My Commander (Bewitched and Bewildered #1) (27 page)

Meryn turned to face the garden straight on. The more she focused the clearer they became. Soon she could discern tiny body outlines. After a few minutes she could see them clearly. They laughed and played, dancing in the air and hiding behind flowers. Of all of the wondrous things she had seen since in arriving in Lycaonia, this had to be the best.

Meryn watched as one tiny male sprite made his way over to her. Unlike the others he didn't dance or play, he stayed on the outskirts. Meryn scooped up a finger full of icing and extended it out to him. His eyes widened and he drifted down to the table. Hesitant, he reached out and took a handful of icing from her finger and began to eat.

"I know what it's like to not fit in. Everyone thinks you're strange because you like to be alone, when really you just don't know how to say hello." Meryn whispered to the tiny creature. He looked up surprised and nodded.

"Me too. Sometimes I get so nervous I throw up." She confessed. The tiny sprite nodded vigorously and pointed to his chest.

"You too huh? Maybe we introverts should stick together." She joked. A huge smile broke out on his face. He gave a single nod and darted to the prickly holly bush. Meryn turned to Vivian.

"I thought your garden was amazing before, but the sprites make it magical."

"They were my only friends for a long time." Vivian said watching as one sprite pushed another into the birdbath.

"Well now you have me." Meryn said without thinking and took another bite of cake.

"Without guile, with no thought of gaining favor or station. A true offer of friendship. You couldn't ask for a more precious gift." Elder Vi'Ailean said to his mate. She nodded a look of wonder and gratitude on her face.

"I would love to be your friend Meryn McKenzie. There's so much I can teach you about navigating the social waters here, especially how to avoid the sharks." Vivian said, happiness radiating from her.

Meryn shrugged. "Sharks don't bother me. I'll just shoot them."

Elder Vi'Ailean chuckled. "I wish the reporters from the paper could have heard you say that. The article in this morning's paper reported you to be a shy and sweet girl, too timid to answer for herself."

"Yeah, I kind of panicked when those reporters started shouting questions at me, so I let Byron answer." Meryn sat back holding her teacup to her chest.

"Smart move." Vivian agreed.
 

"Adelaide thought so too." Meryn was just reaching forward to put her cup down on the table when the small sprite from before emerged from the holly bush. He now carried a tiny cloth bundle. He flew over and landed on her shoulder.

"Um, Vivian?" Meryn turned to her host in confusion. Vivian was staring at them in shock.

"He wants to go with you." She whispered.

"What!" Meryn reached up and carefully lifted the tiny sprite in her hands.

"You don't want to come with me! I don't have a fancy house or garden, in fact I have no idea where I'll end up living." The sprite just nodded.

"I'm backwards and spend a lot of time alone on my laptop, I would be horribly boring." The sprite nodded enthusiastically.
 

"Are you sure?" Meryn asked. He gave one determined nod.
 

Meryn looked up at Vivian. "Is that okay?"

"I think, maybe, you two belong together. He hasn't been very happy here with the others and he seems to adore you. Just keep him warm as sprites are very susceptible to the cold." Vivian warned.

"I will." Meryn gazed down at the sprite.

"Do you have a name?"

"If you still your mind, you will be able to hear him tell you." Elder Vi'Ailean told her.

Meryn looked at him aghast. "My mind is never still!" Ryuu snorted. She turned around.

"Yes?"

He straightened. "Nothing,
Denka
."

"Just think about him, look at his face, his clothes. That will help." Vivian suggested.

Meryn lifted the little guy until he was eye level. He was staring up at her hopefully. She took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind of everything but him. In her mind's eyes she saw him standing there, in his brown trousers and dark green vest. He had shaggy red hair and bright green eyes that twinkled with mischief.

Felix
. The whispered name floated through her mind.

"He said his name is Felix!" Meryn grinned down at her new friend who nodded.

"Well the two of you have a standing invitation to visit whenever you like." Vivian offered.

"Councilman! Councilman!" An extremely tall fae male came rushing from the house.

"You've been summoned My Lord. There's been an attack on the outskirts of Lycaonia, it was ferals. They are reporting at least a dozen!" The man's voice shook.

