Meryn joined her half an hour later and they really began to make headway with the personnel files. The more she input the more concerned she became.
‘Meryn, have you noticed anything strange about the files?’ she asked.
Meryn nodded gravely. ‘There are so many that have died. We’re adding them so we can track and archive their reports, but there are so many. It’s like each unit loses a member at least once every other year.’ Meryn looked up at her fear in her eyes. ‘I had no idea they had lost so many.’ Her eyes filled. ‘I don’t want to lose anyone.’
Elizabeth felt her own tears threaten to spill over. Shaking her head she deepened her resolve. ‘We won’t lose anyone. They have us now, Meryn, and their own mates are on the way. Already you’ve made changes that will help to keep them safe; just look at your trainee program. That triples the manpower available. We’re here for a reason, don’t forget that.’
Meryn scrubbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her tee-shirt. Elizabeth actually looked forward to each morning to see what Meryn would wear. Today she had on a Ghostbusters tee-shirt. Meryn smiled at her. ‘Thanks, I needed that pep talk. I’ll stay positive, it’s just … I’ve been targeted before. I still have nightmares; they’re so hard to shake because it really happened. It’s terrifying when you can’t even see your enemy.’ Meryn wrapped her arms around her midsection as if trying to hold herself together.
Seconds later, Ryuu breezed through the door and was at her side. ‘What is the matter, denka? Your fear was strong enough that I could feel it in the kitchen.’ He knelt down in front of her and ran a thumb soothingly over a blue dragon tattoo around Meryn’s wrist.
‘Just remembering the attack. I was telling Bunny that what made it especially scary was the fact that we couldn’t see them.’
Elizabeth couldn’t imagine fighting an unseen enemy. No wonder the men were doing ‘Blind man’s Bluff’ drills. They were conditioning their bodies to move without the benefit of sight, honing their other senses. It must have been a blow to their pride that they couldn’t defend Meryn.
‘I will do whatever I can to help Keelan and the other witch Quinn to devise a spell to keep them away,’ Ryuu promised.
A thought struck Elizabeth. ‘Not to jinx us, but what has kept them from coming back? I mean if we can’t see them why haven’t they attacked before now?’
Ryuu stood, crossing his arms bringing one hand to his chin. He thought about it before answering. ‘For the first week after the attack I ordered my shikigami to guard the house. They are my spirit servants. I can control them, but it’s draining and I can’t maintain it. During that first week whenever they tried to get close to the house the spirits would make them visible. It was enough to keep them away. They are cautious. This is the factor that has the men confused. Normally ferals are all about their base desires. They are one step up from shambling zombies. They usually have just enough intelligence to lay basic traps or trick humans. But this new breed, they are patient. They think things through and are leery, this makes them much more of a threat. I have a feeling that the reason why they have stayed out of the house up until now is because of me. I am an unknown to them. I was able to make their assassin visible and we gained information from him, even in death. They may not want to tip their hand and that is what makes them more dangerous than the typical feral.’
‘I’m calling Adair. He emailed me yesterday to let me know the program had been approved and they were starting ranking trials. The sooner we can disperse the trainees the better I’ll feel.’ Meryn reached for her cell.
‘Ranking trials?’ Elizabeth asked.
Meryn nodded. ‘Yeah, it’s the method they came up with to decide who went to what unit. They were supposed to hold trials and each trainee should have received a score. The highest score got to pick first, then the second highest and so on. Sydney texted me last night, according to the rumor mill, all but one of the top five trainees wanted to be assigned to Alpha. He said the trainee with the second highest score chose to go to Gamma instead to train with Sascha. I didn’t realize the amount of prestige that went along with the unit assignments.’ Meryn put the phone to her ear.
‘Hey Adair, what’s the news, bud?’ she asked.
Elizabeth stepped closer so she could hear his response.
‘Hey sweetie. We’ve completed the rankings and the guys are packing up today. They’ll be heading your way tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow!’ Meryn exclaimed.
‘Yeah, didn’t I tell you in my email yesterday?’ He asked, sounding confused.
