by Alanea Alder
"What a small world," Elizabeth murmured under her breath.
"Truly," Amelia admitted.
"Ladies, I suggest we head out. If we sit here much longer, the men will launch an all out assault on this poor shop." Rheia said standing. She gathered the bowls, including Meryn's now empty second bowl, and threw them away.
"Thanks for the escort. I heard it can sometimes take hours to get someone from the city to guide you in." Amelia stood and walked out with them.
"No worries. I mean we're heading that way anyway," Meryn said, blushing.
"Too cute!" Amelia pulled Meryn in for a hug. She pressed her cheek against hers and swayed back and forth.
"She's hugging me!" Meryn complained.
Rheia laughed. "And yet, you're not dead."
With her ears turning red, Meryn muttered, "It's not so bad."
"Somehow I knew we'd be friends," Amelia said, letting go.
Meryn looked up at her. "How'd you know?"
"I'm half witch. We get flashes of intuition."
"It was the ice cream," Rheia and Elizabeth said at the same time. The four looked at each other and started laughing.
"Okay, maybe it was the stellar ice cream choices." Amelia bumped hips with Meryn.
"Let's go introduce you to the guys," Meryn said, pulling her hand.
They looked left, then right and stepped out into the street. They had only taken a couple steps when they heard the terrified shouts from the men. When Amelia looked to her left, she saw a car heading straight toward them. Seconds later, she felt the rush of magic and a small explosion blew the hood up on the car causing it to veer to the right where it rammed into a light pole.
Beside her, Meryn's knees gave out. Amelia quickly wrapped a steadying arm around her waist to keep her upright.
"Meryn!" A deep male voice shouted.
"Rheia!"
"Beth!"
As men surrounded them, a tall figure walked past them. The man she assumed was Aiden didn't wrap an arm around Meryn to support his mate; he simply lifted her off the ground and into his arms.
A blond man was holding Rheia, and an incredibly handsome, dark-haired man checked Elizabeth over.
A fourth man, with auburn curls, took her hand. His warm, honey-colored eyes looked frantic. "Are you hurt?" he asked.
She shook her head and stared at him in shock. "Keelan?"
He frowned. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
She smiled wide. "No, but I know all about you. Your brother Kendrick is best friends with my eldest brother and my Athair."
"Amelia? You're Amelia, right?" His face broke out into a huge smile. He pulled her into a spine-cracking hug. He stepped back, still smiling. He was so warm and open, completely opposite of his brother.
Bang!
"That's me. I'm glad I got to see you on my trip. I'm only staying a night. I have a reservation with Rise and Shine in the city." Amelia couldn't believe she had almost been run over in a human city. Damn her brother with his premonitions! He could have said watch out for cars!
The auburn haired man blinked. "You're going to Lycaonia?"
"Yes, then I'll be heading home in the morning."
"It's great to meet you, though I am sorry about the circumstances."
Bang!
"Aiden, the perimeter is secure. Let's get the ladies to the SUVs and back to the Alpha estate," a sinfully gorgeous blond said, walking up from their right.
The large man cuddling Meryn looked up. "Good idea, Ben." He looked around. "Where's Darian?"
Bang!
They all turned in the direction of the loud noise. Keelan buried his face in his hands. The handsome blond began to laugh and the three men with mates looked smug. Amelia watched in amazement as the tall warrior smashed a human's face against the large stop sign.
She took a moment to appreciate that the warrior had no problem keeping the somewhat portly man in the air. But what really impressed her was the fact that he had no problem keeping the man in the air nearly three feet off the ground so that his face could connect with the stop sign.
"I'm sorry, did that hurt? Let me do it again," she heard a deep voice rumble.
Bang!
"See this sign. It is red. Red is the universal color to stop. Are you color blind? No? Well, even if you were, there are four large, bright white letters on this sign that spell out the word 'stop'. Let's go over them, shall we?"
"S." Bang!
"T." Bang!
"O." Bang!
"P." Bang!
"Oh, dear," Elizabeth said, trying to hide a grin.
"Darian, fall back," Aiden yelled across the street.
The golden warrior turned and, without looking back at the man, dropped him unceremoniously to the pavement. He walked over, checking over their group. "Is everyone unharmed?"
Amelia felt her breath catch; she recognized that voice. Looking closer, she nearly fainted when she saw his eyes. Lavender eyes. He had lavender eyes! She took in every single detail of his handsome face. A face that she had memorized in a dream so long ago.
"You're my mate," she whispered, feeling her heart racing out of control.
He turned to her. For a second she thought she saw a flicker of recognition and then it was gone.
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, you must be mistaken." He turned to Aiden. "I'll be in the car." He walked away without looking back.
"But..."--she looked around--"but he is."
The men looked at her dubiously.
"Maybe he just looks like your mate?" Aiden speculated, putting Meryn down.
Amelia shook her head. "It's him. I know it's him."
Aiden looked at the other men. They shrugged, looking unsure of what to say.
Keelan turned to her. "We'll talk to him," he promised.
Meryn stepped forward. "Remember what we talked about in the ice cream shop? We're heading there now. All of Alpha Unit."
All? Amelia was confused for a second, and then it hit her. Meryn was telling her where Darian would be.
"If you could escort me to the city limits, I'll find my way to the bed and breakfast," she said, trying to keep her voice nonchalant.
Aiden nodded looking relieved. "Sure, no problem. I hope you find your mate soon."
"Me, too," she said.
"Aiden, Gamma will wrap up with the authorities here. We'll be along soon." The blond offered.
"Thanks, Ben." Aiden wrapped an arm around Meryn, and they headed toward their cars.
