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by Alanea Alder
"Are the boys from Lycaonia settling in?" the queen asked.
Thane smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yes, Ari is showing them around now." He turned to Rex. "He's a damn fine warrior Rex. Your family should be proud."
Rex smiled as he nodded. "Both he and Declan are a true credit to the Lionhart name."
Izzy watched as Aiden looked over to Brennus who gave the barest of nods as he rubbed his mate's back.
Aiden stood, pulling Meryn to her feet. "If you'll excuse us, I promised my brother a tour." He turned to Kendrick and Thane. "Can you join us? I have some questions regarding the material you'll be teaching the warriors."
Both Thane and Kendrick nodded catching on. "I'm glad you have time, there are some finer points to the spell that needs clarifying," Kendrick said, sounding relieved. He held out his hand and Anne went to him. "We'll catch dinner out. I haven't been able to show Anne some of my favorite vendors yet."
Rex sidled up to Meryn. "I've only just sat down to visit. Oh, well. I'll walk with you as far as I can." Meryn laughed and took his hand.
Amelia pouted up at Darian shooting Izzy an urgent glance.
Shit! We're all bailing.
"Darian, we've been here days and I've barely seen outside of the palace. Can't we go shopping?" She smiled at Izzy. "You have to show me where you got your robes."
Izzy nodded quickly. "Of course! It can be sisterly bonding!"
Oh my god, I sound fake!
Brennus began to nuzzle the queen's neck. "We haven't had much time alone," he said, in a sultry voice.
The queen flushed. "I can see that our guests have plans, let us retire early," she offered.
Brennus beamed at them. "You heard her, now shoo, shoo."
"Brennus!" The queen looked at her mate aghast before turning to them with pink cheeks. "Enjoy the city," she said.
They all started filing out discussing their plans. Amelia looped their arms together and they walked with their mates through the palace, out the gates and down the streets.
Somehow she wasn't surprised when literally everyone ended up in Dav's tavern not thirty minutes later.
Aiden stood from his chair after they walked in, looking grim. "Kendrick."
"A please would be nice," the witch said, before casting another ear popping soundproofing spell. Aiden rolled his eyes.
Izzy looked up at her mate and saw that both he and Darian looked pissed.
"They're not betraying your mother," she said loudly and on purpose.
Oron scowled down at her. "What else can all this mean?" he waved his hand around the tavern, pointing to their friends and family.
"It means we are doing everything we can to protect her," Doran said gently as he stepped from the corner with Celyn and Vivian.
Darian sighed. "Why is she being so stubborn about this? It wasn't just Meryn, it was also Ryuu, Pierce and a good portion of the Old Guard who saw this shadow."
Meryn threw a coaster at him. "Why you gotta say it like that? 'It wasn't just Meryn'," she asked holding up her fingers in air quotes. "I don't lie Darian."
Amelia crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes, exactly what did you mean?"
Darian backpedaled quickly. "What I meant was, that of everyone who was there she is the youngest and has been in our world the shortest amount of time. Those facts don't matter to me, but they do matter to my mother."
Meryn lifted both arms and pointed to Ryuu. "Ryuu saw it. Ryuu!"
Darian looked away. "I know."
Oron turned to Aiden. "What do we do?"
Aiden walked over and placed both of his hands on Darian's shoulders. "For now we continue what we started earlier. I will coordinate the warriors and Dav will organize the Old Guard. The warriors will be in charge of patrols and perimeter defenses and the Old Guard will patrol the city where they will be noticed less." He dropped his arms, stepped back and looked around.
"I want to make one thing perfectly clear. Technically what we're doing isn't wrong since I am the Unit Commander and all unit warriors report to me." He exhaled. "But the second the queen asks me to stop our efforts or leave, I will do so out of respect for her. At that point, the defense of the city becomes political and every single decision will need to be reviewed. Brennus will do what he can to act as a buffer until we can convince her of the seriousness of this situation, but until then," he looked around. "I suggest frequent meetings here for updates."
"She loves her people like they're her children," Meryn said quietly. "Something else has to be wrong."
Oron stepped so that his shoulder was touching Darian's. "She's right. It will be our job to find out what's really bothering her."
Darian looked around and his eyes held a sheen. "I would rip off my arm to keep her from hurting," he admitted brokenly.
Dav handed him a pint. "Son, do you think there is a person here tonight who wouldn't?" Darian looked around and relaxed a fraction. Nearly every head was nodding. Izzy knew it was because the queen was that beloved.
Izzy moved so that she stood in front of her mate and relaxed against him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She swung her hips and bumped Darian causing him to spill his beer. Oron laughed and she winked at Amelia who was fighting back giggles. "Look at it this way Darian. Your whole family has just gone through some major changes and some serious grief. Maybe she just needs time to make sense of it all. What we're doing is making sure that the decisions and work don't pile up on her," Izzy explained. She thought it was ironic that she was here this afternoon complaining that she needed time.
Darian looked down at her relief in his eyes. "We can do that."
"Magnus said my flamethrower should be here in the next day or so," Meryn announced out of the blue, setting her phone down.
Aiden looked apoplectic. "No! No flamethrower! Where in the hell is my phone?" He began patting down his pockets.
Meryn giggled and flashed a cell before dropping it down her shirt, the men around them laughed uproariously.
The tension in the room dropped as Dav began to pass the pints around.
She turned to wrap her arms around her mate's neck. "How are you?"
"I'd feel better if my mother were acting like herself," he admitted.
"We'll figure it out and until then we have her back."
Oron kissed her nose. "Ride or die."
"What was that? You want me to ride you later?" she asked, cupping her hand over her ear.
"Lucky bastard!" Bryok yelled.
Oron gave him a shit-eating grin. "Don't I know it."
Izzy knew that she would do anything to keep her mate smiling and that even if Fate threw ferals at them, they would handle it together.
EPILOGUE
Ari watched as his commander chased his mate around the tavern, trying to retrieve his phone. His older brother, Rex, watched him carefully over the rim of his pint as if he knew something was wrong.
How could he admit to his perfect older brother that, unlike the other warriors who dreamt of their mates to help save them, he was getting dreams of his mate walking away. His dreams were preparing him to lose her.
More than anything, it was the pain in her eyes that sliced at his soul. He feared what she would face would send her away. He could only pray that it wasn't him.
Thank you for reading!
I hoped you enjoyed My Solace!
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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
Book 2- Fated to Be Family
Book 3- Fated For Forever
Book 4- Fated Forgiveness
Book 5- Fated Healing
Book 6- Fated Surrender
Book 7- Gifts of Fate
Book 8- Fated Redemption
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 many 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
Book 6- My Guardian- Click Here
Book 7- My Champion- Click Here
Book 8- My Defender- Click Here
Book 9- My Angel- Click Here
Book 10- My One and Only- Click Here
Book 11- My Solace- Click Here
Reader Feedback- Click Here
World of Bewitched and Bewildered- Click Here
The Vanguard
We Hold the Line.
Book 1- Inception
Table of Contents
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
Other Books on Amazon