"I will hold you to that. She is your responsibility now. I have a feeling we will need Eva more in dealing with the refugees than on guard duty." He sighed. "Once she is speaking to me again that is."
"Give her some space," Meryn suggested.
"Maybe that is the best thing. She probably would not want to talk to me right now anyway." Adriel felt like his stomach was in knots.
Meryn rolled her eyes. "No, seriously, give her her own space. She's giving up like a house and a bar and stuff. Give her a place where she doesn't feel like a refugee."
"Meryn, you are a genius." Adriel felt a spurt of hope. He now had a plan of action.
"I know. It's what I do," she said matter-of-factly. Aiden stood and gently set his mate down in the chair. He cupped her face and kissed her softly. "For the sake of my heart, please, just stay down here and eat pudding."
Meryn nodded. "I'll even surround myself with pillows and soft blankets. I'll be in a safety cocoon."
"You're just going to binge watch Doctor Who and play FarmVille, aren't you?" he asked, smiling.
"You betcha. I didn't work my ass off to get Wi-Fi for nothing." Meryn rubbed her cheek against his. "Be safe."
Aiden stood. "Of course." He turned to Adriel. "Let's go."
*****
Eva walked into the large tent in the center of the hall.
"Eva!" Stefan called out.
The next thing she knew, she was swept up in a hug. Normally, she would squirm to get down, but she needed a hug after the fight with her mate. If she could call it a fight.
Stefan stepped back frowning. "What happened?"
"I heard about the murders; how's Benji?" Eva looked around.
"Mom has him. He's too little to understand what happened, but he does keep calling out for his momma." Stefan clenched his jaw. "When I find the bastard who did this, I'm going to rip them apart." Around them, the pack answered their Alpha's anger with low growls.
"Did you get a scent?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, whoever it was covered their tracks." Stefan led her to the table where other wolves were seated. Families stood crammed into the tent to discuss what had happened. She glanced back and noticed that Micah stayed in the background near the entrance. He nodded at her, letting her know he was sticking around.
"We have to do something; we're sitting ducks out here. They'll just pick us off one by one," a woman called from the crowd.
"It's not like we can leave either. One: we can't float outta here. And two: we'd have ferals on our asses the second we hit open desert," another male yelled.
Eva climbed on to a long bench. "They are making plans to get us into real housing. I was there last night when they were going over what problems had to be addressed first, so was Stefan. The unit witches will be working almost around the clock to carve houses out of the rock. It will get everyone out of the Grand Hall and into homes."
"Of course you'd say that, Eva; you're one of them now," a male called out.
Eva looked out over the crowd. "Was that Wade? Wade get your skinny ass up here!"
A tall lanky man came forward and was pushed until he reached the small opening at the front of the room. "What?" he asked defiantly.
"I babysat your pups when you got so drunk you were dry humping your mailbox when your mate was out of town visiting her sister." Eva stuck her finger right in his face.
He turned beet red as a female voice was heard above the crowd. "He did what?"
Eva looked around the room. "I've watched all y'all's kids, even Benji." The crowd quieted down in a respectful hush. "I'm the same person I was then, I'm just mated, that's all."
"To a vampire!" a woman yelled.
Eva rounded on the woman; she was Wade's mate. "At least my mate didn't try to fuck my fish shaped mailbox, Loradean, so don't get pissy with me because you found out that Wade did something stupid. Again. We all know it's part of his charm." Wade shot her a grateful look. Around them, folks started to chuckle.
"My mate is a good man. He's smart and loyal, and he cares too damn much about everything. Even now, I bet he's worried sick that he missed something that could have prevented this. But more than anything, he's fair. It makes no nevermind to him that we're shifters; he cares for each life equally." Eva stopped. Which meant he didn't see her any differently for being a refugee.
Well, damn.