Rheia and Elizabeth nodded at her before walking away with their mates. Though they had just met, she knew the women believed her. Feeling like maybe she wasn't crazy and making the biggest mistake of her life, she jogged to her car to follow her new friends into Lycaonia.
You bet I'll be finding my mate real soon, like, right after I freaking park.
CHAPTER TWO
Amelia followed the SUVs in front of her and replayed her mate's rejection over and over again in her mind. Even if he didn't recognize her, fae could identify their mates by their aura. Was hers broken? Finally, after what seemed like forever, the cars turned onto a side road. She watched as Aiden pulled over and got out of the lead car. He walked back to the main road.
She slowly came to a stop next to him and rolled down her passenger side window.
He pointed forward. "Lycaonia is about ten minutes down this road. You'll have to park at the garage and walk into the city. Did you need someone to show you around?" She was touched at the look of concern on his face.
She shook her head. "That's okay. I can figure it out. Thanks for the escort in."
He smiled wide. "Anytime. If you need anything while you're visiting, here's my cell phone number." He handed her a small piece of paper with a number scrawled almost illegibly on it. "Normally, we have visitors go through the council, but your brothers are my unit leaders in Storm Keep. We take care of our own."
Amelia felt her chest swell with pride. Not every paranormal could be a unit warrior. It took dedication and discipline. The fa
ct that all three of her brothers not only served, but were also unit leaders spoke volumes about her family.
"Thank you. My brothers speak very highly of you." She smiled at him and his cheeks tinted pink.
Adorable!
Aiden cleared his throat. "I never have to worry about the units in Storm Keep; Caiden runs a great program out there."
Amelia had to fight to keep the smile off her face. If the Unit Commander knew of the shenanigans that went on, pretty much on a daily basis, she bet he wouldn't think that. "It was an amazing way to grow up."
Aiden laughed loudly. "I bet." He looked up at the sky. "Well, I better get going. We have a few more hours of daylight left, and I want to join the other units for afternoon drills. Drive safe."
"Thank you, I will." Amelia waved as he walked back to the SUV. She waited until they were moving forward before she started her car. When the two SUVs disappeared around the bend, she backed her car up and turned down the side road. She moved forward slowly in case the Alpha estate was closer than she realized.
After a couple minutes, she saw the road opening up. She pulled her car over to the side as close to the tree line as possible.
"Sure, I'll go to Lycaonia, right after I claim my mate," she muttered to herself. She opened her car door and got out. She reached into the back seat and grabbed her tote bag and eased the door closed, trying to make as little noise as possible. She walked until she could see a large estate house. Next to the house was an open field where men were performing various drill exercises. Smiling to herself, she looked around. When she spotted a tall oak tree, she did a happy dance. She hoisted herself up, climbed as high as the branches allowed, then got comfortable leaning against the large trunk. Praying that the spell didn't blow her up, she whispered an incantation she'd learned from Sederick in the Omicron Unit. Seconds later, she could hear the men's coarse banter clearly.
Even though it was still January, the men were starting to remove jackets and shirts. She had never appreciated shifter's high body temperature more.
"Yum," she sighed happily and reached into her tote bag. She grabbed a small bag of chips and her bottle of diet Mountain Dew, her favorite road trip snacks.
"Okay mate of mine, where are you?" She popped a Dorito in her mouth and watched the door to the Alpha estate carefully.
She was just finishing her snack when the door opened and the men she had met in the street walked out. From the direction of the road, another group of men walked up, the man in front was tall, very built, and had snow-white hair.
"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 sta
red. When he turned around and raised an eyebrow, she broke out into giggles.
"That was bad." She jogged to catch up to him when he started walking again.
"I don't have a mate to keep me in line yet."
They walked up to the training course, and Aiden's eyebrows shot up. "You? I thought you were heading to the city."
Amelia smiled. "I took a tiny little detour."
Behind them, they heard cursing. "What is she doing here?" Darian demanded, walking up to them.
"I've come to convince you we're mates," she said.
"Not gonna happen." Darian turned and went into the house.
Amelia looked at Sascha and Aiden. "That went very well, didn't it?"
"Are you sure he's your mate?" Aiden asked, looking unconvinced.
Amelia nodded. "I'm sure. I've been dreaming of him since I was six."
Aiden stared. "Wait. Since you were six? Not recently?"
"Nope." She shook her head.
Sascha looked at Aiden. "He never said anything."
Aiden frowned. "Go see if he'll talk to you. If you are his mate, then this is something he can't avoid."
"Wish me luck," Amelia said and turned toward the house.
"She'll need more than luck. Darian is a stubborn sonofabitch," she heard Sascha mutter.
I can be even more stubborn.
Amelia opened the door and poked her head inside. "Helllloooo?" she called out in her best Tim Curry impersonation.
She heard footsteps on hardwood before Elizabeth, Meryn, and a man in butler attire appeared from a hallway.
"Oh, it's Bubbles," Meryn remarked, before popping something in her mouth.
Elizabeth turned to her. "Bubbles?"
Meryn shrugged. "She's bubbly."
Elizabeth just sighed and turned to her. "Looking for Darian?"
Amelia nodded. "He just came in."
Meryn laughed. "That's what that was? I thought one of the walls had caved in. He sure was loud."
The man in the crisply pressed butler outfit stepped forward and placed his right hand over his heart before bowing at the waist. "Welcome to the Alpha estate. My name is Ryuu; I am the squire here. If you would like, I can show you to Darian's room."
"That would be great."
"I am assuming you will be staying for the evening meal. May I inquire about your lodging arrangements for tonight?" Ryuu asked.