by Alanea Alder
Together, they walked over to where Cadoc and the others were huddled around Aiden. When they approached, Aiden looked to him. "Set?"
"Yes, though, I'll need one of the Ashleigh brothers to meet up with Rex at the Lionhart meeting house on Maple Street. He wants to convert one of the rooms into a large freezer to preserve the bodies."
"Thank the gods for your brother." Aiden scrubbed his hands over his face. "Cadoc, can you let the men know we'll be starting as soon as Cam gets here."
Cadoc nodded. "Yes, sir." He was about to walk away when the door opened. The men turned as one to see who had disturbed them, only to see Cam, in his sheriff's uniform, walking toward them, a dark-haired man striding behind him. Cam took one look at the bodies and grimaced.
"I didn't want to believe you, Aiden. I didn't want to face the truth that this happened in Monroe, right under my damn nose." Cam's jaw clenched.
The dark-haired man went immediately to the pile, pulling out a camera. When he began snapping pictures, Cadoc turned a deep red color. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" He reached for the camera, but the man just batted his hand away.
"I am River Carlisle. I am the medical examiner who works with Cam and the other Vanguard in Monroe. Humans take pictures of crime scenes so that the act of moving the bodies does not completely destroy possible evidence. These pictures may preserve some small detail we overlook."
Cadoc calmed slightly. "Just let us know what you need," he said, slightly mollified.
Ari stepped closer to Cam. "How good is he?"
Cam gave a wry smile. "He's a vampire, and that makes him very good at his job. I bet you he's already picked up on something we'd miss."
"You would be right," the light voice called out. "Have one of the witches check for a barrier of some kind. There is bloating, but no sign that they have been ravaged by either pests or insects."
"Son of a bitch," Cadoc whispered under his breath. "Okay, Doc, you're in charge here."
"I appreciate that. Now, help me start lifting the bodies out so they lay side by side," his crisp voice ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Ari turned his head as they began to pull bodies out of the large pile. He couldn't get past the fact that they were fae. Growing up in Éire Danu, he'd always associated fae with being eternally beautiful, ageless, immortal.
To see them thrown together in a trash heap of rotting flesh, discarded, and unequivocally dead, disturbed him on every level.
A gut-wrenching cry had them all turning to where Darian knelt on the ground beside Liam, who was lifting out a tiny body. Ari gasped. Not even the children had been spared. Oron physically pulled Darian back until they both sat on the cold hard concrete. Oron cradled his younger brother as Darian just shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Darian," he whispered.
"It's not your fault, none of this is your fault." Darian replied, hanging his head.
"Found something," Kendrick called out, pulling Ari's attention away from the suffering brothers. He, Aiden, and the others jogged to the far wall where Kendrick was running his hands over the wall.
"River is a genius. Even I missed the lack of insects." He let his hands drop. "There is a barrier."
Thane whistled and held up his hand, palm side facing the dull gray wall. "It's so damn subtle."
Kendrick nodded, looking pissed. "I should have caught this."
Aiden simply placed a hand on his shoulder. "We were all distracted by the senseless tragic deaths of the fae. You would have found it when the immediate demands were met and you were allowed to think."
Thane grunted. "One of us should have seen it."
"What is it exactly?" Ari asked. He didn't really care who saw it; he didn't know what 'it' was.
Kendrick pointed. "There is thin barrier in place that uses the walls, ceiling, and floor as guidelines."
"Explain," Aiden demanded.
Thane continued. "The barrier follows the natural lines of the room, but aren't dictated by them. For example, it extends across the door's threshold, but isn't broken by the door being opened and closed."
"Can you take it down?" Ari asked.
Kendrick nodded. "Easily, but should we?" He turned to Thane. "Thoughts?"
Thane, then Justice sighed as they both frowned, before they began to glow with the color of their magic. Justice surprisingly spoke first. "There are no ties to any other components to trigger any traps," he said, his magic glow fading.
Thane’s magic dimmed and he looked up at the ceiling. "It's not blocking sound or smell." He pointed upward to the skylight. "Light is able to pass through."
