"How'd it go with the humans, Sascha?" she heard Aiden ask.

Sascha growled. "The bastard was screaming how he was going to sue, well, he was until I convinced him otherwise." He gave an evil grin. The men laughed.

"Thanks for the help." Aiden turned to the other men assembled. "We're doing obstacle course runs until we run out of daylight."

"Again?" the blond to his right complained.

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Everyone is doing regular obstacle course runs except Colton; he will be doing them backwards." He grinned at the blond. "Different enough for you?"

Colton's mouth dropped. "Seriously?"

Aiden turned to the men. "Are you waiting for engraved invitations? Get moving!" he barked walking onto the course. The men scrambled to get started.

Colton stayed by Aiden's side. "No, really, Aiden, backwards?" he asked.

Aiden smiled. "Think of how proud Penny will be."

Colton scowled. "Dirty pool, old man."

"Quit being a baby, and get out there." Aiden pointed to the course.

"Dammit!" Colton growled and jogged backward toward the starting line.

A dark-haired man who exuded power shook his head. "One of these days he will get even," he warned.

Aiden shrugged. "Then I'll get him back, it's how our relationship has worked for centuries."

She watched as her mate approached the Unit Commander. "Where's Keelan?"

"In his workshop. He said he was working on a project for Meryn." Aiden answered keeping his eyes on the men.

Darian shrugged and pulled off his long-sleeve black tee. "Gods forbid we interrupt anything for Meryn." He walked over to the starting line.

Aiden nodded. "Exactly."

Amelia felt her mouth go dry. She scooted forward on her branch. Her mate was so close yet out of reach. In her childhood dreams, he had worn an expensive, cream silk robe accented in jewel tones that shimmered in the light. That was nothing compared to the sight of the large expanse of exposed golden skin and low slung, black combat pants.

When Darian shot away from the starting line, she clutched at her chest. He was poetry in motion. Sighing heavily, she went to lean back and miscalculated where she was on the tree limb. One moment she was fantasizing about her mate, and the next, she was falling backwards.

She let out a yelp as her descent was halted abruptly. The zipper of her jacket dug into her chin as she hung precariously from a jagged tree branch five feet off the ground. She tried to unzip her jacket, but couldn't get the zipper to budge.

Approaching footsteps caused her to look up. It was the white-haired unit leader. Frowning, he stopped in front of her.

She smiled brightly at him. "Hello."

He smiled back. "Hello. What are you doing?"

"Oh, you know, hanging out. You?"

"Doing drills with the guys." He sniffed the air. "Witch?"

"Sort of, I'm half witch."

"Can't you float yourself down?" he asked, pointing to the tree.

"So I'm terrible at being a witch. Can you help me down now?"

"That depends. Why are you hanging out, right outside the Alpha estate?" he asked.

"I'm looking for this blond guy. He's about seven feet tall with long, golden hair."

Sascha frowned. "Which one?"

She blinked. "How many are there?"

Sascha looked up at the sky, his lips moving as he silently counted. He looked at her and answered. "Well, six active fae unit members, plus trainees. Then there is Elder Vi'Ailean, and his personal guard at his estate. So I would say around twenty."

Amelia laughed at herself. "I guess that's true. I've spent too much time among humans lately. I should have remembered the unit warriors. I am looking for Darian, the one with lavender eyes."

"Why?" Sascha asked, suspiciously.

"He's my mate."

Sascha stared at her. She stared back. He blinked. She blinked.

Shaking his head, he lifted her off the branch. "You know, before Meryn, this would have seemed impossible to believe. But now? Not so much." He set her down on her feet.

"Thank you. My name is Amelia Ironwood." She thrust out her hand.

Smiling, he shook it firmly. "I know your brothers."

"They are hard to miss."

"True. Let's walk back to the estate and get this sorted." Sascha pointed to the obstacle course.

"Can't I just watch for a bit longer?" She batted her eyes at him.

Sascha sighed heavily. "Oh yeah, you'll fit right in. Come on Peeping Tomasina, time to face your mate."

Amelia pointed to her tree branch. "Can you get my bag?" Her colorful tote was propped against the tree trunk, right where she'd left it.

When Sascha bent his knees and jumped, Amelia felt her mouth drop open. He had jumped vertically fifteen feet, landed on her branch, snagged her tote bag, and hopped down. She remembered hopping up and down in her kitchen in her old apartment trying to knock down her last box of Pop Tarts. After twenty minutes and two kitchen utensils later, she ended up getting her step stool, which had been five feet away in the closet the whole time.

He handed her the tote bag, and she glared at him. "Tall people suck."

Sascha grinned. "You better hope they do." He turned and started walking back.

She was grumbling under her breath about her Pop Tarts when it hit her what he meant. Her mate was one of the tallest men on the obstacle course. She stopped in her tracks and stared. When he turned around and raised an eyebrow, she broke out into giggles.