Amelia sat with Meryn in the back of the car, and Beth sat up front with Ryuu. Amelia pulled out her phone. ‘What’s your name on Facebook? I’ll send a friend request.’
Meryn scrunched up her face. ‘I’m not on Facebook.’
‘What?’ Amelia and Beth asked at the same time.
Meryn shrugged. ‘Besides y’all, I don’t have any friends, and I live with y’all, so I never saw the point.’
‘But you’re a computer genius, you’ve used Facebook in tracking down potential shifter couples,’ Beth said sounding shocked.
‘I used Aiden’s Facebook profile,’ Meryn explained.
Amelia turned to her. ‘You’re not on social media at all?’
‘Nope, never needed it. I email Adair and text Aiden and my minions, that’s about it.’
Amelia frowned. ‘Minions?’
Beth spoke up. ‘She means Noah and Jaxon.’
‘Where were they anyway? They weren’t at breakfast.’ Amelia asked.
‘They are working on their first solo project, building the database for Beth to use to keep track of census information. In fact, I should check on them.’ Meryn pulled out her phone. Her small fingers moved quickly as she sent her text. Seconds later, she began to giggle.
Beth turned in her seat with a suspicious look. ‘What?’
Meryn just grinned. When her phone buzzed again she looked down and started to crack up.
Amelia looked at Beth who shrugged.
‘Spill it, Meryn,’ Beth ordered.
‘I’m sexting Aiden.’ She continued to type.
Amelia frowned. ‘Why is that so funny?’
Beth groaned and sat back in her seat. ‘Leave Keelan alone. You know he’s having a rough morning.’
‘Huh?’ Amelia looked between Meryn and Beth.
Beth turned back to face her. ‘Aiden never reads his text messages. He always has Keelan do it because Aiden’s fingers are too big to type.’
Amelia turned to Meryn. ‘And you know this?’
Meryn grinned. ‘Yup. I always know it’s Keelan because he downloaded an emoticon pack that has bears. He never says ‘I love you’ back, he just sends a bear and a heart. He’s fun to play with.’
‘You’re bad!’ Amelia said laughing.
Meryn shrugged. ‘There’s nothing else to do.’
‘You could be studying the history books I bought you,’ Beth reminded her.
Meryn looked up. ‘I finished those already, in fact I sent Noah to Mystic Tomes to buy more. I found something very interesting referenced in one of the articles. The potential for fun is limitless. Paranormal history is fascinating. I have decided to delete all memory of US history to make room for the paranormal volumes.’
‘What do you mean delete?’ Beth asked.
Meryn tapped her temple. ‘In my brain. I got rid of all the useless information, like US history, statistics, and trigonometry.’
‘Meryn, US history is important,’ Beth countered.
Meryn shook her head. ‘No, it’s not. It’s all lies anyway. I’ve asked Gavriel to verify some of the stories I’ve read in the paranormal history books and he said they’re right. I’ll believe someone who was actually there rather than the stuff I learned as a kid.’
Amelia turned to her. ‘Like what?’ She was fascinated. She had learned paranormal history the same as every paranormal child, but Meryn had been raised human. She could have been told anything.
‘For example, did you know that, in human history books, they fail to mention that George Washington made a deal with locals to fight against the British? And by locals, I mean unit warriors? Gavriel freaking knew Paul Revere!’ Meryn ranted.
Beth looked surprised. ‘He did?’
Meryn nodded. ‘And Darian took time off from being in the Alpha Unit to be a pirate! How fucking cool is that?’
Amelia smiled. Maybe she could talk Darian into wearing a ruffled shirt and leather boots later.
Meryn’s stomach growled. ‘I hope Marius has food.’
‘Are you sure you’re not eating for five?’ Beth teased.
Meryn stuck her tongue out her. ‘At least I’m not having a jackalope.’
Beth bristled. ‘I will not have a jackalope. I thought we decided he or she would be a bunny with fangs?’
Amelia couldn’t hold her giggles. ‘What about Rheia?’ she asked.
