Half an hour later Elizabeth walked down the stairs with Gavriel. They met up with a smiling Aiden and Meryn. Aiden looked up and grinned at Gavriel before leaning down to kiss his mate on the forehead.
‘Okay Meryn, remember what I said. You have to stop interrupting our training; we’re still a functioning unit and need to be able to work on our drills. If you need to talk to me, try to come out during a break or lunch.’
Meryn sighed. ‘I’ll try, but some stuff can’t wait.’
Gavriel turned to Elizabeth and kissed her gently before stepping back. ‘I’m going to try to do drills with the guys this afternoon.’
‘Be careful,’ she said.
He nodded then both men headed for the door.
Keelan came from the family room looking concerned. ‘Umm guys, we can take this stuff down right? Guys? Hello? Fireballs?’ Keelan trailed after them voicing his concerns.
Meryn laughed. ‘Poor Keelan.’ She turned to Elizabeth. ‘Come on let’s get started.’
They walked to the office and looked around at the cluttered mess of stacked papers and the one small desk. They looked at each other.
‘Tomorrow?’ Elizabeth asked.
‘Totally! I don’t know how your afternoon went, but I’m wiped. I don’t know how Aiden is out there doing drills. I’ll work on the databases after dinner when Aiden and I are upstairs relaxing.’ Meryn stretched and yawned.
‘My afternoon was probably similar to yours and I agree, the men must be monsters.’ They walked to the family room. Meryn collapsed on one of the large leather couches, Elizabeth the recliner. Elizabeth reached over to the side coffee table and picked up the forgotten pastry bag. She pulled out a cookie smiling happily.
‘I don’t want to move.’ Meryn curled up into a small ball.
‘Me either.’ Elizabeth kicked back the recliner chewing her chocolate chip cookie. It was scrumptious.
‘Ladies, would you like some tea?’ Ryuu asked from the doorway.
Meryn opened one eye. ‘What time is it?’
Ryuu leaned back and checked the foyer clock. ‘It’s one thirty denka.’
‘Can you wake us up before the guys come in?’ Meryn yawned.
‘Of course,’ he was about to leave the room when the phone rang. He turned and picked up the old-fashioned receiver.
‘Alpha Unit Estate, oh yes. How are you today sir? We’re fine here. He is outside at the moment but Meryn is here. Yes, hold please.’ Ryuu covered the mouth of the receiver.
‘Denka, Lord Byron is on the phone for you.’
Meryn perked up and hopped off the couch. She took the phone from Ryuu. ‘Hey Dad. Probably, I’m not sure. I can ask him. Yeah, hold on.’ Meryn set the receiver down on the sofa table and turned to her.
‘I gotta run ask Aiden something.’ She turned to the door.
‘Denka, your coat,’ Ryuu said.
Meryn shook her head, ‘I should only take a second.’
Elizabeth stood. ‘I’ll go with you; maybe the fresh air will wake me up.’
Elizabeth followed Meryn out the door to the side of the house. The clearing beside the driveway provided the men the space needed to work in larger groups. They walked up to the open area where the men were sparring with each other. Smiling they waved as she approached.
‘Hey Aiden…’ Meryn called out.
Aiden turned, a frown on his face. ‘Meryn what did I just tell you about interrupting our training? These drills could save your life one day,’ Aiden practically shouted.
‘But I..’
‘No. Go back into the house. I’ll come to you when we’re done.’ Aiden deliberately turned his back dismissing her.
‘Aiden…’
Aiden ignored her.
‘Aiden, please.’
Aiden stared down at his clipboard steadily ignoring his mate.
Nostrils flaring Meryn turned to her. ‘Wait here.’
Oh dear.
Meryn marched back into the house with a determined look on her face.
A few seconds later Meryn walked through the front door and down the porch steps around to the back. A minute later, when she pulled up in a large black Camaro, she had everyone’s attention except Aiden’s.
Elizabeth watched as Colton jogged up to Aiden. He watched Meryn, his eyes growing wide.
