you had never had any. You do own and operate a bar in a shifter town, my love," Adriel pointed out.

"Well, we don't stock that. Kinda glad now, I would have spent more time rolling drunk wolves out of my bar than pouring drinks."

"Forgive me," he asked, kissing her neck.

"I guess. But only because the twins pulled me back from the brink of death. Thank them. Because of their spell, I didn't spend the entire morning planning your death while trying to keep my head from exploding."

Adriel turned to the twins. "You have my thanks. When you are not pulling pranks, you have proven to be quite useful."

"Sugar!" Beth hissed, turning toward them.

Eva looked up and saw a vampire walking toward them with a smarmy smile on his face.

"Behave," Adriel murmured.

"I aim to misbehave," Meryn said, and the twins high-fived each other

"Elizabeth, darling! How good to see you again! Your efforts to supply homes for those poor wretched refugees does honor to your uncles' house," the man said, spreading his arms wide as if to greet Beth with a hug.

Meryn stumbled and wrapped her arms around Beth. "Sorry!" she said, her eyes wide and innocent. Beth kept her arms around Meryn, effectively evading the newcomer's embrace.

"Ivan DeLaFontaine, I'd like you to meet Meryn McKenzie, she is my adopted sister and the Unit Commander's mate." Beth smiled as she introduced Meryn.

It wasn't lost on Eva how she introduced Meryn's tie to a vampire family before her mating with the Unit Commander. Meryn was right; Beth was a master politician.

Ivan's oily smile turned to Meryn. "Oh! Isn't she delicious?"

Meryn stepped back, looking scared. "You want to eat me?" she exclaimed loudly. Her voice carried over the workmen's noise, and heads turned in her direction. Eva watched as her pack edged closer to where Meryn stood.

Ivan shook his head. "Of course not, darling. I was referring to the fact that you're pregnant. New babies are such a joy!"

Meryn gasped and wrapped her arms around her midsection protectively. "You want to eat my baby!"

"Here now, what's going on?" Stefan demanded, walking up to stand directly behind Meryn.

Ivan's polite facade began to crack. "Nothing, she is deliberately misinterpreting my every word."

Meryn sniffled and turned her face into Beth's shoulder. Beth patted her on the back. "She is in a delicate condition. You, of course, understand how frightening it must be for her to be in a strange city and have a new threat hanging over our heads. Even in the most peaceful of times, being with child is difficult." Beth kissed the top of Meryn's head.

Ivan was instantly repentant. "You're absolutely right. I'll just check on the housing project and then return to my Level. Give your uncle my regards, darling." He waved at them and walked over to where the unit witches were organizing for the day.

"I don't like him," Stefan growled.

"Me, either." Meryn said, pulling her head out of Beth's chest.

"You two almost gave me a heart attack," Adriel said, rubbing his chest. "I am too old for shocks like that. Do you know how hard it was not to laugh?"

Eva rubbed his back. "You did just fine."

"That was awesome," Nigel said, and Neil nodded his agreement.

Beth sighed and watched Ivan from afar. "He's up to something. He knows I hate his guts. I wonder why he wanted to hug me."

"I wasn't going to give him the chance." Meryn said.

Beth smiled at her sister. "What would I do without you?"

"Hug assholes," Meryn said bluntly.

"Maybe," Beth agreed.

"Meryn, if you need help, my pack is keeping an eye out for you. You can go to any of them, at any time." Stefan said, his eyes following Ivan until he dropped from sight down the transport tunnel.

Meryn blinked. "Thanks, but why?"

Stefan turned and saw everyone was staring at him in question. He shrugged. "No idea. You're mated to a shifter, so I guess I feel like I should watch after you. Plus, you're just a baby! You shouldn't have to face all of this craziness."

Meryn rolled her eyes. "I'm not a baby." She turned to Ryuu. "Lunches."

Ryuu stepped forward and unzipped the large cooler. He pulled out two large bag lunches and handed them to the twins. "My denka says you will need to keep up your strength as you are the ones doing the most magic." He handed each twin a bag lunch.

They stood there frozen in shock. "No one's ever made us lunch before."

Meryn nodded. "Me either, until Ryuu. It's kinda cool not having hot pockets all the time."

Nigel and Neil broke out into wide smiles. They both crowded around Meryn, each kissing her on the cheek. She giggled and shooed them away. "Go have fun making houses." She pointed to where Micah waited.

"We will," Neil said.

"Aren't you going to tell us to stay out of trouble?" Nigel asked, grinning wickedly.

Meryn laughed. "I did say have fun, didn't I?"

Laughing, the two ran off to get started.

"If they start creating rainbow colored houses, I will blame you," Adriel warned.

Beth slapped at his arm playfully. "They'll be fine. I'll try to curb their enthusiasm." She ruffled Meryn's hair. "Be good."

"Whatever," Meryn said.

Adriel turned to Eva. "Be good."

"Sure thing, darlin'."

Adriel shook his head, chuckling. He and Beth walked over to help keep everyone on track.

Meryn looked up at her. "So."

"So?"

"I'm bored."

"Gods forbid," Eva teased.

Meryn's face became pinched. "I feel trapped."

Eva nodded. She knew exactly what Meryn was referring to. The city with its uniform stone made Eva feel like the walls were closing in. She looked back to the transport tunnel. "Ryuu, you can fly right?"

"Yes, of course."

"And you're also Meryn's bodyguard in a sense?"

"Yes."

"So between the two of us, we should be able to keep her safe."

Ryuu's eyes narrowed. "I believe we could, why?"

Eva turned to Meryn. "Feel like going topside?"

Meryn practically squealed. "Yes!" She turned to Ryuu. "Oh, please!" She clasped her hands in front of her, begging.

Ryuu sighed. "How could I say no to that?"

"Yes!" Meryn pumped her arm in the air.

Eva had to admit she was excited too. Between the two of them, they practically dragged Ryuu to the transport tunnel. They wove their way between cots and tents of the refugees and headed to the Ledge.

When they got there, Warrick DuBois greeted them.

"Holy shit! What do they feed you?" Meryn exclaimed.

Warrick blinked then laughed. He practically had to bend in half to get down to Meryn's level. "You must be the commander's mate, Meryn. Nice to meet you. I am Warrick DuBois."

Meryn took a step back. "Are you related to that douchebag Andre?"

Warrick stood, his face pulled tight in anger. "What has that insufferable ass done now?"

Meryn pulled up her sleeve and showed him the bruise. Warrick inhaled sharply. "I am so sorry he put his hands on you. He is my cousin, and unfortunately, he takes after my uncle instead of my sweet aunt. I swear to you that he will never do such a thing again."

"It's cool; you can't pick your family." Meryn shrugged and lowered her sleeve.

"Where were the two of you ladies headed?" he asked.

"We're just heading to the surface for a bit. Feeling kinda claustrophobic down here," Eva answered.

Warrick nodded. "I have heard shifters, witches, and especially fae say the same thing after being transferred here. Just be careful, any sign of trouble, get back down here. I will check on you in an hour or so," he promised.

"Thanks." Meryn went to the door and pushed, nothing happened. "Is there a spell on it or something?"

Warrick shook his head, fighting a grin. "It is just a bit heavy." He easily swung it open for them.

"Being little sucks," Meryn growled and walked out.

Warrick winked at Eva. "Have fun."

"Thanks!"

Ryuu easily lifted them out of the canyon to the edge where the desert began. "Stay close, if there's any hint of danger, jump into the canyon," he instructed.

Meryn looked down at the drop. "What if you aren't paying attention?"

Ryuu continued to stare at her without answering.

"Right, super squire, got it." Meryn looked up and squinted at the sun. "Feels so good."

Eva had to agree. Her tiger was already wrestling for control; it wanted out to sunbathe. She looked around; it was only Ryuu and Meryn. Shrugging, she stripped out of her clothes and shifted.

"Holy fuck! You're, like, huge!" Meryn said, climbing up on a rock. "Don't eat me, okay?"

