Chapter Eight #2
He took the bottle and squirt a tiny bit on the eggs on the outer edge of his plate. He took a bit and his whole face lit up. He picked the bottle up, and covered the rest of his eggs. He turned to Nicol. “Wanna try.”
“No. That looks gross.”
“More, for me,” he replied.
When Ryuu came back in, he set down cups next to Connor, Eoin and her, then took his place behind Meryn.
She lifted the cup and inhaled. “Smells perfect.” She took a sip. The espresso was mild and the cream thick, she didn’t even need to sweeten it.
Augustus set his cup down. “Me and Connor will go with you to the bank. I have a feeling there will be a lot of paperwork involved. Make sure you bring all your human IDs.”
“I will,” she assured him.
Augustus continued. “Rory is meeting with Castle News after breakfast. Eoin should be back by lunch. He dropped off the custody petition I finished last night, then he will be heading to one of the local taverns to get a read on the locals’ current mindset.
” He took another sip of coffee. “After that we need to put feelers out for a place to live.”
Hunter looked down at her then over to his brother.
She watched, feeling a bit confused at his expression.
“Actually, I have an idea I want to run past Caiden,” he said.
Augustus raised a brow.
Hunter continued. “If all the warriors are getting mates, then we’ll want spaces of our own, especially with children.” He pointed to Meryn, then Keran and Nicol. “I was thinking we could build small warrior villas around the Nu estate.”
Johann rubbed his chin. “There’s enough room and it’s the perfect time of year to build.” He looked over at his son. “You’d have to reach out to Lycaonia and éire Danu. Lycaonian builders can’t be beat, and you don’t want anyone else but fae craftsmen for interior work.”
“Aiden will have to sign off on it too. Treatment of the unit warriors have to remain uniform across all four cities,” Hunter added.
Meryn waved her hand. “You’re fine. We added on to the Alpha estate. Adriel moved the entire Eta unit to Level One and Darian is building some combination apartments and treehouses for the warriors in éire Danu. Everyone is adjusting to having mates.”
Kiera frowned. “Didn’t warrior mates usually stay with the mate’s families. When did they start living at the unit estates?”
Meryn raised her hand. “I told Aiden he could either let me live with him or our mating would head south.” She paused. “I’m way clingier than I thought I’d be. Who knew?”
Hunter added more bacon to his plate. “More than one warrior lifted your name in prayer after that Meryn. We’ve always wanted to keep our mates close.”
“Made sense to me,” she shrugged.
Augustus took out his phone and made some notes. “After the official okay from our Unit Commander and Caiden, we’ll have Connor whip up some building permits.”
Connor, mouth full of food, simply raised a thumbs up.
“Did I hear my name?” Caiden asked, coming in with Aiden.
Both men sat down and immediately reached for a slide of bacon.
Hunter grinned. “Can we build warrior villas around the Nu estate for mates and kids?” he asked simply.
Aiden didn’t even blink. “Sure.”
Caiden smiled. “It would be even better if all the houses had lit pathways for the kids.”
“Aiden, could your father help us find builders?” Augustus asked.
“Probably. Shoot me an email and I’ll call him later.”
Johann turned to Augustus. “What about the fae craftsmen?”
“King Darian will be here later. As he is already constructing his own warrior housing, I’ll ask him for recommendations,” Augustus replied.
Myra smiled. “You boys sure do know how to get things done.”
Meryn looked from Augustus to Connor to Rory. “I want cousins.”
Aiden choked on his bacon. “No.”
“Why not? I don’t have any cousins.”
Aiden sputtered. “You have Amelia! And Brie!”
Meryn shook her head. “Nut uh. They’re more like big-sister cousins. More sister than cousin.”
Scowling, Aiden jerked his finger toward the door. “Ask your Uncle Marshall and Aunt Lily for a cousin.”
Meryn crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “Then they would be cousin nuggets. I wanna be the li’l cousin.”
Ryuu leaned down. “What about a cousin impressed you?”