Meryn pulled a gas canister from the trunk and started to douse the car. Elizabeth watched smiling. Her eyes met Gavriel’s. She raised an eyebrow and nodded to where Meryn was gleefully saturating the car. He shrugged. She noticed not one warrior breathed a word to their commander.
Aiden turned to Colton. ‘Colton, did you spill gasoline in the armory? That could be a potential disaster waiting to happen,’ he admonished.
Colton shook his head. ‘No. But Aiden, Meryn…’
‘I told her I’d speak to her later.’
‘But Aiden…’ Colton gulped.
‘Later,’ Aiden said in a curt tone.
Meryn threw the gas canister into the car and pulled out a pack of matches. She tried the first match and it didn’t light. Scrunching up her nose she kept trying.
‘Aiden…’ Colton tried again.
‘I will talk to her later,’ Aiden said firmly.
Meryn’s third attempt worked, she looked up and smiled at everyone before dropping the entire matchbook into the backseat. She stepped back as the entire car erupted in flames.
Colton brought both hands up and threaded his fingers behind his head. Rocking back on his heels he grinned. ‘Aiden, what I was going to say was, Meryn is setting your car on fire.’ Colton jerked his head to the side pointing to the driveway.
‘What?’ Aiden yelled. He turned to see his car rapidly becoming a small bonfire.
‘Meryn! What the hell?’ He raced over to stand in front of his mate. He looked at her satisfied smile and back to his car. He pulled at his hair with his hands.
His gaze was furious when he turned back to his mate. ‘Meryn!’ he roared.
She pulled her foot back and kicked him in the shin.
‘Fuck! Dammit Meryn!’ Aiden dropped down to one knee and rubbed his leg. Elizabeth walked over to stand next to her friend. She may not be a bear, but she was a shifter and Meryn wasn’t; she could at least get between them if Aiden needed a second to calm down.
Meryn glared down at her mate. ‘Shut up! Now you listen to me.’ Meryn put both hands on her hips and leaned over her huge mate. ‘First off, I am not a simpering clingy mate. I don’t interrupt you for fun. Usually if I have to interrupt you it’s something important, because guess what? I have my own shit to do! In case you hadn’t noticed I’m helping your brother completely restructure the training program and getting computer illiterate elders savvy on message boards. Secondly, my grandmother used to ignore me and I cannot stress to you enough how much that bothers me. I refuse to be ignored by someone I love again.’ With tears in her eyes she headed up the porch steps. She turned back to him. ‘What I was going to tell you was that your father was on the phone for you.’ She walked past her squire whose eyes were shooting daggers at Aiden.
With an evil smile, Ryuu raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The trunk exploded in blue flames. ‘Actually Lord Byron saw the smoke from his office window. I informed him of what transpired. He said to call back when you were back in your mate’s good graces.’ He turned and followed Meryn into the house.
Seconds later Aiden was turning his head back and forth. He swatted his hand in front of his face. ‘Ow! Meryn come back! Dammit Felix cut it out!’ Aiden lost his balance and ended up on his back. The tiny speck of light struck again and again before it flittered through the door and it slammed shut behind him.
Elizabeth and Gavriel walked up until they stood on either side of Aiden’s prone body.
Colton whistled behind them. ‘Dude, you’re so fucked.’
Gavriel looked down at his friend who was now sporting tiny red abrasions on his face and sighed, looking over at her he said. ‘We’ll be back.’ He leaned down and pulled Aiden to his feet. ‘Come on cub, maybe that old man at the store will know of a way to fix this.’ Aiden nodded absently. Gavriel gave him a gentle shove towards the garage.
‘I’ll check on Meryn. If you’re running to the store can you pick me up a couple chocolate bars?’ Elizabeth asked, trying not to smile. The poor Unit Commander was dazed.
‘You can have whatever you want my mate. Thank you for checking on Meryn, she’s a little quirky but we all care about her.’ Gavriel said.
‘You mean you care for her, don’t you?’ Elizabeth teased.
