Chapter Six

Cord made sure everyone was comfortable in the assortment of chairs and couches that had reappeared after getting the children settled in the sitting room. "Now, before we get into long winded explanations, I think that maybe Master Cody and our new little guests might retire to the sitting room where the other children are resting. I can arrange for more blanket forts and hot chocolate."

Ember turned to her parents. "May we have hot chocolate, Mama?"

The women nodded looking relieved. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea."

Kincaid watched Giles' expression begin to sour. He placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down. "There are other fifteen-year olds in there as well, but they are new to our world the way a human would be. I would feel a lot better if you were there to help."

The change in his brother was immediate. "It's not like I'm unused to looking after little kids," he said wryly. "Come on witchlings and you too kiddo. I'll get started on that blanket fort for us so Mister Cord can get the hot chocolate."

Cord nodded approvingly and headed to the kitchen.

As they left Kincaid saw his father mouth the words, ‘ thank you '. He smiled. They were his precious younger siblings; he would do anything for them.

The queen sat back. "I don't quite know where to begin."

"My parents have been kept abreast of what has been happening in our world, but I'm afraid, Zadie knows next to nothing."

"Take her pepper-gel," Meryn whispered.

Zadie crossed her eyes at the smaller woman. "I won't pepper-gel our friends Meryn."

From the kitchen Izzy walked in with a tray. "One warm caramel macchiato with extra caramel for Zadie. A decaf quad-shot bittersweet mocha for Meryn, and a tray of assorted mochas, americanos, lattes and straight up double shots. I'm afraid Cord commandeered the hot chocolate I prepared, but I heard it was for the kiddos, so that's okay."

Cord was moments behind her with a smaller tray of mugs, he veered off toward the sitting room to take the kids their hot chocolate.

His mother took an americano gratefully. "You have your own barista?"

Meryn grinned. "That's Isabella Vi'Eirlea, Prince Oron's mate."

His mother nearly dropped her coffee. "My Lady, I'm so sorry," she started.

Izzy waved her off. "We're all pretty much family here, so don't you pay no nevermind."

"Everyone, this is my mother and father, Jessup and Michaela Bayberry. Parents to Giles, Draven, Hazel, Ember and Enid," Kincaid went around the table and introduced everyone both for his parents and for Zadie.

Meryn was looking around the room. "Where is my Pip?"

The queen had to raise her napkin to hide her smile. "What did you put him charge of, my dear?"

"Cuddles."

"And where do you think cuddles were needed the most earlier?"

Meryn's eyes went to the sitting room. "Oh. Good for him."

Aiden walked into the room and sat down. "I let father know what happened today. I was halfway through warning him about the Witches' Council when the portal opened, and everyone arrived." He closed his eyes and sat back. "He said I needed to replenish his liquor cabinet when we finally get home."

Kendrick raised the highball glass he had helped himself to. "I'll send him a few bottles. What did he say the Lycaonia Elder Council would do?"

Aiden looked down at the coffee selection and helped himself to a latte. "He said he tried reaching out to Marshall Ironwood, but couldn't get a hold of him," Aiden reported, looking to Amelia. "I'm sure they're fine."

Amelia turned to Darian who had his arm around her shoulders. "I went there myself. The house was empty, but the lightbulbs were warm. We might have missed them by minutes."

"My brothers?" she asked, her lips trembling.

Law laughed and Justice elbowed him in the ribs pointing to how upset Amelia was. Law coughed. "Caiden, Kyran and Tristan have pulled all warrior families into the warrior houses and locked them down." He frowned. "What did he say they were doing, Justice?"

"Planning a May Day celebration or some such nonsense. Fun reconnecting with nature, camping and grilling," Justice answered.

"Thank the goddess that Serenity's family decided to return to Noctem Falls with her and Micah instead of back to their home in Storm Keep," Laelia breathed a sigh of relief. She looked to Meryn. "They had groups of ‘council enforcers' looking for us. If Kendrick hadn't come," she shuddered.

At the mention of the enforcers, Kendrick's expression darkened. "I haven't put this much effort into helping to raise your children for some parasitic asslickers to…" he continued in a language Kincaid had never heard before.

