Word Count: 4103

"Hey Baby, what's up?" Harper answered Matt's call as she and Adam started toward the last store they had to hit, it was only a little before ten and she was surprised at how good of time they were making. The siren and wolf delegations were supposed to get there between eleven and noon and she'd been stressing she wouldn't get everything in time.

Adam glanced at her when he saw her face fall.

"You're kidding...how many?" Harper pressed her fingers to her forehead and closed her eyes. "Alright, I guess we'll see them in a couple of hours. Yeah, love you too, bye."

"What happened?" Adam asked, concern in his eyes. "Are you alright? You look a little green."

"I'm fine, just tired a lot these days. So four more siren warriors showed up in the Keys pack just as they were getting ready to leave to drive up here," Harper said with a sigh.

"But that's a good thing, right?" Adam asked, not sure why Harper looked so stressed all of a sudden.

"They're female, one is an elder, the other three are young and unmated," Harper sighed, dejectedly.

"Oh," Adam said, suddenly understanding Harper's concern.

"Hopefully, we won't have another Sana situation," Harper said. "We do have seven unmated male warriors here now, so hopefully if they're looking for mates, they'll look to them. If they all set their sights on Eden, Celie and Sira are going to freak out."

"Great, just what we need," Adam sighed. "It's not bad enough we're fighting a war against insane tritons, we now have to potentially contend with mate drama and fighting too."

"Honestly, I'm more worried about Lorelai now. She and Celie took to each other like soul sisters, I'm actually getting a little jealous," Harper admitted, glancing at Adam with a small smile. "I've had her to myself our whole lives. First it was Porter, now Lorelai, I don't know how to feel about that. Anyway, with Celie being hurt, and with Lorelai being as dominant as she is...she's protective of Cel. I can see that going bad fast."

"Oh, goddess," Adam rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, Lorelai would have no trouble smacking down a siren, even a warrior one, and that's the last thing we need right now."

"Well, I think Ara also would try to put a stop to it fast," Harper said. "She saw what happened and was pissed at Sana for the way she acted anyway. Then with Sana dying, and Celie almost dying, it hit everyone pretty hard. No one wants another situation like that happening again, but still, it's stress we don't need. Especially Cel, she's been through a lot recently, she needs to just be happy for a while."

"Yeah, she deserves that," Adam said, looking down.

"Just so you know, I don't want to rub anything in your face, but I want to warn you," Harper said, hesitantly. "Sira came out and talked to Eden when Celie was passed out drunk. She told him she fully accepted him as her mate, and she wanted to claim him. She explained to him how wolves feel about mating, and that they don't wait once they find their mate, and if he wants to wait it makes her feel like he doesn't really want her. It freaked him out really bad because he loves Celie and Sira and doesn't want Sira to feel that way, so he asked Cel to mark him. She said she would as soon as her shoulder is healed up. I'll be taking the stitches out tomorrow night or day after tomorrow, depending on how it looks. So, just be prepared for that, you saw how it affected Reese."

"Sira actually came out and spoke to Eden?" Adam was shocked. "She barely communicated with my wolf, even when she wanted to accept us."

"Yeah, shocked the rest of us too, she hardly speaks at all, even to Celie and me," Harper said. "The fact that she took over, had a heart to heart with him, and was kinda forceful about it shows how strongly she feels."

"Well, that's a good thing then," Adam said, as they pulled into the driveway. "Everything will be settled soon, and all this will be over for everyone. As I was talking with Dana about all this after I talked to you the other night, I realized something. For years, I prayed and begged the goddess for Celie to be alive and happy, and she is. I wanted her for my mate too, but my main prayer was for her to be alive and happy. For years I thought I killed her, I need to quit feeling sorry for myself and be grateful she's alive and that weight is off my shoulders, because it was like a mountain crushing me. I feel lighter than I have in years, and I just need to hold onto that"

"Sounds like meeting Dana was an even better blessing than I thought," Harper smiled, happy for Adam.