Gavriel nodded. ‘I’ve been with her, inside, for the past month since I couldn’t train in the state I was in. She made those long days bearable.’
Elizabeth kissed him and nudged him after Aiden’s stumbling form. ‘Go take care of your commander, I have a feeling you and I will be taking care of these two for a long time.’
Gavriel ran a hand over her hair. ‘More than likely, they have a heavy future in store for them.’ Elizabeth nodded. Gavriel titled her head up. ‘You see it too?’ he asked.
‘Yes. Remember, I was raised around vampires. I’m used to forward thinking. Hurry back.’
He kissed her one last time and followed behind Aiden.
Colton’s voice rang out. ‘Let’s make s’mores! Ow!’ His head jerked forward from Sascha cuffing him.
Elizabeth laughed at the men’s antics.
*****
Gavriel followed behind Aiden as they walked into the store. He wanted to pick up the chocolate for Beth and he was dying to see what advice the old man had for Aiden. Walking behind his commander they approached the register where the aged man sat flipping through an old Bass and Guns magazine. The older man’s face brightened when he saw Aiden approaching.
‘Well look what the cat dragged in. Been awhile, son. Surely you don’t need more feminine products, considering how much you bought last time you was here.’
‘Sir, I…’ Aiden began. The old man held up a wrinkled hand.
‘My name is Bartholomew son, you can call me Bart. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing a lot of you, we might as well be on first name basis.’
Aiden thrust his hand out giving the old man hand a thorough shake.
‘My name is Aiden McKenzie, this is my… friend Gavriel Ambrosios.’ Aiden pointed in his direction. Gavriel nodded.
Bart nodded back and turned to Aiden. ‘Okay son, what’s yer question?’
‘What do you buy a woman to get back on her good side when you’ve made her really, really angry? Cake? Fudge?’
The wrinkles on the old man’s face scrunched together as he frowned.
‘How angry did you make her boy?’
‘She set my car on fire.’
The old man blinked and then began to laugh. He laughed so hard that he began to hack and wheeze. Gavriel thought for sure that Aiden had killed the gentleman. Holding his stomach the man continued to laugh as he reached for a pen and piece of paper. With a shaky hand he scrawled something on the paper and thrust it at Aiden. He exhaled and wiped his eyes still chuckling to himself.
Aiden looked at the paper. ‘Is this a place that sells good chocolate?’ he asked.
‘No son. That is the address where they sell jewelry. Chocolate can fix a lot of things, but it’s not the embodiment of kitten angel tears if you know what I mean. If yer woman set your car on fire, then son, the only thing that can help you at this point is something shiny.’ The old man rubbed his rounded belly and began to chuckle again at Aiden’s chagrin.
‘Come on sir, I know that place he is recommending, they do sell nice pieces there. How about you go wait in the car while I buy these candy bars.’ Gavriel sympathetically pat Aiden on the back before the commander trudged back to the car. Gavriel turned to face the old man.
The old man watched Aiden leave, scratching his stubbled chin. ‘His woman really that feisty?’
‘You have no idea.’
‘What a lucky bastard.’
Gavriel shook his head. ‘Mine’s feistier.’
The old man shook his head and rang up the candy bars.
‘I have a feeling I’ll be seeing more of you boys.’
Gavriel picked up the bag. ‘You’re probably right.’
Whistling he walked out of the store to meet up with Aiden.
*****
Elizabeth looked over to where the men were gathered around their unit leaders getting orders for the afternoon’s drills in Aiden’s absence.
She walked over and looked at Colton, Keelan and Darian. Colton was still rubbing the back of his head from where Sascha had thumped him.
‘Can I ask you something?’ The men nodded. ‘Aiden is your Unit Commander, how come none of you said anything when Meryn was setting his car on fire? You had plenty of time to stop her.’ She had been surprised that not one of the warriors had moved to tell Aiden what Meryn had been up to.
Colton looked at Darian and Keelan and all three winced. Colton turned to her with a wry expression on his face. ‘Because of five words Meryn said to us after she moved in.’
‘What were they?’ Elizabeth asked.