‘No! No, you didn’t. The only thing you said was that you’d be holding trials,’ Meryn said through clenched teeth.
‘Sorry hun, I didn’t mean to put you in a bind. I thought you knew that it wouldn’t take long to get them ranked. Can you see if Aiden will be ready for them?’
Meryn looked at her watch and chewed on her bottom lip. ‘They’re training now, I’ll call you back when they go to their first break.’
‘Sounds good. Sorry again, kiddo,’ Adair apologized.
‘No worries, I’ll figure this out,’ Meryn said and ended the call.
When she looked up there was panic on her face. ‘Well fuckity fuck!’
Elizabeth laughed. ‘Your word choices are descriptive and surprsingly accurate.’
Meryn blinked. ‘Was that a compliment?’
‘Yes, hun.’
‘Well, I guess we have a couple hours before their first break. Let’s get the rest of the personnel files done. I have a feeling the rest of the day will be getting the house ready for the trainees.’ She looked at Ryuu. ‘Can you start getting the linens and towels done? I would start emptying the guest rooms but I don’t know which ones Aiden has designated for them.’
Ryuu bowed. ‘Of course, denka. This program is important to you; I’ll do whatever I can to ensure its success. I’ll take an inventory immediately.’ He left closing the door behind him.
Meryn beamed. ‘He is so cool!’
Elizabeth had a feeling that Meryn had no idea exactly how ‘cool’ Sei Ryuu could be. But if the man himself hadn’t said anything she wouldn’t either. ‘I bet we can clear this stack and be done before they go on break,’ she said reaching for the next file.
‘I bet we can, too. I can’t wait to get rid of these musty old things.’ Meryn wiggled her nose.
Elizabeth laughed then looked down at her grimy hands. She couldn’t wait either.
*****
‘Denka, it’s time for tea. Did you need to go speak with Aiden about the trainees?’ Ryuu asked from the doorway.
Elizabeth looked at her watch. The hours had flown by. She looked over to the empty space on the floor where the files had been. Meryn was inputting the last one now.
‘Ryuu, could you please dispose of these files in a secure fashion?’ she asked, pointing to the neat stacks by the door.
‘Of course.’ He easily lifted three of the stacks and walked away.
Meryn looked at her and she could tell that her friend was just as impressed as she was. Those stacks were heavy!
Meryn stood and stretched. ‘Okay let’s go crash their training, they should be on break by now.’
Elizabeth stood and followed her out to the training grounds. Meryn rubbed her hands over her arms. Neither of them had been smart enough to grab a coat.
‘Burr! Damn, it’s cold!’ Meryn hurried to where the men stood panting, bent over and trying to catch their breath.
‘Meryn! Where is your coat, baby?’ Aiden pulled his mate close in an effort to keep her warm.
‘Inside, I forgot it. But listen, I called Adair to check up on the rankings and he said that the trainees will be here tomorrow!’
Aiden blinked. ‘Tomorrow? As in tomorrow, tomorrow?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘Yup! He said they are packing today and our five will be here tomorrow. I have Ryuu getting the linens and towels together but I didn’t know which of the guest rooms you wanted to designate to the trainees.’
‘I’ll cut training short today so that we can help you get the house ready. That way the other units have time to prepare as well. We’ll be in around lunchtime to get started. Thank you for waiting for our break time to tell me.’
Elizabeth looked around and didn’t see her mate. ‘Where is Gavriel?’
Aiden’s face became grim. ‘He had a near miss. He’s with Colton and Keelan on the back porch getting treated.’
Elizabeth’s heart picked up. ‘What do you mean ‘near miss’? Treated for what?’
‘Colton swung and Gavriel was just a shade too slow. He got clipped by the bokuto across the forehead. Keelan is tending to the injury’ he explained.
Elizabeth didn’t answer she just started walking towards the back. When she got to the corner of the house she stopped, she heard the men’s voices.
‘Thank the Gods you’re almost back to normal. If you had been any slower this could have been bad,’ she heard Keelan say.
‘I’m so sorry.’ Colton’s voice sounded contrite.
