"Well, we can't have that," he said before kissing her slowly. When he leaned back she sighed happily. She picked up her glass and drained it before letting it tip over beside her. Smiling she closed her eyes again. "I love your garden."
Micah picked up her glass, then finished his own wine before leaning over to place both empty glasses beside the bottle on the end table.
"Drunk?" he asked, snuggling in beside her.
"No. Just..." she trailed off.
"Completely relaxed, carefree and perfectly content?"
She nodded rubbing her nose playfully on his chest. "I think it did something to the mating pull," she said, before she yawned.
Micah nodded giving in to the lull of peacefulness threatening to overtake him. "I think it sped it up."
She nodded again. "Yup."
"Yup," he echoed.
"Love you Micah."
"Love you too, my one and only," he replied as his eyes finally drifted close.
*****
Serenity woke up and looked around. They were still in Micah's magical, Disney-like garden. Her prince was currently snoring softly as their bed swayed back and forth.
She stared down at him, then remembered their confessions before falling asleep. She expected panic to overtake her at any moment, but nothing happened. If anything, watching his sleeping face snore and drool slightly had her smiling and feeling content. She eyed the bottle of wine. That stuff was potent and needed a warning label. She grinned. They were so drinking some of that later, maybe after dinner.
"Dinner!" she exclaimed.
She shook her mate. "Micah! Micah wake up! What time is it?"
Micah opened his eyes then blinked. "Why did you wake me up to ask me what time it was?"
Serenity hopped off the bed and pulled out her phone. "It's five thirty! We have less than a half an hour to get ready for dinner."
Micah was looking much more alert now. "Shit, I forgot all about dinner." He stretched. "If there wasn't so much going on I'd try to tempt you to stay here."
Serenity shook her head. "No way. I need to, at the very least, check in with Vivi regarding the progress she made testing Aiden's blood." She looked around frantically. "Where's my bag?"
Micah threaded his hands behind his head. "Where we left it, on Level One."
Serenity looked down at her utilitarian white button-down shirt and jeans. "I can't wear this to dinner!"
"Why not? Meryn showed up to dinner last night in Pikachu pajamas."
"That's Meryn, you gave me a list a mile long why she can get away with it," she countered. She gasped. "You never told me what everyone's rank was."
Micah shrugged. "I don't think it matters, they're mostly family now anyway."
She looked down at her mate. "What will you wear?"
Micah gave her a shit-eating grin. "I'm changing into my uniform."
"Ugh! I hate you!"
"No you don't. You love me, you said so yourself," he said smugly.
She paused in her meltdown. "Not too weird?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Neither one of us is fighting this mating, plus the wine knocked down any barriers we may have had up." He nodded. "I think we skipped right to being able to fart in front of each other."
Serenity felt her mouth drop. "I will never, ever fart in front of you."
Micah chuckled. "Yes, you will, and it will be cute."
"I can't do you right now!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "Maybe I can sneak down and grab my bag and change down there?"
"Or you can head to the bathroom to freshen up, I'll call the twins on the walkie-talkie and have them run get your bag, and bring it to you," Micah suggested.
"Why didn't you say that to begin with?" she demanded.
"Because you're sexy when you're sassy," he replied almost immediately.
"Right. Call them." She looked around. "Where's the bathroom?"
"Upstairs, the master is the only room on the left," he replied.
She was about to take her first step toward the house when she turned and hopped onto the bed to lay across him. "Fate knew what she was doing when she gave you to me," she said before leaning down to kiss him.
Before he could wrap his arms around her, she popped up and opened the door. "Hurry up and call the twins," she ordered leaving her mate looking decidedly rattled. She was glad her kiss worked, there was no way she was going to leave him looking so damn smug. Grinning she jogged up the stairs to his bathroom.
CHAPTER SIX
Serenity felt a thousand times better about her simple black dress when she saw Meryn in the antechamber in a pair of sweats and a hoodie. Micah leaned down following her line of sight. "I told you."
She jabbed him in the stomach and smiled when he grunted. "What was that?" she asked.
