by Alanea Alder
"No butt sex for you!" Pip declared, his voice ringing through the chambers as he shook a finger up at the huge shifter.
Pierce couldn't hold in his laughter. "It gets better and better," he chuckled.
When the young quartet had left the room, Kendrick, Brennus, and surprisingly, the queen herself burst into laughter. Law was coughing as he tried to get some air.
Brennus just smiled at his mate, a bit of relief in his eyes. Laughter for the queen was a good thing right now. "Gods bless those four," he whispered.
Kendrick exhaled and looked at Anne. "Quit spoiling them. How can I be the Big Bad if they hide behind you?"
Anne stood and patted his cheek. "You're so very clever; I'm sure you'll figure it out."
Kendrick looked heavenward. "Gods above, give me strength."
Aiden sipped his wine. "No offense, Kendrick, but they're probably laughing at you too."
Justice turned to his brother. "You and Law have laid claim to Meryn, so I get dibs on the boys. They will be like my godsbrothers."
Thane stared. "You can't invent words like that."
Aiden shrugged. "Meryn does it all the time."
Justice grinned wickedly at his older brother. "She already approved of another term I came up with. Brothair. Means brother of my athair. This way I get to spoil her too."
Thane literally growled. "She's my godsdaughter!"
Law rubbed his chin. "Justice, you're a genius. I am her brothair as well."
"No, you're not," Thane argued.
"Don't be greedy," Justice refuted.
"You can't be anyone's anything if I bury you two idiots," Thane threatened.
"Mother won't let you kill us," Law pointed out.
"She'll be fine with me as her only son—you two are just back-ups," Thane said, pointing to his brothers. Justice and Law eyed each other then jumped their elder brother.
Kendrick whispered a few words, and the brawling trio was moved to the open area by a set of double doors. "There, now they won't hit the table."
Ari and Kincaid edged toward the fight, watching it entranced. "Twenty on Thane," Ari said.
"Deal," Kincaid agreed.
"Oh, I need in on this," Micah jumped to his feet and raced to where Ari and Kincaid stood. "Fifty on Justice. He'll use Law to get the advantage on Thane, then trounce his younger brother."
Brie walked over to her mate. "Twenty on Thane for me. He won't let his younger brothers show him up." They watched as the fight raged on.
A loud crash had everyone else in the room looking over to the Ashleigh brothers. Thane stood over his two younger brothers who were shaking their heads. "My godsdaughter," he repeated.
Both Justice and Law stayed silent, but it was clear that this argument wasn't over. Micah and Kincaid handed over their money. Brie held up her winnings. "Where can we spend all this loot?"
Ari smiled. "I know just the place." He smiled down at her. "We could use a bit of downtime while blood samples are being compiled. I would like to show you that this world isn't all death and horror."
"Dav's?" Izzy asked.
"What's Dav's?" Brie asked.
"Only the best pub ever. He's serving coffee now, and I'm helping him get set up," Izzy replied.
"Yup. You two coming?"
Izzy nodded and Oron shook his head. Brie laughed. "Looks like you're coming along."
Oron sighed. "Fine, but just for a little bit."
Izzy ran off toward the kitchen, and moments later, she returned carrying three glass bottles. "Okay, ready to go."
Brie waved to Kincaid, who was staying behind to later escort Anne to the storage facility. Together with Izzy and Oron, they headed toward the supposedly best pub ever.
Chapter Twelve
When they walked into the pub, a chorus of greetings went up all around. Ari raised an eyebrow at Priest. The shifter was sitting at a table with four other men. When they saw Oron, the men jumped up and pounded him on the back.
"I am just running to Éire Danu to help The Menace settle, be back before you know it," the dark-haired man said in a mockingly high-pitched voice.
Oron punched his shoulder. "I do not sound like that, Christoff. I don't know why Aiden thought you lot would be useful." His smile turned gentle as he looked down at Izzy. "Izzy, these idiots are the men of my unit. Sascha Baberiov, tiger-shifter and unit leader for Gamma. Christoff Du'Prince, vampire. Ben McKenzie, Aiden's baby brother, you already met him. And Quinn Foxglove, witch."