‘It wasn’t your fault Colton. I think the increase in blood has helped. I can’t wait to get back to normal,’ Gavriel said, sounding slightly bitter.
‘Think of it this way, when you’re done, you’ll be this new, even more badass version of the Gavriel that everyone already fears,’ Keelan said, sounding amused.
‘It can’t happen soon enough. I don’t like feeling out of control,’ she heard her mate confess.
When the wind shifted carrying her scent towards the men she stepped around the side of the house smiling. ‘There you are! I was looking for you. What happened to your head?’ she asked trying to sound nonchalant. She needed to figure out a way to get Gavriel to feed from her again. It wasn’t the amount of blood he was taking in that was keeping him safe, it was her blood. If he needed to feed from her three times a day so that he could defend himself then she would force him if she had to.
Gavriel turned to her face neutral. ‘Just a miscalculation on my part, that and I think Colton was trying to get even with me from this morning.’
Colton winced. ‘I said I was sorry.’
Keelan clapped Colton on the back. ‘Come on, I bet Aiden has figured out some wonderful way to pay you back for nearly taking out his second in command.’ He steered Colton back towards the training grounds.
‘I said I was sorry!’ Colton complained loudly.
Gavriel grinned then winced. He brought a hand up and gingerly touched his wound.
She stepped closer and lowered her voice. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’
He pulled her close and began rubbing her arms. ‘Yes I’m fine, just a nick. It should be healed by dinner. Why are you outside?’ he asked.
She rested her head on his shoulder enjoying his simple touch. ‘Meryn called Adair about the trainees. They will be arriving tomorrow.’
‘Ah. I bet neither Meryn nor Aiden knew that,’ he guessed.
‘You got it. Aiden said all of you would be helping to clear out rooms after lunch.’
‘Then let’s head back, you need to go inside and I need to help Aiden with drills. I may not be able to spar but I can help correct others.’ He stood and kept one arm wrapped around her.
When they reached the training grounds Aiden was trying to get one of the wooden swords away from Meryn who held it up at eye level in what looked to be a samurai stance.
‘Okay baby, time to go in now, see here’s Elizabeth.’ Aiden, despite the cold had sweat beaded across his forehead.
‘Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?’ Meryn quipped and brought the sword down making what Elizabeth guessed by the quote, were lightsaber noises.
Aiden looked heavenward. ‘I still don’t understand you!’
Meryn swung the sword around in a mock battle against her invisible opponent. The other men cheered her on. Elizabeth took pity on Aiden. She kissed Gavriel on the cheek. ‘Be careful.’ He nodded. She stepped up to the training area. ‘Much to learn you still have, my old padawan.’
Meryn froze mid-swing. ‘I guess you’re right.’ She handed the sword off to Colton. ‘Try not to kill any of our warriors,’ she teased. Colton groaned.
Meryn jogged over to her. ‘Let’s go in! I’m freezing my balls off!’ Behind her the men erupted in chuckles.
Aiden looked over at the grinning fools. ‘Ten laps starting now!’ he barked. The men jumped to and began jogging.
She and Meryn went inside and to their delight Ryuu had stoked the fire in the family room and prepared hot cocoa and oatmeal cookies. When they sat down Ryuu bundled Meryn up in a blanket.
‘He said they’ll be in for lunch and after that they’ll help us with the rooms,’ Meryn told Ryuu.
He nodded. ‘Good. I’ll check on lunch now, we’re having a thick beef stew with biscuits. Marius sent over the recipe when it began to get colder last month; he said it was a good meal on a cold day.’ Ryuu bowed and left for the kitchen.
Meryn turned to her, adjusting her hands on her mug. ‘After our break can we input the files I have for the missing persons? I was only able to input the basics to run my programs. I want to make sure we capture everything.’
‘Of course. Even in Noctem Falls we heard of the murders. I’ll do anything I can to help.’ Elizabeth took a bite of her cookie.
‘Thanks. Aiden and the guys do what they can of course, but women think differently than men, we may catch something they have missed.’
‘I’ll do what I can,’ Elizabeth promised.
