by Alanea Alder
"I'll let him know you think so," Kendrick said absently, as he swirled his wine.
Catherine turned to him. "What?"
Kendrick blinked. "What?" He looked like she startled him into paying attention.
"You know who designed the units?" Jedrek asked.
"Oh. That. Yes, it was the Dark Prince of Noctem Falls. By the end of the war, I heard his patience snapped, and he wanted to wash his hands of the entire thing. His suggestions carried weight, and the rest is history. With unit warriors guarding the pillar cities, they didn't need a single Dark Prince anymore," he explained.
"He did it to be lazy?" Meryn asked. "I aspire to be that lazy."
Kendrick shrugged. "I think he deserved a break at that point."
Rex looked at his parents. "In order to maintain peace in the city when Magnus was laid low, Gavriel Ambrosios claimed his heritage."
Jedrek nodded. "We heard that he was confirmed as a true Ambrosios."
Rex nodded slowly. "Yes, however, he isn't just a member of the line, he is the Gavriel Ambrosios from legend. He's the Dark Prince."
Both Jedrek and Catherine reached for Jedrek's glass at the same time. Jedrek allowed his mate to drink of the liquid first. She passed it to him. "The Dark Prince?" Catherine asked hoarsely.
Declan winced. "Yes, Mother."
Jedrek eyed his sons. "You both knew?"
"Yes, Father," they replied together.
"They were sworn to secrecy," Aiden said, then sighed. "We have too much going on to deal with that damn Committee now."
"The Dark Prince is a unit warrior?" Catherine asked.
Aiden brightened. "He's my second-in-command."
Between Catherine, Amelia, Anne, and Meryn, Brie had gotten pretty much caught up on what was going on. But in seeing Ari's parents' reactions, she wondered how much of that was common knowledge. "Can I just assume everything I've heard in the past few days are secrets?"
Kendrick nodded. "Probably a good idea," he said, leveling his gaze at her.
"No problem," she gave him a mock salute.
"There's more?" Jedrek demanded.
"Yes, much more. But in light of certain events, it's probably not wise to divulge such things to the council," Kendrick responded.
"So we need a way to sabotage or kill the Committee?" Meryn asked, opening up her laptop.
"Meryn, let's give Jedrek the ability to say he has no idea what's going on later, shall we?" Kendrick advised.
"Oh, yeah." Meryn closed her laptop and put it away.
Jedrek stared at the small woman in horror. "You can't do that." He looked from Aiden to Kendrick. "She can't do that."
"Do what?" Meryn asked brightly, her face full of innocence.
Leo refilled Jedrek's goblet.
Smiling slyly, Kari also put her tablet away. "We will figure something out, Father. Do not worry about it."
"They're vicious. I love it," a female voice said from the doorway. Brie turned and stared. Growing up, her mother had read countless bedtime stories to her all revolving around female warriors, but her personal favorite had been the Valkyries.
That's what the group of women standing behind Declan embodied, with their long, blonde braids hanging over varying degrees of undercuts and visible arm tattoos. "God," she whispered.
Her father laughed. "Baby girl, you should see your face. You remind me so much of your mother right now."
"Aunt Elysa, what are you all doing here?" Declan asked, as he and the men stood to greet the women.
"We knew Ari had mated, but we didn't know Declan and his mate were visiting." She rotated her finger, pointing to the room. "We heard silence when doing our rounds and got worried." They frowned at Catherine. "All our baby boys are home, and you didn't tell us?"
The tall, built, blonde women converged on the Lionhart sons. They were passed around until each son had received his own hug from each aunt.
Once the women had hugged their nephews, they looked around the table. "Which ones are our baby girls now?" Elysa asked.
She and Kari exchanged worried looks and slowly they raised their hands. The women pulled up chairs and surrounded them. "We've heard a lot about Kari from Rex. He says that she practically runs Noctem Falls. I'd say that's good enough to be mated to Declan," the one with braids at each temple said, pointing to Kari.