From everyone else's expressions, no one except for the older woman that arrived with Laelia and Radclyffe, the queen and Brennus gave any indication they knew what Kendrick was ranting about. Whatever Kendrick was saying in those guttural tones had the queen flushing one moment and paling the next.

Meryn stared, eyes unblinking. "What was that?"

Kendrick just took a drink.

Meryn turned to the older woman. "Do you know?"

"I do. Doesn't mean it's fit for me to tell you," she replied.

"Who are you anyway?" Meryn asked.

"Meryn! That's rude," Amelia fussed.

Meryn sighed. "I'm sorry. Why for are you here strange person?"

"Saying the same thing in flowery language doesn't make it any less rude," Amelia admonished.

"Yes, it does. That's politics. Beth is teaching me," Meryn argued back.

The older woman wiped away tears of laughter. "I've heard about you, young lady. You saved my grandson's mate, so you don't have to worry about being exceptionally polite to me."

Meryn frowned. "I did?"

The woman smiled. "My name is Boragina Sageson. I'm Micah's grandmother."

"Kick ass," Meryn whispered.

Amelia beamed at Kendrick. "I have the best athair ever!"

Meryn rolled her eyes. "Anywho. Back to the freakishly awesome sounding hate language." She looked to her uncle. "Uncle Bren?"

Even the consort looked unsettled having heard Kendrick's tirade. "The ancient tongue. I haven't heard it in thousands of years and even then, never with such creativity."

"It sounded angry."

"That may have just been Kendrick," Brennus pointed out.

She shook her head. "It's like paranormal German. Kendrick, teach me to say, ‘eat shit and die, motherfuckers!'."

He uttered a phrase that sounded positively gruesome.

Meryn shocked everyone when she repeated it back perfectly. "Kick ass!"

"Kendrick Ashwood! I care not what comes out of your mouth, but how could you teach my denka such filth?" Ryuu admonished.

"She asked," Kendrick said shrugging.

" Denka , I can teach you other things, try not to use that particular phrase," Ryuu asked.

She was going to protest but nodded. "You don't ask for much so, how about this? I'll only use it when I absolutely have to. I'll be really… what's the word? Discerning."

"I suppose the fact that you are trying to learn discernment is a step in the right direction. Thank you, for considering my feelings," he placed a plate of small cookies in front of her.

Cord, recently returned from the sitting room, walked up on her other side with a small plate of oranges. "Swing by the kitchen later and I'll teach you some ancient fae phrases."

Meryn popped a wedge in her mouth and nodded.

"Why would the council come for us?" His father asked.

Kincaid turned to Kendrick. "What were you able to tell them?"

"Just that they were in danger and to gather up the kids. We didn't have a lot of time. Patrols started as they were packing," Kendrick answered.

Kincaid looked at his parents and smiled weakly. "I may have forgotten to tell you some tiny little things."

His mother's eyes narrowed. "Kincaid Julian Bayberry, you better start talking."

Across the table Kendrick choked on his drink. Kincaid stared, then he began to crack up. It hadn't dawned on him until now that he had been named after his teacher.

"Now, mister," she warned.

"Yes, mother." He said shaking his head. "You know I've always had earth magic." They both nodded. "About fifteen years ago, I had a second power develop, fire."

Both of his parents smiled wide. His father stood and came over to him pulling him into a bear hug. "I should be furious at you for hiding such a thing, but I'm too happy to care. What do those test makers know, huh?"

His mother wiped at her eyes. "My baby has two elements?"

"Actually, I have three. That's what caused this whole mess. Tonight, after meeting Zadie, air came online. I was dealing with getting three raging elements under control when a member of the Witches' Council saw what was happening. He let the council back home know, then came after me." He looked around. Three someones were missing. "Wait. Where are Ari, Gage and Priest? They left before us."

Cussing under his breath Aiden stood and once again walked away with his phone.

His father checked him over as if looking for wounds.

"I'm well father, Zadie blinded him with pepper-gel and kicked him in the nuts," Kincaid announced proudly.

His mother came over and pulled Zadie into a hug. "Thank you, for protecting my boy."

Zadie blushed. "He's my mate and all."

His mother turned to him. "You said you only met a few hours ago?"

Kincaid nodded.

