"As long as you'll be there to help make the decision I feel pretty confident about the interviews for tomorrow." Meryn snacked on a cracker.
"I will do everything I can to assist."
"What time will you have her back Aiden? The ball starts at eight o'clock." Adelaide asked.
"Well before eight Mother. Don't worry, you'll get your girl time." Aiden teased.
"Meryn did you want any more crackers?" Aiden asked standing. She shook her head.
"Little miss, I have taken the liberty of packing a few in a bag for you. Just in case." Marius handed her a small zip lock bag of crackers.
"Thank you Marius. See y'all later." She grabbed her backpack on the way out. She stepped outside and avoided looking at the recently repainted section of the porch. It was a gruesome reminder that they couldn't get all of the dog blood stains out of the wood. She stepped off the porch and followed Aiden to his car. She took a deep breath. Aiden held the door open for her.
"I'll put the windows down for the trip. Looks like the fresh air is helping." He closed the door and seconds later he was climbing inside. He started the car and immediately lowered the windows. She sat back and closed her eyes without saying a word, and she was comfortable with the silence. She enjoyed the sound of the road flying by, the fresh air in her face and his warm hand around hers.
When they got to the barracks Colton met them as they were getting out of the car.
"Hey short stuff, feeling better?"
"I'm not seeing double anymore if that's what you mean."
"Good to hear. Aiden, the men are out back awaiting orders. I'll keep an eye on Meryn since I already know I am playing escort tonight."
"Thanks Colton. Be back baby." Aiden bussed her lips and walked around to the back of the house.
"He started drills with the men. We're practicing fighting while blindfolded, so we can attack and defend against what we can't see." Colton explained.
"He's really good isn't he?" She asked.
"The very best. Better than our last commander."
"I thought Aiden took over from his father?" Meryn asked confused.
"Walk with me. I'll show you around and I'll tell you about how Aiden became Unit Commander." Colton took her hand and they walked towards the outbuildings.
"Byron was chosen to be an Elder right after Adair was born, so about six hundred years before Aiden or for you about thirteen hundred years ago. Anyway. Up until Aiden's birth, Byron held both positions, Unit Commander and Elder. Right before Aiden was born there was controversy that Byron had held the Elder seat for too long and others petitioned to put someone else in charge."
"Sydney told me about that. Adelaide becoming pregnant for the third time made them think Byron was doing a good job." Meryn interjected. Colton nodded.
"He was able to keep his Elder seat, but with three children at home, he conceded that they needed to appoint a new Unit Commander. Edward Carthage was selected as the best warrior and he became the new Unit Commander. For a while everything went on like normal, but after about fifty years the men began getting disillusioned with their new commander. He would disappear during missions, come back drunk. Wouldn't organize training or keep an eye on the men. After centuries of Byron's fair and efficient leadership the difference between the two was stark." Colton pointed to the bench outside one of the buildings and they sat down.
"When Aiden and I were one hundred years old we were training hard at the academy where Adair could keep an eye on us. Every so often, we would get sent out on patrols to get our feet wet. One night, Aiden was doing a standard night patrol, running the perimeter when a mission came in. Instead of sending Aiden back to the academy Edward decided to use the mission to humiliate Aiden in place of his father. The other Alpha Unit members argued, but Edward pulled rank. The men did the best they could to cover Aiden since he had never been out on a mission before. But they soon realized they didn't need to. He took to it like he was born to it, maybe he was." Colton paused. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
"The mission was worse than they were led to believe. The unit was up against three ferals, them banding together was unheard of back then. Jean-Marc, Edward's second in command put his foot down and insisted that Aiden stay behind and watch the horses. He didn't want him getting hurt. Edward was supposed to keep their escape route open, but he didn't. He left. Later they found out that he had gone to the local brothel. Aiden heard the men shouting and probably for the first and last time he ignored orders. He ran into the fray and covered the men as they retreated. The entire Alpha Unit was killed that night in the streets except Jean-Marc. Aiden was able to get him to the horses and strap him down. He went back down that alley three more times, fighting against all odds to retrieve the bodies of the other Alpha Unit members. He managed to get the men onto their horses and led them to where the Beta Unit was covering the perimeter of the town to ensure no ferals escaped. He was so badly beaten and bleeding so heavily they didn't think he was going to make it. It would be a couple days before he woke up. I was at his side the entire time. Before Jean-Marc passed away, I heard him report to Byron what had happened. To this day I've never seen Byron so mad. When Edward walked into the infirmary where Aiden was being treated Byron shifted into his third form and attacked. It took Beta, Delta and Gamma to pull Byron off of him."