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by Alanea Alder
Oron turned to Darian. "You heading to the palace?"
Darian glanced back at his mate and shook his head. "Amelia wants to arrive with Meryn to show our support."
"And you don't want to miss a second of the Meryn Show."
Darian gave a lazy shrug. "What can I say, it was boring at home without her." He wrapped an arm around Amelia as they followed their commander who was still arguing with his tiny mate.
Oron "Never a truer word was spoken."
*****
Aiden disappeared for most of the afternoon meeting with different warriors and verifying them as they gave reports. This left Meryn in the kitchen with her cousin, squire and dedicated fans. Micah and Serenity watched on in amusement.
Once the verification process finished, Darian had decided to stay with Aiden as a member of the Alpha Unit while even more meetings continued, which meant Oron was guarding both his baby sister and the menace.
"Did you really blow up the Council Manor?" one warrior asked a rapt expression on his face.
"No!" Meryn exclaimed slamming her small hands on the counter. "When I find out who is spreading that rumor, I'm gonna kick them in the nuts!"
The guy laughed. "I see the violent tendencies weren't an exaggeration."
Amelia turned to the warrior as she was trying to calm Meryn down. "She really didn't. All she did was coat the entire square in flour glue. Oh! And she also took out a lot of ferals with a sniper rifle. If we're talking destruction, I'm the one who ripped up all the cobblestones in the square to halt the invading ferals so that the guys could kill them, though I accidentally incinerated them instead, with Kendrick's help of course." Amelia's adorable ramble to profess Meryn's innocence had them both looking like homicidal maniacs.
Micah nodded. "That's what I heard from most of the Alpha Unit warriors as well. Though Colton did admit, he still has nightmares about the time Meryn almost blew them both up with a hand grenade."
Serenity elbowed him in the ribs. "Not helping."
The guy closest to Meryn stared. "You almost blew up Colton Albright?"
Meryn sighed. "Yeah, sort of. But he's being a big baby about the whole thing."
Oron leaned his chair back and watched the varying degrees of horror on the men's faces.
Liam turned to him. "I would say it's because they're human and half-human, but the humans in Monroe don't act like them."
"We've just been blessed by the gods," Oron said, smiling wide.
Amelia turned to him her eyes shining brightly. "Thank you."
And that right there was why he'd die protecting her, her joy always seemed to radiate about her in calming waves, despite the macabre way she had accidentally burned their enemies to death.
"You're easy to love baby sister."
Meryn poked her head around her cousin. "What about me?"
"Meryn, you're just as easy to love despite yourself, and I don't know who that surprises more, the people in your life, or you."
Ryuu nodded as he rubbed his chin. "That is a shockingly accurate statement."
Meryn looked thoughtful. "Thank you...I think."
"You're quite welcome, Menace."
The men laughed. "I see that rumor is true, they call you Menace and Amelia is the Little Terrorist."
Amelia sighed. "I will never get rid of that dratted nickname."
Oron heard the door to one of the meeting rooms open and more men filed into the large kitchen area.
Meryn turned to her mate. "Do you love me, despite me?"
Aiden got that deer in the headlights expression. "Uhh, I love you no matter what baby," he said hesitantly.
"Good, okay. I love you too." Meryn picked up the bag of Cheetos the guys had ridiculously presented to her, evidently having read it on Facebook that they were her favorite snacks.
Tension immediately eased around them. Aiden sighed a bit and sat down in the bar stool across from her.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" A deep voice asked.
Oron recognized the warrior but couldn't place the name.
"Yum," Meryn sighed.
"Meryn!" Aiden growled.
"What? He's like seven feet of cocoa perfection. Shit, now I'm craving chocolate."
"What!" Aiden roared.
"Not like that, like maybe some Nutella. Yeah, Cheetos dipped in Nutella." She looked over at the built warrior and sighed. "Damn, dude."
Aiden stood and rotated her, chair and all, to face the opposite direction before sitting back down.
"You act like I won't get up and move my chair," Meryn threatened.
Everyone waited.
