"Floaty devices?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, waiting for a tunnel escort blows. I asked them to make me something where I can get around the city by myself," Meryn explained.

Everyone around the table looked uneasy at the idea of a free-range Meryn loose in Noctem Falls.

Meryn scowled. "I can take care of myself, besides don't I have, like, four bodyguards now, not counting Ryuu?"

"Don't forget the wolves are watching out for you, too. Stefan seems to have latched on to the idea that you need protecting," Eva reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. He's fun though. I wouldn't mind hanging out with him." Meryn took another bite of pudding.

Beth's face became thoughtful. "It's not like you to take to someone so quickly outside of our family.

"He's good peeps," Meryn said.

A rapid succession of buzzing had everyone reaching for their phones.

"It's mine," Beth announced. She looked down at her phone, and her eyes widened. Her finger moved quickly as she scrolled. She closed her eyes for a moment before she turned to Meryn. "Meryn!"

Meryn's hand froze in the middle of lifting her spoon to her mouth. "What?"

"How could you?" Beth demanded.

Gavriel leaned in close to his mate and read Beth's phone. His eyes widened, and his mouth began to twitch.

"What? I'm not admitting to anything until I know what I'm being accused of." Meryn set her spoon down.

"You... again... no more." Beth waved her phone around.

Magnus watched, his expression one of concern.

Eva heard the front door open and close before Broderick and Caspian appeared in the dining room doorway. Broderick was grinning and Caspian looked exasperated. "I know it's not true, but I had to come up here to see how you'd be handling it," Broderick chuckled and took his seat next to Magnus. "Breathe, honey."

"Breathe? This isn't the first time she's done this!" Beth crossed her arms on the table and lay her head down on them. Gavriel's head was turned away, but his entire body was shaking with laughter.

"What? Seriously, now I'm dying to know what I did?" Meryn grinned as she took in the chaos around her.

"Ugh!" Beth screeched, her head still down.

Gavriel lost all sense of composure and slumped over his mate, laughing hysterically.

Beth sat up, forcing Gavriel to lean back in his chair. Her mouth twitched. "It's not funny."

Broderick had also joined Gavriel, who was laughing too hard to answer.

Caspian shook his head. "Do not mind them darling, they are idiots, but we love them anyway. What are you going to do?"

Eva sat forward. "Please tell me what she did. Curiosity overload over here."

Beth exhaled loudly and leaned back in her chair. Her resigned expression changed to a soft smile. "Meryn announced on Facebook today that thanks to a third party, she and I were now 'expecting' together."

Eva blinked. It was true that they were both pregnant. How could that be wrong? Beside her, Adriel began to chuckle. "What?"

Adriel turned to Beth. "Was it worded just like that?"

Beth nodded.

Adriel turned to Eva. "Think about it. Thanks to a third party, they are having a baby together."

Third party? Oh!

"Oh." Eva looked at Meryn, who still looked confused. "She still doesn't get it."

Beth sighed. "It wouldn't be so bad, except she also announced we were in a relationship together. Of course, she meant that I had adopted her as a sister."

"Yikes." Eva winced in sympathy. "What's being said?"

"What did I do?" Meryn demanded.

Eva turned to Meryn. "You kinda implied that you and Beth used a sperm donor to get Beth pregnant since you're both lesbians."

Meryn gasped. "I did not!"

Caspian leaned in. "Is Gavriel breathing?"

Beth turned to her mate, startled. She whacked him on the back, and he inhaled loudly then proceeded to laugh uncontrollably.

"You're no help," Beth said, laughing.

"I was a big help," he managed to choke out.

"Oh you!" Beth rolled her eyes.

Meryn pulled out her phone and stared down at it frowning. "Is that why someone asked me what clinic we used?"

Beth groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"Shit." Meryn looked up at Aiden. "Your brother may be calling you confused about phone calls he may or may not be receiving concerning artificial insemination."

Aiden just chuckled until his phone began to vibrate. His laughter was cut short. "Shit." He stood as he answered. "Hey Adam, funny you should call." He walked out of the room, rubbing the back of his neck.

Eva sat back in her chair, holding her mate's hand. Beth slapped Gavriel's arm as she one-handedly typed on her phone in an effort to do damage control. Broderick cackled as he helped himself to a second sandwich. Meryn scrunched up her nose as she started reading messages.

She turned to her mate. "How was your day?"

Adriel smiled as they took in the chaos around them. "Getting better and better."

CHAPTER TWELVE

After the confusion over Meryn's Facebook announcement calmed down, everyone finished their lunches and returned to whatever project they had been working on for the day. Eva was looking forward to a quiet afternoon in the communications hub with Meryn. Her time in the sun, power nap, and lunch had her feeling great despite the rough start that morning.