"You look beautiful," he wheezed.
"Thank you. You look very handsome in your uniform," she said smiling up at him brightly.
Before Micah could say anything, Declan reached between them holding up his hand. Grinning she gave him a high five.
"Hey!" Micah protested.
"She has your number brother and I have to say it's fun to watch you flounder," Declan admitted.
Mentally Serenity went over everyone's names in her head. She didn't know how Pip managed to learn them so quickly. As she surveyed the room she saw him standing beside Meryn, looking around like he was lost.
She made her way over to them and placed a hand on his shoulder. Using her magic she calmed him down a bit. He smiled up at her. "Thank you. Meryn said that I do not have to be afraid of anyone, but..." his eyes trailed around the room. She could see what he meant.
Everyone here looked official, important, royal. The unit warriors in their everyday clothes were impressive, in their uniforms they seemed even larger and more intimidating. The women, with the exception of Meryn, wore simple cocktail dresses and looked polished. She leaned down. "Can you help me keep their names straight?" she asked.
Pip's chest puffed out at her request. "Yes. I can do that."
Now that he had a task he seemed to come out of his shell. He gently took her hand and walked her around the room re-introducing her to everyone.
The men smiled down at Pip and clapped him on the back telling him he was doing a wonderful job. Micah nodded his approval and thanked him for looking out for her. Every compliment seemed to peel back a tiny layer to Pip's personality. Finally he frowned and pointed. "That is Sebastian, but I do not know who is with him. No one told me his name yet."
Serenity looked across the antechamber to see that Prince Magnus had just stepped into the room pulling down on his sleeves while frowning. Sebastian hovered behind him like an overprotective hen.
"Sebastian, please leave it be. It will be fine for tonight," Prince Magnus pleaded as Sebastian fretted over the prince's ill-fitting clothing.
Sebastian sighed dramatically. "I never even noticed you grew!"
"Uncle!" Beth exclaimed and launched herself at the prince.
A warm smile transformed his face as he easily caught his niece and comforted her. "Shush now Bethy, I am well." He took a step back and flexed his arm grinning. "Stronger than ever." When he flexed his other arm they all heard fabric tear and Sebastian looked faint. "I-I-I..."
Magnus just shrugged off his dinner jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his button down shirt. "Much better." He winked at Meryn. "Maybe I should try sweat pants later," he said in a teasing voice. Serenity thought it was adorable the way he said sweatpants as two different words.
Beth kept wiping at her eyes. "Are you sure you should be up?"
The prince nodded. "Sebastian has been pouring blood down my throat all afternoon. I am ready for some real food."
Serenity watched as Meryn inched over to Sebastian and pulled on his sleeve. She pointed to Vivi and the squire gasped. "Of course."
Sebastian walked over to his charge. "Magnus, there is someone here I would like you to meet." He motioned for Vivi to step forward.
Prince Magnus frowned. "I have already met Vivi, Sebastian. I was not sick that long."
Sebastian gave him a flat look before continuing. "As I was saying. Magnus I would like you to meet Vivian Mercy, Mercia DuCoeur's daughter and your godsdaughter," Sebastian crowed.
The prince's mouth dropped open. Shyly Vivi held up a small cloth pony. "You have no idea how wonderful it is to see you again...Maggie," she whispered.
The prince of the vampires wept openly as he pulled her into his arms. "I thought we had lost you! I had warriors searching for you for years," he said choking on the words. Beth and Meryn kept passing a tissue between the two of them as they watched Vivi and the prince.
"Hal kept me safe," Vivi said using her cloth pony to wipe away her tears.
Prince Magnus stared at the little stuffy. "You still have her?"
Hal sniffled and wiped his nose on a towel. "It's one of her most prized possessions."
Meryn shook her head and popped over to Magnus. "Let's keep the introductions coming." She pointed to Warrick. "Warrick Fortier the newest Founding Family head of Noctem Falls. We totally arrested DeLaFontaine and dissolved his house."
Prince Magnus' eyes bugged out slightly. "You what?"