Ben waved at them. "Corrin took over at the facility so I could catch up with these jokers."
Izzy beamed at the men. "I've heard so many wonderful things about you. Oron is always saying how he'd feel so much better if he had his unit with him."
The men all tried to hide how touched they were, failing miserably. One by one, they gave a half bow to Izzy. Oron rubbed the back of his neck. "Way to put me out there, Iz. Being away from these meatheads has been nothing but a relief. A vacation."
"I'll tell you what's a vacation. Being away from Colton Albright and enjoying this fine cold beer," the white-haired, barrel chested warrior said, sipping at his tankard.
Brie nudged her mate then looked at the men. Ari wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Gentleman, I have the honor in introducing my mate, Brie Wilson. She is a Deputy Sheriff out of Monroe and has been instrumental in moving our investigation forward." He paused. "Also, she can probably kick all your asses."
Brie pinched the skin between her eyebrows in exasperation, but secretly she was pleased by her mate's introduction. The men in turn surprised her further. Sascha stuck out his hand. At first, she thought he wanted a handshake, but his hand grasped her forearm instead. She looked up at Ari, who beamed. "That's a warriors' greeting, Brie."
She felt tears start to prickle her eyes but fought them back. These men had accepted her as an equal right from the start. There was no way she was going to undo that with a silly display of emotion. The other men greeted her in the same fashion. They ended up pulling over two more tables so they could all sit together.
"Now, who is this stunning creature?" a deep voice asked from behind them.
Ari simply placed an arm around her shoulders. "She's my mate, Dav. Brie Wilson, Dav Li'Filrien, he owns the pub."
Dav took her hand and kissed it. "All of you ugly bastards keep getting gorgeous mates; it doesn't seem fair," he teased.
"Hey, people," a warrior called out before he and his companion sat at their table.
Sascha pointed to the man. "Brie, this is Lorcan, lion shifter. He's the unit leader for Beta. The shaggy one is Graham Armstrong, bear-shifter and the Delta unit leader."
Ari frowned. "If we're all here, who's doing patrols?"
Lorcan grinned and pointed to the walkie talkie at his waist. "Aiden said that the Old Guard here volunteered to take perimeter and city patrols for a bit so we could focus on the murders and defending the storage facility. Aiden about came unglued when he heard that Bastien had been struck by one of the citizens. He was two seconds away from challenging the idiot."
Oron sat back, grinning. "You mean like he challenged all of Noctem Falls?"
"Wait? That was true?" More warriors crowded in. The one that spoke looked down at Brie, he pointed to his chest then to his friend. "My name is Bryok Vi'Erdolin, this is Casek Li'Velen." He turned to Oron. "That's right, you're just back from Noctem Falls. Please tell me that rumor is true."
Oron looked around and saw he had an audience. Just as he was about to start his story, Brie held up her hand. "Before you get started, can I get a beer? I have a feeling this story would go better with alcohol and snacks."
Dav gave a booming laugh. "Give me a few moments, and I'll get everyone sorted, because, honestly I want to hear this too." He hurried to the back to get their drinks.
"Snacks? Gods, the Éire Danu warriors have already corrupted her," Lorcan teased.
"Wait, is that a thing?" she asked.
The men all nodded. "They are known for t
heir addiction to snacks. They actually have contacts all around the world for imported munchies," Oron explained.
"Snack Party," she whispered. Ari just winked and nodded.
"There are worse things units could be doing. Like super-gluing one of their unit leaders to a bell tower," Sascha griped. The men all laughed as Dav came back with trays of beers. Once everyone was settled, Oron launched into the story of how a tunnel escort had hurt Meryn and how Aiden responded. The bear-shifter had gone from level to level, challenging thousands of people to ensure that no one hurt his mate again.
"Etain said that Aiden eyed one of the Noble family sons as if gauging his weight. Then bent down and grabbed the mouthy shit by the ankles, causing him to slam his head on the ground. He then swung him to the left and used him to knock his equally offensive older brother into the wall. Etain had tears in his eyes as he told the story." Oron sighed. "Gods, I am so glad I serve under him."
The men all around the room echoed his sentiment.