"I will later," Meryn huffed, sticking her nose in the air. Aiden gave a satisfied smirk. "Sure baby."
Ryuu walked over to the pantry and rummaged around. "Is this what you are craving denka?" he asked, holding up a small jar.
"Yes! Ryuu you kick-ass."
Smiling, he placed the container next to her Cheetos bag.
The dark warrior walked over to stand next to Ryuu. "Gorgeous and kind, what's your name sweetness?" he purred.
Meryn inhaled sharply and began to choke on her chocolate covered Cheeto. Ryuu was at her side in an instant rubbing her back as his hand glowing blue.
Ryuu lifted an ebony brow at the warrior. "Ryuu Sei, I am squire to Meryn McKenzie, pleased to meet you."
"My name is Pierce Almarez; I'm enchanted to meet you as well. I think I'll tag along with your group and visit Éire Danu; it's been a few decades since I was there last and the company then was nowhere near as arousing."
Meryn stood her eyes blazing. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around her squire's waist placing her hands directly over his ass.
The men looked on in shock. Aiden's mouth dropped open, he seemed unable to form words.
Ryuu looked down at his charge his mouth twitching furiously. "Denka, what on earth are you doing?"
"I know what he's after, I learned all about this stuff in Noctem Falls, you gotta protect the butt," she said, glaring at Pierce.
"Oh Meryn," Amelia said, covering her face with her hands.
Pierce smiled down at small human defending her squire. "What exactly did you learn in Noctem Falls?" he asked curiously.
"Never mind what she learned. Meryn move your hands!" Aiden tried pulling his mate away from the chuckling squire. "Dammit Ryuu, help me here!" Aiden growled.
Gently, Ryuu disentangled Meryn's hands. "You do not have to worry about me denka, I am more than capable of defending myself. I am aware of his intentions and they do not bother me. I am, however, quite moved by your concern, no one except for Kendrick has defended me in over five thousand years, you continue to surprise me at every turn." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. Unlike earlier with Sebastian, she didn't seem to mind when it came to her own squire.
She looked over at Pierce. "I learned all kinds of cool things in Noctem Falls and so did my best friend, Felix. He got real proficient with a sword and he doesn't hesitate in stabbing or chopping people to defend his family." Meryn glanced down at his crotch. "Feel me?"
Pierce winced. "That's just cold."
"You have been warned."
Oron watched as Felix crossed his tiny arms over his chest in an effort to look menacing, though he and Darian were probably the only ones who could see him.
Law wiped at his eyes from silent laughter. "She does this to me every damn time," he complained, barely able to breathe. Two of the other warriors around the room buried their faces in their hands to hide their own laughter.
Pierce looked over at Aiden. "Seriously though, what did she learn about butts in Noctem Falls?"
Law inhaled as he leaned back slightly and fell off his chair. To see a man that size laughing on the floor was all it took to set everyone off.
"Serenity, I don't think he's breathing," Micah commented, watching Law wrap his arms around his mid-section, making pained facial expressions.
"If he can laugh, he can breathe," she said, shaking her head at Meryn's shenanigans
.
"See, I told you Izzy, this is a nice place." A warrior commented, coming up behind them from the direction of the front door.
"I don't know, it's mostly men and they look kinda drunk to me. Maybe this is like a bar or sex dungeon. Like a drunken, gay, sex dungeon," a piping female replied.
"Oh gods above, I can't breathe!" Law called from the floor. Oron shook his head at the man's plight.
Micah's eyes bugged out. "A drunken, gay, sex dungeon?"
Meryn nodded. "They're all a buncha mannequins."
"They like the rough stuff, huh?" the sweet voice asked.
"No! What?" Aiden looked from one female to the other then paused. "How did you know she meant masochist?"
"We were talking about sex dungeons, I kinda extrapolated that the misused random word that began with the letter 'm' was a term that more accurately fit the conversation. It wasn't that hard actually."
"She meant masochist?" Micah asked.
Serenity stood over Law now looking concerned. "Okay, my earlier assessment may have been off, I don't think he's getting any oxygen." She placed her hands on his chest and eased his laughter.
