‘Your laptop sucks and you should be shot for owning it!’ Meryn raged. The thing weighed about eight pounds and was running Windows 95. She had to sit close to his desk since it required a cable for internet, it was too ancient to connect wirelessly.
‘I can’t do anything with this! How in the hell do you get anything done?’
‘Meryn my job is to chase and shoot things. I need my gun not a laptop.’ Aiden explained. He had taken his sidearm apart and was oiling it.
They were still sequestered in their room the following morning, for which Meryn was grateful. She hadn’t had much time to herself to recharge her batteries. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t even mind Aiden being in the room with her.
‘I didn’t think about it until now, but you lost everything you had compiled regarding the missing persons case didn’t you?’
‘Who said I lost it? I always back up to my own personal online server. I just need to get to it. Ugh! For fuck’s sake, it’s trying to connect with AOL!’ She wanted to scream. She was still cursing when there was a knock at the door. Aiden put his gun and oiling rag down and answered the door.
‘I have brought you breakfast. Let me be the first to tell you that Miss Meryn was sorely missed at the table this morning.’ Marius wheeled in a cart.
‘Coffee!’ Meryn jumped up and skipped over to the cart. Marius had brought three cups of cappuccinos and a pot of fresh coffee in a carafe. Aiden immediately went for the plate that had been piled high with bacon and sausage.
‘Marius, would you be able to go shopping today? I’d like to get Meryn a new laptop to replace the one that was stolen.’ Aiden asked.
‘Of course, sir. I believe that they just opened a new Apple store in Madison. I should be able to find her something there.’ Meryn glared at Aiden.
‘He knows about Apple. Why don’t you have a decent computer?’ She sipped her cappuccino and fought the urge to kick his laptop. He held up an oiled gun barrel and continued eating.
‘If little miss would write down everything that she needs I should be able to go shopping today and be back this evening.’ Marius uncovered a plate with french toast triangles. He walked over to the small writing table she had been working on and proceeded to lay out her breakfast complete with her own tiny salt and pepper shakers. Meryn went to her backpack and ripped out a piece of paper and scrounged around for a pen. After five minutes of searching and pulling out all the items in her bag she found the pen clipped to the notebook she had at the beginning. Feeling frustrated she started her list.
She’d show him. Grinning, she wrote out a list and snuck it to Marius. He glanced at it and frowned. Maybe she wouldn’t get away with it after all.
‘Miss, this item, just two?’ He raised an eyebrow. Meryn couldn’t figure out what he meant. She shook her head, looking at him questioningly. He drew the letter ‘A’. ‘A?’ Oh! Alpha! She should get enough for everyone.
‘Twelve?’
He nodded. ‘That sounds about right. Enjoy your breakfast, little miss. I’ll leave shortly to get you a working laptop.’ He bowed and left the room.
‘He kicks so much ass!’ Meryn fist pumped the air. She looked over and realized that Aiden was absorbed in his gun. Muttering to herself, she opened his laptop and waited for internet access.
Over the next twenty minutes she finished her breakfast and her second and third cappuccinos. She was about to give up when she saw the familiar landing site to her server. It took her another ten minutes to open up the reports she had compiled the day prior. She was missing something obvious and it was eating her alive. She pulled up the information about the first couple that had gone missing, then the information for the second. What about these two couples linked them together? Why now?
‘That’s an impressive little growl you have.’ Aiden’s voice startled her.
‘I was growling?’ She asked. Aiden nodded.
‘It was very sexy.’
‘Dork.’
‘Now that’s something I can honestly say I’ve never been called.’ Aiden laughed. Meryn rolled her eyes. She couldn’t even insult him, his head was too big. She frowned down at the laptop.
‘Why?’ She thought out loud.
‘What?’ Aiden asked.
‘Nothing, just talking to myself.’
‘Well, you have fun. I’m taking Gavriel back to the barracks to meet with Sascha about yesterday. Colton, Darian and Keelan will stay here.’ Aiden leaned down, kissed her on the lips and turned to walk away. Meryn felt her heart seize. She reached up and grabbed his shirt. It seemed like if he stayed with her nothing bad would happen. He turned and knelt down in front of her.
‘I’ll be back before you know it. I have to check in with the men and feed Jaws.’
‘Jaws? What do you have, like a Rottweiler or something?’ Aiden blushed and shook his head.
‘I have a fish.’
‘A piranha?’