‘I. Know. Where. You. Sleep.’ Colton shuddered.
The warriors standing around them all gulped.
Sascha smiled. ‘Is this what we have to look forward to when our mates start arriving?’ he asked.
Colton laughed. ‘Mayhem? Not understanding a single word that comes out of their mouths? A new set of rules for conduct and threats of bodily harm?’ Colton thought about it then nodded. ‘Yes.’
The men all groaned.
Smiling, Elizabeth patted Colton on the arm. ‘It gets better. I’ll be in the house calming Meryn down if you need me.’
‘Good luck!’ Keelan called.
She waved at the men and then went into the house. She had to listen for a second but quickly identified that the sounds of frustration were coming from Aiden’s office. She made her way down the hall and opened the door.
‘You okay, sweetie?’ Elizabeth asked walking into the office.
Meryn was slamming things around muttering under her breath. Elizabeth could see an agitated light darting around Meryn’s head.
‘I’m fine! He’s just so damn exasperating! He was so wonderful earlier and then he pulls this shit.’ Meryn flung one of Aiden’s folders across the room. It slammed against the wall and slid down. Elizabeth winced; she would have to organize those papers later.
‘Not to sound like I’m taking his side, but I think he got worried that you were outside, especially with the feral sighting so close to the house today. He knows it’s just a matter of time before they realize that Ryuu doesn’t have a defensive spell up. They are getting bolder.’ Elizabeth walked over and picked up the folder before setting it on Aiden’s desk.
Meryn sat down in Aiden’s chair and frowned. Elizabeth waited.
Meryn looked up, a surprised look on her face. ‘You’re not going to ask me what’s wrong, are you?’
‘No, if you want to tell me you can, but I’ve discovered that when someone is pressed for answers they seldom reply with the truth.’ Elizabeth sat down in the leather chair across from Meryn.
‘I’ve been acting just a little bratty this month,’ Meryn confessed.
‘No! Say it ain’t so.’ Elizabeth teased.
Meryn smiled and continued. ‘Okay, I admit it, I can sometimes be a bit blunt and I know I’m quirky, but I’ve been pushing the envelope with the guys. I thought for sure they would have snapped off at me by now, but they haven’t. Not once have they ever told me to ‘quit acting ridiculous’, or to ‘grow up’. They haven’t made me feel like a nuisance or told me to shut up,’ she paused.
Elizabeth spoke gently. ‘Those are someone else’s words and responses aren’t they?’
Meryn nodded. ‘My grandmother was always telling me to ‘be quiet’ and ‘go away’. I figured it would be just a matter of time before the guys got sick of me too.’
Elizabeth got up and walked around the desk; she pulled Meryn up and gave her a hug. ‘Real family doesn’t do things like that Meryn, and that’s what we have here. They may be a bunch of chest banging, cavemen throwbacks, but they’re ours. They would never hurt your feelings. Not only do they care about you too much to do that, but they wouldn’t risk pissing off your mate, or mine for that matter. Gavriel is absolutely smitten with you. He told me today that you made the long days trapped inside bearable.’ Elizabeth held the small woman at arm’s length.
Meryn sniffled and used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. ‘That’s why it hurt so badly when Aiden dismissed me. I knew that he wasn’t doing it to hurt me, but all of a sudden I was five again and alone.’
‘You’re no longer five and you certainly aren’t alone. You have that delightful little sprite that took on someone one hundred times his size for you, not to mention your squire. I thought he was going to deck Aiden when that fireball engulfed us.’ Elizabeth smiled when Meryn snickered; she was relieved that the human was bouncing back to her normal self.
Meryn looked up at her, eyes dancing. ‘Did you see their faces when we were covered in blue flames?’ she laughed then snorted which made her laugh harder.
Elizabeth laughed right along with her, every time Meryn would snort, Elizabeth would laugh harder. It wasn’t long before both women were on the floor under the desk cackling.
‘Denka, I take it from the laughter that you are feeling better?’ Ryuu asked from the doorway.
