My Commander

"Humans are amazing creatures aren't they?" Gavriel said, his tone full of amazement. Everyone nodded. Meryn blushed.

Adelaide wiped her eyes, "You don't have to attend the sewing circle with me. I was thoughtless and never even considered your past." Meryn pushed down her momentary sense of relief. She couldn't let Adelaide down.

"I don't mind. I'll just be real quiet in the corner. I'll meet everyone, that way no one can come back later and say I was being stuck up or thought I was better than them by not saying hello."

"They would think that too. Oh dear, after the past couple days you've had, plus starting your cycle, I feel terrible about subjecting you to this." Adelaide twisted her fingers together.

"Dear, if she says she can do it, she can, I think Meryn can do anything she sets her mind to." Byron pulled his mate's hands apart so she didn't hurt herself.

"Damn skippy!" She paused and looked around. "I can bring my laptop right?"

*****

Meryn was in high school hell. Around her the ladies of Lycaonia tittered and giggled each complimenting the other ever so sweetly. Meryn felt like gagging.

"I thought the dress you wore to Lady Rosethorn's fall tea was stunning. Did Laurel at Just Sew Sew do it up for you?"

Meryn had of course promptly forgotten everyone's names, but in her mind she was calling the blonde lady speaking Horseface. The poor thing had the unfortunate luck to be born with a long face and a bray like laugh. Horseface was talking to a much stouter woman that Meryn had labeled Fruit Loop. She was round, smelled like lemons and was a bit loopy.

"How are you liking Lycaonia dear? It must be hard keeping up with everything, being human and all." And there was Queen Bitch herself, Daphane Bowers. Ironically enough, the only one of the bunch that Meryn could stand was Daphane's sweet unassuming mommy-to-be daughter-in-law, Elise.

"Nope, everything seems pretty easy to understand to me." Meryn shrugged. Daphane giggled. Meryn didn't know how old Daphane was, but where Adelaide could pull off a giggle this woman could not. She should have stopped like two hundred years ago.

"Nonsense, of course you're confused, with only Adelaide here to guide you. You absolutely must come to us with any questions my dear, after all, that's what the Daughters of Lycaonia Sewing Circle was created for, to help lesser, more unfortunate individuals." She said it so sweetly that Meryn simply blinked for a moment.

Did that heifer just refer to her as a lesser individual?

"How generous of you. But of all people Adelaide is the perfect choice to help me learn about your world. She is, after all the Councilman's mate and my mother-in-law to be. She has been so patient and wonderful explaining things to me about what it will be like to run one of the most powerful houses in Lycaonia."

She paused and sniffed dramatically. Meryn dabbed her at eyes with her tea napkin.

"Now I finally know what it's like to have a mother." Sniffle again and someone cue the dramatic music.

"You poor thing."

"Alone in the world, can you imagine?"

"Adelaide really is the sweetest, you couldn't ask for better my dear." Meryn nodded and accepted their sympathy.

"Mothers really are special. I keep telling Elise, that she will be a wonderful mother. We've been planning the nursery for weeks, haven't we Elise?"

Oh, oh someone played the baby card early.

Meryn turned to Elise and in genuine sincerity congratulated her. "I'm so excited for you! I think you'll be an amazing mother. Do you decorate the nurseries using themes here in Lycaonia?" Meryn asked.

"Themes?" Elise's soft voice was barely heard.

"Yup. Like Hello Kitty if it's a girl or a baseball theme if it's a boy."

"Oh no. We don't have anything like that here. Just different colors. What would you recommend for a wolf shifter baby?" Elise asked, her eyes alight with curiosity.

"Hmm. Nothing too scary. Maybe cartoon wolf pups with different colored bandanas around their necks." Meryn suggested.

"That would be so adorable." Elise clasped her hands together.

"No one in Lycaonia has that Elise, it would definitely be something new. Our announcement won't go out until later today, but my Eleanor is expecting. I bet she would like something like that too." The woman to Elise's right said her voice bashful.

"I'm so excited for Ellie Lady Canter! Tell her I'll call her later." Elise radiated goodwill. Meryn was taken aback at the completely different personalities between Daphane and Elise.

"Don't be ridiculous! Who has ever heard of decorating a nursery with cartoon characters? Preposterous. We're decorating in the traditional Lycaonian hues of blues and greens for boys. I'm positive she will have a son, a little boy just like my Donovan." Daphane interjected her tone slightly stern. Elise shut down right before Meryn's eyes. Meryn began to seriously get pissed off, she hated bullies more than anything else.

"Elise I think you should be able to decorate your nursery any way you want to. It's your baby after all. I know you've probably been looking forward to this for a long time." Meryn guessed. Elise looked up gratitude in her eyes.

"I would like something new and bright. I like the idea of cartoon pups. We could do bandanas in different colors so we could start right away. It wouldn't make a difference if I had a boy or a girl. I ..."

"Elise, don't be silly. Look, you're getting too worked up. This is obviously upsetting for you." Daphane turned her gaze to Meryn. "Until you understand our customs a little better, it might be best for you not to interfere." Daphane's flinty gaze did not deter her. Meryn simply turned to Elise ignoring Daphane and gave the woman her back.