‘No. A clownfish.’ She blinked and he scowled at her as if daring her to laugh.
‘You have a clownfish named Jaws?’ She asked and then it hit her. She began to giggle.
‘You liked Finding Nemo didn’t you?’ If anything his face turned a deeper shade of red.
‘That’s too much!’ She fell to her side giggling. Aiden continued to scowl at her.
‘It’s the ultimate story of survival! Nemo is taken by the enemy, but his father doesn’t give up trying to retrieve him. He forms unlikely alliances and conquers his fears to get his son back. Nemo also refuses to remain a prisoner and follows the warriors code to escape and return to his family unit.’ Aiden explained. Meryn sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
‘You have to be the most adorable man I have ever met. I am so lucky Fate threw us together.’ She hugged him close.
‘I am not adorable. I am the Unit Commander, my enemies tremble …’ She kissed him soundly.
‘Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re uber scary.’
He wrapped his strong arms around her and nuzzled her neck until she squealed. ‘I love you Meryn. And I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.’ He pulled back and she saw the determination and vulnerability in his eyes. Her throat tightened, she had never loved anything more than the man in front of her.
‘I love you too, I didn’t feel safe until you were there.’
He held her close.
She pulled back and kissed him gently on the lips. ‘Go feed Jaws, I can’t wait to meet your fierce little fish.’
He stood. ‘Be good.’ She just stared up at him.
‘Try to be good?’ She nodded.
‘Aiden.’ She called as he walked through the door.
He turned. ‘Yes?’
‘Thank you for coming for me.’ His smile was warm and kind, but his eyes scorched her with a promised heat. He closed the door behind him.
‘Damn period!’ She muttered and went back to Aiden’s archaic laptop.
*****
By noon Meryn was ready to slit her wrists or beat Aiden with his own laptop, it was a toss-up. Finally pushed past her levels of patience, which was practically nonexistent for page loading anyway, she slammed the lid down on the laptop and decided to get a shower. She let the antique drop to the floor and went to her suitcase. Should she claim a drawer? Was this her new room? She dug through her clothes and made a mental note to ask about their future. Feeling belligerent she picked out one of her favorite tees that read ‘I Hate Everybody!’ and went to the bathroom. While getting ready she realized that she was over her cycle. She did a little happy dance in the shower. As she shampooed her hair, she debated on the best way to let Aiden know.
‘Come on, big boy, you, me and Jaws.’ Meryn snort laughed, which was a mistake because she inhaled a nose full of water. Coughing and sputtering and feeling grumpier than ever she finished her shower and got dressed. She left Aiden’s laptop on the floor and walked out the door. She was just about to take the first step down the stairs when she looked at the banister.
And looked at it.
She glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Throwing caution to the wind she climbed up on the wooden handrail, took a deep breath and shifter her weight.
Holy Shit!
‘Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea!!’ Meryn screeched all the way down. Still screaming she flew off the end of the banister and landed on her tailbone on the expensive marble floor in the foyer. With tears in her eyes she rolled around on the ground clutching her butt.
‘What on earth!’ Adelaide and Byron rushed out of his office. They stared down at her as she wiggled around moaning.
‘You owe me five dollars.’ Byron said, holding out his hand. Adelaide shook her head.
‘I may owe you five dollars because you bet she would go down the banister, but you owe me twenty because I told you should wouldn’t think to put any pillows down like Ben.’ Adelaide wagged a finger at her mate.
‘Y’all are mean. I’m crippled!’ Meryn got up on wobbly legs.
‘Come sit down and keep us company in my office, the chairs are more comfortable there than in the drawing room.’ Byron helped her to hobble to his office and got her seated.
‘Today sucks! Aiden’s laptop sucks! And showers suck! And banisters suck!’ Meryn knew she sounded childish, but she pouted anyway. Some days just needed a restart button.
‘Poor dear. Here have some tea, you’ll feel better in no time.’ Adelaide passed her a cup of steaming tea. Meryn took in the light fragrance.
‘Jasmine?’
‘Yes, it’s one of Byron’s favorites.’ Adelaide passed her a small plate filled with cookies. To their right a large stone fireplace had a toasty fire going that gave the room a warm glow. Meryn wiggled in her chair getting comfortable ignoring the twangs of pain from her tailbone and sighed. The day was looking much better.
In a comfortable silence Adelaide wrote, actually hand wrote letters as Byron tapped away at his computer. Meryn was itching to see if his desktop was any better than Aiden’s laptop.