Kendrick tapped his lips. "So, what is it for?"
Aiden shrugged. "Unless you want to stay here and study it, as long as you don't think it poses a threat, take it down and find out."
Kendrick glared at their commander. "Meryn's brutal practicality is rubbing off on you."
Aiden just grinned. "She is the best part of me."
"Thane, if you would?" Kendrick pointed to the barrier, then stepped back to close his eyes.
Thane reached up, touched the wall, then stepped away. Everyone turned their attention to Kendrick who opened his eyes. "I sense nothing."
Ari let out the breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Moments later, his phone rang, he saw it was his brother. "Hey, Rex."
"Are you safe!" Rex demanded immediately.
"Yes, why?"
"Gods! Fae are wailing in the streets, there must have been more killings."
"Rex, calm down!"
Aiden and the rest of the men went on alert. "What's going on? Is the palace secure?"
"Rex, is the palace safe?"
"Yes, hold on." Ari heard muffled voices before Rex returned to the phone. "Portia is getting preliminary reports in now from Molvan who has taken charge of this crisis. She is saying the newly slain are from families from Monroe. The fae in the city are all saying the same thing. Their family trees changed all at once, registering the deaths of whole families. Multiple branches petrified, some of the Spirit Guardians have gone into shock."
"Shit!" Kendrick exclaimed. "The barrier masked their deaths, not from humans, but from the fae."
"Why?" Thane asked.
"River! Move faster. I want us out of here now!" Aiden began barking orders.
"Rex, we're moving now. I think the deaths that are registering are of the dead we discovered. I'll explain later, but Aiden wants us to get ghost."
"Then you get ghost, little brother, all gods be with you," Rex said, before disconnecting.
Ari pocketed his phone and joined his unit brothers in bagging up the dead. They moved quickly, sensing Aiden's urgency. In truth, Ari agreed. If the enemy took great pains for them to discover the dead here and possibly be distracted by them, then the last place they needed to be was in this warehouse.
"Freeze!" a female voice yelled out.
"What now?" Thane grumbled.
Ari turned and time seemed to slow. There, in the middle of the warehouse, in a deputy uniform, with her gun trained at his commander, was his beautiful mate.
Chapter Three
"Brie, put the gun down," Sheriff Rathais ordered gently.
Brie took in the scene before her. Men were moving body after body into large, black body bags. "Sir?" She took a deep breath and steadied the hand holding her weapon.
"That's an order, deputy," her boss repeated firmly.
"But…" She watched as River continued to process the scene. The ungodly large pile of bodies became her main focus. "Why didn't you call this in?"
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"You and River tore out of the office, of course I was going to follow." She loved the Sheriff like a second father. He had trained her and helped her become the law enforcement officer she was today. She knew in her heart that he would never have anything to do with so many deaths. "Sir?" she asked again, feeling lost.
Rathais walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I need you to go back
to the office and forget you ever saw any of this."
"Well, that does not sound super sketchy," River murmured.
"What he said," Brie pointed.
Rathais sighed. "There are things you don't know. Things I was going to tell you when you took over as Sheriff."
"Things? Pile of dead bodies kinda things?" she demanded.
Rathais blinked in surprise. "Actually, no, this is not normal, even for us. Brainless ferals attacking fae, shifters, vampires, and witches, is the usual norm."
River snickered. "Gods, you are terrible at this."
Brie felt her eye begin to twitch. "What?"
"It may be faster to simply show her," a gorgeous blond said, as he walked up to them pulling off his clothes.
"Sir, I'm gonna need you to stop," she said, trying to keep her voice even. One, she had no idea why he was getting naked, and two, he was absolutely breathtaking, and three, he was getting naked!
"Gods above, Ari," Rathais exclaimed, shaking his head.
Brie's eyes never left the beautiful man before her. Seconds later, it felt as if her entire head became wrapped in cotton. Her hearing was muffled, and she knew she was going into shock, but who wouldn't? The runway model was now a freaking lion!