Meryn stood on her knees to look over the desk but barely cleared it. This made Elizabeth start laughing again. Meryn glared down at her. Elizabeth stuck out her tongue and wiped her eyes. Meryn stood facing her squire.
‘Yeah, I’m good. I forgot for a second that I completely kick ass.’
Ryuu raised a brow then smiled. ‘That you do. I was afraid for a moment I was going to have to do something painful to your mate, but since you are laughing and not crying, he is spared.’
‘Ryyuuu! You can’t just knock my mate around like a kid with a toy. He’s the Unit Commander for crying out loud.’ Meryn waved her arms about wildly.
Ryuu just stared at her. ‘Denka that title means very little to me. Your health and well-being are my only concerns. If his ineptitude leads to another instance where you are almost barbecued then he and I will definitely have words.’ Ryuu crossed his arms over his chest.
Meryn turned to her. ‘I can’t do anything with him!’ she said pointing to Ryuu.
Elizabeth stood and dusted off her jeans. ‘That is how squires are Meryn. My uncle’s squire has yet to address my uncle with any degree of respect. Sebastian sees my uncle as his charge and nothing more. In a way, I think my uncle needs that. He can always rely on Sebastian to keep him humble.’
Ryuu’s expression didn’t change. ‘I wouldn’t damage him … permanently.’ He shrugged.
Meryn smacked her forehead in exasperation. ‘I give up! And … I’m hungry.’ Her concern for her mate forgotten, she looked at Ryuu with puppy dog eyes.
He gave a faint smile and bowed. ‘I have prepared a snack from the pastries you ladies purchased in the city earlier this afternoon, along with your favorite Earl Grey tea.’
‘You love me!’ Meryn turned to her. ‘You coming?’
Elizabeth nodded. ‘For pastries and tea? Of course I’m coming, be there in a moment. I need to ask Ryuu about ordering a certain tea for me, especially considering I’m going to be living here.’
Meryn shrugged and walked into the hallway; she paused for a second before turning back to her. ‘I’m really glad you’re here, Bunny,’ Meryn confessed.
Elizabeth was too touched to rip her cute little face off for calling her ‘Bunny’ . ‘Me too, sweetie.’
Meryn smiled and walked away.
Ryuu looked out the door and held up a finger. After a few seconds be lowered his hand and turned to her. ‘I take it this isn’t about tea?’
‘I wouldn’t mind if you ordered some Fortnum and Mason’s English Breakfast tea. I got addicted to the stuff when we visited London. But no, what I was going to ask you is … have you made sure all the spells have been disarmed? I’m not too proud to admit that this afternoon’s fireball scared the hell out of me.’ She shuddered.
Ryuu scowled. ‘Don’t remind me of that incident. Most are actually still operative, they will only activate if someone tries to open a window and enter from the outside. We can activate the front and back doors whenever we wish with the small, brass charms hanging on the walls by the doors. I have been working with Keelan on what we would need for a permanent perimeter. It’s difficult because you can’t, for example, ban all shifters. We would need to be very specific, but in doing so, may leave loopholes.’
‘As long as there’s no possibility that either I or my mate will be burnt alive, I’m satisfied. Did you eavesdrop on our conversation?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘Naturally.’
‘Can you make sure Aiden understands why she got so upset? I don’t think Meryn will say anything, but I think, unless Aiden knows why this impacted her so much he will inadvertently walk into this blunder again, and it won’t be his fault.’
Ryuu sighed. ‘I suppose you’re right.’
Elizabeth patted him on the arm. ‘All in a day’s work. I hope Meryn hasn’t eaten all of the apple fritters. She was right, they are delicious.’ She walked into the hallway towards the family room to wrestle Meryn for some pastries.
*****
‘She was crying.’ Aiden stared down at the jewelry box in his hands and shook his head.
Gavriel knew hurting Meryn enough to make her cry had devastated his commander. He looked from his friend back to the road. ‘These are the type of things every new couple has to face. All you can do is fall on your sword, beg forgiveness and then do your damnedest to never hurt her again.’