‘Meryn get over here before you sprain your neck.’ Byron stood and motioned to his chair. Meryn quickly set her teacup down and practically ran over to his desk. Byron sat next to his mate and started to help her address some of the envelopes.
Meryn cracked her knuckles. It was a Mac. She logged in as a guest and in seconds she was on the internet. She pulled up her database and began pulling reports.
‘Oh, rip that one up. We’re not inviting the Bowers, not after what I found out this morning.’ Adelaide seethed. Byron regarded her in surprise.
‘What did Ethan do?’
‘Not Ethan, Daphane! Marius was almost ashamed to report that nearly all of the potential squire candidates that we had lined up for interviews after the ball have backed out. Evidently, Daphane is interviewing for Elise on the exact same day and is saying that it’s more prestigious to work for someone who was actually paranormal in a smaller household than for a human in House McKenzie.’ Adelaide slammed her pen down. Meryn shrugged.
‘If that’s all it took for them to change their minds, then they might have done us a favor. Now we won’t have to weed them out.’ She thumped her fingers on the polished wood of Byron’s desk.
‘That’s a very positive way to look at it Meryn.’ Byron sounded proud.
‘That also means less interviews and talking to people.’ Meryn looked up grinning. Adelaide laughed.
‘Of course, you would look at it that way.’
‘You’re getting to know me all too well Mom.’ Meryn went back to the notes that Elder Airgead had given her. A throat cleared.
‘Ah Meryn, I actually wanted to talk to you about something.’ Byron started. Meryn had a feeling she knew what he was going to say.
‘Yeah, Dad?’ The expression on his face was priceless. She had been right. He wanted to be called Dad. He swallowed hard.
‘Um … how is the computer working for you?’ He changed directions quickly.
‘Better than Aiden’s, that’s for sure. Hey, can I ask you something? Are paranormals allowed on Facebook? Or is there some super duper paranormal version?’
‘No, we use the same version of Facebook as the rest of the world, we just have to be careful about what we share. All devices have Geo-tagging disabled.’ Byron explained.
‘Hmm.’ She pulled up Facebook and went back to work.
‘Well, as it stands, we have three interviews. A promising young man from London, one from Germany and another young man from Japan. I’ve never heard his family name before so he may be new to serving. Honestly, all of this back stabbing and pettiness because Daphane Bowers doesn’t feel like everyone is paying enough attention to her future grandchild, is ridiculous. As if it weren’t that time of the year for shifter birth announcements.’ Adelaide shook her head and Meryn froze.
‘What did you say?’ Meryn turned to Adelaide.
‘About Daphane?’
‘No, about shifter birth announcements.’
‘Didn’t Aiden explain about our conception windows?’ She asked.
Meryn nodded. ‘But why did you say what you did about birth announcements?’
‘Meryn, shifters get pregnant around Summer Solstice. It’s October, most couples wait until after the first trimester to announce anything, it’s bad luck. That’s why there are always shifter birth announcements this time of the year.’ Adelaide explained.
‘Oh my God.’ Meryn felt the blood drain from her face.
‘Please be wrong, please be wrong, please be wrong.’ She muttered to herself over and over again.
‘Meryn?’ Adelaide and Byron stood and walked over to her. Meryn quickly scanned the site she was on and sat back feeling sick.
‘I know how they were linked, the two missing couples. They had both posted birth announcements on Facebook within a day of each other.’ She whispered. Adelaide gasped and grabbed Byron’s arm.
‘Byron!’ He was already moving. He grabbed his jacket and was heading to the door.
‘Good work Meryn, call Aiden and let him know. I’m convening an emergency council meeting. We need to send out a public warning to stop birth announcements.’ He ran through the door. Meryn was frozen in her chair.
‘Meryn. Meryn. Call Aiden.’ Adelaide pushed the desk phone towards her. With a shaky hand, she dialed Aiden’s cell.
‘Father?’ Aiden’s voice sounded confused.
‘No, it’s me. Meryn I mean.’
‘Why are you on my father’s desk phone?’
‘He let me use his computer. Listen, I found the link between the two couples, they were both pregnant. They posted a birth announcement on Facebook within a day of each other.’ She explained. He began cursing a blue streak.
‘Your father is calling a council meeting to stop birth announcements.’
‘I’ve got to go, I need to update the unit leaders. Meryn, stay with my parents today. Don’t go out on your own.’