After their break they went back to the office and Meryn showed her the missing person’s files.
Elizabeth was shocked at the number. ‘We can’t be missing so many people!’ she exclaimed.
Meryn nodded sadly. ‘Some weren’t reported to the council and others were attributed to ‘hiking accidents’ or ‘animal attacks’. But when I started correlating the data more and more people started popping up.’
‘Are they all concentrated around Lycaonia? Because we haven’t had any missing persons around Noctem Falls,’ Elizabeth asked.
‘I ran as far west as St.Louis, but you’re right, they are close to Lycaonia.’ Meryn pointed to a piece of paper that was a map of the US with little red dots clustered around Lycaonia.
‘Does the council know?’ Elizabeth asked.
‘Yes, Aiden and I told them right away.’ Meryn nodded her head.
‘I’m willing to bet that Magnus doesn’t know. He would have discussed this with me and would have barred Noctem Fall’s city gates to prevent me from coming here.’ She put down the map and picked up one of the many pictures of a happy couple.
‘Sad isn’t it? They were all expecting too,’ Meryn whispered.
‘Let’s scan the pictures in and save them,’ she suggested.
Meryn nodded and pulled a stack of jagged edged pages out of the scanner.
Elizabeth frowned. ‘Meryn, what is that?’ she asked pointing to the pages.
Meryn turned and smiled. ‘My history book. The printed copy was so heavy I scanned the pages and made an ebook. Now I can read it on my phone.’ She pulled her phone out and showed her the reading app.
‘I’m impressed. Can you send that to me? Can you do others?’ Elizabeth asked, looking at the clear pages on Meryn’s phone.
‘Yeah, it’s easy. The scanner does most of the work. We can create our own collection,’ she offered.
‘This is a really great idea Meryn. Our most recent generations are better at technology than most of the paranormal world. This would be a great way to get them to read about the history of our people.’ Elizabeth handed Meryn back her phone.
‘I’ll put it on the To-Do list. I’m really liking this book, though. There’s some very interesting stuff in here,’ she said with an evil grin.
‘Gods help us,’ Elizabeth muttered.
‘Mu-wa-ha-ha.’ Meryn wagged her eyebrows.
‘You goof! Scan those pictures and I’ll create the database files.’
‘Okay.’ Meryn started her project, leaving Elizabeth to her own thoughts.
Why hadn’t any of the other council members been informed? Or maybe it was just her uncle that had been left in the dark. She worked on creating the files needed so that when she contacted her uncle she would have all the facts.
Before she knew it an hour had flown by and in the foyer she could hear the sounds of the men coming in. They immediately headed upstairs to shower, meaning lunch would be in the next half an hour.
‘I’m going to go jump in with Aiden. Even with the heat on I haven’t been able to get warm from my adventure outside this morning,’ Meryn said standing and heading towards the door.
‘Not a bad idea, I haven’t been able to get warm either,’ she confessed.
‘Better hurry, Gavriel always takes quick showers, though if you joined him, he may take longer,’ Meryn leered.
‘Go on you nut.’ Elizabeth shooed her away.
When the door shut she pulled out her phone. She would have to be quick if Meryn was right, Gavriel would be looking for her soon.
‘Beth! How have you been pumpkin?’ Her uncle answered on the first ring.
‘Fine, how are you?’
‘Can’t complain. How’s your vampire?’
‘Nearing his apex. I can’t wait until it’s over. I don’t like seeing him vulnerable,’ she admitted.
‘Don’t you worry darling. Even at his weakest your mate is still a force to be reckoned with.’
‘I know but it still bothers me.’
‘Is that why you called?’
‘No, it’s not. I don’t know how to put it so I’m just going to lay everything out,’ she started.
‘This doesn’t sound good Bethy.’ Her uncle’s voice sounded serious.
‘It’s not, Uncle. Did you know that there have been kidnappings in and around Lycaonia?’ she started.
‘Yes, that was shared at a council level last month. It’s very concerning.’
‘Did you know that more than twenty couples have disappeared, all concentrated around Lycaonia?’ she asked.