"Sir?!” she yelled.
"Stand down, Brie, we can explain," Rathais started. When she turned to face him, her body moved along with her head, and she now had her gun pointed at her boss.
"Brie, it's okay, honey, just put the gun down," Rathais continued.
Movement out of her corner of her eye had her swinging back to face the huge lion. "S-s-top," she ordered.
She felt Rathais move closer to her, and the lion began to snarl viciously. When her boss wrapped a comforting arm about her shoulders, the large feline roared loud enough to hurt her ears. Without thinking, she fired off a warning shot, her normally perfect aim skewed by her own shaking hands. When the lion collapsed, she was horrified. "I didn't mean to hit him!" she said, looking up into her boss' kind eyes.
"We know, honey. He had to go an act like an idiot. He should have known better than to approach someone holding a gun when they're spooked." Rathais easily pulled the gun from her hands. "Shift back, Ari, you're upsetting my deputy."
It wasn't until the men around her began to look concerned that she realized something might be really wrong.
"Ari?" Aiden called out, kneeling down next to the lion. He pushed back part of the mane and inhaled sharply. "He can't shift, the bullet looks close to the spine. If he shifts back to human, it may cause irreversible damage."
Brie felt her knees go. "I didn't want to hurt him," she whispered.
"I know, hon, you're a huge cat lover," Rathais easily supported her weight.
Aiden grabbed his phone. "Rheia, I need some advice."
"Who's Rheia?" she asked.
"A surgeon who lives with Aiden," Rathais answered.
Aiden ran down the series of events, explaining that they now had a four-hundred-and fifty-pound lion laid out with a bullet near the spine.
"I'd love to help, Aiden, but I've never operated on a lion before. If he were human, I'd say bring him straight here, but we're talking a completely different anatomy."
"Shit," Aiden exclaimed.
Brie stepped forward on wobbly legs. "I know someone who may be able to help," she offered.
Aiden looked relieved. "Who?"
"My father. He's a retired vet that used to work with big cats at a rescue sanctuary."
"Excellent idea, Brie!" Rathais looked over to where three other men stared down at the cat, looking anxious. "Gage, Kincaid, Priest, let's find something sturdy to transport him into my SUV. Brie, call your father and have him prep for surgery."
Brie reached for her phone, looking around the room. Not one man glared at her. Shouldn't they be upset that she shot their friend? Shouldn't she be getting led out of here in cuffs? What was going on?
One of the men stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, she felt as if she could think again.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Something I recently learned from an old friend. I simply negated a bit of shock is all. I know that a lot is coming at you fast, but hold on a bit longer. Unless I'm mistaken, the man you shot will be the one to stay by your side and explain everything. We just need to get him back on his feet."
"Thank you…." she stared up at him.
"Kendrick. Kendrick Ashwood. While you get Ari healed, I'll be helping to get these poor souls home." He looked her in the eye. "They were murdered, Brie—make no mistake about that—but they did not die at the hands of anyone in this room. The men you see around you represent the protectors of our kind. You couldn't be safer."
"Why aren't they mad at me?" she whispered.
Kendrick just smirked. "You're not the first female to shoot her mate," his head nodded toward Aiden.
Aiden glared at him. "Meryn said it was an accident," he grumbled.
Kendrick leaned down. "He says that to make himself feel better. We all know his mate, Meryn, is a sharpshooter."
"What's a mate?" she asked, that lost feeling edging back in.
"Cam will explain on the way," Kendrick said, gently pushing her toward the door. "Call your father in the car."
"Thanks a lot!" Rathais yelled back.
Brie jogged after the group of men struggling to carry the large lion to the SUV. As they were lifting him into the back, Aiden ruffled her hair. "Don't worry; he's at fault here. He never should have scared you."
She felt her mouth drop. "I shot him."
Aiden nodded. "Getting shot by human females is quite common."
"It is?" Behind the large man, her boss and the three other men were shaking their heads.
