Felix. The whispered name floated through her mind.
"He said his name is Felix!" Meryn grinned down at her new friend who nodded.
"Well the two of you have a standing invitation to visit whenever you like." Vivian offered.
"Councilman! Councilman!" An extremely tall fae male came rushing from the house.
"You've been summoned My Lord. There's been an attack on the outskirts of Lycaonia, it was ferals. They are reporting at least a dozen!" The man's voice shook.
"What? That's impossible!" Elder Vi'Ailean stood.
"Sire they are calling a council meeting with the other pillar cities now. Units Alpha, Gamma and Epsilon have been sent to the border." The servant explained.
Meryn gasped. Aiden!
Vivian turned to her. "Are you okay returning on your own?"
Ryuu stepped forward. "No one will harm my mistress."
Meryn stood. She placed Felix on her shoulder.
"Hang on." She told him and he grabbed a handful of hair above her ear. "Ryuu let's go."
"I wish our visit could have ended on a happier note." Vivian fretted.
"Don't worry, I'll come again soon." Meryn promised.
"This way Denka." Ryuu escorted her through the garden and back towards the carriage. Behind them Vivian was already giving orders to the servants to prepare bandages and medicines to be sent to the clinic.
The entire trip back to the shifter council house Meryn imagined the worst. She knew that Aiden had a job to do, but it was hard knowing he was in danger.
"Denka, we've arrived." Ryuu informed her. He helped her down and she practically ran for the front door. She flung it open.
"Mom!" She shouted.
"Oh thank all the Gods you're safe! I was just about to send Marius to come get you." Adelaide emerged from the drawing room and rushed over to her. She pulled her into a tight hug.
"Aiden and Ben have been sent out and Byron has been called into an emergency council meeting." Adelaide wiped her tears.
"They'll be fine, you'll see." Meryn turned to Marius and Ryuu.
"Maybe a cup of that calming tea?"
Marius nodded and turned towards the kitchen. Meryn wrapped an arm around Adelaide's shoulders.
"Come on Mom, let's go sit down. They'll contact us the second those feral things have been killed." Meryn steered the older woman back into the sitting room and sat her down. She couldn't stand the look of worry etched on Adelaide's face.
"I know. Let me introduce you to a new friend." Meryn pulled back her hair.
Adelaide looked up. "Meryn, why is your ear twinkling?"
"My ear isn't twinkling, it's my new friend Felix. He's a sprite I met in Vivian's garden. He decided he wanted to come home with me." Meryn smiled as Felix flew down and sat on the edge of the coffee table.
"A sprite here? Oh Meryn you have no idea the honor that has been given to you. Sprites are amongst the most elusive and magical beings in the fae world. For you to not only be able to see him, but also to befriend him ... " Adelaide stared down at the coffee table.
"He's a loner like me. We understand each other." Meryn said.
"We'll of course have to build him his own house, complete with furniture and bedding. Oh! We can get clothes too!" Meryn was glad to see her plan to distract Adelaide from her worry had worked. Felix began to dance around on the table in an exuberant fashion.
"I think he likes that idea. You're going to spoil him aren't you?"
"Absolutely." Adelaide reached over and took a cookie off her tea time tray and placed it on a napkin on the table.
"I heard that they love sweets." She watched in fascination as Felix lifted the cookie and began eating. Meryn supposed from her perspective the cookie lifted up on its own.
"Tea is ready." Marius said coming through the door with a steaming pot in his hand. He poured a cup for Adelaide and went to pour one for Meryn but she shook her head.
"I'm okay. Ironically enough I do extremely well under duress. It's the pleasant small talk that gets to me." Marius nodded and set the pot down.
An hour later Meryn was staring at Adelaide in wonder.
"How come when I drink one cup of that stuff it practically puts me in a coma, but you drink like four glasses and you just relax?" Meryn asked.
"I'm a shifter dear, our metabolisms are different."