Law gasped for air. "Gods Meryn, you can't keep doing this to me!" he managed to croak out.
"So, not a sex dungeon?"
Chuckling Oron turned in his chair and suddenly he couldn't breathe for reasons of his own, the petite auburn-haired beauty who had understood nutty Meryn perfectly was his mate!
CHAPTER THREE
Isabelle Campbell took in the scene before her. The men were laughing uncontrollably, except for the tall blond in front on her. He looked positively gobsmacked.
"Hello," she said, unsure of what to do. He was staring after all.
He rose from his chair and walked over to her. He cupped her face in his two large hands before using a thumb to wipe the soot from the top of her nose.
"You really did set that coffee shop on fire, didn't you?" he asked, a note of wonder in his voice.
She frowned up at him. "How on earth could you possibly know that? We just got here." She turned slightly to face Cameron. "Did you call ahead and tell everyone?"
Cameron looked as confused as she felt. "No Izzy, I swear I didn't."
"Gods above, she's your mate, isn't she?" The huge man asked before sitting down next to the smaller woman.
The man standing over her, nodded slowly. "I've been dreaming of her." He grinned. "She always seemed to be in trouble."
Izzy brought her hands up to his wrists to remove his hands and stepped back. "It's not my fault, trouble just finds me," she protested.
The god-like man just raised an eyebrow. "So, you didn't try using the culinary torch to make smores?"
"Well..."
"And it produced enough smoke to set off the smoke alarms and sprinklers?"
"Actually..."
"Which then, in turn, caused a panic resulting in said torch getting dropped and setting fire to the cabinetry?"
She sighed. "Yes."
"It's why we brought her here. She's our favorite little barista in town and the owner of the coffee shop was enraged. He fired her and kicked her out on the spot," Cameron explained.
The golden hottie turned to Cameron. "Kicked her out?"
"He was my landlord too, I rented one of the apartments over the shop." She pointed around the room. "I've known these guys for years. They come by the shop all the time. If they hadn't been there, I'd be on the streets. I should've taken them up on their offer last year to be their live-in barista," Izzy mumbled.
Cameron pointed to her three small boxes. "Thank the gods we were there, or I doubt he would have even let her get her stuff."
"You have my thanks," the gorgeous guy said to Cameron.
"Seriously?" she put her hands on her hips.
"What?" he asked.
"How about hmm... I don't know, like who the fuck are you? Why do you care what happened to my stuff and what in the hell is a mate?" she poked his chest with each word. Breathing hard she looked up at him and was surprised by the fact she had actually backed him up a bit. Feeling fearless she gave him one last poke before glaring up at him.
"What was it you said to me? 'You mated into that craziness?'" Another blond to her right asked, laughing his head off.
The man before her flipped him off then smiled down at her. "I'm sorry for the poor introduction. My name is Oron Vi'Eirson. I care about your belongings because you are my mate. A mate is one half of a destined pair, Fate has determined that you would be the perfect partner for me, and I have to say, never in my thousands of years did I ever dream I would be blessed enough to deserve someone as special as you."
Izzy felt her brain trying to make sense of what he just said. She knew he was speaking English, but somehow what he was saying simply wasn't clicking.
"Mates? Wait... thousands of years?" Izzy reached around her blindly looking for a chair as her head began to swim.
"It's okay, just breathe," a soft voice said, guiding her to a stool. "I know it's a lot to take in, but you're doing very well."
Izzy looked at the gorgeous woman helping her. "Your eyes are purple."
The woman paused, then smiled. "Yes, they are like my father's. My name is Serenity Meadowsweet." In a calm voice, she went around the room and introduced everyone. The one named Amelia set a glass of water down in front of her. "Thank you," she said, gripping the glass tight.
"You're very welcome. Izzy wasn't it?" Amelia asked.
She nodded absently. "Yes, Isabelle Campbell, but everyone calls me Izzy." Her eyes went back to Oron. "You're supposed to be like my soul mate?"