Kari sat back. "Excuse me?" Her eyes began to bleed to red.
The women laughed. "She's so proper."
"Look, bizsnatches, you don't upset Kari on my watch," Meryn said, hopping from her chair.
"Oh gods, look how tiny she is," one breathed.
"She's getting so snarly; isn't she adorable!"
"Is she actually standing?"
Meryn's face flushed red. "I have a gun, you know!" she threatened.
"Can you not insult and threaten the strongest group of female warriors in existence," Aiden pleaded, grappling his mate. He froze. "When did you get your gun back!"
"She's fierce. I like her," Elysa said. It was as if that statement cemented the entire group's opinion. She then turned to her. "What about you? Are you good enough for our baby Ari? Strong enough?"
Brie simply chuckled and stood. "Let's go." She had been thinking of this since Ari had described his aunts.
"Is she serious?" one of them whispered.
Brie unlaced her gown and let it fall. She turned, facing the room in her silk chemise and leggings. "Whenever you're ready, Blondie," she said, pulling her arm back to stretch.
"Hot damn, girls!" the women exited toward the front of the house, leaving Elysa standing by Brie.
"Oh Gods," Rex, Declan, and Jedrek whispered.
Catherine shrugged. "I saw this coming."
Ari was already on his phone. "Kincaid, I need you and Ian at the Lionhart estate. Brie just challenged my aunts. What? No! We're not waiting for them to make snacks! Get your asses over here!" he hung up his phone.
"Ryuu, I need beatdown-watching food!" Meryn pleaded, her eyes bright with excitement.
Ryuu gave a half bow. "I spotted some chips and M&M's in the pantry, will they suffice?"
"Hell yeah!" Meryn bounced toward the foyer, throwing jabs in the air and humming the Rocky theme song.
Brie smiled. "I love that little terror."
"Aunt Elysa," Ari started.
She held up her hand. "You will respect your mate and say no more. She trusts us to do the right thing, as should you."
"She's my mate, Auntie El," he whispered.
"Which is why we're going to enjoy this, Ari. Now go grab a seat so you can watch your mate. I have a feeling your unit brothers will be here soon."
"Sonofabitch!"
Ari turned like he was about to head to the door, then swung back to kiss Brie. "Don't get permanently maimed, okay?"
"I'll do my best," she compromised.
Her dad and Doran both kissed her cheek. "I've got a hundred on you, baby girl," her dad called back as he walked away.
Once the room was empty, Elysa turned to her. "Parameters?"
Brie bent at the waist to stretch her legs. "I know you're shifters so our strength and speed will be wildly different." She stood up straight. "How would you adjust your abilities when fighting a new warrior amongst you?"
Elysa had her arms crossed over her chest. She began tapping her finger on her forearm. "For the cubs, you mean?"
Brie grimaced at the term. "Would you equate a human's strength and speed to that of a cub?"
Elysa nodded. "Absolutely."
"Even the men?"
The tall warrior burst into laughter. "Especially the men. My girls can out-perform the unit warriors any day of the week, and they know it."
"Why aren't you unit warriors then?" she asked curiously.
"Why tie ourselves to that political headache? We answer to no man."
"That's so cool."
Elysa uncrossed her arms and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll hold back, but will adjust to your capabilities."
"I
'm counting on it," she said, her insides shaking in excitement.
"Look at you. Poor baby girl has never had a good sparring session," Elysa murmured in sympathy.
"You have no idea! The guys back home either come at me like I need to be put down or they pull their punches. I can't get a square fight out of any of them."
"Let's go see what you can do," Elysa held up her arm, inviting her to walk outside.
Once through the front door, her mouth dropped. The squires had set up seating, and it looked like a mini arena.
"Kick her ass, NinjaGaiden!" Meryn yelled.
Elysa chuckled. "The men probably think she's cute." She paused and tilted her head. "But she's the most dangerous one here, and with Eliana's Daughters present, that's saying something."
They stepped into the ring that someone had burned into the lawn. "Rules?" she asked.