"Sneaky squire." Meryn crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Marius who turned his head away from them with a smile. Meryn was about to comment when they heard the front door slam open. Heavy footsteps sounded in the hall and a disheveled Ben appeared in the doorway, his face was twisted in anguish.
"Aiden has been hurt, bad. They've taken him to the clinic." Meryn was already moving. Felix flew up to her shoulder and Ryuu was already at the front door. She heard Adelaide and Marius fall in behind her. Ben raced ahead of them and got back into the SUV he had driven over from the clinic as everyone climbed in.
"Go faster!" She snapped at Ben.
"I'm going as fast as I can and still be safe. Just a few minutes more Meryn." Ben gripped the steering wheel tightly. Against her cheek she felt a tiny hand pat her comfortingly. She brought her hand up and stroked her finger over Felix's shaggy curls.
To Meryn the road to the clinic seemed to go on forever. When the car finally came to a stop she jumped out and raced inside. Ben ran along beside her guiding her down a long hallway. Meryn knew what room Aiden was in since as it had many of the unit warriors waiting outside in a show of solidarity. Adam stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.
"He's okay. He's going to be just fine. His body reacted beautifully to the stitches I put in. I estimate in another couple hours he'll be able to shift and be as good as new."
Meryn's knees gave out and he easily lifted her into one of the chairs in the hallway.
"Ben said he was injured badly." She said as she took deep breaths. Now it was Adelaide that comforted her. The older woman sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her.
"He was. From what I heard of the battle half the ferals escaped and more were reported along the eastern border. He was lucky that the remaining ferals fled to regroup. I've never seen such a deep wound on a shifter heal well, so when Ben left earlier the prognosis wasn't good. I've never tried internal sutures on a shifter before and I didn't know how his body would react. It was touch and go for a while, but he's strong, he'll make it." Adam looked over his shoulder.
"Excuse me, Aiden wasn't the only one hurt." He turned and went back into the large treatment room.
"Lady McKenzie, maybe the waiting room will be a more comfortable place to rest." A deep voice recommended. Meryn looked up. It was the gorgeous white-haired man she had met before; the leader of the Gamma Unit. She took a deep breath and stood. She needed to know what happened.
"Sascha, report." She used the same crisp command she had heard Aiden use when her laptop was taken. Sascha snapped to attention in a knee jerk reaction before looking down at Meryn with a frown.
"Maybe you should just go to the waiting area with Lady Adelaide." His tone wasn't quite condescending but it was close. Without saying a word she lowered her backpack to the floor, unzipped it and pulled out a small black box.
"Here we go." Colton muttered.
She smiled, he knew what the box was, because he had given it to her himself. She opened the box and pulled out her gun. Carefully she loaded it and put the shoulder holster on, and after a few adjustments it fit perfectly. She turned the gun over in her hands and looked up at Sascha who swallowed hard.
"Listen up, all of you!" She raised her voice so that it carried down the hall.
"The few times I have met some of you I have either been crying due to an attack or laughing at the ball. Just so we are all clear, that isn't the real me. The real me is a cranky, psychopathic bitch who is extremely possessive of anything that I deem of as mine; Aiden being one of the most important things that belong to me. And since he isn't able to give you orders right now, you'll
have to make do with me. I want the ferals responsible for hurting Aiden found and eliminated. They pose a threat to the city and the people I have actually come to like and that's not acceptable." She glared at the men were staring on in shock.
"Lady Meryn, we have trained professionals who can handle this situation ..." Sascha started.
"Well where in the fuck are they?" The men flinched. Meryn didn't know if it was because they weren't used to women cursing or from the question.
"Where is the Unit Commander? I demand to speak to him at once!" A voice echoed down the hall.
"Now what!" Meryn practically shouted. She turned to see the vampire Elder Evreux bearing down on them.
"I demand unit warriors be assigned to my home! It's ludicrous that the council members have been left unguarded." Meryn saw Byron coming up behind him, his face like a thundercloud.