Meryn grinned. ‘Wolfman.’
Beth snorted then laughed. ‘I am so telling her you said that. What about Meryn’s future baby?’
Amelia thought about it for a second. ‘She’s having an Ewok!’
Beth lost all composure and began to giggle uncontrollably.
Meryn frowned for a second and then became thoughtful. ‘That’s not too bad, but what if it’s a boy?’
‘Chewbacca,’ Amelia said wiping her eyes. Beth’s giggles were contagious.
‘Stop, I can’t breathe!’ Beth gasped.
‘That’s kick ass.’ Meryn nodded happily and looked over at Amelia. ‘What about your future baby?’
She patted her tummy. ‘I’ll have a Legolas that gets into Gryffindor.’
Meryn glared at her. ‘I kinda fucking hate you right now.’
‘Boo hoo,’ Amelia teased laughing.
‘Okay, I’m done. Let’s go back home,’ Beth was trying to catch her breath.
Meryn shook her head. ‘No way! We can’t miss today at Adelaide’s. It’s sewing circle day.’
Amelia swayed as the car swerved. Ryuu quickly regained control. ‘I’m sorry denka, what did you just say?’
‘We have to go to today’s sewing circle meeting,’ Meryn insisted.
Beth’s eyes were wide. ‘Are you feeling okay?’
‘Why are you asking if she’s okay?’ Amelia asked.
‘Because she absolutely hates that sewing circle,’ Beth informed her.
‘What? I can’t have a change of heart?’ Meryn tried to look innocent.
‘No,’ Beth and Ryuu said together.
‘Well, we’re pulling up now so it’s too late.’ Amelia pointed out the window.
‘Gods help us,’ Beth whispered under her breath.
‘He-he-he.’ Meryn rubbed her hands together.
Amelia fought the urge to cross herself, and she wasn’t even Catholic.
Ryuu parked and got out to open the doors for them. He helped Meryn out of the car and they walked up to the front door. Before they could ring the bell, the door swung open to reveal an older gentleman in attire similar to Ryuu’s.
‘Marius! I’ve missed you!’ Meryn hugged the man around the waist.
‘And I have missed you, too, Little Miss. Come inside and get warm.’ Marius held the door open and everyone walked inside.
‘Oh, good, you’re here! Before we head to the salon, you girls come with me,’ A female voice called out.
Amelia looked and a beautiful blond woman was quickly approaching them. ‘Marius, if you could bring a pot of tea to Byron’s office?’
‘Of course.’ Marius bowed and headed to the back of the house.
‘That’s Marius Steward–he’s the squire here–and this is Aiden’s mom, Adelaide, or as everyone else calls her, Lady McKenzie.’ Meryn indicated to the beautiful woman. ‘Mom, this is Amelia Ironwood. You’ll never guess what we found out…’
Adelaide placed a finger over Meryn’s lips. ‘Let’s head to the office, darling. You can tell me there.’ She winked at the three of them and led the way.
No one said anything until Adelaide closed the door and removed a brass key from its hook to hang it within a spell circle. ‘There, now the room is soundproofed. I got the idea from the perimeter Keelan did for the Alpha estate. With so much going on, Byron needed a place he could have private conversations.’
Ryuu gathered their coats and left to go hang them up.
Beth got comfortable in one of the wingback chairs. ‘And why do we need to have a private conversation?’
Adelaide pointed to the other chairs and Amelia and Meryn got comfortable. ‘Now, before I get started, what were you going to tell me dear?’ She sat close to Meryn.
Meryn bounced up and down in her chair. ‘We found out that Amelia is my cousin, my actual, real cousin! Our mothers were sisters.’
Adelaide paled. Beth clucked her tongue. ‘Trust me, I know.’
Amelia turned to Meryn who looked as confused as she felt.
‘What?’ Meryn demanded.
‘Meryn, do you remember the reaction we got when I announced I had adopted you as my baby sister?’ Beth asked.
‘Yeah, everyone freaked out because I was tied to two major houses… Oh, now it’s three.’ Meryn strummed her fingers on the arm of the chair.
