My Commander(6)

"She is your mate isn't she?" The woman asked. Meryn started to feel uneasy. There was that mate word again.

"Maybe." Aiden muttered under his breath. He stuck his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor. Meryn looked over to see Colton grinning like an idiot taking the whole thing in. She frowned at him. He winked at her. Yup, an idiot.

"You couldn't explain things to her in a normal way? You had to kidnap and assault her?" The woman demanded her hands on her hips accentuating her tiny waist. Meryn looked down at the puffy layers of her extra large hoodie, worn jeans and dirty sneakers. Yup, no comparison.

"I tried to serve her dinner and that was when she hit me over the head."

"I was trying to escape, you had me locked up for hours." Meryn clarified.

"That's because you threw the lamp at me and were screaming about cults. I was letting you calm down." Aiden glared down at her, she glared right back. The sound of hands clapping together had them both looking at the woman.

"This is what we're going to do. We're going to go to the kitchen and let Marius make us a nice pot of tea. We'll sit down and I'll try to answer your questions. Please know that you are not in any danger. In fact every single person in this room would gladly defend you against any possible threat. You're in the safest place you could be." The woman stepped forward and looped an arm through hers. They walked towards the back of the house. Meryn hoped that after their explanation maybe they would just let her go. The woman leaned forward and whispered.

"His bark is worse than his bite. He's a good man. He has dedicated his life to protecting our people." The woman patted her arm.

"He doesn't like me." Meryn whispered.

"Why do you say that?" The woman asked.

"Because I don't look like you. He knew I had cut my hair, I don't think he likes how I look with it short. He said I look like a boy." Meryn ran a hand over her short cropped curls and the woman laughed.

"Trust me dear, he wouldn't want a mate that looked like his mother." Meryn stopped and stared.

There was no way this woman was his mother!

The woman pulled her along until they were in the kitchen. Meryn momentarily forgot about Adelaide's age and gawked at the room in front of her. The magazine cover worthy kitchen had warm, light brown, stone countertops, industrial stainless steel appliances and even a brick oven. This was every chef or bakers dream kitchen. They all sat down around a large, dark wood table. The woman's words started to sink in.

"You're his mother? No way! You're not old enough to be his mother."

"Thank you for that darling, but I'm older than I look."

Meryn edged away in her chair. "You're dog people too, aren't you?"

The woman looked at her confused.

"She means shifters. She saw Colton shift in the yard." Aiden explained to his mother.

"Sweetheart, Aiden is a bear, we're his parents, that makes us bears as well. My name is Adelaide McKenzie and this is my mate Byron McKenzie. You of course have met Aiden. The blond man who looks entirely too amused at my son's discomfort, is his childhood best friend Colton Albright, and the delightful man who is making our tea for us is my squire, Marius Steward." Adelaide made the introductions and Meryn nodded and kept her mouth shut. The less they knew about her the better.

"I hope you like Earl Grey little miss." Marius set a fragile looking china cup and saucer in front of her. As he poured the dark liquid in her cup the floral scent of bergamot filled the air. She inhaled deeply, Earl Grey had always been a favorite. He held up a sugar bowl filled with tiny white cubes and a pair of tongs.

"Four please." He nodded and with practiced ease dropped four of the sugar cubes in her cup. She picked up a tiny silver spoon and began to stir.

"Four?" Aiden stared.

"I like it sweet."

"So do I." Byron smiled at her kindly and took three cubes.

"Now, in all the ruckus, did my son explain that you were his mate?" Adelaide asked sipping her tea.

"He said we were mates, but I kinda freaked out after that."

"That's understandable, considering the situation." Byron shot an amused look at his son.

"How could he know that we are mates? We've just met." Meryn asked. She still didn't quite believe this was happening, but seeing Colton shift had definitely swayed things in her mind. Either they were telling the truth or her genius mind had finally cracked. She personally didn't think that she was that weak, that only left the explanation that they weren't lying and really were bear people.

"Being shifters we know by scent." Adelaide explained.

"So that's why he kept sniffing me." Meryn mused out loud and Byron laughed.