"It helped me find some perspective, everyone I've talked to about this knows the whole story and feels sorry for me, explaining it from scratch to someone completely outside the situation made me look at it from a different point of view." Adam said, pausing before going into the house so no one else would hear him. "I told Dana, I never really knew Celie, like I wasn't in love with her, I liked her, I wanted to know her, I wanted my mate. But it wasn't really Celie the person, it was my mate I wanted, and my wolf wanting his mate. I liked what I did know of her, I was happy it was her, but I didn't really know her as a person. Eden loves Celie for her, not just for some irresistible bond pulling them together, it may be there, but it's not like the fated bond. I realized that after I started thinking about it, he may be her second chance, they may feel a pull, but he chose her, and she chose him. You were right, it's better that way. Now I get a choice, I can find someone I like for who they are, maybe I don't get the 'fated' mate bond, but we still have mate bonds with chosen mates."

"I'm so happy to hear you say that Adam," Harper said. "I'm happy you're thinking that way now, it'll help you move on, and it'll be better to find someone you like, someone you get along with, someone you have things in common with. To be honest, I do think you and Cel would have made a good couple if the rejection hadn't happened. She's impossible not to love, but after the rejection, it was never going to be the same."

"I know, and with the bond being virtually gone, I see that, I feel it. I'm more objective now, and I don't want a mate with so much anger and pain in her when she looks at me," Adam said. "I want a mate who looks at me and sees me for the man I am now, not someone who only sees the person I was then and the mistakes I made."

"Maybe you should tell Celie that's how you feel," Harper told him. "I think she still has some residual guilt, pain, anger, and just conflicted feelings over how things went down when you got here. She's a sensitive person, a compassionate one, and though she's thrilled with Eden, she still kinda feels like she fucked you over."

"She shouldn't feel that way, she did the right thing, for both of us, it was hard, it hurt, but it was the right thing to do," Adam said. "Maybe I will talk to her, it'll be good if the air is clear between us, then she can go into her relationship with Eden with nothing weighing on her mind. Speaking of clearing the air, I heard Reese finally talked to you and apologized for his behavior."

"Yeah, he said what he had to say," Harper said. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I was avoiding him something awful because I thought it was going to be this big thing. I thought he was going to do this 'I'm your mate' thing like he tried when we got back after the boat attack. Thankfully, that didn't happen."

"Yeah, he gave up on that after you smacked him down in front of everyone," Adam laughed. "I shouldn't have thought that was so funny, but I really enjoyed it. Part of my residual resentment over the whole thing I guess. I'm glad it's over, honestly, all of it. Luna and Alpha get their daughter back, Celie gets her Dad and brothers back, we get to stop feeling the guilt of thinking we killed you, we all get to move on. It's a good thing."

**

"So, here we go again," Celie sighed as the bell for the gate rang.

"Just in time," Harper said as she ran the back of her wrist over her slightly damp forehead. All the running to get everything setup and ready for their guests had everyone worn out and the meetings hadn't even started yet. "I'm almost to the point of needing another shower."

"You might want to get one, you smell kinda weird, no offense," Celie sniffed in Harper's direction with a confused look.

"What do you mean I smell weird?" Harper asked, her nose practically twitching as she tried sniffing around and even raised her arm to see if she smelled.

"Not bad, just weird, different," Celie shrugged. "Anyway, you might slightly be past the point of needing another shower, but I'm way past the point of needing another vacation, because this one has sucked ass."

"You're not kidding," Harper rolled her eyes. "Going back to work will be a blessing and a rest."

"I look forward to going back to just painting every day, or going out and taking pictures," Celie said. "I have had so many ideas of things I wanted to draw or paint, and there's a new panda exhibit at the zoo I wanted to get some photos of, but we never have time or there is always some damn catastrophe happening. I feel like I'm just bottled up and I need to let it all out and I can't."

"Maybe you should just sit in on the meetings for a little while, and if you feel like you don't need to be there, go to your studio and get some work done," Harper suggested. "We can always mind link you if something comes up we need you on something."

"Are you sure?" Celie asked, hope rising in her chest.