"What? That's impossible!" Elder Vi'Ailean stood.

"Sire they are calling a council meeting with the other pillar cities now. Units Alpha, Gamma and Epsilon have been sent to the border." The servant explained.
 

Meryn gasped.
Aiden!

Vivian turned to her. "Are you okay returning on your own?"

Ryuu stepped forward. "No one will harm my mistress."
 

Meryn stood. She placed Felix on her shoulder.

"Hang on." She told him and he grabbed a handful of hair above her ear. "Ryuu let's go."

"I wish our visit could have ended on a happier note." Vivian fretted.

"Don't worry, I'll come again soon." Meryn promised.

"This way
Denka.
" Ryuu escorted her through the garden and back towards the carriage. Behind them Vivian was already giving orders to the servants to prepare bandages and medicines to be sent to the clinic.

The entire trip back to the shifter council house Meryn imagined the worst. She knew that Aiden had a job to do, but it was hard knowing he was in danger.

"
Denka,
we've arrived." Ryuu informed her. He helped her down and she practically ran for the front door. She flung it open.

"Mom!" She shouted.

"Oh thank all the Gods you're safe! I was just about to send Marius to come get you." Adelaide emerged from the drawing room and rushed over to her. She pulled her into a tight hug.

"Aiden and Ben have been sent out and Byron has been called into an emergency council meeting." Adelaide wiped her tears.

"They'll be fine, you'll see." Meryn turned to Marius and Ryuu.
 

"Maybe a cup of that calming tea?"
 

Marius nodded and turned towards the kitchen. Meryn wrapped an arm around Adelaide's shoulders.

"Come on Mom, let's go sit down. They'll contact us the second those feral things have been killed." Meryn steered the older woman back into the sitting room and sat her down. She couldn't stand the look of worry etched on Adelaide's face.

"I know. Let me introduce you to a new friend." Meryn pulled back her hair.
 

Adelaide looked up. "Meryn, why is your ear twinkling?"

"My ear isn't twinkling, it's my new friend Felix. He's a sprite I met in Vivian's garden. He decided he wanted to come home with me." Meryn smiled as Felix flew down and sat on the edge of the coffee table.

"A sprite here? Oh Meryn you have no idea the honor that has been given to you. Sprites are amongst the most elusive and magical beings in the fae world. For you to not only be able to see him, but also to befriend him ... " Adelaide stared down at the coffee table.

"He's a loner like me. We understand each other." Meryn said.

"We'll of course have to build him his own house, complete with furniture and bedding. Oh! We can get clothes too!" Meryn was glad to see her plan to distract Adelaide from her worry had worked. Felix began to dance around on the table in an exuberant fashion.

"I think he likes that idea. You're going to spoil him aren't you?"

"Absolutely." Adelaide reached over and took a cookie off her tea time tray and placed it on a napkin on the table.

"I heard that they love sweets." She watched in fascination as Felix lifted the cookie and began eating. Meryn supposed from her perspective the cookie lifted up on its own.

"Tea is ready." Marius said coming through the door with a steaming pot in his hand. He poured a cup for Adelaide and went to pour one for Meryn but she shook her head.

"I'm okay. Ironically enough I do extremely well under duress. It's the pleasant small talk that gets to me." Marius nodded and set the pot down.

An hour later Meryn was staring at Adelaide in wonder.

"How come when I drink one cup of that stuff it practically puts me in a coma, but you drink like four glasses and you just relax?" Meryn asked.

"I'm a shifter dear, our metabolisms are different."

"Sneaky squire." Meryn crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Marius who turned his head away from them with a smile. Meryn was about to comment when they heard the front door slam open. Heavy footsteps sounded in the hall and a disheveled Ben appeared in the doorway, his face was twisted in anguish.

"Aiden has been hurt, bad. They've taken him to the clinic." Meryn was already moving. Felix flew up to her shoulder and Ryuu was already at the front door. She heard Adelaide and Marius fall in behind her. Ben raced ahead of them and got back into the SUV he had driven over from the clinic as everyone climbed in.