She pointed to Augustus and Connor and Rory. “They’re like super dependable and cool.”
All three Armstrong cousins sat straighter smiling wide at her compliments.
“How would you feel if I introduced you to two individuals who could move in and help at the Alpha estate?” Ryuu asked, carefully.
Meryn’s scowl was fiercer than Aiden’s. “Then they wouldn’t be cousins.”
Ryuu held up his hand. “You could claim them as cousins if you wish.”
Meryn chewed on her lower lip.
“I have vetted them already and was going to ask about bringing them in,” he admitted.
“Why do we need anyone else? I have you.”
Ryuu ran his hand over her spiky curls. “Because after you have your baby, my attention will be divided.”
Meryn froze and she seemed to hunch in on herself. When she looked up at Ryuu, her eyes were shiny. “You want to pass me off to them?”
Ryuu knelt down next to her. “Never. Hakuto was chosen for his gentle nature. He is an artist and scholar. I chose him to be your child’s nanny. Kuron is a warrior without peer. He would focus solely on keeping your child safe.”
“And you?” Meryn asked quietly.
“Meryn, you will always have my entire devotion. They will help me serve you without failing your child.” Ryuu took her hand, kissed it, then raised it to his forehead in a sort of benediction. “They will become pillars to help your House grow.”
She wiped her nose with her other hand. “Okay. As long as you stay mine.”
He stood and bowed. “I would have it no other way. Now. Should I contact your new ‘cousins’?”
She sniffled, looking happier. “Are they hot?”
Ryuu smiled mysteriously. “I will let you be the judge. That is what your database is for after all.”
Aiden sat with his mouth open in disbelief. “Do I get a say?”
Meryn turned to him. “You don’t want our baby to have a nanny or a guard?”
“I mean, I do, but I thought that’s why we have Ryuu,” he said, looking conflicted.
Ryuu raised a brow at Aiden. “Do you honestly think I can take care of Meryn if my attention is divided at all?”
Aiden closed his mouth quickly. “The ones you chose, they’re good men?”
Ryuu nodded solemnly. “I have known them longer than you have been alive. They have been searching for someone to serve for over a millennia. If given the chance, you could not ask for better for your child.”
“If they’ve been looking for that long, why do you think they’ll want me?” Meryn asked.
Ryuu smiled. “Just a hunch.”
“If you say so. Call them or whatever.”
He bowed. “I will contact them. They will probably arrive as soon as their current responsibilities have been taken care of.”
“Cool beanz.”
Aiden turned to face his mate. “This is the last time. You can’t keep collecting people like Pokemon.”
Meryn smiled, then her eyes narrowed. “Hold up. How in the hell do you know about Pokemon?”
Aiden froze. “I heard about a training simulation game human children had, utilizing small warriors. It was surprisingly educational.”
Meryn threw her hands in the air. “That’s not fucking fair. You go into a narcoleptic coma the second I turn on Star Wars and Pokemon doesn’t bother you?”
Aiden took her hand. “It’s for training.”
Meryn huffed. “Ryuu, my nugget can have no more than two percent Pokemon paraphernalia growing up.”
“Duly noted.”
Aiden exhaled. “I’ll take it.”
Kiera watched the entire interaction in fascination. “Meryn has standards.”
“Damn skippy! I mean, I like my Pikachu pajamas, but that’s it. He’s cute.”
Hunter turned to Kiera. “You don’t like Pokemon either?”
She shook her head. “Never got into it. I was more a Digimon girl.”
“Same,” Meryn agreed.
Aiden started swiping on his phone.
“You’re already buying stuff?” Meryn asked.
“Just a stuffed animal for the crib,” Aiden said.
Meryn sighed. “I’ll allow the fire lizard.”
Aiden smiled. “Deal.”
Kiera pointed to Aiden and Meryn. “Relationship goals.”
Hunter laughed. “She set his car on fire.”
Kiera eyed Aiden, who was suddenly very engrossed with his phone. “I bet he deserved it.”