by Alanea Alder
Catherine smirked. "Don't you mean good afternoon?"
Brie reached for her phone. Sure enough, it was after eleven. "Why didn't anyone wake me?"
Leo walked up behind her and got her seated, pushing her chair in. "Would you prefer a late breakfast or an early lunch?" he asked.
"A cup of coffee to start, then maybe an omelet and a Diet Coke for breakfast?"
Leo nodded. "Would you like toast with your breakfast?"
"No, just the omelet should be fine."
He flipped over the mug in front of her and poured a cup of coffee. "I'll be out in a few minutes with your breakfast."
"I have coffee, take your time."
Leo nodded then headed toward the kitchen.
She fixed her coffee and eyed the cream. Didn't Ramsey say he learned the cream ratios from Leo? She added some and took a sip. "Ahhhh, perfect." She sat back, holding the mug to her chest. "I really should have gotten up when Ari did."
"Nonsense. You've had a great deal thrown at you over the past two days, and you've only just been claimed. If anyone deserves some rest, it's you, darling," Catherine explained.
What she said stuck with her. It had only been two days, and everything was different. Her entire world had been turned upside down and shaken like a snow globe. Maybe she had earned a few extra hours to sleep in. She turned to Jedrek. "Do we have any idea what the guys did this morning?" She pushed back a growing since of guilt. The queen had trusted her to head up the investigations and, she had let a really, really good romp in bed lay her out.
Jedrek sipped his own coffee. "Ari went to the warrior villa first thing this morning to ask for volunteers to work with you in getting the dead identified. Evidently, there was much arguing, then a brawl broke out as they competed to see who would help. Finally, Ari just had them draw straws. He sent the lucky five on to meet up with Rex and Ben at the storage facility. They divided up the dead amongst them, and their first task was to photograph each person and create a file for them. That's what they have been working on all morning," he explained.
"That was exactly what I would have done." She smiled. "They must have really wanted to get out of patrols," she added.
Both Catherine and Jedrek laughed before Catherine shook her head. "They wanted to be the ones to help you, dear," she replied.
Brie stared. "Really?"
Jedrek gave a single nod. "Really."
She lifted her mug to hide her smile. "Do you know which five were tapped?"
Jedrek rolled his eyes. "Both of my brother's silly cubs, Bastien Géroux from Phi, Saxon Wright from Psi, and Colin Althea from the Omega unit. The men decided that one from each unit would be fair. Tau performs daily with only four warriors, so the men argued that the other units in Éire Danu were no less capable. Which is how you ended up with five volunteers instead of the initial three requested."
She couldn't have asked for more. The men that she'd be working with were the ones she knew the best so far. "I'll head over there right after breakfast. I want to be on site when we start working with the families. Once the men have been assigned and I've met with all the deceased's loved ones, then I will concentrate on the investigation. River had all day to get settled in Noctem Falls; I want to know if he discovered anything more with their nifty microscopes."
Jedrek sipped his orange juice and set the glass down. "Don't hesitate to lean on Rex. We have him on permanent loan from Noctem Falls to assist here in the city. If you find yourself unsure of what to do or who to contact, go to him."
Brie felt a lot more confident knowing Rex would be at her side for the initial interviews. "That makes me feel so much better. Rex exudes confidence and dependability that I don't think I'd ever feel nervous with him in my corner," she admitted. Both of Ari's parents smiled at one another at the praise for their firstborn.
"Rex was a born leader," Leo said, coming up behind her. He set down a plate with a huge omelet on it. "Even when he was a cub, others looked to him."
She stared at the monster omelet, then looked up at Leo, then back down at her breakfast.
Catherine coughed delicately. "Leo, I think you made her an Ari-sized portion."
Brie looked up Leo whose eyes widened. "I'm so sorry! Ari is the only other one in the family who requests omelets, so I was somewhat on autopilot when I was cooking it."
"It's fine! I just didn't want you to get mad if I couldn't finish it," she said, picking up her fork.
"I could never get mad at you, my dear. You've made Ari the happiest we have ever seen him. A tiny uneaten portion won't change that," Leo said pointing to her plate.
