My Guardian

Adriel hesitated, looking over at Meryn. "She can handle whatever you think you shouldn't say, so spill," Eva directed.

Ryuu walked in from the kitchen and handed Meryn a cup of coffee. Aiden frowned. "I thought she wasn't allowed caffeine."

Ryuu shook his head. "Her body is processing it well. In fact, the baby seems to enjoy it."

Aiden looked at his mate dubiously. "If you're sure."

Ryuu nodded. "I am. Actually, after that nap, she's doing almost as well as if we were back in Lycaonia. The lack of sleep was getting to be a worry."

"Enough about my coffee. What's happened?" Meryn asked, her eyes finally open.

"There's been another murder," Beth said quietly.

Eva dropped her sandwich, the food turning to lead in her stomach. "Who?"

"A Brian Carolton," Adriel said.

Eva sat back in her chair. Brian hadn't been a close friend, but he was part of the pack. She knew he'd be missed.

"Are we any closer to finding the killer?" she asked.

Adriel took her hand. "With the housing project nearly complete, we will be able to dedicate our efforts to finding Augustus Pettier. Thank the Gods for the twins! I do not think we would have finished so quickly without them. Their idea to create two-story buildings grouped in quads allowed us to house eight families per quad. Each quad houses between thirty-two and fifty people."

Eva stared. "You'd only need four or five of those for the entire pack. That's amazing."

Adriel smiled. "Each design also gives the families shared living space for meetings, communal laundry facilities, and of course, the closed courtyard for the pups."

"You all have completed four of these already?" she asked.

"No, we were able to build twelve, six along each wall. We should have plenty of room for a while."

Eva looked at her mate. "Then why did you say the building process was nearly complete? It sounds finished to me."

"We still need to run the utilities: Sewer, water, and electric. They should be wrapping up by this evening." Adriel lifted their hands and kissed her knuckles. "Families have already been assigned their new quarters, and the fae warriors are working with Stefan to get personal belongings delivered from the city estate in Albuquerque."

"Thank the Gods. Is there any chance some of my stuff was delivered? I'm itching to change my clothes." Eva pulled her button down away from her skin. It wasn't dirty per se; she had just been wearing it for days. Though Beth's evening dress had fit, her every day clothing was just small enough to be uncomfortable.

Adriel winked. "I may have pulled some strings. Your boxes were carried down to our home while you napped."

"I can't wait." Eva smiled and picked up her sandwich. "We ran into Warrick at the city entrance today. Evidently, he's related to the jerk that harassed us in the Marketplace."

Aiden's low growl carried throughout the room. "I want a chance to speak to this Andre."

Meryn giggled. "You may want to let Warrick handle it. He's almost bigger than you, and he was very upset that his cousin mistreated his commander's mate."

Eva smiled. "I'd say Andre is in for a rough evening."

"Unless his uncle stops him. He did say that Andre took after his uncle," Meryn reminded her.

"With family like that, I'm glad I don't have any uncles," Eva shuddered.

"I have an aunt and uncle now." Meryn picked up her spoon and started in on her pudding.

"What do you mean now?" Eva asked.

"My aunt didn't know about me when I was growing up; my grandmother didn't tell her that my mother had a child, and the last time my aunt saw my mother..." Meryn's voice trailed off.

"Meryn?" Eva watched the barrage of expressions flashing over Meryn's face.

"Hmm? Nothing. Anyway, I got to meet them when I found out Amelia was my big sister-cousin. I went from having no family to a ton of family. It's still kinda weird though."

"It's been just me for hundreds of years. Trust me, I know exactly how you feel," Eva said, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"What is your cousin like, Meryn," Adriel asked.

"She's like me, but she's nice and likes people."

"There are two like you?" Magnus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryuu took Meryn's coffee cup and replaced it with a tall glass of water. "Denka has described itoko-sama very accurately. Amelia is a unique individual who, due to her empathy, is very kind and attuned to the feelings of others. She doesn't like conflict and prefers everyone around her to be happy."

"So she thinks like Meryn?" Magnus asked.

Ryuu shook his head. "No, my denka is more practical and ruthless than Amelia. If anyone thinks like Meryn, it would be Kendrick."

"Kendrick? Kendrick Ashwood?" Adriel asked.

"Yes. He moved from Storm Keep to take over caring for his brother," Ryuu replied.

Adriel tapped his water glass absently. "His name came up quite a bit in speaking with the twins and other witches. In fact, did we not we get a delivery from Lycaonia from Kendrick for Nigel and Neil?"

Meryn's head turned to face her squire. "Their stuff came?"

Ryuu nodded. "Yes, I took the liberty of delivering it to them while you napped. They were very excited."

"Sweet! I can't wait to see what they come up with. I put in a request for floaty devices." Meryn rubbed her hands together.