‘Four Meryn, remember? I have two sets of brothers, the Ironwoods and the Ashleighs.’ Amelia reminded her.
Adelaide gasped, her hand going to her throat. ‘How?’
Amelia turned to Lady McKenzie. ‘I am the half-sister to the Ironwoods. The Ironwoods are half-brothers to the Ashleighs. Both sets of brothers will be very protective of me and Meryn.’
‘Interesting isn’t it?’ Beth said, leaning back in her chair.
There was a knock at the door before Marius and Ryuu entered with a tea tray. Ryuu closed the door behind them and helped serve everyone a cup. Meryn pouted up at Marius who immediately set a basket of cookies on the table next to Meryn. She dived into the basket humming happily.
Beth took a sip. ‘But you didn’t know when you brought us in here. What did you have to tell us that required a soundproof spell?’
‘Oh, dear, I’m not quite sure how to tell you this.’ She took a deep breath and glanced at Meryn for a second before she turned to Amelia and Beth. ‘Do you girls follow the society column, Dear Gentle Reader?’
Amelia and Beth shook their heads.
Adelaide frowned. ‘That’s what I thought. Over the past few weeks, the columns have been systematically belittling a certain group of women.’ She paused and looked down at her hands as they twisted together.
Beth’s eyes narrowed. ‘Which group of women?’
Adelaide sighed. ‘You all. The mates of the Alpha Unit. Nothing overt, mind you. Everything is said in such vague language, but everyone knows who they are talking about.’
‘What are they saying?’ Amelia asked. She might not keep up with the Dear Gentle Reader column, but she knew it was one of the oldest and most popular paranormal publications in the world. Whatever it was, it was being seen in all four of the pillar cities.
‘I refuse to repeat any of that drivel. Here is last week’s edition.’ Adelaide handed Beth a folded newspaper. It was the Lycaonian paper, The Observer. Beth’s eyes quickly skimmed the paper. All color drained slowly from her face after which her cheeks flushed a dangerous red.
‘How dare they!’ Beth stood, nostrils flaring.
‘What are they saying?’ Amelia asked.
‘What aren’t they saying? One article is insinuating that the reason why ferals are attacking more is because the men of the Alpha Unit are mating with ‘women of ill repute’.’
‘People still use that term?’ Amelia frowned.
‘They couldn’t get any clearer had they used actual names. Anyone with half a brain can figure out that ‘the human, whose initials are MM, mated to the bear shifter ‘ is Meryn! I won’t let them get away with this! This is libelous!’ Beth paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.
Adelaide shook her head. ‘I wish it were that simple. The identity of the person or persons writing this column has been the best kept secret in our world for centuries. Because their identity is hidden, they can say what they want with impunity, and people take what they print to be truth.’
Beth turned her eyes flashing. ‘We all know that Daphne Bowers is behind this attack.’
Adelaide nodded. ‘But there’s no way to prove it. Daphne more than likely used her vast social network to flood the gossip mongers with these ridiculous, hate-filled ‘stories’ on the off chance that the writers of the column would pick one for publication.’
Meryn stood and stretched. She grabbed one last cookie and popped it into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed, and smiled at everyone. ‘Let’s get going. We don’t want to keep the sewing circle waiting.’
Adelaide jumped to her feet and placed a hand on Meryn’s forehead. ‘Oh Gods, is she sick?’
Beth threw the paper down on her empty seat and paused to take a deep breath. ‘She said something similar in the car on the way over. I’m blaming Meryn two-point-oh.
Meryn grabbed Adelaide’s hand and pulled her toward the door. ‘Come on!’
‘Okay sweetheart, let’s get this over with.’ Adelaide kissed Meryn on the cheek, and they all headed toward the front sitting room. Meryn waved happily at everyone and took the seat next to Adelaide. Beth sat behind Meryn to let Amelia sit next to her cousin.
Everyone said hello and started their projects. There were multiple baby blankets being made along with two sets of curtains and a few dresses. Amelia watched curiously as Meryn kept checking her phone. Was she waiting for a text back from Keelan?