"It won't be a tiny portion, Leo. You'll probably be getting half this back."
Catherine turned to her squire. "Could you wrap it up for Ari? You know he'll be getting hungry by the time he catches up to her."
Leo snapped his fingers. "Just the thing. Brie, let me know when you're full, and I'll put this between two slices of buttered toast for Ari's snack. I'll go prepare a bag now." He turned and headed back toward the kitchen.
Brie took a bite of her fluffy omelet and sighed. The man was a true genius in the kitchen. "Maybe, three day weekends here," she murmured to herself.
Both Catherine and Jedrek laughed. Jedrek winked at her. "Sounds like a perfect plan to us."
As she tried to make a dent in her delicious breakfast, she wondered if it would be a serious faux pas to bring her laundry with her when she visited.
*****
Once she was done, Leo whisked her uneaten portion away and returned with what looked like a medium size cooler. "Here's Ari's snack."
"Snack?" How much did her mate eat? "Leo, you have me really worried about how I'm going to feed him when we're not visiting. Neither of us can cook."
Catherine stood by her mate at the door. "Never you worry; the boys at the warrior villa have been cooking for Ari for over a century now. They're used to his bottomless stomach."
"Good, because I really don't want us to starve."
Leo handed over the cooler, his expression thoughtful. "I'm sure I could manage mid-week snacks for the both of you."
She accepted the cooler and pulled him down so she could kiss his cheek. "I'd marry you in a heartbeat," she teased.
"Go on with you now," he said, sounding flustered.
Jedrek laughed and pulled her aside to kiss her own cheek. "I mean it, young lady. If you need anything, go to Rex."
She made a face at him causing him to laugh. "Yes, Dad."
He blinked. "Dad?"
She froze. Was she not supposed to call him that?
"Jedrek, stop that! You're scaring her to death." Catherine turned to her. "It's perfectly fine to call us mom and dad. You surprised my dear mate because the boys have only ever called us 'mother' and 'father'," she explained.
"Good, because using 'mother' and 'father' sounds way too stiff for me."
"Dad is perfect," Jedrek grinned. "I can't wait to call Byron and tell him that Brie calls me dad."
"Why is that a thing?" Brie asked Catherine who was rolling her eyes.
"Because Byron McKenzie was a bit insufferable after Aiden found Meryn. He bragged to the other council members that she called him 'dad'."
Brie laughed. She imagined that the men of Jedrek's generation were probably just as big of goofballs as the warriors that walked around on their knees to simulate Meryn's height. She doubted they ever truly grew up. If her dad was any indicator, the same could be said for human men too.
"Try not to do too much, dear," Catherine called out as she walked away
"I will," she yelled back, laughing. She wasn't about to lie. She knew the next couple days were going to be flat out hard.
She lugged the cooler down Maple street until she saw the familiar building where she had arrived in the city. Warriors were standing outside, forming a barrier between the gate and the concerned citizen milling about out front. When they saw her approaching, two warriors stepped forward to flank her and escort her inside. The one on her left
relieved her of her cooler, and she flexed her hand. The damn thing was heavy.
"What's going on, fellas?"
"Tyrien was out here this morning, stirring up the crowd. One of his cohorts threw a brick and hit Bastien in the head. Ari had to hold Gage back since he and Bastien are close as their families are tied together. Molvan and Malcom from the palace escorted Tyrien and his brick slinging friend to the palace to face Brennus," the warrior with her cooler explained.
She looked at his chest and smiled. The men were still wearing name tags—it was Corrin Li'Loudain from Psi who had spoken.
Balder chuckled evilly. "Ari released the fae unit warriors, in addition to those assisting here at the facility, from patrols. We're to act as guards to dissuade others from getting violent."
She looked over to him. "Does that leave enough for patrols?"
Balder gave a short nod. "Aiden called in the rest of the Gamma unit to assist in patrols," he smiled wide. "Aiden said something about separating Sascha and Colton to keep them both breathing."
"Meryn filled me in on their shenanigans. They sound fun."
