Page 13

Marinah

After a large breakfast, some much-needed cuddle time with Callie, and a refreshing shower, I called a meeting with my guard.

Beck, Labyrinth, Nokita, and Cabel entered the meeting room cautiously, their eyes scanning the atmosphere as if trying to gauge my mood. Alden, the newest addition to my guard, followed their lead. He’d previously been assigned to Beck because of his issues with authority. I had solved that problem, and now he was a vital part of the team.

Axel arrived next, walking straight to me without hesitating. He wrapped his hands around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug, ignoring my grumbling. He didn’t let go until he was good and ready.

Stepping back, Axel gave me a once-over, his gaze moving from my toes to my face. A low growl rumbled from King’s throat, but Axel didn’t even glance in his direction. “You look good,” he said. “Rested.”

Axel had apparently decided it was his personal mission to keep me healthy. As a Shadow Warrior, I healed fast. As Nova, my healing time was even faster, leaving Axel with little to do physically. So, a few weeks before I went apeshit, he shifted his focus to my mental health. Considering the chaos in my head could drive anyone insane, I hadn’t held out much hope that he’d “fix” me. Now that I was meditating, I didn’t feel like I needed his psychoanalysis.

“I called you here so we could talk about it,” I said, giving him a smile.

“Starting the meeting would be a good idea,” King grumbled from his seat.

Axel stepped back dramatically, winking at me. He enjoyed pushing King’s buttons, especially where our mate bond was concerned. King’s protective instincts demanded that men keep their distance from me, and I couldn’t entirely fault him for it. Axel, due to his sexual preference, got away with more than the other men. That didn’t mean King’s beast didn’t object, it just wasn’t as much. Sometimes I think King grumbled because it made Axel feel good. It was always hard to tell with King, and I kept the suspicion to myself.

While King glared daggers at Axel, we took our seats. I sat at the head of the table with King on my left and Beck beside him, followed by Labyrinth. On my right was Axel, then Nokita, Cabel, and finally Alden opposite me.

For the first time, since taking the chair at the head of the table, it felt exactly right.

I was about to speak when the door pushed open a few inches. That never happened. Eight pairs of Warrior eyes shifted to the door in unison.

“Sorry,” Ruth said, her tone utterly devoid of remorse. She was dressed as usual, which was halfway between a homeless child and a ninja in training, her red hair pulled back and plastered with some kind of oil to make it lay flat.

“Have one of your limbs been amputated?” I demanded, narrowing my eyes at her.

She dropped her gaze, and I could already tell this was going to be good. “Oh, wise one,” she began with exaggerated reverence. “I wanted but a minute of your time.” She scuffed the floor with the toe of her shoe, putting on her best “aw shucks” performance. None of us bought it.

“So, all your limbs are still attached?” I asked again, my tone flat.

She looked at her hands, splaying her fingers before giving her entire body a once over. “Yes, wise one,” she admitted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

I made a mental note to order torture devices and start building a proper dungeon. “When you’re finished with one thousand push-ups in the training room, wait for me. I’ll be there after my meeting to hand out your punishment.”

Her eyes narrowed into evil little slits. “A thousand push-ups isn’t punishment enough?”

“Not by a long shot. I’ll make it two thousand if you keep defying me.”

“But—”

I held up one finger, then added a second for emphasis. Ruth snapped her mouth shut, her glare practically burning a hole through me, and then the door closed with a resounding click.

Seven pairs of Shadow Warrior eyes turned toward me this time, their expressions hovering somewhere between amusement and judgmental.

“A thousand push-ups for a young human is a little overkill, don’t you think?” Axel grumbled.

“She’ll have them done within an hour,” I said with a shrug. “Her arms will feel like they’re falling off, so we’ll work heavy swords later. I doubt she’ll interrupt another meeting.” I glanced at Beck, who shared a home with the devil child. He just shrugged, offering no sympathy or objection.

Finally, we got started.

“Now that I have your full attention,” I told them, scanning the room. “As I said before, the striking of knives into the table is over. From here on out, we will begin each meeting with five minutes of meditation.”