"Neither of them fought the mating bond," Cas said, sighing dramatically. "It was the loveliest thing I've ever seen."

The queen sat forward. "You saw their mate bond snap into place?"

Cas nodded. "It was pure gold."

The queen turned to Cord. "Could you bring up a bottle of rose syrup?"

Cord gave a bow and returned to his kitchen.

The queen looked at Zadie. "A mating present. Roses represent a true love. I hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Zadie said, looking pleased.

Both of his parents were staring at him.

"Three?" his father asked.

Kincaid steered both his mother and father back to their chairs. "I still have a lot of work to do, but yes, all three are active."

"They'll want you for some high-level assignment. There are so few witches with that level of magic," his mother whispered. "We'll never see you."

"I am assigned to Tau. Not only would they have to go through Ari Lionhart, but also Aiden McKenzie to get me reassigned. I don't think I'm going anywhere," Kincaid assured them.

"No, you I'll keep. Your unit leader and unit brothers are a different story entirely," Aiden groused.

Meryn sat forward eagerly. "What'd they do?"

"They were just getting to the palace when I called. According to them they had to keep stopping to knock him unconscious because they were afraid, he ‘might cast spells' if he woke up. He's locked up in a magic suppression cell now and the Three Musketeers are on their way up," Aiden said, plopping down into the chair next to Meryn. He gave her a look of pure desperation. "Please, have a girl."

Meryn patted his arm. "Guys determine the sex hun and you did your part months ago."

Zadie leaned in toward him. "How many times do you think they knocked him unconscious?"

Kincaid tried to hide his smile, but knew he was failing. "I'm sure only as many times as necessary."

Brie chortled. "I'd be surprised if he isn't brain dead."

"My love, you have no faith in me," Ari complained walking in with Gage and Priest.

"No, it's just that I know you. That man went after Kincaid, whom the three of you look after, so, of course he was going to end up with his brains leaking out of his ears."

Kincaid stood. "Ari Lionhart, Gage Fabre, Priest Vi'Aerdan, I'd like you to meet my parents Jessup and Michaela Bayberry."

His mother smiled warmly at them. "I have heard so much about you. Thank you, for looking after our boy."

Both Ari and Priest blushed, Gage, however, gave a courtly half bow. "Our pleasure."

As the three took seats next to their mates, Pip walked in, rubbing his hand over his eyes. "I fell asleep," he admitted.

"Pip," Meryn held out her arms reaching for the smaller man.

Pip brightened and walked over to sit next to Meryn cuddling her close. They both sighed happily, and Meryn passed him her cookies and oranges.

Jessup eyed Aiden. "I thought bear-shifters were notoriously protective of their mates?" he asked.

Aiden passed a mocha down to Pip. "He's family, so it's fine."

"Did anyone forward Zadie the info packet Beth made?" Izzy asked.

"I was just waiting on an email," Meryn said, looking at his mate pointedly.

Zadie rattled off an email and Meryn sent her whatever file Izzy was referring to.

Zadie frowned as she looked at her email and saw the file names. "SGW? What's that?"

"Shit Gone Wonky, the next part is our most up to date section, it's labeled FUBAR. Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. Now, make sure you have a lot of comforting blankets and snacks when you read that. Oh, and just assume all the trigger warnings apply," Meryn tapped on her phone. "This next file is like my warrior database, but it's of all our peeps. I have pictures and everything, including contact information and all relevant information, like their coffee orders."

Izzy held up her phone. "I already added your preferences in there since I've had it memorized for years."

Meryn moved her finger back and forth between them. "That's right y'all know each other."

Zadie blew kisses at Izzy who blew them back. "She kept me alive for years after I started teaching. A morning black eye, a lunch time cappuccino and latte to go and after I got off work the largest iced coffee they sold. My special treat was always a warm caramel macchiato with extra caramel," she held up her cup and took a sip. "Even better than before, Iz."

"Cord pretty much let me order whatever I wanted for the kitchen, so I got the beans I've been dying to try," she sat back with her own mug. "Don't get me wrong being with Oron is great, but being able to do the work I've always wanted without the bullshit has been heavenly."

Oron leaned in. "I'm so glad I rate above coffee beans," he teased.

"Barely," she said, licking his chin.