‘What! No one has reported that. Where did you get your information?’ he demanded.
‘Meryn, the woman I told you about, Unit Commander Aiden’s new mate. She compiled a list of all suspicious disappearances in the area and then cross-referenced them with a list of paranormals living outside the city. Some have been classified as hiking accidents or animal attacks, but shifters don’t have hiking accidents and they sure as hell don’t experience animal attacks,’ she said vehemently.
‘You’re right they don’t. Why in the hell hasn’t René reported this?’ he said his voice filled with anger.
‘I don’t know, but I also had an interesting conversation today with Sei Ryuu. Evidently he defended Meryn during her attack and somehow made the enemy visible. They haven’t ventured in the house since then. He said this is indicative of a higher intelligence level. This new enemy is cunning and cautious. I’ve seen the warriors out here Uncle, they are training to fight blind. I know that Aiden would have cascaded this on to the other units around the country, but if the council members aren’t aware of everything, I’m afraid that if there comes a time that the warriors need support that if the council doesn’t have the full story, many lives could be lost.’ And that was her worst fear.
Her uncle’s curses filled her ear. ‘Do you want your name mentioned? I can keep you and Meryn out of this,’ he offered.
Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. She didn’t want to put Meryn at risk especially considering her condition, yet Meryn was one of the few who saw the bigger picture and could explain not only the report’s results but also where the data had come from. She didn’t care one way or the other about herself.
‘I’ll let you use your best judgment. I know that you wouldn’t put Meryn or me in danger recklessly.’
‘Never, my darling girl. I’m going to let you go, I have a certain vampire elder in Lycaonia to call.’ His voice took on a hard edge.
‘Give him hell, Unky!’ she cheered. She heard his chuckle.
‘Miss you every day Bethy,’ he admitted.
‘I’m doing you more good here than if I were there pouring your tea,’ she pointed out.
‘That’s the Gods’ honest truth. Bye baby.’
‘Goodbye, Uncle.’
She exhaled and grinned. She wished she could be a fly on the wall of René Evreux’s office. She loved it when her uncle lit into people; it was truly a thing of beauty. Smiling she walked out of the office and met up with her mate at the base of the stairs.
‘Darn, I was hoping to catch you in the shower.’ She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She could feel the dampness of his hair and smelled the scent of his soap. He pulled her flush against him. She could feel his growing arousal against her belly.
‘I could always take another shower,’ he whispered behind her ear sending shivers through her body. Just then her stomach growled loudly. Chuckling, he pulled back.
‘Then again, I need to make sure my mate is fed. I wonder what’s for lunch.’ He placed a warm hand on her back.
‘Ryuu said he was making beef stew. I’ve been smelling it all morning, I can’t wait to eat!’ she confessed.
Together they went to the dining room. Keelan, Darian and Colton were already seated and stood as they entered. They all sat down together.
‘Now we just need Meryn and Aiden,’ Colton said, buttering another biscuit.
‘They may be a few minutes,’ Elizabeth informed them.
Colton and Keelan groaned and both reached for another biscuit.
A few minutes later a very satisfied looking Aiden and wet haired Meryn walked in. The men stood again.
‘Shower sex sucks,’ Meryn announced loudly.
Colton started choking on his biscuit and Keelan and Darian just stared at her.
Aiden blushed but continued grinning as they sat down.
Elizabeth leaned forward dying to know what prompted that statement. ‘What happened?’
‘Slippery surfaces and not the good kind, one.’ Meryn started ticking off reasons on her fingers. ‘Water not a natural lubricant, two. Height differences, three. And I got a freaking charley horse right when…’ Aiden covered her mouth at that point.
Ahh. So someone had fun and someone didn’t. Poor Meryn.
Aiden removed his hand. ‘I’ll make it up to you later baby.’ He said then kissed Meryn’s temple.
Meryn just grumbled and savagely sawed her biscuit in half before turning to her mate. ‘So which rooms are the trainees getting?’