"I'd sneak out if I could, but I doubt I can get away with it since everyone thinks I'm an expert on everything," Harper rolled her eyes.

"Well, you're the only one who ever comes up with any theories or ideas, so I can see that," Celie laughed. "All I do is sit there and look pretty." Celie flicked her hair back over her shoulder and fluttered her eyes.

They both had a good laugh at that.

"What are you two over here laughing about?" Lorelai asked.

"Celie told me the only thing she does at these meetings is sit there and look pretty," Harper laughed, and Celie flicked her hair back and fluttered her eyes again.

"I'm going to stay for the first few minutes, then go to my studio and draw or paint," Celie told Lorelai with a smile. "I need to get away from this crap for a while."

"I wish I could join you," Porter said with a grimace. "I'm tired of these meetings; I think we should just let the elders decide the best course. There are plenty of warriors to give opinions, I'm not even going to be the alpha anytime soon."

"Well, you're not joining me, I don't want to draw your sausage and biscuits," Celie with an exaggerated grimace.

"What?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"The last time I said I wanted to draw and said I might use a male model, meaning Eden, Porter assumed I'd want to draw him naked and said he didn't feel comfortable letting me draw the 'sausage and biscuits'," Celie snickered.

"I wouldn't want you to," Lorelai said with a grin. "But he is a good specimen."

Porter puffed out his chest a bit with a grin and put his arm around Lorelai.

"Eww," Celie gagged. "Didn't need to know, don't want to know. Gross. You realize Port is like my little bro? I met him when he was eleven years old, when I look at him I still see a little kid."

"I'm not little," Porter snickered.

"EWWWW! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!" Celie shouted and gagged again, this time making puke noises, making everyone crack up.

The bell for the gate rang once again and they all exchanged a look, sobering up. Matt had told them about the new sirens and Celie was nervous about the new females, she didn't want another situation. The thought of it just made her anxious and she could feel Sira's unease and tension.

"I'm also not really in the mood to watch new siren chics fawn over Eden, if they're going to hit on him again, I don't want to see it this time," Celie said, frowning, her good mood dying. "I trust him, so I'll just let him handle it and not get myself all worked up over it."

"What do you mean?" Lorelai said, confused.

"Long story," Celie mumbled, before excusing herself to go to the bathroom before the meeting.

"Did I say something wrong?" Lorelai asked.

"No, it's a sensitive subject," Porter sighed, then explained the whole story of Sana and watched Lorelai's expression darken.

"Well, if they try that shit they'll have to deal with me," Lorelai growled, already protective of her adopted older sister.

"Ditto," Harper said. "Once was enough, we had no idea she'd take it that far, sirens normally don't act like that, but once bitten..."

"Twice shy," Porter finished.

Just then Ara approached with Sagan and Faru, looking for Celie. Faru had been left with sitters for the pack initiation so it had been quite some time since he'd seen Celie and he was bouncing with excitement looking for her.

"She's upstairs, sort of preparing herself for meeting everyone," Harper explained with a frown.

"What do you mean?" Sagan said, noticing something was off with Harper's tone.

"Well, she's not thrilled about meeting more unmated siren females, so she's not in the greatest mood since she found out they were here," Harper explained, glancing at the stairs hoping Celie wasn't nearby to hear them talking about her.

"That will not happen again," Sagan said, frowning. "I will intercede if I witness it."

"As will we all," Winter said from the doorway.

"I'm so disappointed that it happened as it did," Ara said sadly. "Now there is a stain on our people that may never wash off. It is unfortunate, because it will no doubt deprive other siren females of a friendship with her, and their lives will be less for it."

"Cel doesn't hold grudges," Harper reassured them with a smile. "If she sees the new females have no designs on her mate, she'll relax and welcome them, as she does everyone."

Just then Celie and Faru came back into the room, this time though, Celie was holding his hand and walking beside him since she couldn't pick him up. The little boy who'd been jumping for joy to see her again now looked upset and kept glancing at her shoulder and when he saw his parents he ran to them. Sagan picked him up and he immediately pointed to Celie's shoulder.