"Like Fate would give Eva anything less than Prince Charming? If her mate wasn't on the up and up, y'all know she'd be the first one to put a boot in his ass," Josie yelled, her hands on her hips. Everyone was nodding now and smiling.
Stefan walked over. "What? You look like you just got smacked up side the head with a two by four."
"I gotta go. I've done fucked up, and I gotta say I'm sorry." Eva ran her hands over her face. She hopped down off the bench.
She felt a hand on her shoulder; Stefan grinned down at her. "He's got you running in circles; I think I may end up liking him after all."
"Thanks, Alpha. All right mutts, let me through. I gotta go find my mate." Eva squeezed between people heading to the exit.
"Give 'em hell, Eva Mae!"
"Tell that vampire prince we're not freeloaders, Eva. We can help."
"I'll do that!" Eva promised.
When she got to the exit, Micah smiled and held out his hand. "Ready?"
"Let's go!"
*****
Adriel felt impatient as everyone got settled. Magnus had called an emergency meeting with the Eta Unit along with Aiden, Gavriel, and Beth to discuss the murders.
Magnus sat down. "What do we actually know?"
Adriel stood and looked down at his clipboard. "Two refugees, John and Emily Wolfrun, went missing this afternoon. When they did not return to the crèche to pick up their son, Stefan, the wolves' Alpha, launched a search. Their bodies were found in the unused portion in the back of the Grand Hall. Both John and Emily had been completely drained of blood and had two puncture wounds on their necks consistent with vampire bites. Neither one had any previous interactions with any vampires from the city." He flipped a page and took a deep breath. "What some of you may not know is that just before the meeting, Dimitri called in a missing persons report. Augustus Pettier, a wine vendor under the Géroux family, has not been seen since last night. His sister says he never showed up to open their wine stand this morning."
Magnus had a pained look on his face. "Do you think he went feral?"
Adriel sat down and set his clipboard in front of him. "Unfortunately, it looks that way. A lot of vampires were affected yesterday with the smell of so much blood permeating the levels from the wounded refugees. It is very possible it was too much for him to handle."
Magnus looked at him. "I want Eta to move to the Grand Hall for patrols while housing is being arranged."
Etain leaned forward. "Sire, what about the mates? Eva, Beth and Meryn will be down on Level One."
"And they will have Sebastian, Ryuu, Aiden, Gavriel, Tarak, Kuruk, and me down there with them. The people need to see unit warriors patrolling to give them a sense of safety." Magnus turned to Adriel. "Any other issues?"
"No sire." Adriel shook his head.
To his right, Declan snorted. Adriel looked at his second in command. "What?"
"Sir, I mean no disrespect, but shifters were nervous before we had a double homicide to investigate. Your own mate and tiny Meryn were verbally accosted. Prejudices are rising to the surface, but they've always been there. With so many shifters here now, I'm afraid we'll see more incidents."
Aiden met Adriel's eyes before he turned to Declan. "Have they always given shifter unit warriors problems?"
Declan nodded, looking guilty. "Not just shifters. Just to give recent examples, Meryn and Eva were blocked at the transport tunnel despite being with Micah. And from what you were telling me before the meeting, Meryn was assaulted in the Marketplace by a vampire in full view of Nigel and Neil Morninglory. Granted they're young, but both are unit warriors. Non-vampires w
ield very little respect and power, despite position or rank."
Adriel felt like he had been sucker punched. "Why didn't you report any of this?"
Declan's expression became apologetic. "Sir, before the refugees got here, the incidents were so small they didn't bear reporting. For example, vampires not stepping aside for a unit warrior, or a unit warrior having to repeat requests before action is taken."
Adriel leaned back. "But they happened all the time, or am I wrong in that assumption?"
"No sir."
"I wish you had gone to your unit leader or me about this. You should know by now that my door is always open to the unit warriors." Magnus said looking as shaken as he felt.