She chuffed and licked the side of Meryn's face, causing her to giggle. She easily vaulted up on to the large rock and got comfortable. Meryn seemed just as happy to lie in the sun.

Eva opened one eye and watched Ryuu pick up her discarded clothes then fold them neatly. She sighed and closed her eyes again.

She lost track of time as she dozed happily in the sun. It wasn't until Ryuu walked over to them that she realized how much the sun had moved overhead.

"Denka, it's been over an hour, and you're starting to turn bright pink. I think it best if we headed inside now."

"Five more minutes. There are no walls. I've missed the sun and wind," Meryn mumbled, half asleep.

Eva touched her nose to Meryn's cheek. Ryuu was right; she was getting toasted. Carefully, she used her teeth to grab ahold of Meryn's collar. She stood, lifting her off the rock. She hopped down and trotted to the edge.

Ryuu bowed. "My thanks."

Meryn yawned. "Can I ride you next time? You can be my battle cat! That would be so cool!" Meryn giggled when Eva swung her from side to side.

When Warrick opened the door for them, his eyes widened. "Everything all right?"

"Yup, we're cool." Meryn gave him a thumbs up as Eva carried her through the level.

Stefan stopped what he was doing and cracked up. "You're in trouble now, Meryn. Once Eva's tiger considers you her cub, you're her cub for life."

"Really?" Meryn asked.

Stefan waved them on. "Good luck."

Adriel and Aiden walked over. "We were about to head down for a break before another meeting. Care to join us?" Adriel offered.

Without answering, Eva carried Meryn to the tunnel and jumped. True to his word, Ryuu, without prompting, lowered them down to Level One. Adriel escorted Aiden behind them.

When she approached the door, she hesitated. How would she open it with no hands? Adriel stepped in front of her and opened the door. "There you go love."

Eva carried Meryn into the prince's home, not stopping until they were in the private room assigned to Meryn and Aiden.

"Eva, what are you doing? The sitting room is that-a-way." Meryn pointed the opposite direction.

Eva jumped, with Meryn, onto the bed and set her down.

"Eva, I'm not tired," Meryn argued before a huge yawn caught her.

Eva was in full agreement with her tiger. It was definitely nap time. She pulled Meryn between her paws and began to groom her.

"Seriously!" Meryn exclaimed, trying to get away.

Gently, Eva rolled Meryn backward with the pads of her paws and continued licking her.

"This is ridiculous! Adriel, get your mate." Meryn yawned again.

Adriel was about to step forward when Aiden grabbed his arm. "Wait a moment."

Eva licked her one last time then nudged her down with her nose.

Meryn complied. "I'm not even tired."

Eva ignored her and began to purr.

"I'm..." Meryn yawned again. "I'm fine." She snuggled in close to her, and Eva continued to purr. After a couple minutes, her breathing evened out, and she was asleep.

"Eva, please, I beg you, let her sleep. It's the first time she's slept in days," Aiden implored.

Eva opened one eye and yawned before resting her chin on her paws. Of course, she would let the cub sleep.

"Come on, Commander, looks like we are not needed here," Adriel said, holding the door open for Aiden.

"Thank you," Aiden whispered.

They closed the door and Eva sighed happily. She got to doze in the sun, and the cub was sleeping, everything was right in her world.

*****

Eva woke up and looked around. Meryn was still sleeping next to her. Carefully, she moved away from her and jumped down off the bed. She shifted back to human and looked around. Thankfully, Ryuu had placed her clothes on the chair in the corner.

She was just finishing up buttoning her shirt when Meryn woke up. Bleary eyed, she sat up and yawned.

"That was awesome sleep." With eyes still half closed, she rolled out of bed and stood, swaying a bit.

Eva bit her lip. On one side of Meryn's head, her hair was sticking straight up from where she had groomed her before their nap. She was about to say something then shrugged. She'd find out soon enough.

Meryn waited for Eva to steer her out of the room and toward the living area. When she heard voices coming from the dining room, she changed directions and headed that way instead.

When they walked in, Beth's eyes widened. "Oh dear."

Aiden had a huge grin on his face. "Did you get a good nap in?" Aiden's eyes softened when Meryn trudged over and climbed into his lap. Still smiling, he did his best to flatten her hair.

"Best sleep in days. Coffee," Meryn said shortly.

Eva walked around the table and sat down next to her mate. There was a tightness around his eyes that she didn't like. "What?"

He looked startled then smiled. "You already know me so well." He looked at the table. "Why not grab something to eat."

It must be bad if he wants me to eat first. Eva stood and grabbed a couple sandwiches that were on one of the platters in the middle of the table. "Eating, see. Now talk."

Adriel hesitated, looking over at Meryn. "She can handle whatever you think you shouldn't say, so spill," Eva directed.

Ryuu walked in from the kitchen and handed Meryn a cup of coffee. Aiden frowned. "I thought she wasn't allowed caffeine."

Ryuu shook his head. "Her body is processing it well. In fact, the baby seems to enjoy it."

Aiden looked at his mate dubiously. "If you're sure."

Ryuu nodded. "I am. Actually, after that nap, she's doing almost as well as if we were back in Lycaonia. The lack of sleep was getting to be a worry."

"Enough about my coffee. What's happened?" Meryn asked, her eyes finally open.

"There's been another murder," Beth said quietly.

Eva dropped her sandwich, the food turning to lead in her stomach. "Who?"

"A Brian Carolton," Adriel said.

Eva sat back in her chair. Brian hadn't been a close friend, but he was part of the pack. She knew he'd be missed.

"Are we any closer to finding the killer?" she asked.

Adriel took her hand. "With the housing project nearly complete, we will be able to dedicate our efforts to finding Augustus Pettier. Thank the Gods for the twins! I do not think we would have finished so quickly without them. Their idea to create two-story buildings grouped in quads allowed us to house eight families per quad. Each quad houses between thirty-two and fifty people."

Eva stared. "You'd only need four or five of those for the entire pack. That's amazing."

Adriel smiled. "Each design also gives the families shared living space for meetings, communal laundry facilities, and of course, the closed courtyard for the pups."

"You all have completed four of these already?" she asked.

"No, we were able to build twelve, six along each wall. We should have plenty of room for a while."

Eva looked at her mate. "Then why did you say the building process was nearly complete? It sounds finished to me."

"We still need to run the utilities: Sewer, water, and electric. They should be wrapping up by this evening." Adriel lifted their hands and kissed her knuckles. "Families have already been assigned their new quarters, and the fae warriors are working with Stefan to get personal belongings delivered from the city estate in Albuquerque."

"Thank the Gods. Is there any chance some of my stuff was delivered? I'm itching to change my clothes." Eva pulled her button down away from her skin. It wasn't dirty per se; she had just been wearing it for days. Though Beth's evening dress had fit, her every day clothing was just small enough to be uncomfortable.

Adriel winked. "I may have pulled some strings. Your boxes were carried down to our home while you napped."

"I can't wait." Eva smiled and picked up her sandwich. "We ran into Warrick at the city entrance today. Evidently, he's related to the jerk that harassed us in the Marketplace."

Aiden's low growl carried throughout the room. "I want a chance to speak to this Andre."

Meryn giggled. "You may want to let Warrick handle it. He's almost bigger than you, and he was very upset that his cousin mistreated his commander's mate."

Eva smiled. "I'd say Andre is in for a rough evening."

"Unless his uncle stops him. He did say that Andre took after his uncle," Meryn reminded her.

"With family like that, I'm glad I don't have any uncles," Eva shuddered.

"I have an aunt and uncle now." Meryn picked up her spoon and started in on her pudding.

"What do you mean now?" Eva asked.

"My aunt didn't know about me when I was growing up; my grandmother didn't tell her that my mother had a child, and the last time my aunt saw my mother..." Meryn's voice trailed off.

"Meryn?" Eva watched the barrage of expressions flashing over Meryn's face.

"Hmm? Nothing. Anyway, I got to meet them when I found out Amelia was my big sister-cousin. I went from having no family to a ton of family. It's still kinda weird though."