Ben raised his tankard. "To Aiden McKenzie the surprisingly amazing leader who is completely ruled by his pint-sized terror of a mate who entertains us all."
"To Aiden McKenzie!" The men cheered and laughed at Ben's toast.
Brie turned to Lorcan. "If the Old Guard are doing patrols, two-thirds of the units are freed up, assuming the other third is still maintaining drills and training. Two men were left behind at the storage facility for guard duty, and five were tapped to help the families in identifying the dead. If we include Oron, seven unit warriors were brought in to help here in Éire Danu, in addition to the four already here including Aiden, Micah, Darian, and Kendrick. That brings the grand total of warriors freed up for orders to twenty-nine. I'm not counting Nigel and Neil since they just arrived, nor the Ashleigh brothers since it was explained to me that they weren't unit warriors." She locked eyes with Lorcan. "So what is Aiden planning on doing with the nearly six units at his disposal?"
Around her the men quieted in stunned silence. Oron whistled and nodded at Ari. "She put that together before any other warrior. You should be proud."
Ari blinked. "What?"
Lorcan and the other warriors from Lycaonia just grinned and sipped their beers.
Dav sat back, holding his own tankard. "That sly bastard."
"Mother and Father were mated when they had Aiden, thank you very much," Ben said, sniffing dramatically.
Ari collapsed back, rubbing his hand over his mouth. "Not even the council has noticed." He looked around.
Quinn waved his hand. "I cast a soundproofing spell on this place the second we got here."
Dav shook his head. "We may need to think about getting a permanent one installed if we keep having meetings here."
Bryok looked from her to Ari and back. "What are we missing?"
Ari half turned to face him. "Aiden managed to bring in and free up six units of warriors without anyone noticing."
Casek frowned. "Why would he do that?"
Brie sat back. "He definitely has a more modern mindset than I expected."
"What?" Bryok repeated.
Brie shrugged. "I can't say for sure, but Aiden is organizing the men the same way the SWAT commander back home organizes his men before raids. You get everyone together, review intel, then go in. If he's quick enough and sends half the men out before everyone realizes how many warriors are milling about, no one may notice for a while."
Quinn pointed to Ari while looking at Brie. "You say six units, but Tau is only a four man team."
"I'll be going out with them, " she said, deliberately not looking at her mate.
Quinn turned to Sascha. "Can she do that?"
Sascha exhaled. "You know, thanks to Menace electrocuting me on multiple occasions, I find that very little surprises me anymore. I just go with the flow now."
"She did say she missed you," Izzy added, then frowned. "Though she did say that after Ryuu upped the charge on her screwdriver thing."
Sascha whimpered and proceeded to empty his tankard as even his own unit laughed at his plight.
Brie snuck a look up at her mate. He looked down at her and shrugged. "You keep expecting me to get mad that you're taking an active role in the investigation. That won't happen. In the wild, it's the lionesses that hunt to feed the pride. I come from a home with strong females, so you being in law enforcement doesn't faze me one bit."
Oron turned to Ari. "You should introduce her to your aunts."
"Aunts?" she asked.
Ari cracked his back. "Yeah, on my mother's side, Eliana's Daughters. My mother has six sisters, and they're all incredibly strong. Remember, we spoke about them back at the warrior villa. " She nodded, and he continued. "They're all warriors in their own right but don't serve in units. They currently exist to protect other lion-shifters. It's not needed as much now that most paranormals live in or around pillar cities, but back before the cities were created, the lionesses were known as Protectors of the Weak."
"Kinda like old school beat cops that knew their neighborhoods inside and out. The lionesses would patrol and keep the stronger shifters from dominating communal spaces," Oron added.
Brie turned and grabbed Ari's arm. "I have to meet them."
"Do you really?" he asked, in a strained voice.
"Why? Are you ashamed of me?" she demanded.
"Hell no. It's just that…they're…they…" Ari floundered.
"They baby him like no other, and they'll probably challenge you on the spot," Oron finished.
She laced her fingers together then cracked her knuckles. "Sounds like fun.
"No, it sounds like a quick way into a body cast," Ari refuted.