After about a half an hour, Marius knocked on the door and entered, carrying a small silver tray.
‘The paper, my lady.’ He held the tray as Adelaide picked up the paper with as much enthusiasm as she would if it had been a dead mouse.
‘Thank you, Marius,’ Adelaide said weakly.
He bowed, set the tray down on the side table, and joined Ryuu to stand next to the door.
‘We should read the Dear Gentle Reader column.’ Daphne suggested, smiling at everyone.
‘Perhaps we should concentrate on our projects instead. We have so many baby blankets to finish,’ Adelaide countered.
‘I think we should have Rosalind read it out loud for us. It will entertain those of us who aren’t sewing,’ Meryn suggested.
Beth and Adelaide stared at Meryn in horror. Amelia sat back and waited. Now was the moment of truth; how much was Meryn like her? If her actions were any indication, shit was about to get real ugly, real fast.
Rosalind tittered and accepted the paper from Adelaide. ‘Oh, my, let’s see what has been going on in the paranormal world this week.’ Her eyes skimmed the column, and every ounce of color drained from her face. She swayed slightly in her chair. ‘Maybe Lady McKenzie is right; we should just concentrate on our blankets.’ She was folding up the paper to tuck it in her chair beside her when Daphne laughed obnoxiously.
‘Come on, dear, don’t leave us in suspense. I’m dying to hear what has been reported this week.’ Daphne cooed in a sweet voice.
‘I-I…’ Rosalind stuttered.
‘Go ahead, Rosalind, don’t keep us waiting,’ Meryn prompted.
‘Well… the main article is very scandalous! Dear Gentle Reader reports that a certain Lady DB was seen in a human plastic surgeon’s office to undergo a procedure known as a vaginoplasty. The article goes on to explain that this is a type of surgery to tighten up lady parts that have been overused.’ Gasps filled the air, but Rosalind wasn’t finished. ‘The article wraps up by saying that Lady DB may be under investigation for’–she swallowed hard–‘suspicion of performing indecent acts with farm animals.’ Her voice seemed to echo throughout the room.
Amelia turned, Beth’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. This was getting interesting.
‘This is preposterous!’ Daphne screeched, reaching for the paper. She ripped it out of Rosalind’s hands and proceeded to shred it into tiny pieces, letting scraps of paper fly everywhere. Around the room, whispers and muffled laughter filled the air.
Daphne looked as though she had swelled in size as her wolf seemed to take over, and her eyes locked on Meryn. Growling, she stalked in their direction. In seconds, Adelaide and Ryuu were standing in front of them to head off Daphne’s advance.
‘Get out of my way! I know that little bitch is behind this!’ Daphne hissed.
Meryn blinked, an innocent look on her face. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. But since you’re getting so upset, are you confirming you’re ‘DB’?’ she asked innocently.
Daphne shrieked her rage and launched herself toward Meryn. Adelaide raised her hand and simply pushed her back with a shove to the chest. ‘Stay away from my daughter,’ she warned with a low growl.
Daphne sneered. ‘What are you going to do? You can’t lay a finger on me or you risk your mate’s Elder seat. The degenerate next to you posing as a squire can’t touch me or risk being deported from Lycaonia.’ When she smiled, she revealed a set of fully extended canines.
Amelia felt the room begin to close in. The roaring that she’d heard during breakfast returned. Ice began to form around her heart and started to spread through her body. She stood as a rage so cold it burned expanded across her soul. She shouldered her way between Adelaide and Ryuu. When she smiled at Daphne, she was pleased when the older woman flinched.
Daphne made the mistake of looking in Meryn’s direction. That was all it took to trigger Amelia’s fury. Moving faster than she ever had in her life, her arm shot out and she gripped Daphne around the throat. Pulling strength from the earth, she easily lifted the woman off the ground keeping her at arm’s length.