"It's been just me for hundreds of years. Trust me, I know exactly how you feel," Eva said, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"What is your cousin like, Meryn," Adriel asked.

"She's like me, but she's nice and likes people."

"There are two like you?" Magnus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryuu took Meryn's coffee cup and replaced it with a tall glass of water. "Denka has described itoko-sama very accurately. Amelia is a unique individual who, due to her empathy, is very kind and attuned to the feelings of others. She doesn't like conflict and prefers everyone around her to be happy."

"So she thinks like Meryn?" Magnus asked.

Ryuu shook his head. "No, my denka is more practical and ruthless than Amelia. If anyone thinks like Meryn, it would be Kendrick."

"Kendrick? Kendrick Ashwood?" Adriel asked.

"Yes. He moved from Storm Keep to take over caring for his brother," Ryuu replied.

Adriel tapped his water glass absently. "His name came up quite a bit in speaking with the twins and other witches. In fact, did we not we get a delivery from Lycaonia from Kendrick for Nigel and Neil?"

Meryn's head turned to face her squire. "Their stuff came?"

Ryuu nodded. "Yes, I took the liberty of delivering it to them while you napped. They were very excited."

"Sweet! I can't wait to see what they come up with. I put in a request for floaty devices." Meryn rubbed her hands together.

"Floaty devices?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, waiting for a tunnel escort blows. I asked them to make me something where I can get around the city by myself," Meryn explained.

Everyone around the table looked uneasy at the idea of a free-range Meryn loose in Noctem Falls.

Meryn scowled. "I can take care of myself, besides don't I have, like, four bodyguards now, not counting Ryuu?"

"Don't forget the wolves are watching out for you, too. Stefan seems to have latched on to the idea that you need protecting," Eva reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. He's fun though. I wouldn't mind hanging out with him." Meryn took another bite of pudding.

Beth's face became thoughtful. "It's not like you to take to someone so quickly outside of our family.

"He's good peeps," Meryn said.

A rapid succession of buzzing had everyone reaching for their phones.

"It's mine," Beth announced. She looked down at her phone, and her eyes widened. Her finger moved quickly as she scrolled. She closed her eyes for a moment before she turned to Meryn. "Meryn!"

Meryn's hand froze in the middle of lifting her spoon to her mouth. "What?"

"How could you?" Beth demanded.

Gavriel leaned in close to his mate and read Beth's phone. His eyes widened, and his mouth began to twitch.

"What? I'm not admitting to anything until I know what I'm being accused of." Meryn set her spoon down.

"You... again... no more." Beth waved her phone around.

Magnus watched, his expression one of concern.

Eva heard the front door open and close before Broderick and Caspian appeared in the dining room doorway. Broderick was grinning and Caspian looked exasperated. "I know it's not true, but I had to come up here to see how you'd be handling it," Broderick chuckled and took his seat next to Magnus. "Breathe, honey."

"Breathe? This isn't the first time she's done this!" Beth crossed her arms on the table and lay her head down on them. Gavriel's head was turned away, but his entire body was shaking with laughter.

"What? Seriously, now I'm dying to know what I did?" Meryn grinned as she took in the chaos around her.

"Ugh!" Beth screeched, her head still down.

Gavriel lost all sense of composure and slumped over his mate, laughing hysterically.

Beth sat up, forcing Gavriel to lean back in his chair. Her mouth twitched. "It's not funny."

Broderick had also joined Gavriel, who was laughing too hard to answer.

Caspian shook his head. "Do not mind them darling, they are idiots, but we love them anyway. What are you going to do?"

Eva sat forward. "Please tell me what she did. Curiosity overload over here."

Beth exhaled loudly and leaned back in her chair. Her resigned expression changed to a soft smile. "Meryn announced on Facebook today that thanks to a third party, she and I were now 'expecting' together."

Eva blinked. It was true that they were both pregnant. How could that be wrong? Beside her, Adriel began to chuckle. "What?"

Adriel turned to Beth. "Was it worded just like that?"

Beth nodded.

Adriel turned to Eva. "Think about it. Thanks to a third party, they are having a baby together."

Third party? Oh!

"Oh." Eva looked at Meryn, who still looked confused. "She still doesn't get it."

Beth sighed. "It wouldn't be so bad, except she also announced we were in a relationship together. Of course, she meant that I had adopted her as a sister."

"Yikes." Eva winced in sympathy. "What's being said?"

"What did I do?" Meryn demanded.

Eva turned to Meryn. "You kinda implied that you and Beth used a sperm donor to get Beth pregnant since you're both lesbians."

Meryn gasped. "I did not!"

Caspian leaned in. "Is Gavriel breathing?"

Beth turned to her mate, startled. She whacked him on the back, and he inhaled loudly then proceeded to laugh uncontrollably.

"You're no help," Beth said, laughing.

"I was a big help," he managed to choke out.

"Oh you!" Beth rolled her eyes.

Meryn pulled out her phone and stared down at it frowning. "Is that why someone asked me what clinic we used?"

Beth groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"Shit." Meryn looked up at Aiden. "Your brother may be calling you confused about phone calls he may or may not be receiving concerning artificial insemination."

Aiden just chuckled until his phone began to vibrate. His laughter was cut short. "Shit." He stood as he answered. "Hey Adam, funny you should call." He walked out of the room, rubbing the back of his neck.

Eva sat back in her chair, holding her mate's hand. Beth slapped Gavriel's arm as she one-handedly typed on her phone in an effort to do damage control. Broderick cackled as he helped himself to a second sandwich. Meryn scrunched up her nose as she started reading messages.

She turned to her mate. "How was your day?"

Adriel smiled as they took in the chaos around them. "Getting better and better."

CHAPTER TWELVE

After the confusion over Meryn's Facebook announcement calmed down, everyone finished their lunches and returned to whatever project they had been working on for the day. Eva was looking forward to a quiet afternoon in the communications hub with Meryn. Her time in the sun, power nap, and lunch had her feeling great despite the rough start that morning.

Adriel kissed her softly. "Have fun," he said, winking at her.

"I don't think I have a choice when Meryn is involved," she said.

He gave her one final kiss then left, closing the door to the hub behind him. Eva got comfortable in one of the high back leather manager chairs while Meryn tapped away on her laptop. She had just started to doze lightly when the door swung open and slammed against the wall.

"Meryn! We did it!" Nigel announced, bursting through the door. Neil was right behind him, beaming proudly.

Eva jumped a mile. "Dammit boys, y'all trying to kill me?" Eva clutched at her chest.

Meryn jumped up. "Seriously! Already? High five!" Meryn held up both hands, and the twins clapped hands with hers.

"It was in the book you got us from Kendrick. Once we were able to wrap our heads around the theory of trapping winds in crystal, it was surprisingly easy to do." Nigel handed Meryn a small stone. "Later we can see if we can make these into key chains or something easier to carry."

Neil handed one to her. "We were going to do these for the refugees, but it takes a lot out of us. We actually had to wait until the housing project was done before we did these, otherwise we would have been useless. Besides, Adriel isn't comfortable with the refugees having access to the entire city. He said trying to keep them safe was hard enough when they were all in one place."

Eva turned the stone over in her hand. "Is this pumice?"

Neil nodded. "Air stone. Each tiny hole captures air and holds it."

"I wanna try it!" Meryn exclaimed heading for the door.

Eva reached out and grabbed her collar. "Hold it right there, cub. Don't you have more messages to respond to?" Eva pointed to Meryn's laptop. "You promised Beth you would post an explanation."

Meryn's face fell. "But I want to see how these babies work."

"I'll tell you what. If the twins promise to stay with you, I'll head to the tunnel and try it out. That way I can help you later. Deal?" Eva looked at the twins.

Both nodded. "We were going to study some more anyway. We can do that just as easily here as in our quarters."

