Monroe took one look at the slender man on his porch, then opened the door wide with an eyeroll. Nick gave him an easy grin, carrying the sixpack of microbrew inside. He was dressed in his usual jeans and long-sleeve shirt with a jacket thrown over it. There was the tell-tale bulge of his gun under the jacket and his shield was pinned to his waist. His gait was relaxed and Monroe didn't really have to take a very deep sniff to know.

He raised an eyebrow when Nick dumped the beer on the kitchen table, handing Monroe a bottle. He inspected it, raising his brows as he read the label. Very good beer. Really, really good beer. This one had cost Nick.

"You're in a good mood," the blutbad remarked, toasting him, then taking a deep gulp. "You get your schakal?"

"Yeah."

"What about the steinadler?"

Nick's face turned slightly pensive for a moment. "He got away."

"You let him." Because Monroe knew his Grimm. He easily translated those words.

Nick gave a half-shrug. "Yes and no. He… got the coins and I had to get them back."

"But you let him live another day?"

"I had no reason to kill him, Monroe. Just because my ancestors happily chopped off heads doesn't mean I inherited that trait!"

He raised his hands. "Whoa, dude! I know that. You're the good Grimm. But hey, if those things are as toxic as you made them to be, won't he come after you? Them?"

Nick closed his eyes, then sighed. "Maybe. I don't know. A lot happened."

"Connected to the steinadler?"

"Yeah."

He peered at the younger man, then, "Grab that beer and let's sit down."

Because Nick had come here to talk. Maybe not about the whole steinadler-schakal-coin stuff, but there was something on his mind. He had known the man for long enough by now to tell that it would come out and Monroe would be the agony aunt who listened to him. And gave him a few hints, hopefully helpful, if he could.

Well, he had never said no before.

x x x

When Nick was done talking about the latest case, the coins and Farley Kolt and everything connected to him, Monroe was staring at him open-mouthed, eyes wide, and the beer had been forgotten. Not just because of the coins – that he could ignore – or the revelation about Nick's family's death – tragic, but still a very Grimm way to die. And maybe the whole Marie-steinadler-engagement thing ranked really high on the 'what the fuck?' scale, but then there was something else. This was about Nick's changed private life; his love life.

"Wow, geez, man! That's… you slept with a, a, a… you mean you mated with one of us? Dude!"

Nick chuckled wryly and emptied his bottle. "I know."

"You Grimms stop at nothing!"

Nick rolled his eyes with a good-natured smile.

So maybe the Grimm-aunt-steinadler angle had more than a slightly shocking note to it. Grimms weren't really known to sleep with their enemy. Well, not really enemy. More like… uh… prey? No, not right either. Monroe saw himself as no one's prey, more like a… victim? Yeah, that sounded about right.

Then again, what did Monroe really know about Grimms? Nothing. Only that the stories he had been told didn't fit Nick Burkhardt. Just like he was teaching the young Grimm about the creature world, Nick was teaching him about Grimms. Not that he would ever make the mistake to assume every Grimm was like his. Nick was very special.

Now he was mated to a regnant.

"I heard rumors down the grapevine that Portland had a Guardian, but you know… Rumors. Just rumors. Like hearing about the new kind of Grimm and all."

Nick nodded, understanding.

"So he's your boss at work and you couldn't really see them right away?"

"Yep." Nick ran a hand through his dark hair. "I didn't even notice the claim he had on me right from day one."

"I think that was on purpose. He really wouldn't have made a move on you?"

"No."

"Huh. So those coins launched the whole revelation thing? At least something good came out of it." Monroe suddenly frowned. "Uh, he's okay with me, right? He knows I'm not poaching. We're friends, right? Good friends. And I help you. I'm a good wolf. I'm not mauling the Grimm!"

Nick raised his hands, smiling that easy smile. "He knew from the first moment I came to you. There's apparently not a lot that went past him when it came to a Grimm in his territory. And he's really okay with it. You're my friend, Monroe, and I won't turn my back on any of my friends just because I'm mated to Sean."

