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.