Zadie looked over to him. "It's the weirdest thing. I know we've only known each other a few hours, but you already feel like my best friend. Like, I'm sitting here imagining going over this info stuff and I automatically picture you at my side."

Under the table he took her hand. "In the paranormal world, mates are two people who are perfectly matched. If you don't resist, some say that you are rewarded with a euphoric bliss that carries you through to the time that you have built enough for the love to be true. I don't know about you, but I wanted you from the first moment I saw you."

She nodded. "I should have run from that building calling nine-one-one, but I couldn't. There was something about you."

"It wouldn't have happened to be his broad shoulders and sexy scruff?" Meryn asked.

Zadie surprised him when she shook her head. "It was his eyes. I had never seen someone so warm or kind. He made me feel like I could trust him with anything."

Ari cleared his throat looking slightly embarrassed. "It's why we always looked after him. It's not that he was young, hell, I'm about his age. It was because we didn't want him to lose that softness."

"I'm not soft," he protested.

Zadie sighed happily. "No, you're not." There was silence, then she blushed furiously.

Meryn giggled, which set off Pip and the twins.

The queen sat back smiling. "It is moments like this that remind me why life is so precious. We have lost so much, so many families, but this morning we were gifted twenty new souls and one of our warrior sons has found his mate. We have been truly blessed this day."

"Auntie, guess what she does?" Meryn prompted.

"With you girls, I never know. What does she do, darling?"

"She's a teacher, who specializes in early childhood education and behavioral sciences. Kinda perfect for traumatized kids huh?"

The queen turned to Zadie and the change in demeanor was immediate. The laid-back persona was gone and in its place was business and determination. "I know you have been through much and you may not have given any thought to how you will transition to our world, but is there anything I can offer to have you start as soon as you can with our children?"

Zadie blinked, then blinked again. "You're offering me a job?"

The queen nodded emphatically. "Name your terms."

Zadie turned to him. "Is she serious?"

He nodded, smiling. "You'll learn that our queen takes care of all of her people, especially the children. She is both generous and decisive. I know you already have a job, and I would never invalidate what you do or your efforts there, but we need you desperately."

Zadie looked back to the queen. "I want to create the curriculums. Given their past, I may have to tailor programs to each child which means additional costs."

"You can have whatever you require," the queen offered looking hopeful.

Zadie thought a long moment. "I need your full support. If I am to take responsibility for their development and education I cannot be second guessed or overridden. That's not to say there won't be room for discussion, just never in front of parents or the kids."

The queen gave her a solemn look. "I would never gainsay you when it comes to the children, but, one thing to keep in mind. These children don't have any parents. Up until this morning they were living in captivity, some in cages with little to no food, so you may be more hands on than you're used to."

Zadie was quiet for a few moments. "Can I speak with Kincaid first?"

"Of course, you're mates after all," the queen agreed.

Cord returned from the kitchen handing Kincaid a small glass bottle with a cork stopper. He then returned to his place by the queen's side.

"Kincaid, do you need us for anything else? I'd like to check on the children and get settled ourselves," his mother asked.

"No, we're fine. As long as you don't have any questions. You did get uprooted tonight," he pointed out, tucking the bottle into his jacket pocket.

"Not uprooted dearest. Saved." Both his parents stood and gave both him and Zadie a hug. "Make sure you get some rest; you both have been through a lot today."

"Yes, mother," he said, the agreement coming automatically.

Once the door was shut Meryn turned to Kendrick. "So, are we doing the slow, twisted shit or do you want me to nuke them?"

Kendrick's expression went from exasperated to resigned to amused. "Let's try the slow twisted shit first, then if they persist in their way of thinking, I'll teach you how to nuke them better."

"Promise?" Meryn asked.

"Yes."

"Pinky promise?"

"Yes."

"Yes!" Meryn and Pip gave each other fist bumps.

Laelia smiled and stood, dragging Radclyffe to his feet. "Just like old times. We'll also be with the children if you need us. From the very little I heard, the bare minimum they'll need are wellness scans. We can check them out before turning in ourselves."

Cord stepped forward looking slightly worried. "If you would but give me a few minutes I can get quarters set up for you."

Laelia shook her head. "We'll stay with the kids."