"Elder I'm afraid that isn't possible, all available warriors will be needed to set up a perimeter or patrol the city." Meryn said as she stepped forward. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sascha give a slight nod of confirmation.
"Why are you even addressing this issue? Shouldn't you be at home waiting for your mate to return with his tail between his legs? I heard he had been injured, what a disgrace for the Unit Commander!"
Meryn felt an evil smile form. The unit warriors around her had stiffened at Elder Evreux's insult and Adair and Ben held Byron back as he snarled.
"Just what I thought, a useless human for a useless ..." Elder Evreux started.
"Shut the fuck up you slimy douche bag. Let me ask you something jerk off, in all the long centuries you've been around I'm assuming you learned how to use a sword?"
"Yes." The Elder hissed.
"Dagger? Rapier? Gun? Martial arts?" Meryn continued.
"Yes of course! What does that have to do with anything?" He demanded.
"Because that makes you more able to handle a feral attack than most of the city. Now shut your fucking mouth and get out of my way before I assign you to a unit for patrol." Meryn's insides were shaking she was so mad. How dare he insult Aiden!
The vampire Elder's mouth moved but no words came out. Just when she thought his head would explode he turned and stamped down the hallway. When the slamming door echoed through the hall Meryn turned back to Sascha.
"Sascha take Gamma and two units of your choosing and set up an outer perimeter. The other two units set up patrols in the city. Alpha stays here to guard Aiden. Check in with each other on your handhelds every ten minutes." When she finished no one moved.
"Today gentleman and someone find me a motherfucking map!"
Sascha smirking, snapped his heels together and gave her a salute, the men followed his example grinning from ear to ear. They dispersed. Meryn exhaled.
Byron pulled her into a hug. "That's my girl!"
"I think they were scared of my gun." Meryn held up the tiny revolver.
Byron nodded and with a straight face agreed. "I'm sure that's why."
Meryn put her gun in the holster and looked up at Ryuu. There was pride shining from his eyes that warmed Meryn. She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I will definitely need another cup of coffee."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It was after five o'clock before they had an unused treatment room across the hall from Aiden's set up as their command central. Colton handed her a map and she laid it out on a gurney.
"Mark where the attacks have been." She handed him a pen. He circled two locations almost directly across from each other. She picked up the handheld.
"Gamma Kitten One, Gamma Kitten One, come back, over." Meryn released the button.
"Is this really necessary?" Sascha replied.
"Yes, and you didn't say 'over'. When Aiden gets up I'm going to go over how ridiculously lax your security is when it comes to technology. Anyway, assign a heavier concentration of men north and south of the city, they have already hit east and west. It looks like they are trying to keep the warriors on the outskirts of town. Tell the two units in the city to keep their eyes open."
"Roger that, over and out."
"Normally six units are more than enough to keep the city safe, now we're stretched so thin." Byron observed. Meryn looked up and realized if anyone, he should be in charge.
"Dad, I'm so sorry, you should be doing this." She indicated to the map.
He shook his head. "You're doing just fine. You've done everything exactly as I would have done. Have you studied battle strategy?" He asked.
"No, but I do play World of Warcraft."
"Sounds useful, you'll have to show me later."
Meryn smiled slyly. "Sure, I bet you would love it."
Meryn looked up and saw Adair sitting with his mother, her eyes then went to Colton. She looked back to Adair then back to Colton again.
Colton pushed himself off the wall and stepped forward. "What?"
"Adair, the training academy is located in the city right?" She asked.
Adair looked up. "Yeah, why?"
"How many trainees do you have?"
He looked confused for a moment before answering. "Thirty, five for each unit."
"Maybe..." Meryn pulled her laptop out. She started accessing the city's wireless feeds. She looked around.
"Where are Darian and Gavriel?" She knew Keelan was assisting Adam in the infirmary with healing spells. In addition to Aiden, two members from Gamma had also been injured, one with a head injury and the other with a broken leg.
