by Alanea Alder
Magnus looked at Meryn as if he was seeing her for the first time. "That is brilliant." His eyes narrowed. "You are actually a born leader, are you not?"
"Yeah, fuck that. I was born to eat pudding and watch Netflix." Meryn dug into her treat again.
Brie mulled over what she said. "It's basic human nature."
Meryn licked her spoon. "Yup. Their stupid Committee is rendered useless if no one listens to them. Even if that was the 'add on' to the mate spell, it doesn't matter. We haven't lost a warrior mate yet; we're all too kick ass. Especially Brie. So like, if they counted on this being a huge power play, we kinda got it covered."
Kendrick growled. "I don't like it."
Anne kissed his arm. "That's because you don't like anyone telling you what to do, much less what to think."
"That's it exactly. It makes me doubt my own mind, because before Meryn's cavalier statement, I never even noticed I was being influenced," Kendrick ranted.
Magnus looked to Meryn. "I wonder why it did not affect her?"
Ryuu smirked. "Meryn, stand up," he ordered.
Meryn scowled up at him. "Why?"
Ryuu pointed down at his charge. "Meryn loves me and trusts me to provide even the most basic necessities for her. But the very fabric of who she is questions everything. If someone told her to do something, her knee jerk reaction is to do the opposite."
Meryn nodded emphatically. "Yeah. What he said."
Brie looked at Ryuu and understood what he was saying. "We're not from here."
He nodded once sagely. "Exactly. From day one, Meryn has questioned why we, as paranormals, do certain things, because it was all foreign to her. I would imagine the same would extend to you, but to a lesser degree."
"Why to a lesser degree?" she asked.
"Because of your profession. You're used to a system that has a hierarchy that issues orders. You're trained to follow orders, and unless something crosses a hard line for you, you'd obey." He eyed Meryn, who was trying to ensure the same amount of pudding was on each spoon. "She was kept mostly to herself growing up, so she doesn't know or care about even the most basic social norms that act as the building blocks of rules and decorum in the human world. Her brain is constantly asking, 'why'."
Ryuu pointed to the others in the room. "Paranormals are raised following many rules and traditions. Some date back so far that even the queen would be hard pressed to answer the question, 'why' about many of our forms of etiquette."
The queen nodded. "It's true. I may have known the 'whys' at some point, but since I didn't have to think of it, routinely, I've forgotten much."
"I believe Meryn has said this before, but the spell to bring the warriors their mates may be their eventual downfall." He turned to Kendrick. "Heika, I know that this especially upsets someone like you, who has depended on their own mind and abilities for so long, but you have to remember that it only takes one person pointing out the truth for an illusion to fail." He nodded down at his charge.
Kendrick slumped back. "I don't like it, but you're right. There's not much we can do about it now except foul up their efforts."
Neil leaned in closer to Meryn. "Couldn't we let something slip on the message boards under a fake account? I don't think the Committee is tech savvy enough to figure that out."
Meryn nodded slowly before handing Neil her spoons and Nigel her bowl. She reached beside her to her ever-present bag and pulled out her laptop. "I can create a person in two seconds flat, hold on."
Ari frowned. "Isn't she already doing that?" He pointed to her distended belly.
Brie laughed. "No, she's creating a person online. When she's done, I bet they'll be real enough to owe taxes."
Meryn beamed at her. "You got it." She tapped away. "Let's see. The person shouldn't be from Éire Danu, too close to us at the moment. I'll make them from that other wolf pack where Eva's from. They haven't been accepted to a pillar city yet. We'll have her work in real estate, and she'll share that a packet came across her desk to secure land very close to Lycaonia. I would say Noctem Falls, but they have that national preserve." She licked her lips. "We'll have the name be something close to Adalwin Dulse; dude is dead so he'd make the perfect dummy account for this kind of thing. In fact, let me create a dummy account for him really quick."