"Nothing that would cause permanent harm. No unnecessary violence. If you're down, I won't continue. Good?"
"Perfect."
They separated to either side of the circle. Around them the females roared in unison, signaling the start of the fight.
Quicker than she could track, Elysa was on her. Brie grabbed her wrist and jerked forward, shifting her own weight. The lioness went down, but didn't stay down. They circled one another once, and Elysa burst forward again. Brie tensed her abdomen muscles and took multiple blows. With her arms protecting her head, she did a half-body twist to flip backward and put distance between her and the lioness.
Elysa's eyes widened, and she gave her a wicked grin. "Kitten has surprises."
"Come find out if I have any more," she replied.
Brie lost track of the exchange of strikes after that. She had never moved so fast in her life. No sooner had the thought entered her mind to block, her arm or leg was already there. After a few minutes, they were both breathing hard.
Brie laughed from the sheer thrill of it all. "Come on!" she roared, and Elysa responded.
The lioness landed a solid hit to her stomach, causing her to gasp for air. Closing her eyes, she pivoted on her back leg and brought her foot up. She connected to Elysa's jaw, causing her to step back, shaking her head. Brie let out a flurry of blows to further disorient her opponent.
Barely able to draw breath, Brie knew that if she hesitated, she would lose the chance to gain the upper-hand. She darted forward, and as she predicted, Elysa saw her incoming and threw her entire body into a punch aimed at her mid-section.
Brie grabbed her arm and literally threw her over her head and into the air. She heard and felt the vibrations of Elysa hitting the ground before she spun to face her. Brie immediately took a defensive stance.
Elysa held up a hand. "Yield," she croaked.
All around them the lionesses roared loudly—to the point where Brie wanted to cover her ears. They flooded the ring, some stepping over Elysa to congratulate her. "Welcome to the pride!" they cheered.
"Huh?" she asked, still trying to catch her breath from that punch to the gut.
"You defeated our acting Alpha Female, that makes you the newest member of our pride. Welcome to Eliana's Daughters," one of them explained, wiping her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said, thoroughly confused.
The female looked shocked. "Don't be sorry; these are happy tears! Jubilant tears! It's been centuries since an outside female has joined our ranks."
"But, she was adjusting her strength and speed, it shouldn't count," she protested.
Two females helped Elysa to stand. She made her way over to them, and she thrust her arm out to her. Brie knew what to do now and grasped it in a warrior's clasp.
"Brie, I stopped having to make adjustments after you challenged me. I faced you with everything I had. Your training, in addition to whatever boost you received from mating with Ari, has you nearly equal to one of us."
Brie could only smile. Throwing her head back, she bellowed out her victory. Answering her raw guttural cry, a deep, male, lion roar shattered the night from the stands. The men sitting around her mate released victory cries of their own. The unit warriors of Èire Danu had witnessed her triumph.
Elysa clapped her on the shoulder. "You're more than worthy of our Ari," she said, pointing to where her mate's once short hair now flowed about his head like a mane. In front of him, both Declan and Rex vibrated with the same energy.
"I told you they puffed up like house cats," Meryn said to Aiden, pointing at Ari.
Ari stood and stalked toward her. His eyes glowed golden. "Mine," he growled.
She smiled coyly before sweeping her leg and knocking him to the ground and straddling him. "And you're mine."
The men whistled from the crowd, and the female warriors laughed at Ari's stunned expression.
"I could get behind this," he agreed.
A piercing whistle had everyone looking at Catherine. "Elysa, you girls head back to the manor and get the gun prepared for Brie for tomorrow." She eyed the unit warriors. "You boys head back to the villa." She smiled at her. "Let's head back inside and allow Brie some time to freshen before we continue our dinner."
Elysa shook her head. "Better listen, she's the oldest." She leaned down to Brie. "And the strongest of us."
Brie eyed Catherine. "Well, she did have three sons, so there is that."
