Eva looked up at her mate to find that he was staring down at her affectionately. She blew him kisses, and he winked at her.
"I do not think I am pretty enough for her," a deep voice rumbled.
She looked at Warrick and shook her head. "No, but you're one big boy. I'd love to know what you eat. What are you three fifty?"
He chuckled. "Three sixty," he admitted. "BelleRose family gets sparkly hair and purple eyes, and every other generation or so in the DuBois family, we grow as big as the fae. I think we got the better deal."
Until Eva saw Gavriel, she hadn't known vampires came that big. "I wonder if that's why Gavriel is so massive."
The men quieted. Eva looked around. "Okay, what did I say?"
"Gavriel used to be my size, sweetheart. Last year, he went through one of his major transitions. The result is what you see. He gained four inches in height and nearly sixty pounds in muscle. I heard he has to train with Aiden and the fae now."
"Sweetheart?" Declan choked on the word.
Adriel frowned at his second in command. "Is there a reason why I should not use terms of endearment with my mate? I thought it to be a standard process."
"Now that sounds more like you." Etain nodded.
"You should hear him in bed." Eva sighed happily.
Adriel kissed her temple. "Only for you."
"This is just weird," Beau said, eyes wide.
Adriel's mask of indifference fell into place. "Is it so hard to believe that I could be caring?"
You could hear a pin drop. She moved out from under Adriel's arm and stepped forward. She noticed with satisfaction some of the men took a step back. "Now y'all listen up. I don't talk proper or fancy like my wonderful mate does, so I'm gonna tell ya plain. No one, and I do mean no one, gets to hurt my mate or belittle him in anyway. I don't care if you're a unit leader or the prince himself." She focused and let her hands shift. Now, the entire front row of men, including the unit leaders, did take a step back. "I will gut you before I allow you to hurt him, hear?"
"Gods, isn't she the sexiest thing you've ever seen?" A male voice said from the back.
Eva rolled her eyes. "Get up here, Micah." Micah had stepped back when the unit leaders came forward to report.
Micah pushed his way back to the front. "Yes, my gorgeous little kitten?"
Eva turned to Adriel. "You know he's playin' right?" She froze; her mate was half turned away from them, his hand over his face.
"Adriel?"
When he turned back, he had tears streaming down his face, and he was gasping for breath. "Adriel!" She went to his side, and he leaned against her. Seconds later, a deep, rich belly laugh escaped, and Adriel was gasping for breath again. Her mate was laughing so hard; she literally had to hold him up.
"He's laughing," someone whispered.
"Looks damn good on him," another commented.
When she looked around the room, the men were smiling wide.
"What'd we miss?" a light male voice asked. Seconds later two young, orange haired men skidded to a stop in front of the group.
"Who made him laugh?"
"Yeah, who?"
Eva blinked. "There are two of you."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
Adriel wiped at his eyes. "I think Declan pissed himself."
His remark had the men joining him in laughter.
Declan sputtered indignantly. "I did not!"
"We should check," one orange haired twin suggested.
"Yeah," the other responded. And together, they de-pantsed Declan right there in front of everyone. "Nope, no piss here."
"Nope."
"Dimitri! Godard! Get these brats under control!" Declan roared, fumbling for his pants.
Adriel leaned over her body in an effort to stay upright. He wrapped his arms around his stomach. "Oh Gods! Did you see his face?"
By now everyone in the room was crying they were laughing so hard, Eva included.
Declan reached out, but the twins evaded his grasp and ducked behind their respective unit leaders.
Grant leaned in. "Thank you. Thank you, for helping him remember how to laugh."
Eva felt her heart swell. She couldn't imagine how long her stoic mate had tried to be strong alone. But having taken the mask off with her, he seemed to be having a hard time keeping it on.
When his breathing slowed, he smiled at her and wiped his eyes.
"The two mischievous devils are Nigel and Neil Morninglory, recent transfers from Storm Keep." Adriel pointed to where the two were peeking out from behind Dimitri and Godard. The two unit leaders both wore exasperated expressions.
"Nice to meet you," she said waving at them.
"Nice to meet you too," the one behind Dimitri called out.
"Which one are you?"
"I'm Nigel."
Eva turned to Godard. "That means you're Neil. Thank you for such a warm welcome."
Neil grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up.
"Warm welcome, my ass! I'm going to shove those two monsters into the refuse tube!" Declan threatened.
Adriel looked over at Micah. "I'm reassigning you to patrol the levels. Eva will take over guard duty for Meryn."
Micah's face fell and assumed a wounded expression. "To be parted from my delicate flower pains my heart."
Adriel ignored him. "On that note, we better be going. Are you ready Declan? Your shirt is untucked; you know we have an image to maintain here in the city," Adriel said in a perfectly serious tone.