‘There are six master suites used by Colton, Darian, Keelan, Ryuu, us, and Gavriel and Elizabeth. On each floor there are three guest suites so I don’t see any reason why each trainee can’t have their own room. What that means, gentlemen, is that all of our storage space is about to disappear, so whatever you want to keep needs to be taken to the attic.’ Aiden turned to the fae. ‘Darian, can you tape off and designate storage space in the attic for everyone? We need to have the rooms cleared so that they can be made ready to be moved into by tomorrow.’ Aiden laid out the afternoon’s working plans.
Darian nodded. ‘It’s probably a good idea to go through some of our old boxes anyway. I know I have stuff in one of the guest rooms that I probably haven’t even thought about in decades. Whatever of mine doesn’t fit upstairs I can always ship home to Éire Danu.’
‘Home?’ Meryn asked.
‘A fae’s true home is always Éire Danu.’ Darian winked at her.
‘Oh.’ She shrugged.
Ryuu rolled in a cart that held steaming bowls of a dark brown stew. Aiden turned to the squire. ‘Ryuu, can I ask that you help look after the trainees? They aren’t children. They’re grown men by human standards, but young in our world.’
‘Of course. Do I send them to you for discipline?’ Ryuu asked as he began to place bowls in front of everyone.
Aiden shook his head. ‘If they are doing something that merits discipline go ahead and administer it, then send them to me. Then I can discipline them again. Most are old enough to have outgrown those kinds of hijinks, especially considering they are now assigned to a unit. If I’m not available you can send them to any Alpha Unit member,’ Aiden said.
‘I’m sure there won’t be any issues,’ Ryuu said grinning.
Aiden groaned. ‘You just jinxed us.’
Ryuu shrugged. ‘Be that as it may, I will make sure they understand that while they reside in this house they are to respect my rules.’
Aiden just nodded. ‘I trust your judgment.’
When Ryuu set the bowl down in front of her, she breathed in the savory aroma. She picked up her spoon and dug in. There was a burst of flavors in every bite.
‘Ryuu, this has to be the best stew I’ve ever had!’ she exclaimed and wasn’t lying. Growing up in a noble court she had always been exposed to the world’s best, but nothing compared to this simple meal.
Ryuu bowed. ‘Thank you. I am happy with it.’
The table was quiet as everyone devoured their lunch. Elizabeth smiled up at Ryuu when he placed a second bowl in front of her, taking the empty one. When she looked around everyone except Meryn was working on their second bowl.
With a full stomach she leaned back and looked over to Aiden. She had waited until everyone was nearly done before bringing up the conversation with her uncle. ‘Aiden, I called my uncle today. I told him about what Meryn has shown me regarding the missing persons. As I suspected he had not been informed.’
The men stopped eating and looked at her.
Aiden frowned. ‘That can’t be right. Meryn and I took that to the council almost a month ago.’
‘Aiden, if my uncle had known that so many shifters had disappeared around Lycaonia I would still be sitting in Noctem Falls.’ She raised an eyebrow at him. He sat back frowning.
Gavriel turned to her. ‘What did he say he was going to do?’
‘He was going to call Elder Evreux as soon as he got off the phone with me. I imagine it was a one sided conversation,’ she grinned at the thought.
Colton looked at Aiden. ‘Can we not even trust our own Elders anymore? What in the hell is going on?’
Aiden shook his head. ‘I’m sure this is just another gaffe of Evreux’s. He probably didn’t think it was important to mention since it was shifters being taken and not vampires.’
Darian nodded. ‘I bet you’re right, that sounds like him.’
Aiden looked at them all. ‘For now, let’s not mention it outside of this room.’
The men nodded. Elizabeth noticed that she wasn’t the only one who wasn’t nodding. Meryn and Ryuu hadn’t either.
Aiden stood and clapped his hands together. ‘Okay people, those rooms won’t clean themselves. Let’s get started.’
Groaning the men stood and began to head upstairs.
Meryn met her eyes. ‘It’s just Evreux being a jerk.’
Elizabeth nodded. ‘I’m sure it is.’
They looked at each other. Elizabeth could see it in her eyes. Meryn didn’t believe it either.
