"Here you go baby, one extra large mug of coffee. Here's the sugar and cream. Refills whenever you want." Aiden placed the coffee on the table in front of her and backed away slowly. Colton turned to him, his face pale. He shrugged. He had no idea what to do either. Slowly, as Meryn sipped her coffee, her eyes opened. She yawned and then stretched her arms up over her head. By her second cup she was looking around the kitchen. By the third cup she was smiling at everyone.
"What's for breakfast?" She asked brightly.
"Whatever the fuck you want." Keelan said, a look of amazement on his face.
"Really? I'd kill for some pancakes." She sighed wistfully. Colton shot out of his seat like a jack in the box.
"No problem. I know where Marius keeps stuff." He hurried over to the pantry and began pulling out ingredients for pancake batter. Aiden sat back in his chair and sipped his coffee. Served the man right for poking fun at his commander.
"Do y'all have an espresso machine?" Meryn turned to him.
"You know what? We'll head to town and get one, just for you." Aiden offered. He never wanted to see what his mate would be like without caffeine.
"Really? They can be kinda expensive, it's why I haven't gotten one yet." She chewed on her bottom lip. And despite the dismemberment threat she had just made to his best friend, he thought she looked cute with her lip between her teeth.
"We'll all chip in, right guys?" Darian said. The men all nodded.
"Y'all are so sweet. Thank you." She smiled shyly at them. Gavriel met his eyes over Meryn's head across the table and raised an eyebrow. Aiden grinned back. She may be nuts, but she was all his.
"By the way. Who are you all?" Meryn took another sip of coffee.
"This is my unit. You've already met Colton; this is Gavriel Ambrosios, Keelan Ashwood and Darian Vi'Alina." Aiden pointed to each of his men.
She eyed the other three men. She pointed to Darian. He had delicate features but would never be called beautiful. He was too masculine, but there was something about him that was ethereal. His long blond hair was looped and braided down his back. His eyes were a soft lavender that you just didn't see in humans. He was built but not as thick through the chest as Aiden.
"Vampire?" She asked. He shook his head and stood to his full height.
"Holy shit! You're taller than Aiden and he's like freakishly huge." The difference between her own five foot three height and his made her feel like a toddler.
"I am not!" Aiden protested.
Darian grinned and sat back down. "Fae. We're all between six and seven feet tall."
"I thought fae we the "wee" folk."
"Yeah, not so much." Darian shrugged.
"Vi'Alina?" Meryn spoke it slowing to get the pronunciation correct.
"Yes. The 'Vi' prefix indicates that I am the heir for my family line. 'Alina' is the name of my house. If I had brothers, the second born would be Ri'Alina and the third born would be Li'Alina." Darian explained.
"What about the fourth born?" Meryn asked. Darian shook his head.
"We are so long lived that unless a tragedy occurs, no one after the third born inherits. They do not get a prefix for their name."
"So if I were fae I would be Meryn Vi'Evans?" Darian nodded.
"That's cool." Meryn turned to Gavriel. She took in his dark hair and brooding grey eyes. Gavriel was less ethereal and more dark and dangerous. He was exactly the kind of man you would want to run into on a dark and stormy night.
"You must be the vampire then." He inclined his head.
Keelan frowned. "Why couldn't it be me?" He demanded.
Meryn smiled and pointed to Keelan. He had a short auburn ponytail and amiable brown eyes.
"Because you look too nice and are nowhere near as elegant. He just exudes dark prince." She sighed, Aiden growled. She punched his thigh.
"Ow!"
"She has violent tendencies just like you." Colton joked. Aiden flipped him off.
"So that means you're the witch. What can you do? Can you fly?" Meryn leaned forward, eyes shining.
"I get premonitions sometimes and I work best with fire and air. My brother Kendrick is stronger, he can manipulate all four elements, but he decided to be an archivist instead of a warrior." Keelan looked down at the table.
"It's a respectable profession Keelan, we have a rich history that must be maintained." Aiden gently reminded the young witch. He knew that had been a point of contention between the two brothers.
"I know. It's just frustrating that I'm struggling to learn the spells we need and he can do them without thinking about it." Keelan turned his coffee cup in his hand slowly.
"And he's about three hundred years older than you are. Cut yourself some slack." Colton pointed out. Keelan brightened.