Monroe relaxed a little, shoulders sagging as the sudden tension left him.

"Wow," he just repeated. "Our little Grimm all grown up." He grinned.

Nick just rolled his eyes.

"Not to poke in open wounds and stuff, but the whole thing about your parents? I'm sorry, man. I really am."

"Thanks."

"You hid the coins?"

Nick nodded. In the trailer at first, but he had gone back and taken them out, aware that maybe, just maybe, a trailer might not be the safest place. Now they were buried deep, far away from civilization, far off the beaten path, and hopefully they would never come back.

"Good." Monroe nodded emphatically.

Nick played with the empty beer bottle. "I didn't know Aunt Marie had been engaged, that she left her fiancé to raise me. I knew nothing at all about her life prior to her taking me in."

"She never told you? She protected you, Nick. You were a kid."

"And now I'm her heir and I'm finding out stuff I really could do without."

"Your mother was a Grimm and she guarded those coins." Monroe looked intensely at him.

"I'm a Grimm and the coins aren't with me," Nick reassured him. "Would have helped to know that little tidbit about my family before Marie died. She said it hadn't been an accident, but she was gone so fast… To hear it from a wesen, to know she had been engaged to him…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Makes you wonder what my dad might have been."

Monroe coughed. "What?"

It got him a shrug. The blutbad snorted.

"You think you got some creature in you?"

"Why are Grimms different from humans? What gives us the edge?"

Monroe raised his hands. "No clue. Not my area, dude. You don't have a book on that?"

Nick chuckled. "No. I doubt Grimms wrote down their family history anywhere."

"Oh. Right. Just in case it was found. Gotcha. So!" He clapped his hands. "You're now a regnant's mate"

Nick smiled, pushing the thoughts about his family, about his aunt, aside. "Yeah. It changes nothing, though."

"Uh-huh."

"Really!"

Monroe rolled his eyes and took a deep swallow. "Aside from getting laid on a regular basis," he teased.

Nick sank back and gave him a sulk-glare, but there was a light in those eyes that spoke of his happiness, despite all the pain knowing about his family had brought.

Good for him, Monroe thought. Nick needed happiness. He had earned it. And he didn't doubt for a moment that the Grimm wasn't just a pawn for the powerful regnant. He had a mind of his own and Renard would have his hands full.

Monroe grinned.

Nick was a very strong man and not someone's beta. Monroe, who knew about families and packs, followed him. Renard would, too. In his own way. As a mate.

Oh, it would be very entertaining to watch those fights, the blutbad mused. Because he just knew he would be right in the middle of it since Nick was his best friend.

Yeah, the future wouldn't be boring at all.

x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X x x x x x X

"You didn't listen," the voice at the other end of the phone said.

Renard sighed. "Yes," he answered.

"You thought you were stronger than the coins."

Another sigh. "I failed."

"Where are they now?"

"Lost. Gone. I don't know."

He really didn't and he hadn't asked Nick. He wouldn't, either. He didn't need to know because the coins had only brought pain and death. Many had died because of them, protecting them, trying to steal them, using them.

Good fortune. Wealth. Power. It meant nothing any more. He had it. He had his mate.

There was silence. "And you cravings?" the man asked coolly.

None. He had none. There was no need racing through him to find the coins, to possess them again. All he felt was… balanced and warm and wonderful. He felt Nick with him, even though his Grimm had left to handle a new case. Part of him was with Renard, though.

"No cravings," he finally said.

It got him a snort. "Liar."

"There are none," he repeated.

More silence. Then, "I see."

It wasn't like regnants kept a lot from each other and finding his mate in a young subordinate had made it back to his European family line. Not that there were any happy reunions ever, but regnants kept in touch. Paris' regnant just happened to be family.

"Apparently some good can come out of these cursed coins then."

Renard chuckled. "Apparently."

"Take care."

"I will."

And with that the call was terminated. He leaned back, looking out the partially shuttered windows of his office, watching the people come and go, watching his officers work.

tbc...