"Hurt," Faru said, looking anxiously between his parents and Celie. "CeeCee bad hurt."

"I told him I'm ok, but he doesn't believe me," Celie smiled, happy to see them.

Sagan squeezed Faru and hummed at him and the boy calmed, but he still looked sad before wriggling to get down so he could go back to Celie and hold her hand, then he pulled her out the door so she could go play with him on the deck.

"Ah, here they are," Matt said, leading the new sirens into the room, he immediately went to Harper and put his arm around her waist. "This is my mate, Harper. This is Porter and his mate Lorelai; they are the future alpha and luna of the Everglades pack. This is Enna, Jae, Teia, and Mesa."

Enna was similar to Eva with long white hair and a deeply lined though still beautiful face.

The appearance of the three younger siren females surprised Harper, they were built similarly to Ara, very tall with voluptuous noticeably strong bodies, but they all had raven black hair and honey colored eyes. Up until now, Hera was the only siren female Harper had ever seen with dark hair, the majority of them generally had blonde, red, or golden brown hair, and it was not just the color but the length she noticed immediately, it barely fell to their shoulders, and they all had it pulled back tightly in short pony tails.

"Hello, welcome, we're very happy to see you," Harper said smiling at them, and they each smiled and nodded in return.

"Where's Celie?" Eden asked, looking around as he entered the room.

"She and Faru went out on the deck to play," Ara said.

"Ah, I see, I may have lost my mate to my biggest rival," Eden sighed, but then grinned as he headed toward the door to look for them. "I'm going to go out there before she decides to leave me for a better looking mate."

The others chuckled as Eden left, and Harper was relieved that the first thing Eden did was call Celie his mate and go looking for her. He probably sensed her unease and wanted to reassure her as well as letting everyone know he had chosen her as his mate without any hesitation or question.

Everyone followed Eden out the door and found Celie chasing a giggling Faru in a circle around a patio table.

Celie looked up with a smile when Eden called her name, but her eyes were hesitant when she approached them. Eden immediately put his arm around Celie's waist the second she was within reach and he turned to introduce her with a proud smile.

The sirens all smiled and returned Celie's greeting until they looked down and saw the claw marks running down her neck and shoulder.

"You are the warrior who fought the tritons?" Teia asked. "You are not as I expected."

Celie's smile dimmed a bit and everyone around her seemed to tense up in anticipation of the next words.

"I thought you would be bigger and meaner," Enna laughed, and the others joined her, easing the tension.

"I'm officially little and girly," Celie chuckled.

"Size is the least important factor in any battle," Mesa said. "Heart and will are the most important, if you have those you have the advantage."

"My mate has more heart than anyone I've ever known," Eden said, pulling Celie even tighter to him and kissing her hair.

The sirens all smiled without batting an eye, none of them looked at Eden with anything other than friendliness, but they looked at Celie with clear admiration.

Before anyone could say anything else, they heard yet another ding for the gate and knew the elders had arrived.

A slight smile touched Lorelai's lips when she realized the elders were there, she'd only been away from their pack for a couple of days, but she was looking forward to seeing them.

Harper felt them before she saw them, the wave of power surrounding them was impossible to miss. All the werewolves immediately turned and stilled in a show of respect as they emerged from the house.

Lorelai stepped forward and greeted them with a smile and turned and introduced them, their names were Walter, Moira, Atticus, Maxwell, Silas, Camilla, and Miriam. Silas was the oldest and most powerful among them, but they were all obviously alpha blood wolves and likely had no equals in their youth. Harper wasn't sure they'd have many equals now, in physical strength they were clearly past their prime, but she didn't doubt one bit that they could command any wolf on earth to submit with little effort.

"Well, I vote for Eden to demonstrate," Matt said with a grin.

"Demonstrate?" Eden asked confused, still holding Celie tightly to his side as she started snickering.

"Demonstrate what a siren looks like," Harper explained, holding back an amused smile.

"Why me?" Eden asked.

"You're the biggest," Lorelai said.