Jaws fell open in disbelief. They stared at me, forgetting to drop their eyes until Ms. Beast grumbled. Their faces turned quickly to belligerence when I didn’t back down and say it was a joke. As a whole, their expressions were almost comical.

“This is an order, not a suggestion,” I added firmly. “Once you have the hang of it, we’ll increase the time to ten minutes.”

Their expressions shifted to something resembling disgust, like they’d just stepped in fresh horse muck.

“Close your eyes,” I commanded, demonstrating by shutting mine.

The room went silent, and after about twenty seconds, I peeked through my lashes. All but King was staring at me with their eyes wide open, defiance practically radiating off them. King simply looked amused.

I sighed. This was going to be harder than I thought. I let a touch more of Ms. Beast disgruntlement out.

“Do I need to explain how to close your eyes?” I growled.

“I think you need to explain what hippie chick did to you,” Beck muttered under his breath.

Ms. Beast let out a louder growl, the sound vibrating more forcefully into the room. “I’d think the last thing you’d want is for the men to rescue you again from the big, bad, scary woman who just happens to be your alpha,” I mocked, my tone dripping sarcasm.

I let my gaze drift over each man in the room, saving King for last. He looked like he might burst out laughing any second. The idea of eating his face off flashed through my mind, but it wouldn’t do much for the calm I was trying to project. Inhaling deeply, I forced myself to ignore the urge to bare my teeth.

“You will close your eyes for five minutes,” I said firmly. “If you choose not to meditate, that’s on you.” This time, I kept my own eyes open until they complied.

“Can we ask what this will accomplish?” Nokita questioned, showing a small bit of bravery.

I peeked his way and saw his eyes were closed. “It will calm our minds and help us see more clearly. Once that happens, it’s easier to sort out our problems.”

“If it works, I’m in,” he replied, surprising me.

“If you’re quiet, it works better,” I said, giving him a direct stare, though his closed eyes missed the message.

“We just close our eyes and wait five minutes for an epiphany?” Labyrinth grunted, but his strange eyes, one blue, one green, remained shut. When they were open, the contrast was always striking, especially since every other Warrior besides me, had blue eyes.

“My, what big words you’re using now. Maybe this does work,” Alden teased about Labyrinth’s use of “epiphany”, and smirked at his friend.

Teaching Shadow Warriors to meditate was turning out to be more difficult than I’d expected. I needed more of Cosway’s patience because my agitation was rising quickly. “Deep breathing is key,” I said, trying again, my jaw clenched tightly as I closed my eyes. “Clear your mind, take deep breaths, and kill something in your thoughts.”

Someone, I think Labyrinth, chuckled softly. I ignored him. For me, mentally killing something always brought me to my happy place faster. “Picture your claws ripping through intestines. Bits of gore plop onto your mammoth feet. Imagine the smell of blood as it gushes from a mortal wound.”

I lowered my voice, softening it deliberately, hoping the men would feel the shift in the air, the meditative state taking hold. “Feel your rival’s essence fade as you claim victory. Now, inhale deeply.”

I inhaled and exhaled softly as they followed my instructions. I added several more calming pictures for them to think about. Satisfaction spread through me when my shoulders relaxed and I could feel the peacefulness meditation brought. “Now, slowly open your eyes.”

The men blinked at me; their postures seemingly more relaxed. “Now we can begin the meeting,” I said, nodding with approval. This had been hard for them, but I knew they’d improve with practice.

“Don’t you feel better?” I asked, looking around the room.

Axel tilted his head slightly, his expression thoughtful. “I have this strange desire to kill something,” he said, completely serious.

That was not the point. And Axel wasn’t even a fighter. This was supposed to take them through the killing stage and allow the mellow aftereffects to take hold.

“Maybe we should start over,” I muttered, exhaling slowly and bracing for round two.

The men glared at Axel and he winced. Cosway had shown endless patience with me, and I would do it with these buttheads even if I had to point my gun at them to make them find their inner peace.