‘I won’t. I promise. Aiden?’ Meryn hesitated.
‘What is it, sweetheart?’
‘Be careful, okay? I’ve kinda gotten used to you.’
‘I will. I promise. Love you.’ He whispered.
‘Love you too.’ She hung up the phone and stared at it. When she turned, she saw Adelaide standing near the doorway, staring out, a haunted look on her face. She went to her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Adelaide gave a low cry and hugged Meryn back tightly.
‘This is why I’ve always wanted a daughter.’ Adelaide pulled back and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. She smiled down at Meryn.
‘Aiden would have promised to kill whatever was bothering me and then he would have left to go train to make sure he could. Sometimes you just need a hug.’ Meryn laid her head on Adelaide’s shoulder. She breathed in the older woman’s perfume and buried her face in her dress.
‘Is this a mom hug?’
Adelaide laughed. ‘Yes, this is a mom hug you darling girl. How about we take over the kitchen while Marius isn’t here to chastise us and make a huge mess making cookies?’ Adelaide suggested. Meryn could definitely get used to having a mom.
‘Only if I get to introduce you to the joys of eating cookie dough.’
‘Deal!’
They walked to the kitchen and Adelaide began pulling out ingredients.
‘Adelaide, can I ask you something?’ Meryn measured out the brown sugar, she poured some into the bowl and ate a teaspoon. A cup in the bowl, a teaspoon for her.
‘Of course, dear.’ Adelaide was measuring the flour and chocolate chips.
‘Was it hard living apart from Byron all those years?’ Meryn sucked on her teaspoon. Adelaide paused for a moment and kept pouring.
‘Yes. Yes, it was very hard. Some nights I would lie awake upstairs and wonder why we were so close but apart. I didn’t like it, but, there were nights where Byron had to leave with his unit where they barely made it to the scene in time to save a life. Even the extra time to the barracks would have cost lives. I understood why we had to live that way, but no, I didn’t like it.’
‘Why didn’t you move into the barracks with him? From what I can remember the place is like a small mansion, there had to have been room.’ Meryn snuck another teaspoon of sugar.
Adelaide blinked at her. ‘It just isn’t done.’
‘Hmm.’ Meryn poured the brown sugar into the bowl.
‘You’ll get used to it after a while and you’ll have your squire to keep you company.’ Meryn watched in fascination as Adelaide easily stirred the wooden spoon through the chunky mixture. This was the part that she always had problems with, her scrawny arms could barely move the spoon. She kept forgetting that Adelaide was a shifter too.
‘Okay, it’s mixed. Do you just eat it?’ Adelaide looked down at the bowl.
‘Nope. Let’s put it in the fridge for a while. Then we should be able to eat it. Chilling the dough makes the cookies better too.’ Meryn covered the bowl with a towel and placed it in the fridge.
‘Let’s have some tea while we wait.’ Adelaide put the kettle on the stove to boil.
Meryn sat down at the table and stacked the sugar cubes on a napkin. Without her laptop she felt exposed. She was working on the third row of her wall when Adelaide came over with two cups of tea. She sat down across from Meryn and sipped her tea.
‘What was Aiden like as a kid?’ Meryn asked, seizing this opportunity to get to know about her mate more. Adelaide smiled, but it was somewhat sad.
‘He was a very serious, conscientious child. He always defended Ben and took time to show him things. He always made sure that I was comfortable before leaving a room. And of course he idolized his father. When he left the house to move into the academy as a trainee I missed him terribly. Byron had already become an Elder when Aiden left for training and Adam and Adair had already declined to inherit after Byron. I think that Aiden saw it as his duty to become a warrior and follow in Byron’s footsteps. There are some days where I wonder if this is what Aiden really wanted and if maybe deep down, he resents his brothers for choosing other paths and forcing him to become a warrior.’ Adelaide twisted her tea cup on its saucer. Meryn thought about it for a moment and shook her head.
‘He’s too damn stubborn. He may have felt obligated at first, but he wouldn’t have stuck with it unless it was something he wanted to do. When Adam and Adair introduced themselves I could see a hint of pride in Aiden’s eyes. I don’t think he resents them doing what they want with their lives.’
‘It’s nice to be able to talk about this with someone.’ Adelaide admitted.
‘Don’t worry Adelaide I’ll help you keep those boys on their toes.’ Meryn promised.
