Oron punched his shoulder. "I do not sound like that, Christoff. I don't know why Aiden thought you lot would be useful." His smile turned gentle as he looked down at Izzy. "Izzy, these idiots are the men of my unit. Sascha Baberiov, tiger-shifter and unit leader for Gamma. Christoff Du'Prince, vampire. Ben McKenzie, Aiden's baby brother, you already met him. And Quinn Foxglove, witch."
Ben waved at them. "Corrin took over at the facility so I could catch up with these jokers."
Izzy beamed at the men. "I've heard so many wonderful things about you. Oron is always saying how he'd feel so much better if he had his unit with him."
The men all tried to hide how touched they were, failing miserably. One by one, they gave a half bow to Izzy. Oron rubbed the back of his neck. "Way to put me out there, Iz. Being away from these meatheads has been nothing but a relief. A vacation."
"I'll tell you what's a vacation. Being away from Colton Albright and enjoying this fine cold beer," the white-haired, barrel chested warrior said, sipping at his tankard.
Brie nudged her mate then looked at the men. Ari wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Gentleman, I have the honor in introducing my mate, Brie Wilson. She is a Deputy Sheriff out of Monroe and has been instrumental in moving our investigation forward." He paused. "Also, she can probably kick all your asses."
Brie pinched the skin between her eyebrows in exasperation, but secretly she was pleased by her mate's introduction. The men in turn surprised her further. Sascha stuck out his hand. At first, she thought he wanted a handshake, but his hand grasped her forearm instead. She looked up at Ari, who beamed. "That's a warriors' greeting, Brie."
She felt tears start to prickle her eyes but fought them back. These men had accepted her as an equal right from the start. There was no way she was going to undo that with a silly display of emotion. The other men greeted her in the same fashion. They ended up pulling over two more tables so they could all sit together.
"Now, who is this stunning creature?" a deep voice asked from behind them.
Ari simply placed an arm around her shoulders. "She's my mate, Dav. Brie Wilson, Dav Li'Filrien, he owns the pub."
Dav took her hand and kissed it. "All of you ugly bastards keep getting gorgeous mates; it doesn't seem fair," he teased.
"Hey, people," a warrior called out before he and his companion sat at their table.
Sascha pointed to the man. "Brie, this is Lorcan, lion shifter. He's the unit leader for Beta. The shaggy one is Graham Armstrong, bear-shifter and the Delta unit leader."
Ari frowned. "If we're all here, who's doing patrols?"
Lorcan grinned and pointed to the walkie talkie at his waist. "Aiden said that the Old Guard here volunteered to take perimeter and city patrols for a bit so we could focus on the murders and defending the storage facility. Aiden about came unglued when he heard that Bastien had been struck by one of the citizens. He was two seconds away from challenging the idiot."
Oron sat back, grinning. "You mean like he challenged all of Noctem Falls?"
"Wait? That was true?" More warriors crowded in. The one that spoke looked down at Brie, he pointed to his chest then to his friend. "My name is Bryok Vi'Erdolin, this is Casek Li'Velen." He turned to Oron. "That's right, you're just back from Noctem Falls. Please tell me that rumor is true."
Oron looked around and saw he had an audience. Just as he was about to start his story, Brie held up her hand. "Before you get started, can I get a beer? I have a feeling this story would go better with alcohol and snacks."
Dav gave a booming laugh. "Give me a few moments, and I'll get everyone sorted, because, honestly I want to hear this too." He hurried to the back to get their drinks.
"Snacks? Gods, the Éire Danu warriors have already corrupted her," Lorcan teased.
"Wait, is that a thing?" she asked.
The men all nodded. "They are known for t
heir addiction to snacks. They actually have contacts all around the world for imported munchies," Oron explained.
"Snack Party," she whispered. Ari just winked and nodded.
"There are worse things units could be doing. Like super-gluing one of their unit leaders to a bell tower," Sascha griped. The men all laughed as Dav came back with trays of beers. Once everyone was settled, Oron launched into the story of how a tunnel escort had hurt Meryn and how Aiden responded. The bear-shifter had gone from level to level, challenging thousands of people to ensure that no one hurt his mate again.
"Etain said that Aiden eyed one of the Noble family sons as if gauging his weight. Then bent down and grabbed the mouthy shit by the ankles, causing him to slam his head on the ground. He then swung him to the left and used him to knock his equally offensive older brother into the wall. Etain had tears in his eyes as he told the story." Oron sighed. "Gods, I am so glad I serve under him."
The men all around the room echoed his sentiment.
Ben raised his tankard. "To Aiden McKenzie the surprisingly amazing leader who is completely ruled by his pint-sized terror of a mate who entertains us all."
"To Aiden McKenzie!" The men cheered and laughed at Ben's toast.
Brie turned to Lorcan. "If the Old Guard are doing patrols, two-thirds of the units are freed up, assuming the other third is still maintaining drills and training. Two men were left behind at the storage facility for guard duty, and five were tapped to help the families in identifying the dead. If we include Oron, seven unit warriors were brought in to help here in Éire Danu, in addition to the four already here including Aiden, Micah, Darian, and Kendrick. That brings the grand total of warriors freed up for orders to twenty-nine. I'm not counting Nigel and Neil since they just arrived, nor the Ashleigh brothers since it was explained to me that they weren't unit warriors." She locked eyes with Lorcan. "So what is Aiden planning on doing with the nearly six units at his disposal?"