Aiden returned his flat look. "Hell yeah, I'm clipping your wings a bit. There's no way on gods' green earth will I have to report to your mother, the queen of all the fae, that I let her son and heir get hurt or killed on a mission."
"What am I supposed to do?" Darian demanded.
Aiden flushed. "I'm still working on that. But right now, the Alpha Unit is comprised of nothing but Kings, Princes and a future Elder. None of us should be doing missions." His words echoed throughout the room. Aiden paled as he realized what he said. "What in the hell is coming?"
"I feel like boss music should be playing right now, like the dungeon level in Mario Brothers," Meryn admitted.
Izzy and Amelia just nodded in agreement.
"When will you return?" Thane asked in a shaky voice.
"You know I can't, not until we figure out why my parents were driven out," Kendrick said quietly.
"I miss my brothers," Meryn said, turning to bury her face in Aiden's chest.
Amelia sat back practically beaming. "Look at you! You admitted you missed someone and asked for a hug! Oh, Meryn, I'm so proud of you!" Amelia wrapped her arms around Meryn's shoulders hugging her fiercely.
"And there's the octopus thing I kept telling Eva about," Meryn said her voice muffled from being pressed into Aiden.
Amelia sat back. "I missed you while you were away too!"
Justice pointed to them. "Do they not realize what was just discussed?"
Meryn turned at his question and rolled her eyes. "You're late to the party. I've been working on these problems since last year, so check your superiority complex. You still haven't realized that Kendrick used a combination of the Ashleigh and Ironwood names. I figured that shit out the first week or so after meeting Kendrick. He's been under your nose for like centuries."
Thane and Justice both looked like you could knock them over with a feather. "Sonofabitch," Justice whispered.
"Ha.Ha. Motherfuckers," Meryn taunted.
Law laughed outright. "Meryn, be nice."
"Why?" Her response only made him laugh harder.
"My apologies young Meryn, I didn't mean to sound rude, the part of my brain that handles politeness got shut down by Kendrick's revelation." He turned to the witch. "It's still Kendrick, right?"
He nodded. "For now."
Meryn gave Justice a thumbs up. "That happens to me all the time."
Law turned to his brothers. "She was my handler when I was overseas."
Thane and Justice stared at Meryn before Thane placed a hand over his heart. "Thank you for keeping my brother alive."
"No worries, it was my job."
Darian sat back. "I wish Gavriel and even Colton were here. I feel like we're about to tackle a problem without any backup."
Aiden sighed and nodded his agreement. "I know how you feel."
Micah rapped his knuckles on the table. "We're chopped liver?" he asked, pointing to everyone else.
Darian turned to Micah. "You know what I mean. I almost feel incomplete without my unit."
Oron sat back, getting comfortable. "Well, my unit leader is probably hiding out in the mountains, so even if we were to head back, my unit would still be one person short."
Aiden frowned. "Why is he in the mountains?"
Darian laughed. "Trying to avoid Colton."