My Guardian

Leana looked contrite. "I am sorry, it is just an awful situation. I did not want to get you or your mate involved in case things escalated."

Meryn looked at Magnus and pointed to Javier. "I like them, too."

Magnus nodded. "They are some of my closest friends. They have supported me at every turn." He leveled a look at Simon. "I would hate to think that my good friend would not come to me in his time of need."

Simon glared right back at Magnus. "I was trying to protect you. You have enough on your plate trying to open the city to protect people, you did not need more problems heaped up on you."

Magnus scowled. "I am getting real tired of people hiding problems in an effort to protect me."

Simon shook his head. "We did not hide anything."

Adriel cleared his throat. "No, sir. I believe that particular barb was thrown in my direction. My unit warriors have been picking and choosing what to report, with the good intentions of helping our prince."

"Is this about some of the other families being disrespectful to the warriors?" Leana asked.

Magnus pointed at her. "She knew? How did I miss such a thing?"

"Probably because you were meant to." Meryn looked around. "Can I have some pudding?"

Magnus had his mouth open to protest and shut it quickly. "Should you be having pudding for dinner?"

Ryuu stepped up behind her with a prepared bowl. "Actually sire, it's practically all she has been eating since she had it the first day, the only exceptions being her favorite Cheetos, and the kebobs and meat pies from the Marketplace."

Marie clucked in sympathy. "When I was carrying, I practically lived off of chocolate. Poor Javier thought our child would come out coated with the stuff."

Javier nodded. "I was never so grateful for the fae portals. She had me hopping around the world for different kinds of chocolate." He winked at his mate. "It was worth it though. Our son was born hale and hearty."

"Your son?" Meryn asked.

Marie smiled. "Our son's name is Viktor; he is a unit leader here in the city."

"I met him when Adriel introduced the units. He was very kind," Eva said, remembering his wonderful manners.

Marie beamed. "Thank you, and congratulations on your mating."

"She is more than I could ever dare to hope for," Adriel said.

Marie turned to Beth. "Are the rumors true? Are you with child?"

Beth looked around the table in surprise. "How..." She looked behind her. Suddenly, Sebastian had a keen interest in the wine selection. "Sebastian!"

He stepped forward looking a bit embarrassed. "I may have ordered a crib, bedding, clothes, blankets, and one or two toys."

Beth's anger melted in the face of such fatherly indulgence. "Thank you. My child will want for nothing with you helping to plan their arrival." Sebastian's face flushed with the praise. Beth nodded at Marie. "Yes, I am."

Marie clapped her hands together in front of her. "A thousand blessings on your child! The first baby to be born in Noctem Falls in decades, how exciting!"

Eva caught Gavriel's mouth moving and could have sworn he muttered that the baby would be born in Lycaonia. Poor Gavriel. Eva felt like laughing, even though he was the vampire, Noctem Falls claimed his shifter mate as their own, while he remained loyal to Lycaonia, the shifter city.

Beth leaned forward to stare at Meryn. "By the way, what's with your new word usage? First eviscerate and now exsanguinate?"

Meryn stuck her nose in the air. "I am trying to improve my vocabulary."

Aiden chortled next to her. "Ask her what's she's using to build her vocabulary."

Beth hesitated. "What?"

"It's a perfectly legitimate app."

Aiden nipped her shoulder. "Tell her."

"I downloaded the Serial Killer Word of the Day app," Meryn answered. She looked around as the table fell silent. "What! All the normal ones were boring, I mean who really wants to use words like 'mulct' and 'gormandize' in everyday conversation. The serial killer app came with cool information about blood splatter patterns and medieval torture methods."

Again, there was silence.

Javier regarded Meryn intently. "You are the most dangerous creature in the city, are you not?"

Meryn beamed at him. "I knew I liked you."

Simon shook his head once and then turned to Magnus, changing the subject. "Is it true that the warriors have already completed the first set of housing?"

"It is. Two small witches recently of Storm Keep managed to accomplish what their older counterparts could not. Under their own power, they easily carved building after building out of the stone walls. It was all the other warriors could do to keep up," Magnus said, practically bragging the two witches up. "And to think that Storm Keep begged me to accept them."

Eva watched as Adriel turned to his prince. "They did?"

Magnus nodded. "Evidently, they barely passed their warrior exams and were such misfits they did not know what to do with them. They did not want to be separated, so I told them we would try them out. Best thing I could have done."

Beth raised an eyebrow. "And you couldn't bear the thought that the two brothers would be sent to different cities."

Magnus cleared his throat. "Maybe."

Eva watched a thousand thoughts play out on Adriel's face. She hoped her mate never took up poker, because he couldn't hide what he was thinking to save his life.