Meryn continued. "We arrested Jervasius too, for being an absolute jerk." She motioned for Pip to step forward. He inched closer looking a bit scared. Meryn dragged him next to her. "This is Pip Maverick, DeLaFontaine was his sperm donor, but I've adopted him."
The prince looked around the room a bit wild-eyed. "What? How long was I sick again?" he demanded.
Beth winced. "That was a very 'tear the band-aid off' type of update for someone who has been ill."
Adriel stepped forward. "Gavriel, Vivian and I have publicly claimed our heritage and have reopened the Ambrosios and DuCoeur residences here on Level One. I made room for the Eta Unit to move into the Ambrosios quarters given how much our mates are involved in the operations down here."
Eva grinned and stepped beside her mate. "Pavil Desrosiers is the Ambrosios squire. We stole him from the Régis family after we found out that Jervasius forced Bree to be his mate despite being actually mated to Pavil. Pavil runs the house, but Bree runs our schedule."
Warrick and Avery moved closer. "I am trying to get my uncle removed as head of the DuBois family. There is too much bad blood between him and the people of Level Five to keep him in a position of leadership."
Pip nodded. "He is mean and helps the other mean men take people away when they are bad," he added.
Ellie leaned closer to Prince Magnus. "DeLaFontaine also ordered the jerk tunnel escort to kill Vivi," she contributed.
Vivi scowled. "He almost killed my baby," she looked up at Etain who wrapped himself around her. "But Etain and the other fae helped save her." She smiled at her athair. "I'm pregnant by the way."
Serenity walked over and placed a hand on the prince's shoulder. She lowered his heart rate and calmed him down. "There, there Prince Magnus, it's all good news," she said soothingly.
He turned to face her and smiled. "I remember your magic. You chased away the darkness, so I could wake up." He covered her hand with his own. "Thank you for the help. I do not think I could have freed myself without your assistance." He looked around the room until his eyes landed on Micah. "She is yours I assume?"
Micah walked over to stand next to his mate. "Actually, I am hers," he said, before kissing her temple.
Prince Magnus chuckled. "I always knew you were smart Micah." He turned to her. "Please call me Magnus, especially considering we will be neighbors."
She smiled. "I'd like to introduce my two best friends." She looked to the edges of the room and motioned for them to come forward. Laelia dropped a small curtsy and Radclyffe bowed.
"These are Laelia and Radclyffe, two of the best healers in Storm Keep," she said, smiling encouragingly at her friends.
Magnus greeted them warmly then turned to her with a questioning look. "How did you get here?"
Sebastian cleared his throat. "Might I suggest moving to the dining room before launching into many more explanations," he eyed Magnus. "Your food will get cold."
Magnus rubbed his hands together. "I feel like I could eat everything you set before me." He snaked an arm around Beth and one around Vivi before kissing each of them on the cheek. "I am still very feeble and need assistance getting to the dining room," he said pouting at both women.
They laughed and leaned their heads on his shoulders. Beth patted him on the chest. "Of course, uncle, we'll help you."
Etain and Gavriel followed, looking decidedly grumpy without their mates. Serenity hung back as everyone made their way to the table. Marjoram stopped in front of her on her way to join the others. "They never really grow up," she looked at Micah. "Some less than others."
"Oh Marjoram, my ripest little berry. I know you will be desolate without me," Micah teased.
Serenity was shocked to see the older woman blush. In earlier interactions she had been put together and in charge.
Marjoram swatted at Micah. "You better take care of this young lady Micah Sageson, don't make me call your grandmother," she threatened.
Micah paled. "You know my gran?"
Marjoram gave him a sly smile. "I looked her up after meeting you. She told me to tell you that you are in big trouble for taking her wine."
Micah gulped. "It was only a few bottles," he mumbled.
Marjoram raised an elegant brow. "A few bottles? She said you emptied her entire cellar."
Serenity turned to him. "You have an entire cellar's worth?" she asked eagerly.
"Maybe," he said eyeing Marjoram.