"Fine, Facebook posts then I'll just beat my head against my laptop trying to figure out the killer's pattern. To me, it looks like he's just picking whomever he can get to, like crimes of opportunity, but ferals aren't like that. They're like 'braaaiinnnns' and randomness. What really has me curious is figuring out how this sucker is getting around. If he's feral, he can't fly anymore. It's not like he has one of those stones; the twins just made them."

Eva stopped and looked at the stone in her hand. In all the conversations she had been a part of, no one had brought up how the feral was moving around the city. If Meryn was correct, then wouldn't he be confined to the Grand Hall? She forced herself to smile. "You'll figure it out," Eva said encouragingly, a plan already forming in her mind.

"Maybe. Go on, but you have to tell me everything as soon as you get back." Meryn climbed into her chair and pulled her laptop onto her lap.

Eva twisted the stone in her hand. "Boys, how does this thing work anyway?"

Nigel laughed. "Say autem to go up and descendit to go down."

Eva memorized the words. "So what should I expect, like a whoosh or what?"

Nigel frowned. "No idea, we came directly here after making them."

"I'll go with you in case it doesn't work," Neil offered.

"You're making me feel real nervous about this," Eva grumbled.

"Relax, if anything goes wrong, Neil will just float you back up here." Nigel waved a hand at him.

Meryn stared at her. "You know what? You testing it out first, great idea."

"Be back soon," Eva said, pulling Neil behind her by his collar.

They headed out of the hub, through the prince's quarters and out the door. Together, they walked up to the transport tunnel and looked down. "Kinda dark down there," Neil commented.

"If I end up in that net..." she let her threat trail off.

Neil gulped. "I won't let you drop, swear!"

"Right." Eva held the stone in her hand. "Autem." She began to lift steadily off the ground. When she got close to the ceiling, she pulled herself to the edge and into the open air in front of her in the tunnel. She continued to float upward.

"It works!" Neil exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Don't sound so surprised; it's making me nervous," Eva said.

She kept floating upward. "Neil! How do I stop?"

"Say prohibere," he shouted.

"Prohibere?" she asked. Suddenly, she was falling.

Neil jumped into the tunnel and caught her. "Try not to say that until you're at your level. Maybe later, Nigel and I can work on a pause command."

Eva swallowed hard a few times. "Right. Makes sense."

Neil returned her to the platform. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Autem."

Again, she lifted up, this time she kicked off the ground into the tunnel. "I think I got the hang of this. I'm heading to Level Six, keep an eye on Meryn and under no circumstances is she allowed to try this by herself. I don't care if you have to sit on her."

Neil gave her a salute. "Be safe."

"Thanks."

Eva floated gently upward, passing all the other levels until she was at the Marketplace. She reached out and grabbed the ceiling and pulled herself into the launching platform. "Prohibere." She dropped the distance from the ceiling to the floor. She couldn't help but smile. It felt good to have her independence back.

She walked out into the Marketplace and took a good look around. The stands were arranged in long neat rows. There was no way a feral could go undetected in the actual marketplace; there were too many people. She walked a ways until she was beyond the stalls.

She smiled as she saw the fruits of the twins labor for the first time. The stone houses they created for her pack were impressive. She walked down the wide street between the two rows of houses.

"Hey Eva!"

Eva looked and saw Josie waving at her. She jogged over to her friend. "How are you doing?" she asked.

Josie smiled shyly. "Jorge and I got a house together."

Eva hugged her friend. "That's wonderful news! And about time too, missy!"

Josie blushed. "I spent so much time worrying if he still wanted me even though I was having someone else's baby. But when we were running in the desert, I heard him praying for our baby. He actually said 'our baby'. I never should have doubted him."

"I'm so happy for you." Eva felt like the sun had come out. After so much bad news, it felt amazing to know that her friends had finally come together.

"You're coming to the barbecue right? There's been some talk about canceling since we found out about Brian, but Alpha Stefan says we need to get to know our neighbors now more than ever." Josie glanced back at the housing opening where a tent stood roped off by yellow tape. She shuddered.

"Y'all have a date yet?" Eva asked, changing the subject. She didn't want Josie stressed over the murders.

"Day after tomorrow. I know a lot of people are worried about living with so many vampires, but they've been so kind, Eva. Perfect strangers have come up to us with boxes and boxes of stuff for the houses. And the food has been nothing short of perfection." Josie licked her lips.

Eva had a feeling that Josie was being a bit more spoiled than others. She was absolutely adorable and pregnant. According to everything she had heard, babies were a rarity around here. "I'll be there," she promised.

"Good. You can even swing by our home, and I'll make you coffee. We have water and electricity now." Josie pointed to the ceiling where two large pipes ran the length of the housing development and down to each housing structure.

"What're those?" Eva asked.

"One pipe carries water, the other electrical wires. They're needed for the utilities. Before the houses were created, they ran larger pipes in the ground for waste disposal. Aren't they clever?" Josie smiled.

"Listen, I'm going to go check on something, but you tell Jorge he owes me a beer." Eva winked.

"A beer, why?"

"I told him he'd be moved in with you before summer; he didn't believe me."

Josie tilted her head. "But Eva, how did you know we'd be together before summer?"

"Because if the two of you hadn't worked things out, I was going to handcuff y'all together," Eva said, laughing.

Josie giggled. "I'll tell him to keep a few cold ones set aside for ya."

"Thanks!" Eva waved and walked to the end of the long row of houses, following the tubes until she ended up standing in front of a large panel.

Carefully, she pulled on the door and let it swing open. She stuck her head in and looked up then down. In the large opening were three pipes. She stepped back and looked around. She pulled her handheld out. "Hey, Meryn."

"Menace. Over."

"What?"

"I'm Menace. Over."

"I know you're a menace," Eva said, laughing.

"No. That's my code name, you're BattleKitty. And you have to say over. Over."

Eva pulled back the handheld and stared at it. She lifted it back up to her mouth. "BattleKitty?"

"Yes, it's perfect for you. Over."

Eva rubbed the space between her eyebrows. "Menace, what did you say earlier about the feral. Something about opportunity."

"Well, BattleKitty, I don't have much to go on since you can't really establish a pattern with two incidents..."

"Meryn!"

"Right, all I was thinking was that the murders happened kinda close together at the edge of the Grand Hall and Marketplace, like he grabbed whoever was closest or something. Over."

Eva looked around. She jogged past the house to where the development began. On her left was a tent with yellow tape; it was where they Brian's body. There was a similar investigation tent set up around the spot where Emily and John had been found. She turned and noticed another panel in the wall.

"Menace, do you have a map of the city showing utility lines?" Eva asked.

"Yup, hold on, I'll send it to you. Why, whatcha doin'? Over."

"Just checkin' on something." Eva pulled out her phone and waited. After a minute, she was notified that she had received a new email. She opened the document and studied it.

If she was reading this correctly, the utility panels ran uninterrupted in a straight line down below the city. She ran back to the panel at the end of the houses. She looked down; it was pitch black.

Damn.

She ran over to Josie's new front door and knocked. Josie opened it and smiled. "Two visits in one day? You must have missed me."

Eva forced a smile. "Hey, in all the stuff the vampires gave you, you wouldn't by chance have a flashlight would ya?"

Josie nodded. "Two in fact. It is kinda dark around here." Josie turned and disappeared into the house. She came back a minute later carrying a standard flashlight and one attached to an elastic band.

"Perfect! Can I borrow this?" Eva asked, picking up the one on the band.

"Shoot Eva Mae, you can have it. I don't need it." Josie looked around. "Is everything okay?"

Eva smiled wide. "Of course it is. Now you go back inside and get off your feet."

Josie stared at her a moment then smiled. "If you say so." She hesitated. "Be safe, Eva Mae."

"Aren't I always?"

"No. You're not. That's why I said to be safe. Usually, you're the first one to plunge headlong into danger."

Eva laughed nervously. "That's silly."

"If you say so."

"Thanks for the light." Eva held it up.

"Anytime," Josie said and closed the door.

Plunge headlong into danger? Who? Me?