"But, my dear, they are currently sleeping in blanket forts on the floor in the sitting room. The only other furniture are a couple sofas," Cord fretted.

Radclyffe chuckled. "Can't be any worse than where we slept monitoring the kids in Noctem Falls."

Boragina stood. "I'll go with you. Got a few tricks up my sleeve handling little ones. The goddess only knows Micah made me learn them." She turned to Darian. "My I ask for a portal to Noctem Falls in the morning? I think a visit to my grandson is long overdue."

Darian nodded. "Of course."

"Let me know what your coffee orders are and I'll have them ready in the morning," Izzy offered.

Zadie eyed the barista. "Can I negotiate to have Izzy on staff?"

The queen chuckled.

Zadie frowned. "I was being serious. I go through an absolute obscene amount of coffee every day."

Meryn nodded. "I feel you on a spiritual level."

Zadie held up her coffee cup and across the table Meryn did the same as they pretended to clink their mugs together.

"No," Aiden said firmly.

"What?" Meryn asked.

"You can't adopt her."

"I wasn't gonna," Meryn argued.

Aiden stared down at his mate.

"Not really."

"Uh huh."

"I just need her in my life because she's violent like me and likes coffee. That's like eighty percent of my personality. We were meant to be."

"No."

"But, I haven't adopted any sisters," Meryn protested.

"No."

Kincaid watched in fascination as his mate watched their conversation as if she were watching a tennis match. Her head turning back and forth with each verbal barb.

"Why?" Meryn demanded.

"Because she's Kincaid's mate."

"That's okay then because, like, Kincaid belongs to me too," Meryn argued back.

"Since when?"

"Since he started hanging out in the bat cave."

His mate turned to him. "Okay, I see why she's your closest friend outside the warriors."

Meryn stopped mid-sentence arguing at Aiden and whirled to face him. "You said that? You told her I was your closest friend?"

Kincaid met her eyes and smiled. "You are. You helped support my oddball magic and you gave me a quiet place to escape to before I realized I had a touch of empathy. I'd feel more than honored if you thought of me as a friend too."

Meryn continued to stare.

Zadie patted his leg. "I think you scrambled her brain."

Meryn looked to Ryuu who was watching the entire thing with a patient smile. "So, not a brother?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Friends are, in some ways more special than family. Close friends are basically the family you choose for yourself," he paused, then looked at Pip and the twins. "Though, you have a tendency to that anyway." He tapped his chin. "Friends choose to stand with you, whereas with family it can sometimes be expected." He paused again and frowned. "Though with your grandmother, I could see why it isn't an expectation for you."

Zadie shook her head. "Girl, you sound like you had a childhood like me. Basically, family bails you out of jail, friends are sitting in jail with you."

Pip leaned forward to look at Zadie. "I am her brother. If I knew how to bail, I would do that for Meryn. But, I'd rather be with her."

"Me too. I'm her big sister-cousin and I would totally be in jail with her," Amelia added.

Brie exhaled. "I'll post bail for y'all. It might be strange if a deputy sheriff ends up in lock up."

Zoe's expression was tragic. "I'm not sure about jail, but I'd totally kill with you. Oh. And post bail."

"Meryn darling, there are no rules to family and friends. There are those that are family but have no blood ties to you and those with whom we share blood with that we wish were strangers." She pointed to Darian and Oron as examples. "All that truly matters is that you love and care for one another."

Meryn took out her laptop. "I need a new category."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Aiden muttered, looking down at her screen.

"I created a spreadsheet for the people I know and put them in categories. Beth helped me color code it." She typed for a few seconds. "There I moved Kincaid over from ‘warrior peep' to ‘friend." And I added Zadie." She eyed his mate. "That's okay right?" she asked, blushing slightly.

"I'd be offended if you didn't. We totally bonded over pepper-gel."

Aiden watched in fascination. "Baby, can I get a copy of this?"

Meryn narrowed her eyes. "That depends, whatcha gonna do with it?

"Use it. There's information on some of the warriors that even I didn't know." He leaned in closer. "When did Sascha start benching three-fifty?"

"Dude, like right after we left for Noctem Falls. He had to up his regimen as stress relief."

Aiden pointed. "Go back a second."

She scrolled.