"I have his financials up, Meryn," Neil said from his laptop. "No one has touched his accounts since last year. Looks like everything is still open."
"Perfect," Meryn crowed gleefully. "Now, our poor scared girl from Texas will see someone named Alwin Dalse attempting to purchase land near Lycaonia. Which makes even more sense if you factor in they were there last year scoping things out. Now, considering this is the Committee she's posting about, she needs a fake account."
Aiden blinked. "Meryn, she is a fake account."
"Yeah, but my fake person isn't stupid enough to post under her own name. So, she has created a fake user name for the message boards I created last year, and she uploads a scan of Alwin's interest. She'll even create a fake Facebook account to lend credibility to her user name, that way even if someone from the Committee looks into this and discovers that the Facebook account is fake, they'll probably stop there, thinking they're geniuses." She chuckled. "What a bunch of poo brains." She typed for just a few moments more. "There, icing on the cake. She has an outstanding parking ticket outside the real estate office where she works and an active complaint on file with the building manager that someone keeps parking in her assigned space." She closed her laptop and cracked her back. When she looked around, everyone was staring at her. "What?"
Magnus leaned forward. "You did all of what you said as you were typing?"
"Yeah." She held out her hands, and the boys passed her back her pudding.
Brie looked over, and with her hand, she closed her mate's mouth. "You do remember me telling you all that she made grown men at a high security levels cry, right? I wasn't joking."
Ryuu practically glowed azure. "The world we currently live in is dictated by what people see, hear, and read online." He placed a hand on Meryn's curls. "And she dictates what they see, hear, and read."
"Oh gods above," Rex choked out in a strangled voice.
Brie chuckled. "Sounds like you're just now joining the program. Welcome to the digital age."
Chapter Seventeen
"It's impossible. She can't create something out of nothing," Ari argued for the fifth time. "No matter what you say, that woman doesn't exist."
"She does if you don't have to touch her," Brie refuted.
"This is harder to understand than magic," he admitted, shaking his head.
She squeezed his hand as they passed the shops and eateries of the Upper City, now closed since it was basically the middle of the night. It didn't take long for the buildings around them to become familiar, as they turned onto the street leading to the Lionhart estate.
"I just want to go to bed and forget this night happened," Kari said, leaning against Declan as they walked.
Brie blinked, then blinked again. She noticed that the moments between blinks were getting longer. After a few more steps she was suddenly swept up into Ari's arms, and he snuggled her close. "You're dead on your feet. Next time there's a meeting after a major mission, we're skipping it."
She rested her eyes. "I don't think we'll get that option."
"You two take my baby sisters to bed; I will update father accordingly," Rex commanded.
She and Kari both laughed at his imperious order that placed more importance on them being his baby sisters, than mates to his brothers.
Rex opened the door and led them into the foyer.
"Goodnight, Baby Lionhart, your Uncle Rex loves you very much," Rex said. Brie opened one eye to see him leaning down to speak to Kari's belly.
"Are they well?" his mother asked.
"Yes, but tired. Is father still awake?" Rex asked.
"You should know better than to ask that; he's been pacing his office, waiting for your return. I had Leo mak
e that Forbidden Fruit fruitcake you both love so much. Do try to get some sleep tonight," she chided.
"Goodnight," Ari called out and headed for the stairs.
A chorus of goodnights were said, and Ari carried her up toward their room. He set her down in the hall and opened the door. They entered the room illuminated only by the soft amber light of the glow stone on his nightstand. He shut the door behind them. Wordlessly, she quickly stripped from her dress robes and climbed into bed.
Ari turned off the light before joining her. He no sooner slid through the sheets before he was pulling her close.
When hands began to rub her shoulders, she snorted. "You're not getting lucky tonight Lionhart, I don't even know what planet I'm on."
He kissed her shoulder. "You go to sleep. I just wanted to rub some of these marks. Your gear left indentions in your skin; it can't feel good."