Eva ran back over to the access panel and stared down. "Damn girl knows me too well." She pulled the band with the headlight over her head and put it in position. She flicked it on and squeezed past one of the three pipes to the open cavity behind them. It was close quarters, but if she could fit so could someone else. Maybe not the warriors or most vampires, but then again, not all vampires were built like her mate.

She shimmed down the pipes for what seemed like forever. When she reached the bottom, she pushed on a panel door, and it swung open easily. She hopped out and looked around. It looked like she was in a series of abandoned tunnels. She checked her map and where she was standing wasn't there.

Well hell.

She unclipped her handheld. "Hey, Menace."

"Yeah, over."

"Do you have any maps that show tunnels under the city?"

"No. Why? Wait, you're standing in a tunnel under the city, aren't you?" Meryn demanded.

"Maybe."

"Dammit, why didn't you take me? I freaking love Indiana Jones! Are there snakes?" Meryn asked excitedly.

Eva quickly checked out her surroundings. She hated snakes! "No, no snakes." She looked around. Faint light filled the tunnel on both sides. Not enough to see, but it created an eerie glow. "No snakes, but a ton of shadows. I think I'm in a part of the city that doesn't get much use. The glow spheres down here are practically spent."

"Count the shadows. Over."

Eva grinned. "Hey! Who turned out the lights?" She grinned and waited.

"Fuck! Seriously! Eva! Are you okay? Do you have any chicken legs you can throw at the shadows?" Meryn's explosive response was worth it.

Laughing she responded. "I'm fine, you nut. Besides, they used a chicken leg to identify a swarm not appease them."

"Right. By the way, you're awesome. Over."

"I know. Look I'm gonna peek around here then head back up to tell you all about it." Eva didn't really want to spend any more time in this dark, dank tunnel than absolutely necessary.

"Okie dokie. Hurry up, though; I can't wait to hear what you've been up to. Over."

"Over and out, Menace."

Eva turned her head and flashed the light around the tunnel. She was about to head back into the access panel when a dark smudge caught her attention. She walked forward and bent down. She touched her fingers to the stain and sniffed. Her canines dropped.

Blood. Wolf blood.

She lifted up her handheld and changed it to channel two. "Adriel, Aiden, come in please." Eva whispered. She held her breath, trying not to make a sound.

"Adriel here, Eva is that you?"

"I'm in some tunnels under the city. I found wolf blood down here. Over."

"Eva, get back up to the levels," he ordered.

Eva looked up and saw a pair of red eyes watching her in the darkness. "Don't think that's an option anymore." The eyes blinked and disappeared. She heard the scurry of feet escaping down the tunnel.

"Oh no you don't, you bastard!" She began running after him. She lifted the handheld. "I'm going after him, Adriel. If you're facing the access panel, I'm heading left."

"No! Wait for back up!"

"We could lose him! I'm strong enough to take out a single feral, and you know it." Eva stopped and waited. To her left the sound of movement. She darted after the noise.

"We are coming. Two minutes behind you. When I catch up to you, I am going to paddle your ass," he threatened.

Breathing heavily she grinned. "Admit it. You like the fact that I don't automatically genuflect when you speak," she stopped and listened again.

In front of her, two ruby red eyes stared at her from the darkness.

"Eva, what did you just say?" Adriel demanded.

Eva stared into those crazed eyes and clipped the handheld on her belt to free up her hand. "Come on, you son of a bitch. If you liked wolf blood, you'll love tiger," she taunted.

The eyes disappeared, and she froze. Behind her she felt hot breath on the back of her neck. He whispered something, and everything went black.

*****

"Eva, what did you just say?" Adriel shouted into the handheld. He, along with the Eta and Theta units, was running through the Marketplace to the transport tunnel. When she did not respond, he roared in frustration. He clipped the handheld to his belt.

"Adriel, what?" Micah asked.

"It is what she said in my dream before I found her dead." Adriel jumped into the tunnel and flew past the levels.

"Not on my watch!" Micah yelled.

Beside him, Micah shouted a spell and, just before he was about to crash into the net, it disappeared. He landed hard and looked around.

"Adriel, the access panel she is talking about is this way." Dimitri pointed and the men ran after him.

"What is this place?" Declan growled.

"The Pits. The level below level one where city maintenance is done," Grant explained before coming to a grinding halt. He sniffed the air and swallowed hard. "Blood, I smell blood," he whispered.

"No," Adriel hissed. He smelled it too and ran heedlessly in that direction. At the end of the long hallway was a large wooden door. Unlike his dream, he did not even try the doorknob; he simply leaned back and kicked the door. It shattered at the force, blowing splinters of wood into the room.

Old rusted equipment was stacked along the walls and wooden crates created a maze before them.

"Where is she!" he yelled. He ran recklessly between the crates.

"Found her!" a voice called out.

Adriel levitated above the crates and immediately zeroed in on where the lights were converging. He dropped down to find Dimitri cradling Eva gently. It seemed like from the waist down, her blue jeans were dark brown, soaked in blood. A flash of pale flesh was revealed where the attacker had ripped the denim to get to her skin.

"Give her to me!"

Dimitri handed her off to him. Adriel lay her down, and using his claws, he ripped her jeans from her body. He used one pant leg and wrapped it around the open bite wound on her inner thigh. He tied it as tight as he could without causing damage. He looked up at his second in command. "Get Broderick ready. I am taking her directly to his lab on Level One." Declan turned and started organizing Broderick and Caspian to receive Eva.

Gently Adriel checked her other leg; it was untouched. He picked her up carefully. He looked at Declan. "Eta stay with me; you are on guard detail." He turned to Dimitri. "Find this bastard, find him and bring him to me," he ordered.

Dimitri's eyes blazed. "As you command." He lifted his fist to his chest then began barking out orders to the Theta Unit.

Adriel did not wait to see what they did. Having run the hallways, he knew the layout. He took to the air and flew. When the passage opened up to the transport tunnel, he darted upward, heading directly to Magnus' door. It was open, and an anxious Sebastian waited for them.

"They are ready for her." He called after him.

Instead of heading right toward the living quarters, he went left. Down another long hallway until he saw Caspian waiting by another opened door. "This way!"

Adriel ran in and placed his mate on the table. "She was bit; she has lost a lot of blood."

"Check for decay," a male voice suggested.

Adriel looked around the room. Aiden and a frantic looking Meryn stood next to Gavriel and an equally concerned looking Beth. Behind him, his unit caught up and closed the door.

Broderick turned to Aiden. "Why decay?"

"When Colton was bit, his wound wouldn't heal. The feral bite was decaying slightly faster than his shifter abilities could heal. Seems to be a new development." Aiden's eyes flashed in anger at the memory.

Adriel watched helplessly as Broderick swabbed blood onto glass slide and handed it off to his mate. Caspian went to the other side of the room and placed it under a microscope.

Broderick began cleaning the wound gently using fresh white gauze.

A minute later, Caspian confirmed his worst fears. "She's infected."

Adriel turned to Aiden. "What do we do?"

"Gavriel donated blood. It gave the shifter blood a boost and allowed him to heal," Aiden explained.

Adriel held out his arm. "Take mine. Take whatever she needs."

Broderick looked around the room, concern written all over his face. "She'll need quite a bit, probably more than Adriel can safely provide."

"Do not worry, love; I will donate too." Caspian offered.

Broderick looked relieved. "Lay down Adriel, we'll get started."

Adriel quickly jumped up on the gurney, and he was wheeled next to Eva. Seconds seemed to drag by but, before he knew it, the IV was in and his blood was flowing into his mate. After a few minutes, Eva groaned, and her eyes began to flutter.

"That's fine; we'll switch now." Broderick said, turning to remove his IV.

Adriel wrapped his hand around his arm, protecting the needle. "I can give more."

Broderick shook his head. "Adriel, she's doing much better, let Caspian donate."

Adriel knew the smart thing to do would be to allow Caspian to donate to Eva. But even though it had not been spoken, he knew that if he allowed Caspian to donate, he and Eva would be tied together forever. Adriel did not want her tied to anyone but him.