Aiden smiled wide. "My mate is human," he frowned. "Sort of."
"In the car, Aiden," Rathais called out.
They all piled in, and she called her dad.
"Hello, my beautiful baby girl. What are you up to?" Her father's voice sounded so normal she found herself clutching her phone.
"I shot someone!" she exclaimed.
"What did they do to you?" he demanded.
"He scared me."
"That son of a bitch! Wait. That's it?"
"And he turned into a lion."
"Baby girl, where are you? I'm grabbing my keys now."
"No! You have to stay there. We're coming to you."
"We who? Should I get my gun?"
"No, your scalpel."
"Brie Victoria Wilson, if you don't start making sense…"
She winced. She hadn't heard her middle name since high school. "I shot a lion, Dad. We need you to remove the bullet."
"Why in the hell would you shoot some poor lion?"
She rolled her eyes. "What happened to defending your baby girl?"
"How far out are you?" her father asked, ignoring her.
"A little under twenty minutes. We're coming from the warehouse district."
"Please tell me you didn't find some exotic animal dealer hoarding animals. Is the lion the only one that needs medical attention?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just the one lion," she looked around the car. "I think."
Aiden grinned at her. "Bear."
Priest bumped her shoulder from the seat beside her. "Eagle."
Rathais caught her eye in the rearview mirror. "Wolf."
"Bastard," she muttered.
"Brie?"
"Just the incoming lion, Dad."
"Okay, I'll get the table ready. Head straight to the back."
"See you soon." She hung up her phone, then kneed the driver's seat. Rathais grunted. "Seriously?" she demanded.
"Yes, seriously. I told you, there are things you don't know, the existence of shifters is just one of them."
"You also said something about fae, witches, and vampires."
"Let's focus on Ari first, then I'll lay everything out for you," he promised.
She rubbed her chest. She felt as if her
heart was breaking. She had a hard time swallowing around the knot in her throat. "His name is Ari?"
"Ari Lionhart, lion shifter obviously." The youngest looking of them answered from the back where he was keeping Ari mobilized. He pointed to his own chest. "Kincaid Bayberry, witch."
The man on right gave her a small salute. "Priest Vi'Aerdan, harpy eagle shifter."
The man on her left nodded his head. "Gage Fabre, vampire." He winked at her, making her smile.
"Okay, let's get him well, then I'll face everything else." She heard her own voice break. "What in the hell is wrong with me?" She hunched over a bit, trying to ease the pain in her chest. Behind her, she heard a low growl.
"She's fine, Ari, just reacting to your injury and the pull. She's your mate, isn't she?" Kincaid asked.
A happy purr filled the cab. She found that the very sound eased the tightness in her chest, allowing her to breathe easier.
"I would say that is a yes," Gage said, a smile on his face.
"What is a mate?" She had a feeling she knew what they meant, but needed to hear their definition.
"In human terms, it's like a soul mate. Someone picked out just for you, the one person on this entire earth you're meant to be with," Priest explained.
She exhaled, that's what she thought they had meant. "How can he possibly feel that way toward me, we don't even know one another?"
Aiden shrugged. "I have no idea how it works, but when I met Meryn, my entire world suddenly became centered on her smile. Her scent drove me insane, and every minute I wasn't near her was almost painful." He half turned in his seat to face her. "Paranormals can live for a long time, and the thought of spending so many centuries alone is terrifying. I think that Fate or the Powers that Be know this and gift us a mate to make the long years bearable. They give us a reason to get up in the morning and someone to hold at night."
"Are all of you mated?"
Everyone but Aiden shook their heads. Priest patted her leg. "We hold on to the unspoken promise that if we can endure without losing our souls, we will eventually be blessed with our own mates."
"How would you lose your soul?" she asked, officially feeling as if she was in over her head. Was this conversation really happening? Can people really lose their souls?
"A paranormal loses his soul when he or she harbors an evil intent in their heart and act on it. Most say it's the act of killing, yet there have been many, many instances of paranormals killing and yet they are still whole," Aiden explained.