In the recesses of her mind, she heard Beth usher the other women out of the room. She didn’t care who was there. All she wanted to do was destroy the woman in front of her. How dare she threaten her family! The darkness around her heart whispered to her, telling her that if she didn’t kill Daphne, the woman would hurt her baby sister-cousin.
‘Let me go!’ Daphne gasped.
‘Why should I? You’re going to hurt my family,’ Amelia said in a monotone voice.
‘What family? I don’t even know you!’ Daphne’s lips had started to turn blue.
Amelia smiled. She thought that the color looked pretty.
A warm hand on her arm broke her train of thought. She turned her head slowly to look at Ryuu.
‘Itoko-sama, think of how sad Meryn would be if you were exiled from Lycaonia.’ His voice was calm and even.
‘She wants to hurt her,’ Amelia protested.
Ryuu shook his head. ‘I would never allow that to happen. You can let go.’ He squeezed his hand, and warmth ran from her wrist to her shoulder. She turned back to face Daphne.
‘Gods! Her eyes are black! Help! Someone help me! She’s feral!’ Daphne babbled.
Slowly, Amelia lowered Daphne to the ground and released her. Daphne fell backward sobbing and clutching at her throat. ‘The council will hear of this!’ she croaked and ran from the room.
Amelia collapsed back into her seat, appalled at what she had almost done. Ryuu’s warmth began to slowly thaw the cold parts of her soul. Reality was catching up to her. She had nearly killed someone. She covered her face with both hands, unable to look at anyone.
‘That kicked ass on every single level!’ Meryn said excitedly.
‘Meryn! Can’t you see Amelia is upset?’ Beth chastised.
Amelia looked out from behind her hands to see Meryn’s confused expression. ‘Why is she upset?’
‘Why?’ Amelia’s voice cracked. ‘I was going to kill her, really kill her,’ she whispered. The truth was almost too much to bear.
‘Too bad you didn’t. That bitch is going to stir up trouble later; I just know it. Better to kill her now,’ Meryn said as she rummaged through the cookie basket.
‘Normally, I don’t condone violence, but in this instance, my quirky daughter is right. That woman is better off dead,’ Adelaide looked weary.
Marius appeared at the door, his mouth twitching. ‘All the ladies have left. I think you will find it interesting that most of them offered to stand with Amelia if this goes to the Tribunal. They all confided in me that Daphne was out of line threatening a pregnant human who was in no way responsible for what was printed in The Observer.’
Adelaide sat down abruptly on a sofa. ‘Thank the Gods for that.’
Amelia scooted closer to Meryn and rested her head on her shoulder. Without looking, Meryn reached up and patted her on the head, her focus still on the cookie basket. Maybe what she did wasn’t crazy after all. No one seemed particularly upset that she had almost killed someone.
Beth stood in front of Meryn, her arms crossed over her chest. ‘You little demon! How did you get that article in The Observer!?’ Beth exclaimed before bursting out into laughter.
Meryn chuckled. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Now Beth, you know there’s no way that she could…’ Adelaide stopped mid-sentence. She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. ‘You wanted to attend the sewing circle this week.’
Amelia yawned, emotionally spent. ‘And you kept checking your phone. I thought you were checking for text messages, but you were checking the time. You knew the paper would be delivered this afternoon.’
Ryuu and Marius stared. Ryuu, in an uncharacteristic show of emotion, broke down laughing. He leaned against Marius whose grey mustache was twitching as he tried to hide his smile.
‘Out with it, Menace!’ Beth took the cookie basket from Meryn who glared up at her.
‘Fine! Remember how I said I found something of interest in the history books? It was a reference to the Dear Gentle Reader column. After that, I subscribed to the paper and started reading all the columns. Once the nasty ones about us started, I went to the library in Lycaonia with Noah and looked at all the back issues of The Observer, and I noticed a trend that started about five years ago. A lot of the major articles were pulled from sources found on Facebook and online message boards run by paranormals. I had pulled all that content trying to find correlations with the missing persons so nearly all the articles looked familiar. Daphne may have flooded the city with gossip, but all I had to do was carefully place one or two reference documents online and the rest is history.’ Meryn grabbed the cookie basket back from Beth who stared down at her in shock.
