The old man watched Aiden leave, scratching his stubbled chin. "His woman really that feisty?"

"You have no idea."

"What a lucky bastard."

Gavriel shook his head. "Mine's feistier."

The old man shook his head and rang up the candy bars.

"I have a feeling I'll be seeing more of you boys."

Gavriel picked up the bag. "You're probably right."

Whistling he walked out of the store to meet up with Aiden.

*****

Elizabeth looked over to where the men were gathered around their unit leaders getting orders for the afternoon's drills in Aiden's absence.

She walked over and looked at Colton, Keelan and Darian. Colton was still rubbing the back of his head from where Sascha had thumped him.

"Can I ask you something?" The men nodded. "Aiden is your Unit Commander, how come none of you said anything when Meryn was setting his car on fire? You had plenty of time to stop her." She had been surprised that not one of the warriors had moved to tell Aiden what Meryn had been up to.

Colton looked at Darian and Keelan and all three winced. Colton turned to her with a wry expression on his face. "Because of five words Meryn said to us after she moved in."

"What were they?" Elizabeth asked.

"I. Know. Where. You. Sleep." Colton shuddered.

The warriors standing around them all gulped.

Sascha smiled. "Is this what we have to look forward to when our mates start arriving?" he asked.

Colton laughed. "Mayhem? Not understanding a single word that comes out of their mouths? A new set of rules for conduct and threats of bodily harm?" Colton thought about it then nodded. "Yes."

The men all groaned.

Smiling, Elizabeth patted Colton on the arm. "It gets better. I'll be in the house calming Meryn down if you need me."

"Good luck!" Keelan called.

She waved at the men and then went into the house. She had to listen for a second but quickly identified that the sounds of frustration were coming from Aiden's office. She made her way down the hall and opened the door.

"You okay, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked walking into the office.

Meryn was slamming things around muttering under her breath. Elizabeth could see an agitated light darting around Meryn's head.

"I'm fine! He's just so damn exasperating! He was so wonderful earlier and then he pulls this shit." Meryn flung one of Aiden's folders across the room. It slammed against the wall and slid down. Elizabeth winced; she would have to organize those papers later.

"Not to sound like I'm taking his side, but I think he got worried that you were outside, especially with the feral sighting so close to the house today. He knows it's just a matter of time before they realize that Ryuu doesn't have a defensive spell up. They are getting bolder." Elizabeth walked over and picked up the folder before setting it on Aiden's desk.

Meryn sat down in Aiden's chair and frowned. Elizabeth waited.

Meryn looked up, a surprised look on her face. "You're not going to ask me what's wrong, are you?"

"No, if you want to tell me you can, but I've discovered that when someone is pressed for answers they seldom reply with the truth." Elizabeth sat down in the leather chair across from Meryn.

"I've been acting just a little bratty this month," Meryn confessed.

"No! Say it ain't so." Elizabeth teased.

Meryn smiled and continued. "Okay, I admit it, I can sometimes be a bit blunt and I know I'm quirky, but I've been pushing the envelope with the guys. I thought for sure they would have snapped off at me by now, but they haven't. Not once have they ever told me to 'quit acting ridiculous', or to 'grow up'. They haven't made me feel like a nuisance or told me to shut up," she paused.

Elizabeth spoke gently. "Those are someone else's words and responses aren't they?"

Meryn nodded. "My grandmother was always telling me to 'be quiet' and 'go away'. I figured it would be just a matter of time before the guys got sick of me too."

Elizabeth got up and walked around the desk; she pulled Meryn up and gave her a hug. "Real family doesn't do things like that Meryn, and that's what we have here. They may be a bunch of chest banging, cavemen throwbacks, but they're ours. They would never hurt your feelings. Not only do they care about you too much to do that, but they wouldn't risk pissing off your mate, or mine for that matter. Gavriel is absolutely smitten with you. He told me today that you made the long days trapped inside bearable." Elizabeth held the small woman at arm's length.

Meryn sniffled and used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. "That's why it hurt so badly when Aiden dismissed me. I knew that he wasn't doing it to hurt me, but all of a sudden I was five again and alone."

"You're no longer five and you certainly aren't alone. You have that delightful little sprite that took on someone one hundred times his size for you, not to mention your squire. I thought he was going to deck Aiden when that fireball engulfed us." Elizabeth smiled when Meryn snickered; she was relieved that the human was bouncing back to her normal self.

Meryn looked up at her, eyes dancing. "Did you see their faces when we were covered in blue flames?" she laughed then snorted which made her laugh harder.

Elizabeth laughed right along with her, every time Meryn would snort, Elizabeth would laugh harder. It wasn't long before both women were on the floor under the desk cackling.