"Outside I think." Colton said.
Meryn put her laptop on the map. "Be right back." She sprinted out the door. For her plan to work she would need Gavriel or Darian. She was about to open the door when she heard Darian's elevated voice. Not wanting to disturb them she eased into the room beside the exit and stood next to the cracked window, their voices were easily heard.
"Whatever you're doing it's not working Gavriel."
"I've got it under control."
"Bullshit! Aiden is in there hurt right now because of you. You couldn't keep up and we had to double back for you and got caught between two groups." Darian's voice sounded more frustrated than angry.
"Do you think I don't know that?!"
"Then do something about it! Vampiric transition is nothing to be ashamed of, so you're weaker than normal and need more blood, it's not like you slacked off training. How much longer do you have?" Meryn heard a heavy sigh.
"At least another month."
"A month? Gavriel you've been in transition for nearly two weeks now."
"I know."
"The longer the transition, the older the vampire; I've never met a vampire who needed six weeks for transition, just how old are you?" Darian's voice had a trace of fear.
"Old enough. I'll get the additional blood I need, but it's taking a while. I can't order all from one center or the Elders get suspicious. I have to do a lot of smaller orders."
"Shit. Okay. Listen, you do what you need to do, I'll do whatever I can to help cover for you." Darian promised. Meryn tiptoed back to the exit door and banged it open.
"There you two are. I need your help. Darian, can you go see if Adam needs anything? He's been in with Aiden since I got here." Darian nodded and went inside. Gavriel looked at her amused. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Six weeks my ass." Meryn watched him, she didn't know how she knew he was lying but he was.
"Meryn it's very important that the Elders don't find out how old I am."
"I don't care if you have to make one massive order and tell the Elders to kiss your ass, what happened tonight, Aiden getting hurt, don't let it happen again."
"I promise."
Meryn felt like shit, he seemed so sad. "You're okay right?"
His face brightened. "Yes, I'm okay."
"Good. I have a job for you to do that may cover your ass until this transition thing is over."
"Do tell."
"Come on I'll show you." They went back to command central. Darian had al
ready checked in with Adam and was waiting on them. Meryn went to her laptop and started her program. Smiling she picked up the handset.
"Gamma Kitten One, Gamma Kitten One, come back, over."
"Gamma Kitten One here, what's up Menace?" Meryn was going to kill Aiden for giving her that nickname.
"Reassign the two units in the city to the perimeter, over."
"But Menace, that will leave the city empty, over."
"Menace is good, Menace is wise. Trust the Menace, over."
"Aiden is right, you don't speak English, over."
Meryn stared down at the handheld then around the room. All she saw were blank expressions.
"Come on! That was Twister!" She stamped her foot. More blank stares. She pressed the button on the handheld.
"Just redeploy the men at the perimeter, over."
"Roger that, over and out."
"What in the hell do you think you're doing!" Meryn would have been relieved to hear Aiden's voice if he weren't yelling at her.
"I'm helping, I..."
"I am the Unit Commander, not you. These men are my responsibility and I won't allow them to be killed because you wanted to play around!"
"But I..." Meryn felt tears prick her eyes. Why wouldn't he listen?
"No! I've had enough of your antics Meryn, just go home and wait for me, at least then I'd know you're safe and not meddling." Aiden leaned against the doorway.
She handed the laptop to Gavriel and pointed to what she had wanted to show him. His eyes widened. She picked up her backpack and walked towards the door. She stood in front of Aiden feeling like he had stabbed her in the heart.
"And I was worried about you! Asshole!" She pulled her foot back and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin.
"Ow! Dammit Meryn!" She walked away; she didn't want to hear him complain about her anymore. She made it to the end of the hallway before the tears started falling. She stopped mid-step and covered her eyes with her arm. Felix patted her cheek trying to comfort her. Ryuu wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her into an examination room. He picked her up and sat her on the edge of the table.
"He didn't mean it."