‘Even if you had placed something on a message board, they would have checked sources before printing that in the paper,’ Beth said.
Meryn nodded. ‘It wasn’t that hard to create a business website for a plastic surgeon. I even hacked the Plastic Surgeons of America and added his name. For all intents and purposes, he is as real as you or I online. Hacking into the local police department was easy since I had already done it last year. It took two seconds to create a police report filed by a concerned local farmer.’
Amelia sat up straight and hugged Meryn close. ‘You little genius!’
Meryn frowned, looking up at Beth. ‘She’s doing it again.’
Beth shrugged and grabbed a cookie. ‘She’s family, she’s allowed.’
Meryn sighed. ‘True.’
Amelia released her baby sister-cousin and sat back. Losing control had been terrifying. She couldn’t help noticing that she had only started having these episodes after making love to Darian. It was as if some of his darkness had seeped into her. Never before had she felt such rage. If this was what her mate had faced alone, it was a miracle he hadn’t turned yet.
Ryuu walked over and bowed low in front of Meryn. ‘Well played, denka, well played, indeed.’
Adelaide tapped her chin. ‘But does this help us or hurt us?’
Amelia watched in amazement as Meryn huddled in on herself and began sniffling, wiping at her eyes like a child. ‘But Elder Vi’Ailean, I didn’t do anything. She lurched at me and I was so s-s-scared! I’m only human; I was afraid for my baby!’ Meryn broke down into tears. Seconds later, she sniffed once dramatically, dried her eyes and resumed eating her cookies. Amelia held up a hand silently. Meryn gave her a crumby high five and grinned.
‘If anything, this should silence the faction that was feeding into the tripe about the Alpha Unit losing its effectiveness. Those who play the game will see this for the power play that it was. Excellent work, Meryn,’ Beth praised.
‘Vaginoplasty,’ Meryn snorted.
That was all it took to send Amelia into uncontrollable laughter. Beth crumpled into a ball of giggles taking the seat on the other side of Meryn.
‘Oh girls, you’re good for my heart,’ Adelaide said.
Meryn stood and stretched, rubbing her lower back. ‘We better get back home. I kinda want to be there when Aiden hears what happened.’
‘So that he knows that you’re okay?’ Adelaide asked.
Meryn shook her head. ‘No, so I can watch him freak out.’
‘Oh dear.’ Adelaide shook her head and hugged Meryn tight.
Amelia and Beth were still grinning.
Meryn turned to Ryuu. ‘I’m hungry.’
He sighed. ‘Of course, you are. You’ve only been eating nonstop all morning.’
‘I want a Colton sandwich, it seems to be the only thing that satisfies Meryn two-point-oh.’ Meryn said, a dreamy look on her face.
Amelia turned to Beth. ‘Colton sandwich?’
Beth shuddered. ‘A crazy sandwich Colton and Aiden created as a child. It has peanut butter, mayonnaise, pickles, cheese, and beef jerky.’
Amelia licked her lips. ‘That actually sounds kinda good.’
Ryuu looked from Meryn to Amelia. ‘I think I need hazard pay.’
‘Man up, squire, you have sammiches to make.’ Meryn grinned evilly at Ryuu.
‘Of course, denka.‘
‘Ladies, your coats.’ Marius appeared in the doorway with their coats.
‘The phone call to Byron should be interesting,’ Adelaide chuckled.
‘Tell Dad I said hi.’ Meryn had one arm in the sleeve of her coat but kept turning in a circle trying to find the opening for the other sleeve. Ryuu stopped her spinning and held the coat open for her.
‘You girls stay safe,’ Adelaide said as she walked them to the door.
‘We will,’ They replied in unison and grinned at each other.
‘Definitely need hazard pay,’ Ryuu murmured under his breath as they headed to the car.
Amelia kept smiling, but inside, she was worried. Just as she started to feel the darkness in her heart begin to lighten, she feared that whatever light Darian had carried would be turning back to darkness.