Declan shook his head. "No sire, we couldn't. All of us have seen how hard you're already working to change perceptions. It's taken you decades to get a majority of the city willing to try blood substitutes. We didn't want to undermine those efforts, so we basically picked our battles."
"I appreciate that more than you know." Magnus gave Declan a tired smile. "I want the unit warriors concentrating on keeping those refugees safe and tracking down Augustus Pettier." He turned to Bethy. "Did we get anywhere with the housing project today?"
Bethy shook her head. "No, but that may be a good thing. In light of the recent tragedy, I'd like to keep all the refugees together on one level. I don't think they'd appreciate being split up, and frankly, we don't have enough warriors for them to patrol every level ensuring that the shifters aren't being bullied. I'd like to put forward the idea of adding all the additional housing to Level Six."
Magnus frowned. "But that is where the Marketplace is."
Beth nodded. "Exactly. They will be surrounded by people. It's a lively atmosphere, they can stay together, and they'll have access to vendors. This will eliminate the need for tunnel escorts altogether. Later, we can manage the empty houses as hotels or quarters for visitors. As an added benefit, creating the housing will go much faster since we'll be concentrating on one area instead of splitting up the witches over 4 levels."
Magnus nodded slowly. "I like it. Let us do that instead." He rubbed both temples. "And of course, we would have dinner with the Géroux family tonight. Maybe we should cancel?"
Adriel spoke up. "I do not think that is a good idea, sire. The Géroux family, as you know, has always been one of your biggest supporters. I think having dinner tonight will reinforce your faith in them." Adriel looked at Aiden and continued. "In fact, I would recommend you have as many dinners with the different families as soon as possible to get a bead on their true feelings."
"There is no way to do that without using magic," Magnus said.
"Meryn could, sire; she is a natural empath. She had to leave the Grand Hall yesterday when the refugees arrived because their pain and confusion overwhelmed her," Adriel suggested.
Bethy shook her head, looking worried. "She's not trained, anything she might get could be unreliable."
"She could do it. In fact, she does it naturally." Aiden commented. "She really only has two readings, 'friend' and 'asshole'. She can tell you if she likes someone or she if she doesn't. It will be completely subjective though. And she can usually tell when someone is lying, but not always." He looked at Magnus. "But the second she gets tired or it's too much, that's it. I don't care where that leaves us. Her health comes first."
Magnus inclined his head. "That goes without saying. Sebastian would have my head if I put that child at risk."
Aiden smiled. "She has both of those squires wrapped around her finger."
Gavriel just stared at his friend. Aiden sighed. "Yes, she has me completely wrapped too, but I'm her mate; that's only natural."
Magnus stood. "Looks like we at least have a plan of action." He looked at Adriel. "Increase patrols in the Grand Hall and track down Augustus Pettier." He looked at Declan. "Start recording every incident the unit warriors experience with disrespectful vampires. If I have to go to the council for their support, I will need evidence."
Declan nodded. "Yes, sire."
Finally, Magnus looked down at his niece. "And let us get those houses built, the sooner the better."
"Yes, Uncle," she replied.
Adriel stood and headed for the door.
"In a hurry?" Declan teased.
Adriel stopped and turned to the room, wincing. "Yes, actually I am. I have a mate to locate and then grovel before."
Aiden nodded in sympathy. "There's an old man that gives me advice back home for when I mess up with Meryn. When you fuck up, chocolate and jewelry are your best friends."
"Thank you for the advice, sir."
"Good luck, son." Magnus grinned at him.
"I have a feeling I will need it."
"She's a strong woman from Texas, who happens to be a tiger shifter. You don't need luck, you need Kevlar," Beth teased.
Gods help me.
*****
As soon as he was clear of the doorway, he lifted the new handheld up. "Micah, come in."
"Yes, sir?"
"Where are you?"
"Do you mean me or your luscious mate?"
"Remind me again why I do not kill you?"
"Because I'm one of the most experienced witches you have since Leif and Travis have returned to Storm Keep, and you don't want to risk getting another headache like the twins as my replacement."
