"Fuck that! I'm not giving up, Darian, and you better not, either," Keelan yelled.
"Or what, my friend?" Darian pushed. He stepped closer to Keelan until their chests bumped.
Keelan's eyes darkened, and suddenly, Darian wasn't one hundred percent sure he could take the young witch. Something in his eyes was wild and untamed. "Don't make me bind you, Darian," Keelan warned.
"It won't come to that," Darian promised. Keelan's display had been warning enough. When the time came, he would be nowhere near the witch.
Keelan eyes lightened, and he smiled. "Good. We'll fight this together, Darian; we can do it." Keelan turned and got in his car, clearly misinterpreting his promise.
Darian would let him continue to think he had a chance; it would be easier on everyone that way.
*****
"Because! If I don't leave this fucking house I am going to lose my mind and I'll take you with me!" a familiar female voice yelled. The next morning, Darian stopped in his tracks in the hallway just outside the dining room and debated how hungry he was.
"Coward." Gavriel joked as he and Beth walked past him and into the war zone.
There were very few things left on this Earth that made him smile; Meryn was one of them. On rare occasions, she managed to push back the darkness, but those incidents were few and far between now. Darian's stomach made the decision for him. Steeling himself, he walked in.
Meryn stood on one side of her chair and Aiden on the other. He had both hands held up in front of him as he tried to calm his mate down. Around the table, everyone else was calmly eating their breakfast. Even Penny was taking Meryn's threat in stride, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on spreading cream cheese on her bagel.
"Meryn, sweetheart, you have to calm down," Aiden pleaded.
"I am calm! But if I don't see something besides our bedroom, your office, or the dining room, I will start to get stabby!" She sat down and crossed her arms over her chest.
Aiden paled and sat down beside her. "Okay baby, let's go to The Jitterbug. You haven't seen Sydney or Justice in a while."
Meryn shook her head. "I want to go see the last Hobbit movie. It won't be in theaters much longer, and I can't miss it. I've seen all the other ones on the big screen. I am not waiting for the DVD to see the ending."
Aiden looked over to where Gavriel sat with Beth and then to Colton and Rheia. Both men's faces were unreadable. Everyone knew this was not a good idea, everyone that is, except Meryn.
Beth laid a hand on Gavriel's shoulder. "I'd like to see it, too. If fear of being attacked keeps us from doing the things we want, then they have already won."
Gavriel closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Darian looked over to Aiden. He also wore a defeated expression.
Darian watched as Keelan looked around the table, his eyes slightly haunted and his face drawn. "We could make this a group outing. I bet some of the guys in the other units would like to see what humans think elves look like." Aiden shot him a grateful smile.
Meryn shook her head. "Only if they stay like, I don't know, fifty feet away at all times. I don't want to walk around with a huge wall of bodies blocking out the daylight. I might as well stay home."
Aiden nodded. "You won't even know they're there," he promised. He looked at Keelan. "You should invite Anne."
Keelan shook his head. "Maybe next time."
Darian caught the questioning and concerned looks Aiden was shooting at Colton. Colton just shrugged. Knowing nothing would be answered if the questions weren't asked, he spoke up. "Keelan, are you okay?"
The women turned in unison to stare at Keelan; he flinched at their scrutiny. "I'm fine."
Frowning, Meryn stood and walked over to his chair. She placed a hand on his forehead and then a hand on her own. "I don't think he has a fever."
Rheia got up. "Maybe I should be the one to check that out." She walked over to Keelan and put her hand next to Meryn's. Keelan eyes darted around the table to the other unit members. Darian could almost sense his desperation.
Rheia frowned, and Meryn began petting Keelan's hair. Darian was willing to bet that in a couple more seconds the witch would bolt.
"Well, Rei?" Meryn asked.
Rheia removed her hand. "No fever that I can tell. Keelan, have you been sleeping?"
Keelan just shrugged.
"Poor baby." Meryn hugged Keelan's head to her chest.
Darian watched and enjoyed a rare moment of amusement. Aiden was growling, and Keelan looked like he was about to piss himself.
After a few seconds, Keelan disengaged from Meryn and looked up at her. "I thought you didn't like me."
She stared at him in shock. "Where did you get that idea?"