"There. When did Darren's mate give birth?"

"End of March before we came here. I had Ryuu pick out a baby appropriate gift and send it," Meryn explained.

"Oh Meryn, you do care," Amelia said, softly.

Law and Kendrick began to laugh.

Kendrick pointed to Law to explain.

Law gave his sister a rueful expression. "She maintains that sheet, so she doesn't have to keep it memorized. Also, I bet there's a ‘Kill' tab there as well. Does she care, probably. But, I bet she also has a ranking next to everyone's name that depicts how useful they'd be in a zombie apocalypse."

Meryn looked around. "Wait, no one else does that?"

The only other person that nodded was Brie.

"Did I rank high?" Zadie asked.

Meryn nodded. "Hell yeah you did." She pointed to them both. "You're definitely ‘A' team."

"What about me, baby?" Aiden asked.

"You are absolutely ‘A' team. I'm not living in a wasteland dystopia celibate."

Aiden looked upset for a second, then grinned. "You know what? I'll take it."

Kincaid was about to crack a joke when he saw Zadie yawn. He stood. "Forgive us, but I think the day is catching up."

Cord stepped away from the sideboard. "If you don't mind old furniture and dated decor, House Eirson is yours to use as you see fit. I'll be over in a little bit with dinner."

Kincaid felt his mouth drop open. He turned to Oron who simply nodded. "The squires were able to do all the major structural repairs and cleaning today, but painting is scheduled for tomorrow."

"That's not what I mean. Is it okay for us to sleep there?" he asked.

Cord pointed to the room where the children slept. "It's not quite fit for them yet. We did not want anything to remind them of where they came from, so it was decided that the house would be fully updated before we moved them in."

Zadie stood and took his hand. "I think what he means is, why us?"

The queen smiled, looking a bit coy. "Running our new educational center should come with some perks, should it not? Think of it as a peek into what is being offered."

"A freaking house?" Zadie asked, looking as shocked as he felt.

Oron held up his hand. "The west wing master suite to be exact. The east wing suite is being reserved for whom ever will take-over looking after the children."

Zadie looked from the queen to Oron and back. "But I thought…"

The queen folded her hands in her lap. "Yes, you will be on site, but I am not expecting you to work twenty-four hours a day. You would not be a parent, but a teacher. I fully support a separation of those two roles. The children will need that too, no, they deserve it. Parents who love and support them and a teacher that will help them grow."

Zadie's inhaled breath was shaky. "Your Majesty, if you get Izzy to support my caffeine habit, you have yourself a deal."

The queen clapped her hands together. "Excellent. Peruse the estate tonight and tomorrow leave a list of changes with Cord. We can run out for anything you want that we do not currently have."

Kincaid chuckled. "Yeah, it's not that hard…" He felt around his waist and detached Meryn's Bag of Wishes. "Here's the kid stuff I grabbed." He handed the bag to Meryn.

She whispered the command word and looked inside. "You remembered!"

"Your toasties? Yes, I grabbed all I saw and even had them bring out a few boxes from the back for you."

"Which flavors?"

"All of them. You did say all of them."

"Kincaid just earned himself a new color," Meryn purred at her laptop.

Ryuu stepped forward and held out his hand and she placed the bag in it. He gave a half bow. "I will see to it that the children's things are forwarded to the estate tomorrow."

Zadie pulled on his hand. "Where is it? How far is it?" she asked, excitedly.

He laughed, her excitement contagious. "You act as if you never saw a house before."

"Not like this. Not a place of my own, one that I earned," she answered.

"Then by all means, let us go check out our ancient abode."

"I'll help you set up a split schedule, like Brie and I use,"Ari offered.

"If you need anything, remember we're practically next door," Cas reminded him.

Kendrick coughed into his hand. "Your magic should be stabilizing tonight, but… exertion may spin it out of control. If you feel your powers building again, let us know and evacuate the area. The sacred trees are nearby."

Brennus paled. "What?"

Kincaid didn't want to wait for any more suggestions, delays or advice. "Thanks guys," he said and led his mate through the courtyard to the walkway that led to the Founding, Noble and Warrior houses.

He stopped and she looked up at him. "Let's go home."

Grinning from ear to ear they hurried down the path.