"I don't know how they manage to stir up so much mischief and still manage to stay the highest ranking units between the four pillar cities," Corrin shook his head.
Balder held the door open for her. "I think that just proves how good they actually are."
She nodded and stepped inside. It was eerily quiet.
"Hello?" she called out.
Ramsey poked his head out from the back hallway that led to the larger main office. "Hey, you made it. Ari's been like a lion cub with a thorn in his wittle paw all morning waiting for you."
"I evidently needed to catch up on my sleep? Where is my lion?" she asked. She turned and reclaimed the cooler from Corrin.
"In the office. We had just sat down to re-group, so perfect timing," he explained as he led her down a dimly lit hallway. When they walked into the office, the men stood, and she went right to her mate. Ignoring the men around them, she pulled his head down for a kiss. As usual, he completely took over, leaving her to wonder what planet she was on. Sighing, she pulled back. "Good morning," she said a little breathlessly.
He nuzzled her neck then straightened. "I missed you."
"I could tell." She set the cooler on the table with a thud. "I brought you snacks from Leo."
The men were practically pouting. Balder scowled at Ari. "I hate you."
Ari just laughed. "I have the perfect mate who brings me food, I'd hate me too." He blew air kisses to the men who just groaned and threw wadded up paper balls at him.
Ari opened the cooler then turned to her. "Did mother tell him I might be hungry?"
"Yup. Half my omelet is in there somewhere on toast. Find it for me? Walking down here has me getting peckish."
Ari rooted around the cooler and held up a wax paper square. "I think this is it."
He handed it to her, and she sat down in the empty chair next to him. Ari looked around the room. "Dig in, guys, Leo packed for a small army."
The guys were all smiles now as they reached for food, which made sense since it was approaching lunch time. Once everyone had something, she turned to Ari. "I heard about Bastien's assault, is he okay?"
The men all growled as Ari's eyes darkened. "Yes, but that incident had us changing how we were going to start this process."
"We're no longer going to allow them to line them up and take them first come first served, huh?" she guessed.
"Exactly. We're waiting on an announcement from Portia that asks each family that has lost someone to send a single representative to the palace first to create a file on their loved one." He grimaced. "One of the things we noticed right away is that most of the dead look the same."
Brie licked a bit of butter off her fingers. "Like, de-comping the same?"
Gage shook his head. "No, literally. They are all fae. They are all tall and blond. Fae tend not to get tattoos and do not need dental work. Take a generic look and distort it from bloat, now you have over a hundred corpses that will be nigh impossible to identify."
Brie sat back with a thump. "Shit. I never even thought of that."
Ari rubbed across her shoulders. "Neither did we. We have requested additional assistance from Noctem Falls."
"Their microscopes?" she asked.
Ari shook his head. "No, their hematologist. Vivian Vi'Aerlin, mate to Etain Vi'Aerlin, is a renowned scientist. We're hoping she will be able to help us match us bodies to family members using DNA."
"I guess we don't need the guys assigned to this huh?"
Ari shook his head. "We absolutely do. The men have been assigned roughly fifteen bodies each. They will be working with Anne Ashwood in getting samples organized and labeled for shipment. As we receive information back about each person, the warrior will confirm with the families and make the arrangements to release the bodies for final arrangements."
"So, we're on hold for now?"
Ari and the men nodded. Her mate squeezed her shoulder. "Once Portia makes the announcement, the crowd will disperse. Anne should be here soon to gather samples. We'll maintain guard duty on the building to avoid anyone disturbing the dead. After that, we're waiting on matches from Vivian in Noctem Falls."
She crumpled up the now empty wax paper, and she was surprisingly still a bit hungry. She was going to gain weight if she kept stress eating. "I'll forward Portia the form we use to file a missing persons. She can tweak it as needed, but it should give her a jumping off point."
Ari stood and looked at the table full of empty containers. "Ben, you stay here as point of contact for the facility. Gage, you check up on Bastien. Priest, work with Sascha Baberiov in getting the rest of Gamma settled in. Kincaid, can you act as escort for Anne?" His unit all stood and nodded. Ari turned to the rest of the warriors. "Add in a rotation to guard this facility then head back to the villa. Rest up for your next patrol."