"No." He closed his eyes. "No one but me." He could easily give more; he felt fine.

"Adriel, any vampire can donate to Eva, but not to you. Please let Caspian donate," Broderick pleaded.

"No. She's mine," Adriel hissed, and his fangs dropped past his chin. Everything was getting bleary, but he remembered one thing: he could not move his hand. Broderick, Caspian, and even Aiden tried to peel his fingers away, but they could not.

"What's he doing?" he heard a heavenly voice ask.

"The damn fool is getting himself killed," Broderick answered.

"What!"

Adriel smiled at the sound of the voice. "My love."

"I am gonna kick your ass all over this level if you don't move your hand!" the woman yelled.

He chuckled. "So feisty." At her touch, his hand fell away. "Just going to rest for a few minutes, love."

He closed his eyes and fell into a cold abyss.

*****

"Take it out!" Eva yelled, holding up her arm.

Broderick quickly removed the IV. "He gave too much."

Eva looked around the room; she started to hop off the table and winced, her leg burned. "Fucker bit me." Grimacing, she sat up and faced Adriel. "Okay, so who can give him blood?" Everyone around her was silent. "Well?"

Broderick wrung his hands. "Vampires are universal donors. Because they ingest so many different types of blood, their own blood is compatible with anyone. However, in order to receive blood, a vampire needs another vampire of the same blood type."

"So get someone down here with his blood type." She reached out and touched Adriel's cheek. He was ice cold.

Broderick shook his head. "It's not that easy. Unlike shifters and humans, vampires have their own strains of blood, usually traceable back to their family line, their bloodline. Adriel has no family in the city. If he were a DuBois donating to a Fabre or Tremblay, it might work, their bloodlines have intermated over the centuries being of Noble or Founding blood, but Adriel isn't."

Eva's mind scrambled. She wasn't losing him, not now, not because of her. She looked around the room; everywhere she looked she saw resignation and sympathy. Her eyes met Gavriel's. His gray eyes, just like... She gasped.

"He's an Ambrosios!" she yelled, reaching for Gavriel.

Gavriel's brows snapped together as he frowned fiercely. "No, he is not. I would have known. My family is gone."

Eva shook her head. "No time to explain, he is. Please!" she pleaded.

Gavriel's face softened. "I know you want to save him, but if I gave him my blood and we were not related, it would kill him."

"He has the Book of Life for House Ambrosios, Gods! Look at him! You could use each other as shaving mirrors!" Eva shouted.

Beth gasped and stepped forward; white tear streaks lined on her cheeks. "She's right, he could be your brother you look so much alike. Why did I never see it?"

Gavriel grabbed her hands. "This is very important. Does he truly have the Ambrosios Book of Life?"

"Yes! He said he did, it was passed to him from his great-great-great grandmother. She was human and kicked out of Noctem Falls when her vampire mate was killed. She changed her name so they couldn't find her." Eva choked on her tears. She looked up into Gavriel's eyes. "Please save him," she begged.

Gavriel reached up and simply ripped away both his suit and shirt sleeve. "Broderick, do it." He offered up his arm.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Eva repeated. Beth wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "He'll be just fine."

Already, Gavriel's blood was making a difference. Adriel's skin, which had been ice cold to the touch, was warming. Eva lay back and rolled on to her side. She took his hand.

Behind her, Beth gently stroked her hair. "Rest Eva, we'll take care of you both. You're family."

She closed her eyes, but kept her hand on her mate; if she was touching him, then he couldn't leave her. "Just five minutes, and then I'd like some coffee and a pop tart." She heard someone chuckle and smiled at the sound; it was the last thing she heard for a while.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Eva smiled as she looked around. Her pack, true to their Texas roots, organized one of the biggest barbecues she had ever seen. The vampire vendors had outdone themselves, supplying cart after cart of food. The children played in the middle of the marketplace under the watchful eyes of both shifters and vampires. Already, the vampires were spoiling the shifter children rotten, much to their parent's surprise. When Adora heard how few children had been born in the city in the past hundred years, she organized vampire babysitters so that everyone would have a chance to play with the children; it was a huge success.

Jorge passed her another beer. She nodded and accepted it.

"So you found the bastard that killed our people?"

Eva nodded. "Yeah, but he got away."

"We'll find him, Eva. We're trying to talk Prince Magnus into letting us hunt down there in small packs."

"What'd he say?" Both she and her mate had slept for nearly thirty-six hours. When they woke, a lot had already been discussed about tracking down Augustus. She was still trying to catch up.

Jorge looked out over the crowd. "He wants to make sure that the tunnels are safe before large groups are allowed down there."

"Sounds like a good idea. I was down there, Jorge, some of the walls looked like they were about to topple over."

Jorge looked at her. "So he wasn't just trying to keep us from going down there?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I believe him. It's pretty bad down there."

Jorge sat back. "I feel better after hearing you say that. I'll let the rest of the pack know."

"I'd appreciate that."

"You do know Stefan just about came unglued when he heard you almost died."

"Shit. I'll get with him later. Though why he's so locked on me, I'll never know."

Jorge laughed. "You don't remember, do you?"

Eva wracked her brain. "Remember what?"

"Hell, he'll kill me if he finds out I told you." Jorge looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "You probably don't remember because you've made it a habit to pull wolf pups outta scrapes. But the reason why Stefan treats you the way he does is because you saved his life and mine when we were young."

Eva frowned. "I did?"

"Yeah. Do you remember shifting to tiger and getting between a coyote pack and two wolf pups?"

Eva's mouth dropped. "That was you two?"

"Yup. From then on out, to him, you were his big sister, his Eva." Jorge tilted his beer toward the crowd pointing to where Stefan was throwing kids in the air and making them squeal.

Eva felt her cheeks blaze. "Silly pups."

Jorge gave her a look full of love. "Don't think I don't know it was you that fought those ferals in the desert, giving me time to get Josie to safety. You're my big sister too. We won't rest until the son of a bitch that hurt you is dead at our feet," he vowed.

"Can't you just name your pup after me," she countered. She really didn't want to worry about Jorge and Stefan in the bowels of the city.

Jorge threw back his head and laughed. "Hell no! There's only one Eva Mae."

"I could not have said it better myself," a sexy voice agreed.

"Love you too," Eva pursed her lips and wasn't disappointed. Adriel leaned down and kissed her thoroughly. After nearly dying, they never passed up a chance to show affection.

"Do you have a moment? Gavriel, Beth, Meryn, and Aiden are waiting for us. Evidently, I have a story to tell." He held out his hand and helped her stand.

"For you, anything." She leaned in and kissed his jaw.

Adriel inclined his head to Jorge and led her toward the transport tunnel. Eva saw everyone waiting for them at the launching platform. They had just reached the group when a man stepped in front of them.

"Eva wasn't it? So sorry to hear of your ordeal. How dreadful it must have been to be chewed up like that!" Ivan DeLaFontaine smiled, his eyes dancing with glee.

"Well bless your heart," she said, smiling back.

"I know what that means. That's southern for 'fuck you'," Meryn chirped, popping up next to her.

Ivan's smile cracked a bit. "And there's the commander's midget. Haven't they taught you not to speak until spoken to, little girl?" he asked Meryn condescendingly.

Eva just started to laugh. "You poor bastard." Shaking her head, she smiled up at him.

"This. Is. Sparta!" Meryn yelled.

Without a second thought, Eva pivoted on her foot and roundhouse kicked him in the chest. Just like the tunnel escort, he flew back into the tunnel. Grinning, Ryuu snapped his fingers, and Ivan convulsed as blue electricity raced over his body before he dropped from sight. Wolf howls and piercing whistles from the vampires exploded from behind them. Cheers and laughter erupted as the refugees chanted her name.

"Eva! Eva! Eva!"

Aiden, Adriel, and Gavriel grinned proudly.

Beth laughed. "I shouldn't be laughing, but I've wanted to do that for decades! Oh Meryn, you're a delight!" Beth kissed the top of Meryn's head. She turned to her. "How did you know the net was replaced?"