Adelaide’s tinkling laughter lifted Meryn’s spirits.
‘I think you’re doing that already. Let’s go into the front drawing room and I’ll teach you how to sew.’ Adelaide stood and Meryn moaned.
‘Why? I thought you liked me?’ Meryn finished her tea and stood.
‘You don’t want to give Daphane Bowers a chance to look down her nose at you, do you?’ Adelaide lifted an elegant brow.
‘No! I give her enough ammo as it is.’ Meryn admitted.
‘Good. I’ll start with something easy. First lesson; threading the needle.’ Adelaide walked with her to the front of the house.
Kill me now.
*****
For the rest of the afternoon Meryn discovered how Sisyphus must have felt pushing that bolder up the hill, almost reaching the top only to watch it roll back down again. After four hours she had yet to thread a needle. Every time she exhaled, she missed. Every time she inhaled she missed. So she tried holding her breath and almost fainted. By the time Marius returned with her packages Meryn was secretly planning to gather every needle in the house and melt them down in the backyard.
‘I would think that you’re playing a joke on me, but I can see how determined you are.’ Adelaide shook her head.
‘I will thread this fucking needle if it kills me!’ Meryn vowed shaking her fist.
‘Why don’t you take a break? I think Marius has something for you.’ Adelaide pointed to the doorway. Meryn saw a large box with the universally recognized Apple logo, and let out a loud shout. She jumped up and danced from foot to foot in front of Marius.
Marius, with great flourish opened the box and presented her with a brand-new laptop.
‘Hello baby, I’m going to take such good care of you. Come here mama’s boy.’ Meryn crooned at the small laptop and raced back over to her chair. In seconds it had booted up and was running her through the final set up. She installed a parallel Linux operating system and began installing her own programs from her flash drive. After a few minutes she had established the wireless connection and was back on the internet.
‘You treat that thing more gently than most people treat their pets.’ Aiden’s voice pulled her out of her gleeful exploration of her new machine.
‘You’re back!’
‘I’ll help Marius organize dinner.’ Adelaide kissed him on the cheek and headed towards the kitchen.
‘Yup, I’ve been watching you fondle your new laptop. Should I be jealous?’ He kidded.
‘Absolutely.’ Meryn nodded and hugged her laptop close. She had opted for the 13inch Mac Book Pro. It was lighter than her old laptop and had more power. She had already gone online and located a new Doctor Who skin. She made a mental note to ask Marius about what address to use for shipping.
‘What man can compete with a new laptop huh? We ordered pizza to give Marius the night off since he went shopping for us. After their showers the rest of the guys will be here. Hope you like green peppers.’ He stretched his arms over his head and rotated his neck. She admired the way his muscles shifted under his tight cotton tee. She sighed and he raised an eyebrow.
‘Maybe I can compete after all?’ He closed the door behind him and stalked over to her. Meryn felt her heart begin to race. He plucked her laptop from her hands and placed it on the table beside her. With a move made possible by his shifter speed and strength he pulled her from her chair and dipped her backward scorching her with a passionate kiss. As the kiss deepened they stood up straight. Meryn stepped into his body and felt the hard line of his erection against her stomach. She reached between their bodies and squeezed his bulge causing him to moan deep in his throat.
‘You can’t do this to me Meryn. You’re still on your cycle and my mother would kick my ass if I took you in her drawing room.’ His breathing became more ragged as she kept caressing him. Meryn let her hand fall away and Aiden’s forehead dropped to her shoulder. She grinned evilly as she turned her lips to his ear.
‘My cycle ended today.’ His breathing stopped. He jerked back and his eyes were completely black. Just as his hands tightened on her arms to pull her closer, his mother opened the door.
‘Pizza is here. Come get it while it’s hot.’ She walked away, leaving the door open.
‘Yay! Pizza!’ Meryn grabbed her laptop and turned back to Aiden with an innocent expression.
‘Not hungry?’ His growl had her giggling as she sprinted from the room. His answering laughter and pinching fingers chased her all the way to the dining room.
When they got there he kissed her quickly and then his attention was on the stacks of pizza laid out on the large dining room table. Watching him grab a whole box her heart felt light. She had to admit, even if it was just to herself, that she had missed him terribly today. Unlike Adelaide, she refused to be left behind while he lived at the barracks. With a new item on her ‘To Do’ list Meryn grabbed a plate and sat next to Aiden as the rest of the unit members joined them for dinner.