The rest of the men stood. "Yes, sir."
Priest eyed his unit leader. "And what will you be doing?"
"Heading to the palace to see if Cord is serving lunch," Ari replied, not looking the least bit ashamed.
Kincaid laughed. "I'll tag along so I can pick up Anne."
"Unbelievable," Gage muttered as everyone moved for the door.
Ari held a hand down to her. "Are you okay with heading to the palace?"
She grinned up at him. "Yes, because I'm still hungry too."
Laughing he wrapped an arm around her and they walked up the hill toward the palace.
Chapter Eleven
When they got to the palace, Brie was surprised to see the atmosphere was surprisingly light. She looked up at Ari, who nodded his head toward where Meryn sat, bouncing in her chair.
"Ari, Brie, Kincaid, welcome. Just in time for lunch. Please join us," the queen said, motioning to the table.
They sat down in three empty chairs as Brie continued to watch Meryn. "Did someone over-caffeinate her?" she asked.
Aiden placed his large hand on his mate's head and pushed up and down causing her to laugh. "Darian got a call from Noctem Falls today. He went to get the collection vials for ViThreePO, and Sebastian said he's forwarding on my meat kebobs!"
"Meat bobs! Meat bobs!" Creelee chanted from Izzy's shoulder.
"In the meantime, can I interest you in a garden salad?" Cord asked.
Meryn shook her head emphatically. "No, thank you, Cord. Every square millimeter in my stomach is reserved for meat kebobs and pudding today."
Cord eyed the empty plate in front of Meryn as if it were an enemy. "How about a piece of fruit? It'll be digested before Darian returns." The poor squire simply couldn't stand that someone at the table he was serving wasn't eating.
Meryn saw his face and relented. "Okay, maybe something small though. Oh! Those baby oranges would be great."
Amelia sighed. "They're called tangerines, Meryn."
"Whatever, he knew what I meant."
"I did, and I will be right back with some f
or you." He looked at them. "What can I get the two of you?" he asked.
"Technically, I've had two breakfasts, but I'm still kinda hungry. But I don't think I need a full meal," she explained.
Kincaid smiled. "Any kind of soup would be perfect for me."
Ari shrugged. "Double of whatever is easiest," he said simply.
Rex smiled. "You better watch out, Cord, Ari is like a stray house cat. If he knows that you'll feed him, he'll keep turning up."
Cord shrugged. "That's perfectly fine by me. I'll be right back with your lunches," he said, heading toward the kitchen.
Aleksandra turned to Brie. "Thank you for sending Portia that form. She said it was exactly what was needed and saved her hours of work."
Brie felt better knowing she helped. "I wasn't sure how much of it could be used, but I figured it would be better than starting from scratch."
Beside her, she felt Ari turn until he was facing Brennus. "How'd their hearing go?"
Brennus smirked. "They will both be assisting House Liordon in providing support to the warriors in the form of cleaning and laundry duties. Tyrien tried to weasel out of it, protesting that he had not thrown anything, but I cited testimonies from the warriors who were there, saying he was inciting violence. Neither was very happy with me to say the least."
"Uncle Bren kicked ass. When Tyrien tried to argue, he just did this murder face, and the douchebag shut right up."
"Murder face?" Brennus chided gently.
"Yup. Murder. Face. It was awesome. I want to be able to do that someday," Meryn scowled at her cousin. "How's that?"
Amelia smiled but Kendrick shook his head. "You look like you're constipated."
Meryn stuck her tongue out at him. "That's how you always look," she retorted.
Anne laughed and took another bite of her salad.
Kendrick sighed. "It's like raising Serenity all over again. Sisters are more vicious than brothers. Keelan never said I had a god complex or that I looked constipated," he complained.
"God complex?" Brie asked, looking at Serenity, who laughed. "He gets so insufferable when he's lecturing. There were many times I wanted to throw a book or two at him."