Eva blinked. "The net was replaced?"

"She's the awesome one! Did you see that kick! POW!" Meryn took a defensive stance and karate chopped an imaginary board.

"It will be worth the headache later, placating the DeLaFontaine family." Beth looped her arms though Eva's. "The kick was impressive."

Eva waved at her idiotic pack and turned to her mate. "Sorry about that."

Adriel shrugged. "I am not."

Meryn swaggered up to her mate. "There's a new sheriff in town, partner."

Gavriel wrapped an arm around Beth. "Ladies, I do believe that Sebastian has some special treats made for us, at my request." He winked at Meryn.

"Treats? Magic pudding?" Meryn hopped into the tunnel and dropped out of sight.

"Meryn!" Aiden screamed, racing to the edge. Meryn floated up and stopped at the entrance.

Eva turned to Beth. "She forgot to tell him about the stones?" she asked casually.

"I would say that's a safe assumption."

Aiden pulled a floating Meryn into his arms and refused to let go. "Ai-den! It's not like Ryuu would let me drop." Meryn wiggled until he let go. "The twins gave me this cool stone so I don't have to have an escort anymore."

Aiden turned to Adriel. "Was that wise?"

Adriel grimaced. "Too late now, I suppose."

"Meryn, what word did they choose for pause?" Eva asked.

"Spatium," Meryn said.

"Neat."

Ryuu stepped into the tunnel to stand in mid-air beside Meryn. Gavriel escorted Beth. Adriel looked between her and his commander. She held up her stone. "Never leave home without it," she winked.

Adriel escorted Aiden down while she and Meryn played with the different commands. Once on Level One, Beth tapped her lips. "I wonder if the twins could make me one."

"Probably, though they have to make sure that they don't have any major magic lined up. I heard it wipes them," Meryn informed her sister.

Sebastian held the door open for them. "My prince is waiting for you in the dining room."

When Eva reached for her mate's hand, she was surprised to discover it trembled slightly. She let the others walk ahead of them. Once they were out of sight in the dining room, she raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head. Nervous, he mouthed.

She leaned in and rested her lips against his. He responded by rubbing their noses together.

"Come on." She lifted his hand up in hers and kissed it.

Together, they walked into the dining room and sat down in their normal chairs, but unlike before, there was a heaviness to the air.

Magnus eyed him. "Son, I believe you have a story to tell."

Adriel took a deep breath and stood. "I do, but first, Sebastian if you would. I delivered it this morning."

Sebastian stepped forward a look of reverence on his face. He handed Gavriel a linen wrapped object. With shaking hands, Gavriel accepted it and gently placed it on the table. He opened the folded cloth to reveal a large ornately decorated leather bound tome. "It is real; this is the Ambrosios Book of Life." He turned to Adriel, tears in his eyes. "Thank you for guarding it. I thought it was lost, destroyed at the hands of those too blinded by jealousy to see the true gift it is."

Gavriel opened the pages, and his eyes traveled from left to right before stopping. He inhaled sharply as tears flowed down his face unchecked. "Aylia. My mother's name was Aylia. After so many years, I had forgotten." He closed his eyes and leaned back.

Adriel began to shake beside her. "That is impossible; she is one of the earliest recorded family members. She is one of our Originators. For you to be her son, you would have to be..." She watched as her pragmatic mate inhaled sharply and then began to hyperventilate.

Beth wiped at her eyes. "Oh dear."

Eva rubbed her mate's back in gentle circles. "Easy now, just breathe."

Adriel just continued to choke on air and point at Gavriel who was watching him with a gentle smile on his face.

"What?" Eva asked. "What am I missing? Why is my mate having a meltdown?"

Gavriel rotated the book on the table so she could see. He pointed at the very top of the family tree. "That is my mother."

Eva's eyes traced generations of vampire names down the page until at the bottom she spotted her mate's. She swallowed. "How many years is that?"

"Over ten thousand," Gavriel replied.

Meryn hopped up out of her chair and looked at the page. She began to giggle. "Look at your tiny little nub."

Eva focused on what Meryn was pointing to. At the top of the page with no descendants listed under it like the others, the name Gavriel was drawn in script more magnificent than she had ever seen in any illuminated manuscript. It was a lonely branch at the top of the tree.

"You are my...my..." Adriel tried to take deeper breaths.

Gavriel winced. "Can we not count the greats?"

Adriel just nodded. "Of course."

Meryn bumped Beth. "You had a crush on your mate's super-great nephew or whatever."

Beth clapped both hands over her mouth, and Meryn giggled.

Eva chuckled. "Well, it makes sense if she was destined for Gavriel, doesn't it."

Beth lowered her hands. "When you say it like that it does."

Eva turned to her mate. "How are you doin'?"

"Better, doing better." Adriel still looked a bit wild eyed but he was breathing easier. He turned to Magnus. "If I had the book, and it had been missing for thousands of years, why did you tell the Founding and Noble families you verified his identity? How could you possibly have checked his claim when I had the Ambrosios Book of Life?"

"This is getting good," Meryn settled back in her seat and popped a spoonful of pudding in her mouth.

Magnus sat back. "Because Gavriel was able to recite the names of every Founding and Noble family member dating back to the creation of the books. I may not have had the Ambrosios book, but I had the others."

"Gods, what you must have seen." Adriel stared at Gavriel in wonder.

"Why did your family end up leaving the city? Eva said something about being kicked out," Gavriel asked.

"My great-great-great grandmother was human. From everything I have heard, interspecies matings were not as widely accepted then as they are now. She was forced from her home, but managed to take the one thing that proved who she was, as her name was recorded as being mated to an Ambrosios."

"I searched for thousands of years but could not find any trace of my family after the Great War." Gavriel traced the ink on the page.

"She was smart. She knew if she kept the name Ambrosios, she would never know a day's peace. So she changed her name and made it a tradition that every generation after her would change it. To anyone in the paranormal community, we were simply a young vampire family with no ties," Adriel explained. "After the Great War, the name Ambrosios became a target after being elevated by the council to royalty. Accidents happened, many of them and before anyone realized it, the last known Ambrosios was gone and the House extinct."

Gavriel's eyes flashed. "Do you have any idea who was responsible?"

Adriel shook his head. "I do not believe it was any one family, more than likely a group effort by those who felt slighted."

"After all we did trying to save as many lives as possible, that is how my family was repaid." Gavriel's face looked tired and sad.

"Look where it got them. It's not like any of them became royalty. I mean didn't we just drop kick a Founding Family member into the net?" Meryn asked, waving her spoon about.

Magnus paled. "You what?"

Beth spun in her chair. "Now Unky, he really deserved it."

Magnus covered his eyes with his hand. "Who?"

"Ivan DeLaFontaine," she said, closing one eye and leaning away from her uncle.

Magnus' hand came down on the table in a loud bang. "What! Why?"

"Douchebag," Meryn answered.

Around the table, everyone was nodding. Magnus turned and looked from person to person. "Please tell me he committed a major transgression."

"He called me a midget!" Meryn yelled angrily.

Magnus' mouth twitched. "Gods forbid that." He turned to Gavriel and waved his hand at everyone seated around the table. "I practically raised Bethy. Adriel has served me honorably for centuries. I feel I have done much for this family. Days after your arrival, Adriel is mated to a protective tigress, and you bring a tiny human cyclone to my city. What have you to say for yourself?"

"You are very welcome." Gavriel closed the book and sat back, a satisfied smile on his face.

Magnus collapsed against his chair laughing. "I was getting tired of ruling anyway."

"Uncle, don't speak like that. You have many supporters, just look at how happy the people are on Level Six. I've never seen our people act like a community before, opening up the city has saved us as much as it has saved others." Beth took her uncle's hand.

Meryn grinned wickedly. "Besides, there are four more Royal family members to back you up now."

Magnus sat up quickly. "Meryn, you are a genius!"