"If they're that good, Ari, they'll be able to adjust their strength used." She felt a tremor of excitement. She rarely got to face off against other females.
"Gods, look at her face," Lorcan said, pointing.
Ari just pounded his forehead on the table, before simply letting it rest there. "Healers. I want every witch healer we have on standby," he said in muffled tones.
She stood pushing her chair back. "Ari, let's head to the warrior villa, I owe you at least two blow jobs for backing me up and believing in me."
Ari sat up straight in his chair, looked up at her, drained his tankard, then stood. "Good day, gentlemen."
"I hate you!" Sascha called out to their backs as they left the pub.
"Don't care!" Ari yelled back.
Brie had to practically run to keep up with Ari's long strides. She couldn't help the bubbling laughter from erupting at his enthusiasm. They had almost made it to the villa when Aiden along with Kendrick, Micah, and the Ashleigh brothers caught up with them. Behind the men, Meryn and the boys followed at a leisurely pace, her squire and Pierce accompanying them.
"Good. Glad we ran into you," Aiden said. He raised his arm and pointed toward Dav's and the direction they had just come from. "We need you in a meeting to discuss our next mission."
"Nooo," Ari whimpered.
Brie could barely keep a straight face.
Ari's expression was tragic. "Can't we catch up to you?"
Aiden gave him a shit-eating grin. "We must all make sacrifices as unit warriors." He clapped her mate on the back, then wrapped an arm around his shoulders to steer him away from the villa.
Brie followed. Every once in a while, she made mouth noises that would make Ari turn and glare at her.
Meryn fell in step beside her. "You're kinda evil. I like that."
Brie without even thinking held up her fist, which Meryn promptly bumped. "Where's your cousin?"
"She went with Anne and Kincaid to the facility to get samples. Darian is also acting as escort so he can pop the vials or baggies or whatever over to ViThreePO in Noctem Falls."
"You're just a goofy little geek, aren't you?" Brie asked, amazed that this small woman made so many of the men she knew at Quantico curse and cross themselves.
Meryn held up her fingers in a 'V'. "My kung fu is strong."
"So is
mine," Brie said, then paused in their walking. She leaned back and held a kick way over Meryn's head before relaxing back to resume standing on both feet.
"That was so freaking awesome," Meryn whispered. She went to lean back but Ryuu placed a hand on her shoulder. "I would not try, denka, you are at a disadvantage due to the baby throwing off your balance."
Meryn sighed. "No ninja kick for me."
"It's okay, Meryn, you're kick ass in other ways," Neil said, pointing to her bag.
"So very true, short stuff. You've made grown men weep with that thing."
Meryn brightened. "Really?"
"Yes, you sadistic little shit."
Meryn just laughed outright. "That totally makes Aiden my mannequin."
"Huh?" Brie asked.
"She always means masochist when she says mannequin," Nigel informed her.
"Good to know."
Brie saw that they, were, once again back at Dav's.
When Aiden opened the door to pub, there was silence then rowdy men's laughter. Brie couldn't help laughing herself. Ari's expression was sure to be priceless.
They made their way back to where they had just left as more table and chairs were scooted over. Wordlessly, yet with a smirk, Dav handed Ari a fresh pint and a small shot glass.
"Thank you, Dav," Ari said, downing the shot and taking a hearty drink from his tankard.
Aiden finished clasping forearms with the warriors from Lycaonia when looked around and winced. "Dav, we're gonna need to take over your pub for a bit."
"One step ahead of you, Commander," Dav said, as he walked back from where he flipped around the closed sign.
A few minutes later, the unit warriors of Éire Danu filed in and sat down. The only ones missing were Corrin and Balder, who were standing guard at the storage facility and Darian and Kincaid, who were escorting Anne and Amelia.
The men from Gamma kept throwing coasters at Ari and teasing him over his misfortune. Brie watched as Bryok leaned over and explained what was happening to newly arrived Bastien, who still sported a white bandage around his head. Bastien leaned over and whispered to Ian who turned to face the Gamma unit, his eyes narrowing. A moment later, each warrior that had been teasing Ari jumped from their chairs, cussing as blue sparks popped around each man.