Her dad and Doran walked by, both grinning. Her dad held up a wad of cash. "This is going toward your birthday present."
Chapter Sixteen
Brie chuckled, then stood. She reached down and pulled her mate to his feet. The crowd dispersed, and they, once again, were heading upstairs so she could freshen up.
When they walked into their bedroom, Brie noticed that Leo had placed her gown across the bed with new underthings. That reminded her to look for the things her father and brought for her.
She went to the dresser and started opening drawers. Her things were perfectly folded and put away in the third drawer down. She shook her head. Squires were amazing.
She pulled off the sweaty silk and walked to the bathroom. She turned at Ari's low growls. "We don't have time. Your mother will hold dinner for us, and you know it."
Ari's eyes dimmed a bit, but his hair remained long. She pointed to his head. "I love it. Why didn't it grow when you became your lion-man?"
He brought his hand up and ran it over his hair. "Third form was a knee jerk reaction out of anger." He pointed to his head. "This was a primal, soul level response from my lion." He sighed. "I'll have to have it cut."
"Do you have to?"
"No, but I've always worn it short. Why?"
"Gives me more to grab later," she explained, stepping so just her body was getting wet under the shower head. She quickly soaped up and rinsed off, carefully keeping her curls dry.
"I'm feeling the long hair," Ari mused out-loud.
She laughed and dried off. He handed Brie her clothes and they walked downstairs. As she predicted, the squires had pulled out small hors d'oeuvres to serve along with celebratory drinks. When she walked in, cheers and glasses went up. The men stood until she sat down.
"Have a good time, baby girl?" her father asked.
She smiled wide. "It was so much fun! I've never been able to face someone that allowed me to go all out before."
"I made eighty bucks betting on you!" Meryn exclaimed. "That's a lot of chicken tenders."
Brie turned to Ari. "Who bet against me?"
Ari chuckled wickedly. "Nearly all the guys. They respect the hell out of you, but none of them thought you'd hold your own against Aunt Elysa."
"Why?"
"Because that woman has been putting us all on our asses for decades. She's one of the changes I made as unit leader. I asked her to help with drills. Each warrior probably as a low key form of PTSD when it comes to that woman," he explained.
"Dude, she's hot," Brie said, then noticed Leo had refilled her wine glass. She lifted it and took a healthy drink.
"Brie!" Ari shuddered. "That's my aunt!"
"Well, she's n
ot mine, not by blood anyway. Most of those women caused me to question my sexuality. They were so powerfully sexy."
"Ditto," Meryn agreed.
Aiden looked down at his mate in shock. "Really?"
Meryn glanced up. "Did you see their arms? I bet that's where Rex gets it from."
"Like I said: just like her mother." Her dad winked at her.
"What do you mean?" Ari asked.
"When I met Brianna, she was dating a woman, and I was dating a man. We saw one another from across the room and pretty much abandoned our dates. The first thing she said to me was, 'I'm going to have your baby,' and she did."
"Mom and Dad were best friends first and foremost," she added.
Her dad smiled wistfully, and Doran wrapped his arm around him. "She was like a soul mate, but not like a fated mate. I think we were meant to be together."
Meryn snorted. "Yeah, so you could make Brie," she said flippantly. Everyone around them paused at her words.
Ari pulled her close. "I don't care how or why, she's here and she's mine."
"Ryuu, can I have more meat, please?" Meryn asked.
Ryuu moved to add more slices to her plate from the platter. "Thank the gods Leo cooked so much. Meryn, I think you've eaten a cows' worth."
Meryn pouted, then looked up at Leo. "Am I eating too much?"
Leo practically tripped over himself to take the platter from Ryuu. He generously loaded up her plate. "Of course not. Here, take some more. Oh, and some onions."
Ryuu eyed his charge who was smiling up at the other squire shamelessly. He shook his head, smiling. "Simply adorable."
Brie got the feeling he was referring to her manipulation and not the smile.
"She's totally playing you, Leo," Declan pointed out, trying to spear pieces of meat off the platter.