Aiden shook his head. "No."
The three of them turned at the sound of laughter beside them. Sascha was leaning against the doorway, his arms wrapped around his stomach. He was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his cheeks. "Why is it that the Alpha females are crazy?"
Meryn shrugged. "She made sense to me."
Colton turned to Meryn. "You also set Aiden's car on fire when he ignored you."
Amelia looked at Meryn. "Sounds reasonable."
Meryn grinned. "I know, right?"
Her comment sent Sascha into more convulsed laughter. He straightened and wiped his eyes. "So Darian ended up with a witch version of Meryn."
Darian looked at her. "Witch?"
Amelia thought about it for a second. "Sort of."
Darian sighed and walked around Aiden to pluck her from his back. "How can you 'sort of' be a witch?" He set her down between them.
Amelia beamed up at him. "See, I knew you wouldn't hurt me."
He glared down at her, his expression unchanged.
She stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her eyes. He blinked in surprise. Smiling she answered. "I'm half a witch, my mother is human."
Aiden turned to her. "But Caiden, Kyran, and Tristan are full blooded witches."
Amelia nodded. "Our father evidently didn't want to wait to meet his mate before having children. He wanted to secure his bloodline, so he and another powerful witch got together and had my brothers. It worked out for the both of them to produce three strong male witches. Then about thirty-seven years ago, my father met my mother, they mated, and I was born."
Ryuu cleared his throat. "Since we're past the imminent attempted murder, maybe we should adjourn to the dining room for dinner?"
"Tacos! Tacos! Tacos!" Meryn high-fived a smaller blond man and another young man in a wheelchair.
Ryuu looked at Meryn with a hint of a smile. "I don't know why you're acting so surprised; you all but threatened my life this morning if I didn't make them."
Meryn rolled her eyes. "I didn't want tacos. Meryn two-point-oh wanted tacos."
Ryuu nodded, his expression serious. "Of course, that's a completely different story then."
Sascha pushed away from the wall. "I'll head out. Gamma is off duty tonight so Beta will be patrolling around the estate."
Aiden clapped a hand on Sascha's back and walked him to the door. "Thanks."
Sascha sniffed the air. "Tacos," he pouted, mournfully.
Aiden opened the door. "You'll live."
Sascha sighed dramatically and walked through the door. Aiden closed it behind him. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Toddlers, every single one of them, toddlers."
Elizabeth stepped forward. "I don't know about all of you, but I'm starving. Come on, Amelia, you're in for a treat. Ryuu doesn't know how to make a bad meal." She turned and had only taken a few steps toward the dining room when she suddenly tripped and fell face first on the unforgiving marble.
"Beth!" The dark-haired man yelled and was at her side before Amelia could blink. Rheia moved away from her blond mate and helped the frantic man get Elizabeth upright.
"Sugar! I hate this damn floor!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
Rheia knelt in front of Elizabeth. Wincing, she sat back on her heels. "It's broken." Rheia reached up and placed her thumbs on either side of the bridge of Elizabeth's nose. "On three. One... two..." With a quick jerk, she snapped Elizabeth's nose back in place. A darling little girl next to Rheia winced in sympathy.
Gavriel handed her a handkerchief to stem the bleeding. Elizabeth held it to her nose. "I thought you said three!" Her voice was muffled and sounded nasal.
Rheia shrugged as her mate helped her to stand. "You should be used to this by now, Beth. I've had to snap your nose back in place three times since moving in. Thank God you're a shifter; otherwise, you'd be falling apart by now." She took the little girl's hand.
The dark-haired man scooped Elizabeth up, his face a mask of worry. She patted at his chest. "I'm fine now."
He shook his head. "I'm taking you upstairs to lie down."
"Like hell! It's taco night. Dining room, please." Elizabeth pointed down the hall.
Amelia looked up at Darian. "So, this happens often?"
Darian grimaced. "Unfortunately. Beth has a tendency to almost die every week. She keeps us on our toes." He looked down, laughing for a moment. Then it was as if he remembered he had to keep his distance. He stepped away from her and walked toward the dining room.
Amelia watched him as he walked away. Knowing what he felt didn't change anything. How could she convince him that they were meant to be together?
An arm looped around her elbow. She looked to her left, Meryn stood beside her. "Come on, Bubbles, no matter what is wrong with the world, it's nothing taco night can't fix."
Amelia couldn't help but smile. Meryn might be prickly and skittish, but she had a good heart. Even though she wasn't comfortable being around new people, Meryn did what she could to make her feel better.
"Thanks Meryn, I think I needed that," Amelia admitted as they started walking.
"Any time, Bubbles," Meryn replied before turning to her. "So, what do you know about explosives?"
"Meryn!" Aiden growled behind them.
Amelia couldn't help it; she began to giggle. Meryn was too cute!