The older woman held up two fingers. "Two bottles and I'll smooth things over with your gran by offering her my snickerdoodle recipe and gush over you meeting your mate."
Micah looked relieved. "Deal!" he agreed immediately.
She met Serenity's eyes and winked before disappearing behind the closed dining room door. Micah turned to her grinning. "She is amazing. Maybe my gran won't kill me now."
"What's this about wine?" Laelia asked.
Serenity gave Micah puppy dog eyes. He sighed. "Of course, they can have a bottle."
Serenity looped her arm through Laelia's and headed toward the dining room. "Let me tell you about the best wine in the entire world."
*****
Once everyone was seated Micah was amazed to see they had actually filled the long, royal dining table. He watched as Hal, Ryuu, Pavil and Sebastian served everyone effortlessly. Of course, with this many seated for dinner you would almost need four squires. He'd attended balls with fewer people.
He sat back as everyone seemed to talk at once. Slowly Magnus was brought up to speed. Kari, bless her, once seated had presented Magnus with his iPad and went over the itemized list of changes.
Serenity leaned in. "They're so happy."
He pulled her close remembering the awful evening Magnus fell ill. "We needed this. Everyone has had so much thrown at them, we truly needed this joy. Having Magnus back with us changes everything." He kissed her nose. "You're my miracle."
"May I have everyone's attention please?" Rex asked standing. He raised his glass. "I would like to propose a toast to..." He paused dramatically. "To Fate. Not only has she provided our warriors with mates who will be the salvation of us all, she has also introduced us to new friends who have become family and has blessed us with the start of the next generation. Though our fight isn't over to drive back the sickness amongst us, I have no doubt that this family will overcome."
Declan stood his eyes bright. "To family!" He raised his glass. Around the table everyone stood and raised their glass high.
"To family!" everyone cheered before draining their glasses.
After everyone sat down Pip turned to Meryn. "Me too?" he asked.
Meryn nodded. "Absolutely."
"Pip," Magnus said softly getting the young man's attention.
Pip turned to the prince his eyes wide. "I am sorry my f
ather made you sick. That was bad of him. And I am sorry he called you a weak fool, that was mean."
Magnus looked a bit surprised at Pip's apology then chuckled. "You have nothing to be sorry for." He glanced down at his iPad. "After hearing your story, I feel like I have to apologize to you Pip. I never really looked into why you acted the way you did. You and others like you suffered because politics got in the way of me doing the right thing." He looked from Adriel to Gavriel then back to Pip. "Luckily I have very good friends who are helping to straighten things out. Can you forgive me for not seeing how you were being treated?"
By the end of the apology Pip was trembling so badly he looked like he was about to fly apart. Meryn looked around the table. "What do I do?" she asked.
"Hug him Meryn. It will make him feel better," Serenity advised.
Meryn scrunched her nose at the word hug, but she nevertheless wrapped an arm around her distraught friend.
Magnus looked hurt. "I did not mean to upset him."
Pip buried his face in Meryn's shoulder and shook his head back and forth. "No. This is wrong, I am nothing, I am bad. The prince should not say such things to me," he whispered.
Magnus' face became unreadable. He turned to Warrick. "You have my permission to restructure Level Five however you see fit. If you need to establish new Noble houses let me know. I never, ever want another citizen of mine to believe they are nothing," Magnus bit off the final word.
Warrick nodded. "It will be done."
Pip looked up his face drenched with tears. "New Noble families?" he asked.
Warrick nodded. "I am trying to get rid of all the bad men." The giant man said softly trying not to upset Pip anymore. "But the people are afraid of me, so I am having a hard time figuring out who the bad men are."
Pip sat up straighter. "I can help. I know all the bad men, even the scary ones who used to live in the Pits."
Around the table everyone quieted. Meryn turned to Pip. "Say what?"
Pip looked around. "That is where the scary bad men used to live, who ate people."
Aiden leaned in. "What else Pip? We don't know anything about those men, so whatever you tell us could help everyone." Like Warrick, Aiden made sure to keep his tone even.