"I know, I told you, it's what I do." Meryn wagged her eyebrows at him.

Magnus looked from Gavriel to Adriel and back. "Two more Princes would dramatically shift the politics of the city."

Both Adriel and Gavriel winced, exchanging pained expressions. Gavriel turned to Magnus. "I do not know if I speak for Adriel, but I prefer to be left out of the city politics. The Founding and Noble Families believe I am a distant descendant and unable to claim any real power here in the city, I am very happy letting them believe that. I fully intend to return to Lycaonia with my Unit Commander when our visit is over."

Adriel nodded. "My own mother chose the name Aristaios and I am proud for what it stands for. Like Gavriel, I prefer to remain as I am. I enjoy being a unit leader."

Gavriel smiled. "Aristaios. The Greek legend of a man born from a human mother and an immortal father. It suits you, not that you are not welcome to claim Ambrosios. I would be honored and proud to claim you as family."

Meryn rolled her eyes. "They're already family."

Adriel inclined his head at Gavriel. "I know what he means." He turned to face her. "Despite my mate having a bright future ahead of her in politics, I will decline and remain Aristaios."

"What does he mean bright future?" Magnus asked.

"Eva's the one who drop kicked Ivan into the tunnel," Meryn explained.

Eva shrugged and smiled. "It's a gift."

Gavriel turned to Magnus. "In any other way that does not entail stepping forward in the political arena, you have my complete support."

"Mine as well," Adriel chimed in agreement.

"Very well." Magnus sighed. "We have already made huge strides since you have arrived, I believe more can be accomplished before you return to Lycaonia."

"Like tracking down the feral that attacked Eva," Meryn growled.

Eva turned to her mate. "Can those panels be sealed?"

Beth shook her head. "I've already looked into it; they are needed for maintenance."

"Do they have to be able to be opened from the inside past Level One?" Meryn inquired.

Beth thought about it for a moment. "No, I don't believe they do." She sat back, looking disgusted. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Meryn gave her sister a flat look. "Because you've been keeping track of everything else for everyone else. Me, I like being a self-centered bitch. It keeps my mind free of miscellaneous shit about other people, like housing requirements and birthdays. That way I can concentrate on important matters like Doctor Who, Supernatural and Wi-Fi."

"You mean keep your mind free to solve the problems no one else can," Aiden teased.

Meryn shrugged. "That too."

Magnus strummed his fingers on his chair arm. "I feel like we could do more to keep the city safe."

Meryn scrapped the bowl with her spoon. "I could always install security cameras in key locations throughout the city so that it could easily be monitored by one or two warriors, leaving the rest free to track down the killer."

Magnus turned and opened his mouth. But Sebastian waved him silent. He handed Meryn a pad and piece of paper. "Write down whatever you need, I will get in here by tomorrow."

"Sweet!" Meryn eyed Magnus. "Will you buy me a new laptop skin?"

Magnus frowned. "Of course, add whatever you would like, Meryn, you more than deserve it," he said gruffly. Humming happily Meryn started on her technical equipment list.

"Softie," Beth said before leaning in to kiss her uncle on the cheek.

He sputtered. "Well, she has earned it."

Eva turned to her mate. "Can we head back up to the barbecue? I'm dying for some of Adora's cherry pie."

Adriel turned to Magnus, but the man was already standing and licking his lips. "Cherry pie, you say?"

Adriel looked back at her. "I guess we are done here. Come on, my little guardian, time for you to relax."

Eva shook her head. She might look after others, but no less than her mate. "Time for you to try some cherry pie and Texas barbecue."

Adriel shook his head. "Just this once; do you know how much fat is in pork?"

Laughing, she dragged her mate back to the transport tunnel. She knew she'd spend the rest of their lives trying to get her mate to try fat-laden, sugar-filled foods, just like he would probably use that amazing body of his to get her to try different yoga moves. Together, they balanced each other perfectly, just as they were supposed to.

EPILOGUE

Declan stood in Broderick's lab and eyed the door. In his dreams, his mate's frantic eyes pleaded with him through the glass panel to get the door open as flames licked at her body.

"Declan, son, is there anything I can do for you? Not hurt are you?" Broderick asked, looking surprised.

"No sir, I'm fine. Just curious about your door."

Broderick beamed. "Magnus got that for me. Biometric lock. Only Caspian and I can enter."

Declan swallowed hard. "Is there a biometric lock to leave?"

Broderick frowned. "Of course not. Go ahead and try it yourself."

Declan walked over to the door and turned the handle. The light flashed from red to green and it opened easily. He allowed it to close again.

"You heading up to the barbecue? Caspian can easily take us both up there," Broderick offered.

"Did a handsome scientist mention me?" Caspian asked coming in from the storage area.

"Yes, love. You ready?"

"Born ready. Shall we go see our daughter? She has been so busy with that housing project, I do not feel like we have seen her at all," Caspian pouted.

"Then by all means, let's go to her now." Broderick offered his mate his elbow.

"Declan?"

"Right, yes, an escort would be very appreciated. Thank you." Declan smiled tightly.

Broderick and Caspian walked out and the door shut. Taking a deep breath, Declan turned the handle.

"You just keep opening like you're supposed to," Declan muttered to the door under his breath.

Ever since Eva's attack proved Adriel's dream had been partially true, he feared his dreams. You could give a vampire or shifter blood and get them to heal, but how could he save his mate from fire?

He was torn between praying he never met his mate and praying that he'd hurry up and find her. That way he could tuck her safely away from laboratory doors.

Be safe, love.

Thank you for reading!

I hoped you enjoyed My Guardian.

For a full listing of all my books please check out my

Official Website

I love to hear from readers so please feel free to follow me on Facebook , Twitter, Goodreads, AmazonCentral or Pinterest.

If you liked this book please let others know. Most people will trust a friend's opinion more than any ad. Also make sure to leave a review. I love to read what y'all have to say and find out what your favorite parts were. I always read your reviews.

Don't forget to sign up for my newsletters so you will receive regular updates concerning release information and promotions.

Vanguard Novella Coming Soon in 2016!

Inception

Wander through the years while following one of Lycaonia's most dedicated unit warriors and discover how the Vanguard came to be.

Other Books by Alanea Alder

Kindred of Arkadia Series

This series is about a shifter only town coming together as pack, pride, and sloth to defend the ones they love. Each book tells the story of a new couple or triad coming together and the hardships they face not only in their own Fated mating, but also in keeping their town safe against an unknown threat that looms just out of sight.

Book 1- Fate Knows Best- Click Here

Book 2- Fated to Be Family- Click Here

Book 3- Fated For Forever- Click Here

Book 4- Fated Forgiveness- Click Here

Book 5- Fated Healing- Click Here

Book 6- Fated Surrender- Click Here

Book 7- Gifts of Fate- Click Here

Book 8- Fated Redemption- Click Here

Reader Feedback- Click Here

World of Arkadia- Click Here

Bewitched and Bewildered Series

She's been Bewitched and he's Bewildered...

When the topic of grandchildren comes up during a weekly sewing circle, the matriarchs of the founding families seek out the witch Elder to scry to see if their sons' have mates. They are shocked to discover that many of their sons' mates are out in the world and are human!

Fearing that their future daughters-in-law will end up dead before being claimed and providing them with grandchildren to spoil, they convince their own mates that something must be done. After gathering all of the warriors together in a fake award ceremony, the witch Elder casts a spell to pull the warrior's mates to them, whether they want it or not.

Each book will revolve around a unit warrior member finding his destined mate, and the challenges and dangers they face in trying to uncover the reason why ferals are working together for the first time in their history to kill off members of the paranormal community.

Book 1- My Commander- Click Here

Book 2- My Protector- Click Here

Book 3- My Healer- Click Here

Book 4- My Savior- Click Here

Book 5- My Brother's Keeper- Click Here

Book6- My Guardian- Click Here

Reader Feedback- Click Here

World of Bewitched and Bewildered- Click Here

The Vanguard

We Hold the Line.

Novella- Inception- Coming Soon