He nodded. "It's okay if you don't believe me right away, as long as you give us a chance to get to know one another."
She looked down into her water glass. "You won't stick around. No one does. I'm a mess."
The women around her began to laugh. Bristling, she glared at them. Amelia shook her head. "We're laughing because you're in excellent company." She pointed to the short-haired Meryn. "She covered our town square in glue, called one of our Elders a douchebag and likes to electrocute people." She pointed to her own chest. "I'm an empath and almost caused a major earthquake when I was two, I tore up the Lycaonia's town square's cobblestones and almost got stuck being a dog when I tried a shifting spell for the first time."
Meryn sighed. "You were so damn cute though."
Izzy felt herself beginning to relax. "That sounds nuts." She looked over to Serenity. "What about you?"
Serenity winked. "I disobeyed council dictates to go halfway across the country to help a city of vampires to fight a virus."
"Badass!" Izzy whispered. "Wait, Elders? Shifting? Vampires?"
Meryn exchanged looks with Amelia. "I'm really missing Kari right about now. She'd have an entire explanation whipped up in PowerPoint, in like three seconds flat."
Oron stepped forward and took the seat next to her. "How about this? Let's eat lunch. Over lunch we'll explain things as they come up in conversation until all your questions have been answered."
Izzy nodded slowly. "I think I can do that."
The other men vacated the kitchen, giving them some space. Amelia and Serenity helped Ryuu churn out some sandwiches as Oron started explaining what he called the 'basics' to her. Every once in a while, Micah, Serenity, Law or Darian would add things. Pierce helped Ryuu by passing him ingredients. Every time he got close to the gorgeous Japanese man; Meryn would practically growl. Izzy thought it was adorable how protective Meryn was of her friend.
Somewhere between her tuna fish sandwich and her ice cream sundae she was sure someone had slipped her the good drugs.
"So under normal circumstances y'all have ferals, but you just found out that there are like serial killer type ferals?" she asked, wishing she had more ice cream to process all of this.
Meryn nodded. "Yup, plus a lot of possible 'been going on for decades' type evil schemes in action."
She looked around the table feeling panicked. "I just
make coffee, that's it. I'm not a witch or a shifter. Why me?"
Oron reached over and gently took her hand. He tugged on her fingers until she relaxed. She had been digging into her palm with her nails.
"Because I need you," he said simply. "Forget about the ferals and schemes. Don't worry about anything else, I'll keep you safe."
That was another thing she didn't understand. He was perfect. No one was this perfect and even if he were real and not part of a caffeine-induced dream, there's no way in hell she'd end up with someone like him.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life. Your soul's light shines for me."
"Hold the fuck up, you make coffee. You're a barista, right?" Meryn asked, a devilish look in her eye.
"No Meryn, you're pregnant remember," Aiden said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, and? Meryn-two-point-oh loves coffee, I need Izzy in my life."
Izzy grinned at the small woman. "You are my people."
Meryn pointed at her. "See! She gets it!"
"I promised Rheia I'd look after you shorty, so don't OD on caffeine on my watch, okay?" Serenity pleaded.
Meryn rubbed her hands together. "We need supplies."
"I have a distributor account for most coffee wholesalers," Izzy volunteered.
Meryn turned in her chair to face her handsome friend. "Ryuu, please do that squire thing and get stuff for Éire Danu," she pleaded, her hands clasped in front of her chest.
Ryuu bowed. "Of course, denka. Lady Campbell, if you are comfortable with providing me with your log in information, I can arrange for supplies to be sent to our next destination."
Izzy nodded. "Sure, but I don't have much money on the card stored with the profile." She looked between him and Meryn. "Why did she ask you to get supplies? What's a squire thing?"
Ryuu gave an elegant half bow. "Squires in our world run the households of important families, leaving them free to assist in the leading of our many peoples. Unlike the human world, which denotes the position disdainfully, squires in our world are revered and respected." He handed her a piece of paper. "With your permission, I'll add our house account to the profile. I have a sneaking suspicion I will be ordering quite often in the future."