Brie reached up to where he was rubbing. Sure enough, she could feel ridges in her skin where her holster had dug in. "You're amazing, Ari.”
"I know." She thought she'd be able to hang on a bit longer to enjoy his massage, but the second he started purring, it was lights out for her.
*****
Brie looked around, scowling. "Weren't we just here?"
Ari patted her leg. They had both risen early, then headed straight back to the palace. "Don't try to placate me. We're missing Leo's breakfast, and he was making pancakes!" she protested.
She sniffled a bit. She had woken up to the smell of them cooking. They hadn't even had time to grab coffee.
"Poor thing. I'm not making pancakes, but Sebastian prepared some waffle batter for little Meryn for breakfast before he and Magnus returned to Noctem Falls. I hear they're quite amazing," Cord said, filling her coffee cup.
Somewhat mollified, she fixed her cup and sat back. "Where is Tiny Toons?"
Aiden smiled. "Still sleeping, thank the gods. She's had such weird sleeping patterns since Noctem Falls that I let her sleep whenever I can."
Brie looked around and saw that Ryuu was assisting Cord with breakfast, and the boys were huddled over their laptops. "It's quiet without her," she observed. Around the table, everyone nodded.
Brennus smiled. "I've noticed that myself on many occasions since she's come to visit. I always miss her when she's not about."
Next to Brennus, Rex was going over paperwork with the queen. "We were able to secure the warehouse with no problem. Declan will be overseeing the guard rotation in New Mexico, but will still need to be able to check in with us on a regular basis."
The queen held up a hand and smiled at him. "I had already planned on establishing a permanent portal there, so there's no need to sell the idea to me, Rex." She arched a brow. "Everyone knows that you spearheaded the project to secure a way for your brother to visit more easily."
Rex blushed when faced with the queen's teasing. "And of course to assist in bringing those foul ferals to justice," he countered.
She pointed down to his packet. "Molvan installed the portal to the warehouse this morning. I had him place it in the cold storage facility to keep traffic in the palace to a minimum." She looked at Declan. "Not that you can't visit whenever you like."
Declan nodded his head. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The queen turned to Kari. "Based on the updated numbers you received from Beth, where do we stand?"
Kari hesitated then pulled out her tablet. "It does not look good, Aleksandra. According to Beth's update, there should be thirty-five thousand, seven-hundred and six fae. That is nearly three-thousand more than projected. Of that number, nine-thousand four-hundred and two were living outside of Éire Danu, which is good, it is lower than we thought. Of those roughly nine-thousand, five-thousand eight-hundred and three have responded to your summons."
The queen held up her hand. "I thought it was closer to fifty-seven hundred."
Kari nodded. "It was, until the murders began. That seemed to create a sense of urgency in responding." She looked up from her tablet. "Go figure," she said in a deadpan voice before continuing. "When we subtract the numbers of known dead and recovered, we have exactly three-thousand fae still unaccounted for."
Kendrick sat back. "Exactly three-thousand?"
Kari nodded solemnly. "Yes," she confirmed.
"What don't I get?" Amelia asked.
Brie turned to her. "It's nothing concrete, but it's harder to imagine that they're off on some remote island enjoying the sun and surf when you have an even number like that," she explained.
"Oh," Amelia replied in a small voice.
Brie couldn't stand the dejected look on her face. "Look on the bright side; once we torture the ferals in Kincaid's box, we'll be able to save everyone all in one go."
Ari rubbed her back. "I know that you meant to make her feel better, but it's probably not a good idea to use the word 'torture' with the empath."
"Shit." Brie shot Amelia an apologetic look.
Amelia shook her head, smiling wanly. "With Meryn around, I'm used to those kind of conversation bombs now."
The queen turned to Brie. "I would still very much like you to stay in charge of this investigation. You've proven time and again that your input is invaluable. I truly believe that I will only be able to save my children with you at the helm."