Adriel growled at Micah's smug tone. "I might chance it. Now, where is my mate?"
"At your home. She met with the wolves for a bit then insisted on seeing you, but as you were in a meeting, she decided to wait for you at home."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Adriel jumped into the transport tunnel and flew up to the unit level. He blew past the men doing drills and made a beeline for his home. He walked up to the door and froze. He had no idea what to say. He was about to open the door when it swung open. His mate stood before him, looking anxious.
He frowned. "Are you well?"
Her face relaxed. "Yes, I'm fine. How are you?"
"Good."
They stood there staring at each other.
Finally, she rolled her eyes and grabbed his shirt. "Get in here."
Adriel walked into the house behind her. "Before anything else is said, I must tell you how much I love you, and that I would never in a thousand lifetimes hurt you. I did not mean to reference you earlier when I was speaking of the refugees. In my mind, you belong here. This is your home now." Adriel paced back and forth in the foyer.
"I know. It hit me when I was defending you to the pack that you didn't mean it the way it sounded." She leaned against the banister.
He stopped. "You defended me?"
"Of course I did; you're my mate. They were making assumptions just because you're a vampire, and I didn't like it."
"I believe there have been a lot of assumptions and stereotyping going on in the city lately. It does not help when actions validate some of those beliefs."
"You were right in saying we shouldn't jump to conclusions; I was just so angry."
Adriel walked over and pulled her into his arms. "I am sorry about your friends."
She laid her head on his shoulder. "They were good people, Adriel, great parents. Now that little boy will never know them."
"You are very protective of little ones are you not?"
She shrugged. "Even after I joined the pack, I was still larger in shifted form than the Alpha. I kinda take care of everyone. But I think my tiger likes to protect little ones. She views anyone smaller than me as a cub."
"I am not smaller than you, will you let me protect you?"
"Only if I get to protect you, too."
He kissed the tip of her nose. "Deal. I declare our first and last fight officially over."
Eva laughed. "I have too much of a temper for this to be the last one."
"I love it when you get feisty." He grabbed her hand. "Come on, I have something for you."
"Really?" she asked softly, her face lighting up.
r /> "Yes. I hope you will like it."
"Lead the way, cowboy."
CHAPTER TEN
Eva held on to Adriel's hand as he led her deeper into the dark, unused portion of the unit level. They had been walking a few minutes, and she still had no idea where they were heading. She was about to ask him where they were going when a familiar smell hit her.
"I smell water."
He turned and winked at her. "Very good."
He led her into smaller tunnel that opened up into a huge cavern. He tapped a small sphere to his left, and all around them soft golden light filled the cave as the glow spheres turned on. Her breath caught. "Oh Adriel." Before them was a small lagoon and high waterfall. "It's beautiful."
"I discovered this cavern a couple hundred years ago. The men know it is my special place so they leave it alone. I come here to meditate and do yoga."
She looked at him. "You do yoga?" She laughed. "I should have known; you're stocked in wheat germ and hippie food."
He frowned. "It is not hippie food. It is very good for the body."
"Your body maybe. Mine runs on beer nuts and taquitos."
He shuddered. "That is frightening."
"Show me."
"Wheat germ?"
"No, your yoga."
He smiled and began to unbutton his coat, his shirt, and then his pants. He carefully folded his clothes and took off his shoes and socks. Wearing only his boxer briefs, he stepped onto a smooth round dais. She wondered if he'd had it made, or if hundreds of years of use had smoothed it down.
Eva got comfortable, pulling her legs to her chest and resting her cheek on her knees. He started slowly, raising his arms up. Then he seemed to fold in on himself as he lowered his body to the ground. He easily lifted himself using only his arms and swung his legs in the air. He lowered himself again in an inverted push up. She was a shifter, a feline shifter at that, but she had never seen anyone move with such grace. It was as if his body was made of water.