Penny turned and was about to keep searching when he stopped her. "Penny," he called quietly. She looked back at him. "Yes?" her voice was clear and sweet.

"Oron is like me, he can see sprites. When we were boys, he always used to hide in oak trees. Check for him there. Use Felix as a decoy and you'll catch him."

"Kickass!" Penny quipped throwing her fist in the air, just like her favorite adopted aunt.

Darian chuckled. "Don't let your Mom or Papa hear you say that."

Penny grinned and shimmered out of sight. He watched as Felix waved and trailed behind his friend. Darian had been faced with his imminent death for years now, but seeing Penny, it was truly beginning to sink in, he would never see her grow up. He would never know what kind of woman she would turn out to be.

For the first time he, was afraid. "I don't want to go," he whispered.

*****

As promised, Darian exited the forest when he noticed most of the men had been found. He approached Aiden. "She find everyone?" he asked.

Aiden nodded looking proud. "Of course. The men are flabbergasted." Aiden laughed and turned to him. "Did she find you?"

Darian nodded. "She sure did."

"Last one to be found is Colton." Aiden pointed to where the rest of the men sat joking with one another.

They heard a squeal of laughter to their right, and Penny burst from the trees heading straight for Aiden. She ran up to him arms raised. Aiden swept her up and sat her on his arm. Seconds later, Colton emerged from the trees. He saw who was holding his daughter and scowled.

He walked over to them wagging a finger. "She cheated!" Colton accused.

Aiden raised a brow at Penny who shrugged. Aiden turned back to Colton. "What'd she do?"

Colton's scowl turned into a begrudging grin of admiration. "I could tell she didn't know exactly where I was, so she pretended to trip over a branch. When I left my hiding spot, she popped up like a jack-in-a-box, tagged me, and ran."

"She got you good, Colton!" Ben called out.

Colton laughed. "That she did." He took his daughter from Aiden. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Aunt Amelia," she answered. The men around them groaned.

"They are infecting the next generation," Sascha complained.

"Meryn seems more grounded than Amelia," Quinn said. He shot an apologetic look to Darian. "Sorry Darian, but your mate does seem a bit flakey."

"Yeah, well Meryn gets 'stabby' and doesn't think twice about stunning a perfectly innocent tiger," Sascha grumbled.

"Okay men, that's it for the day. Alpha Unit, head inside to my office for necklace review," Aiden ordered. "The council dropped it off while everyone was hiding."

Darian went back into the house with the others and watched as Colton dropped Penny off in the front room. He set her up with her coloring book before joining them in the hallway. Once in Aiden's office, they got comfortable in the chairs Meryn had ordered.

"Colton, can you get the necklace? I put it in the bottom right drawer," Aiden requested setting his bag down next to his chair.

"Sure thing, boss." Colton pulled the necklace out and twirled it around his finger. Darian watched as Colton's foot slipped on one of Penny's crayons, and he dropped the necklace on the hardwood.

"Is it broken?" Aiden asked. They all crowded around the necklace, staring down at the floor.

"There was no green light, so I think it's okay," Colton speculated, exhaling in relief. He picked it up and gently carried it over to the sitting area.

"Well?" Aiden asked.

"It's still a necklace," Colton replied.

"Smart ass." Aiden cuffed Colton.

Gavriel leaned back. "I agree with Colton in this case, Aiden. The necklace hasn't changed a bit since the day we found it. Adam's poured every chemical in the clinic over it, and every witch in the units has tried every spell they know to figure this thing out. I don't know what the council expects us to do."

Aiden picked up the necklace from the coffee table. "As frustrating as reality is, this is all we have to go by gentlemen. Darian was right earlier. We're constantly on the defensive, and one of these days, they will catch us off guard. Five months ago, that wasn't an issue, but we have women and children here now, our women and children. We can't afford for even one of those bastards to win. So, rack your brains, what else can we do?"

Darian tried to think of something, anything they could do. He looked around and each man wore a similar serious expression. The problem was how to look for something you're not sure is there to begin with?

*****

"Sascha is being so touchy," Meryn observed.

"You did electrocute him," Beth reminded her as Ryuu took their coats.

"Big baby. Come on, he said they were in Aiden's office." Meryn turned down the long hallway.

Amelia followed Meryn beside Beth to Aiden's office. She was unsure how she was going to tell Darian she might have accidentally started a political mess by assaulting a shifter founding family's matriarch.

Before they reached the door, she heard a buzzing in her ears. When Meryn opened the door, Amelia had to take a step back. Screams, she heard screams. Pushing past Meryn, she threw herself into the room first to protect her baby sister-cousin from whatever threat was causing those screams.

The men jumped to their feet and reached for their sidearms, their eyes darting around the room. "What?" Aiden demanded.