‘I knew she had a shitty childhood, but she always made light of it. What was I thinking to ignore her like that?’ Aiden beat the small blue gift-wrapped box against his forehead.
‘When we get back, grovel and beg forgiveness …’ Aiden groaned. Gavriel continued. ‘And then sit her down and get her to talk about the things that she’s insecure about. Let her know you’re not a mind reader and that you’re not going anywhere.’
Aiden turned to him. ‘You’ve seen her more than I have this past month, why would she think that I would leave?’
Inwardly Gavriel sighed. All he wanted was to curl up with his mate and learn more about her. When he looked over and saw the absolute confusion on Aiden’s face he knew he had to break it down for him, he owed Meryn that much at the very least.
‘Aiden, she lost both of her parents when she was very small. That alone could cause abandonment issues, but when you factor in a grandmother who ignored her existence, I bet she has been waiting for us to tell her to leave or for us to start ignoring her altogether. You really couldn’t have screwed up in a worse way.’
When he looked over, Aiden was staring at him mouth open. ‘Oh Gods, my poor baby.’
‘You’ll just have to tell her every day for the next fifty or so years how you feel about her,’ Gavriel suggested.
Aiden nodded and stared ahead. ‘Drive faster.’
Gavriel nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’
*****
Elizabeth was sipping her tea when she heard a car door slam outside. Meryn turned to her, a look of panic on her face.
‘What if he hates me because I torched his car?’ she whispered.
‘He won’t, just talk to him Meryn. He may be a shifter, but he’s still a male. Use small words, not a lot of syllables and you’ll be fine,’ she suggested.
‘Right. Small words. Got it.’ Meryn twisted her fingers in front of her nervously.
When they heard the front door open and close Meryn looked like she was going to be ill.
‘Breathe,’ Elizabeth whispered. Meryn nodded.
Aiden walked into the room, Gavriel behind him. Elizabeth had always dated shifters or fae. She liked their larger frames and muscles, but seeing her mate next to the bear shifter she was suddenly breathless. She remembered the way his sculpted body of lean muscles had looked looming over her, he made the Unit Commander seem clumsy and bulky in comparison.
‘Meryn,’ Aiden said stiffly.
‘Aiden.’ Meryn stared down at her hands.
Elizabeth looked at her mate who shrugged. After another minute of silence, Elizabeth leaned over and whispered. ‘Remember what I said?’
Meryn nodded before turning back to Aiden. ‘Want.To.Have.Sex?’
Elizabeth was surprised at how fast Aiden moved, for such a large man he got to his mate in record time. Meryn giggled as Aiden swung her up in his arms and proceeded to kiss every exposed inch of her skin. Aiden turned and nearly sprinted out of the room.
Shaking her head she picked up her cup and took another sip. ‘I did tell her to use short words with few syllables.’
Gavriel swaggered over and dangled a small white plastic bag in front of her. ‘For you, my dear.’
Elizabeth licked her lips and reached for the bag.
Gavriel jerked it out of reach. ‘You have to pay.’
Elizabeth eyed him suspiciously. ‘What will it cost me?’
Gavriel gently lowered the bag into her hands. ‘The rest of the afternoon with me, I’d like to get to know my mate much, much better.’
‘If you can secure us lunch from Ryuu, you have a deal. All I’ve had today is caffeine and sugar. It may be normal for Meryn, but I’m a shifter and need more sustenance.’
Gavriel pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. ‘Deal. Head up and I’ll see what I can put together for our lunch.’
Elizabeth stood, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She had meant to surprise him, but the trick was on her. He took the kiss over and when he was done she was panting.
‘Sneaky vampire,’ she muttered, heading for the foyer.
‘Of course, and I’m sneakier than most,’ he admitted.
‘Hurry with the food.’
‘As you wish.’
Elizabeth turned to stare at him. Did he just quote Princess Bride?
Gavriel looked at her, an innocent expression on his face. ‘What?’
She couldn’t determine if he was joking or not.
‘Damn vampire.’
His chuckle followed her into the foyer.