"Go faster!" She snapped at Ben.

"I'm going as fast as I can and still be safe. Just a few minutes more Meryn." Ben gripped the steering wheel tightly. Against her cheek she felt a tiny hand pat her comfortingly. She brought her hand up and stroked her finger over Felix's shaggy curls.

To Meryn the road to the clinic seemed to go on forever. When the car finally came to a stop she jumped out and raced inside. Ben ran along beside her guiding her down a long hallway. Meryn knew what room Aiden was in since as it had many of the unit warriors waiting outside in a show of solidarity. Adam stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.

"He's okay. He's going to be just fine. His body reacted beautifully to the stitches I put in. I estimate in another couple hours he'll be able to shift and be as good as new."

Meryn's knees gave out and he easily lifted her into one of the chairs in the hallway.

"Ben said he was injured badly." She said as she took deep breaths. Now it was Adelaide that comforted her. The older woman sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her.

"He was. From what I heard of the battle half the ferals escaped and more were reported along the eastern border. He was lucky that the remaining ferals fled to regroup. I've never seen such a deep wound on a shifter heal well, so when Ben left earlier the prognosis wasn't good. I've never tried internal sutures on a shifter before and I didn't know how his body would react. It was touch and go for a while, but he's strong, he'll make it." Adam looked over his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Aiden wasn't the only one hurt." He turned and went back into the large treatment room.

"Lady McKenzie, maybe the waiting room will be a more comfortable place to rest." A deep voice recommended. Meryn looked up. It was the gorgeous white-haired man she had met before; the leader of the Gamma Unit. She took a deep breath and stood. She needed to know what happened.

"Sascha, report." She used the same crisp command she had heard Aiden use when her laptop was taken. Sascha snapped to attention in a knee jerk reaction before looking down at Meryn with a frown.

"Maybe you should just go to the waiting area with Lady Adelaide." His tone wasn't quite condescending but it was close. Without saying a word she lowered her backpack to the floor, unzipped it and pulled out a small black box.

"Here we go." Colton muttered.
 

She smiled, he knew what the box was, because he had given it to her himself. She opened the box and pulled out her gun. Carefully she loaded it and put the shoulder holster on, and after a few adjustments it fit perfectly. She turned the gun over in her hands and looked up at Sascha who swallowed hard.

"Listen up, all of you!" She raised her voice so that it carried down the hall.

"The few times I have met some of you I have either been crying due to an attack or laughing at the ball. Just so we are all clear, that isn't the real me. The real me is a cranky, psychopathic bitch who is extremely possessive of anything that I deem of as mine; Aiden being one of the most important things that belong to me. And since he isn't able to give you orders right now, you'll have to make do with me. I want the ferals responsible for hurting Aiden found and eliminated. They pose a threat to the city and the people I have actually come to like and that's not acceptable." She glared at the men were staring on in shock.

"Lady Meryn, we have trained professionals who can handle this situation ..." Sascha started.

"Well where in the fuck are they?" The men flinched. Meryn didn't know if it was because they weren't used to women cursing or from the question.

"Where is the Unit Commander? I demand to speak to him at once!" A voice echoed down the hall.

"Now what!" Meryn practically shouted. She turned to see the vampire Elder Evreux bearing down on them.

"I demand unit warriors be assigned to my home! It's ludicrous that the council members have been left unguarded." Meryn saw Byron coming up behind him, his face like a thundercloud.

"Elder I'm afraid that isn't possible, all available warriors will be needed to set up a perimeter or patrol the city." Meryn said as she stepped forward. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sascha give a slight nod of confirmation.

"Why are you even addressing this issue? Shouldn't you be at home waiting for your mate to return with his tail between his legs? I heard he had been injured, what a disgrace for the Unit Commander!"
 

Meryn felt an evil smile form. The unit warriors around her had stiffened at Elder Evreux's insult and Adair and Ben held Byron back as he snarled.

"Just what I thought, a useless human for a useless ..." Elder Evreux started.

"Shut the fuck up you slimy douche bag. Let me ask you something jerk off, in all the long centuries you've been around I'm assuming you learned how to use a sword?"