"It sounds like you're very close to your brothers," Rheia commented, a knowing look in her eye.

"You have brothers, too?"

"Yes, but like Penny, not by birth. We chose each other, kinda like the family we have now."

Amelia looked around, remembering the empty dining room. It was eerily quiet considering how many people lived there. "Where is everyone?"

Rheia stood and stretched. "Penny is in the front room being homeschooled by her grandmother. Beth is with Meryn, Jaxon, and Noah in Aiden's office, and the boys are doing drills as usual, though after Meryn's comment last night about explosives, I heard Aiden wants to do an inventory of the armory."

Amelia brightened. "We have an armory?"

Rheia shook her head. "No. Just...no."

"Do they have grenades?"

Ryuu nodded. "Oh, yes; according to denka, they explode when you pull the pin, not when they land after you throw them."

Amelia nodded. "Good to know."

"Okay, on that note, I'm heading back to the clinic. Be good and stay away from the armory." Rheia wagged a finger at her, waved goodbye and left.

Amelia quickly drained her cup before standing. She pulled on her coat. "I'm going to go see what Darian is doing."

Ryuu stood, his face serious. "Be careful itoko-sama; his light is all but faded."

"I know; it's why I'm trying so hard."

Ryuu walked over to the counter and picked up something small and metallic. "This is from Meryn, for your stalking efforts, and this is from me for breakfast." He handed her a pair of binoculars and a sandwich wrapped in paper towels.

"Thank you for the food. Tell Meryn she rocks socks!" Amelia accepted the binoculars.

"I will tell her you were most thankful." Amelia laughed at his paraphrasing and waved goodbye.

She walked out the front door and looked over to the open field where the men had been training yesterday. Sure enough, they were at it again. Acting as if she had every right to be there, Amelia sat down on the stacked crates next to Aiden. He grinned at her, and kept counting, making notes on a piece of paper on his clipboard. Rheia hadn't been kidding when she said Aiden would do an inventory.

She placed her sandwich in her lap and unwrapped the paper towels. Ryuu had made her a ham and cheese sandwich, one of her favorites. Smiling, she began to eat as she swung her feet happily. When she had finished her breakfast, she stuffed the paper towels in her pocket and pulled out her binoculars to look for her mate. She found him dangling from a rope attached to one of the drill towers. When he began to do pull-ups on the rope he was hanging from, she sighed. When he turned his body upside down and began lowering himself up and down in an inverted pull up, she had to check for drool. When her hand came up to check her chin, she heard the men start laughing. She gave them the bird, making them laugh even harder. With each repetition, his arms bulged, and she felt her heart beat a little more out of control. She had a death grip on the binoculars that were giving her the up close and personal view of her gorgeous mate.

When her mate suddenly flipped off the rope and walked over to Sascha, she wondered what he was up to until Sascha pointed in her direction. With the binoculars still at her eyes, she raised her hand and waved. With a face like a thundercloud, he stalked over. When she could no longer look through the binoculars to see him, she lowered them to find he was standing right in front of her.

Grabbing her chest, she took deep breaths. How fast had he been walking? "You scared the crap outta me!"

He frowned down at her. "You are an odd little half human."

"My brother says I'm a 'limited edition', thank you very much."

"What are you doing?"

"Stalking you."

His mouth dropped. "Out in the open?"

She shrugged. "Why hide?"

He stared at her, clearly at a loss for words.

"Miss me this morning?" she asked brightly.

"No, in fact I was wondering when you were leaving."

"I'm not."

"I can make you go," he threatened.

Growling, Amelia stood up on the crate in front of him. "Here are your choices, princess." She poked him in the chest. "One: You mate with me, and we live happily ever after." She poked him again. "Two: You kill me. Which one will it be?" She folded her arms across her chest.

"Those choices are unacceptable."

"Too bad."

"If you won't leave, I will." When he turned to walk away, she felt a moment of panic. He was right; he could leave the city, and she would never see him again. He could lose his soul and become feral, or he could simply wait for her to die. Since she wasn't a full-blooded witch, she only had another forty to sixty years to live, tops. To him, that would be the blink of an eye. Desperate to stop him, she reached out to grab him. Unfortunately, she had not accounted for the loose slate in the crate she was standing on. She twisted her ankle and started to fall; she braced for the impact that never came.

*****

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her reaching for him. On instinct, he turned toward her. When she lost her footing, his body moved without conscious thought. He lifted his arms and caught her easily, bringing her to rest snugly against his chest. Everything in him was screaming that this is where she belonged.

Taking a deep ragged breath, he placed her on her feet. "Are you okay?"

"I think my leg is broken," she said, pointing to her right leg.