Brie sat straighter. "I will do everything I can to help. Though, it feels like we’re at a standstill at the moment, until I get more information from River confirming what we suspect, or unless Meryn finds another warehouse."
The queen smiled. "I know you will. Even more so after your arm feels better."
Brie blinked. "My arm?"
Brennus chuckled. "Elysa came by first thing this morning to requisition fae enchanted ink for your tattoo."
"I'm getting a tattoo?" Brie looked up at her mate.
Ari beamed at her. "One of the rarest ones in our world. The tattoo for Eliana's Daughters isn't offered lightly. It's a symbol, much like our warrior tattoos, that you have proven yourself." He nuzzled her neck and whispered. "I'm so proud of you."
Brie couldn't say no after her mate said something like that. In truth, she had never wanted a tattoo before. They looked great on others, but she hated needles. "I will require pampering afterward," she informed him.
He frowned. "Why?"
Across the table, her father laughed. "Because she hates, and I do mean hates needles. She passed out when she had to get her tuberculosis test for college."
"Dad!" she protested. "They're going to think I'm a big baby."
Brennus placed another scone on her plate. "After your bout with Elysa, I highly doubt anyone would think that."
"You heard about that?"
Brennus nodded. "My niece flattened the acting Alpha Female of Eliana's Daughters and was offered acceptance in their ranks? Of course, I heard about it." He nodded at Ari. "You'll learn that the warriors are horrible gossips. Balder and Bastien were waiting for me in the queen's outer chambers this morning to be the ones to tell me."
"Why acting Alpha?" she asked Ari.
Ari lowered his coffee cup. "Mother is the Alpha Female, she is the eldest and the strongest, but her mating my father shifted some of her focus away from her duties for Eliana's Daughters. My aunts refused anyone else as Alpha, so they made Elysa acting Alpha Female. It frustrated Mother to no end that Elysa wouldn't actually be Alpha, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her sisters are just as stubborn as she is."
She dipped her scone in her cream and took a bite. She didn't think they were supposed to be eaten this way, but if everyone from the queen to Aiden dunked, then so would she.
It didn't take Ryuu and Cord long to whip up the waffles and soon everyone was enjoying the tasty breakfast.
Amelia turned to Aiden. "Should she wake her? If she hears we let her sleep through waffles, she'll be angry."
Aiden shook his head. "Let's let her sleep herself out. If she gets some good rest in now, she'll be good to go for a while."
*****
&n
bsp; It was early afternoon by the time she had finished her breakfast and received the update from Ben at the facility.
Groaning, Brie sat back patting her belly. "Those have to be the best waffles I've ever had."
"Ready for your tattoo?" Ari asked excitedly, standing.
"I guess. But remember, pampering and spoiling are required later."
"Spoiling you is no hardship."
"Ari, if you swing by around dinner time, Neil and I should have some more warehouses and buildings picked out for Meryn to review. We can give you both locations then so you can start planning," Nigel offered.
Ari looked at him. "Why around dinner?"
Nigel and Neil exchanged looks then turned back to him and shrugged. "That's when we always go over things."
Amelia laughed. "Meryn got us in the habit of doing all our meetings and updates over a meal. The reasoning was that we had to stop and eat anyway, honestly I think she just wanted to eat during our update sessions."
Ari took her hand. "We'll swing by, but I imagine Mother will want to have us home for dinner as long as Declan is in Éire Danu."
The queen looked from Oron to Darian. "That's understandable. Everything tastes better when both my sons are home."
They waved and walked out the door, into the halls of the palace. She went as slow as she thought she could get away with. If Ari noticed the snail's pace, he didn't mention it. Much quicker than she'd liked, they were at the Lionhart estate.
He opened the door and led her to the back. Down the middle of an expansive courtyard, a cobble path branched off in different directions.
"Mother put in a shooting range for me and Declan after we became warriors; my aunts use it all the time," he said, pointing toward the back left.