Chapter 8 - Cyrus

"You know that was an awful thing to do to her," Evan snaps, "Just because you could take advantage of a brief moment of complacency while she's concussed and terrified does not mean that you should."

"What else did you have planned then, Ev? What masterful idea do you have to get her to agree to being protected by us?"

I can feel my anger roiling under the surface just as plainly as I can see his. This will not go well if we both lose control in the house.

"You didn't even give us a chance to try another way! That's my whole point. You're not thinking rationally, and you're putting this entire mission at risk. This wasn't about reuniting you with her. It was about figuring out what's here, keeping her and everyone here safe. But ultimately, it's about the relic we think is here."

"Is that what all of you think?"

I'm struck by his accusation that I'm risking the mission. I don't want to admit it, but a sinking part of me thinks he may be right. I hadn't been able to control myself around her. I can't. She's under my skin in a way that doesn't make any sense.

My eyes search their faces, but all I see is a mixture of nothing but avoidance or sad agreement. Damn it.

"Fine, look. At this point, it's not like I can really take it back. It is what it is. It's got us a cover, a viable one. It's also got us close enough to keep an eye on Lena and possibly even the high school if we have Milo take up that assistant teaching position. We just have to move forward and keep the focus on the mission."

A door slams, and I can hear movement on the stairs. It's Lena, I'm sure. Rose's steps would be far quieter. Lena is all but stomping her way down the old wooden staircase.

"Do not tell her the rest," Evander cautions, "No matter what. I'm begging you."

I narrow my eyes at him and pause before answering as she strides into the kitchen. Her hair looks like she stuck her finger in an outlet overnight, adding to the chaotic energy that is just rolling off her in waves. I take a long gulp of my coffee, hoping that it will somehow magically grant me the ability to escape that angry look in her eyes.

Everyone else in the room falls silent as she stalks up to me. I'm not even sure they're breathing at this point. She puts her one good hand on her hip, her right still in the sling that Milo had insisted on. After inspecting me with a glare for a long moment, Lena holds her hand up, and I wait for her to smack me again. Instead, she turns it around, inspecting the ring with an alarmingly calm look on her face.

"Cyrus," she starts with a slow, measured voice that has me concerned about her proximity to the set of knives in the butcher block on the counter next to her, "Surely, I must be hallucinating or stuck in a nightmare, right?"

Kaius looks from her to the knives, then takes a step back from Lena, putting more distance between himself, her, and the knives. My eyes flicker around the room to see my entire team of seasoned, military, battle-tested warriors shrinking away from all five-foot-two-inches of Lena, who only has one good arm.

They're chickens, not dragons. Awesome.

"There's no way that there is an actual wedding ring on my hand or that I woke up in your house when I have explicitly told you at least a hundred times recently that I want nothing to do with you."

Something shifts in her eyes, and there's an actual vein throbbing in her forehead. Her nostrils are flaring. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought she was a dragon resisting the urge to shift.

Now, it's my turn to take a step back as she tries to move toward me slowly. I have never seen her like this. I'm not even sure what to do with it.

"There wasn't any other-"

"No."

"Will you just-"

"No."

"Do I get to explain?"

She just shakes her head as she steps closer, backing me into the kitchen corner. She jabs a finger hard at my chest, punctuating her words.

"Coffee. Then. Answers. And they better be damn good answers."

I wince, rubbing at the spot on my chest that she somehow made sore with all her prodding. I turn to the coffee pot behind me and start to pour a cup for her. I can feel at least a fraction of the team's tension dissolving since she seemed content to at least get some answers.

"Hey, at least she didn't throw things at you this time," Kaius chuckles from his corner.

A clang sounds as a pan lid collides with my shoulder blade.

"What the?"

I spin, looking at her in shock as she's leaning against the sink full of dishes that we haven't dealt with in the chaos.

"What was that for?"

A thin black eyebrow arches, and she meets me with nothing but a shake of her head before she reaches down and dumps the water out of a pot seconds before chucking it hard in my direction.

This time, I'm at least prepared to reach out and catch the errant cookware.

"Damn it, Lena, knock it off!"

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say. She immediately turns and starts throwing every item she can find with her good arm. Why couldn't she have injured her throwing arm? A day-old bowl of cereal that smells like Rufus's shoes hits me square in the chest amidst a riot of laughter.

"Coffee. Now."

She throws one last spoon at me as I glare at them all. Of all the times I had daydreamed about being married, being covered in day-old milk had somehow never factored in. A low growl builds in my chest despite my attempt to control my irritation with her tantrum.

"Stop acting like a toddler having a fit. This is ridiculous. Get your own coffee."

If she wants to act like a child, I'll treat her like one. I begrudgingly strip my shirt off, attempting to get as little of the disgusting liquid in contact with my face as possible. Kaius makes the mistake of letting another chuckle slip out of his mouth, so I promptly ball it up and throw it straight at his face.

He's the one who gave her the idea to throw things again. Ass.

I move over to the sink, stepping close into Lena's space. She doesn't move. Her eyes drop that frustrated glare, and I can see her struggling with the proximity. Her eyes study my chest with interest.

Serves her right. That was absurd.

"While I have been pretty vocal about how much I disagree with Cyrus's approach, there really is some basis to what he's telling you, Lena," Evander sighs, passing a file across the counter to her in an attempt to finally help dissolve the tension, "We really do think you may be a target. That file has photos of the damage from last night, and photos of the six people we have found on your property since we made it to town."

I'm quickly trying to scrub the nasty milk off my chest as she moves over and flips through the file. I watch her face shift from annoyance to disbelief, followed by shock and horror.

"You're kidding. These are the tourists who were in my shop the other day in the root cellar. How did you get this? How were you in my root cellar?"

"They had already busted the lock off when Kaius and I found them," Rufus explains quietly, "We had tailed them from the edge of town."

"Tailed them?"

"I told you, we're here on a mission," I sigh with an exaggerated roll of my eyes. If she had just listened, we could have avoided all the dramatics of last night. She is so insistent on this independent streak that is going to be the death of me.

"Shut it," Lena snaps at me and turns back to the guys. Her tone is instantly more relaxed, "You guys should have just come to me without Captain Cranky Pants. I would have listened."

Captain… Cranky Pants? Where does she even come up with this stuff?

Kaius is shaking with laughter in the corner, trying his best to contain it and losing. Evander is biting his lips behind a grin. Orion has the decency to turn away, but Rufus and Milo just look at each other, then me, and burst out in laughter.

"Can we please make that your new call sign, Sir?" Milo asks between laughs.

"I will kick all your asses if I so much as hear the whisper of any mention of my pants."

"Captain is a bit more cranky than usual. Maybe you'd feel better with a shirt on," Lena quips. Her eyes are back to that cold distant look despite lingering on my shirtless chest a little longer than usual. Not pure anger, but still reserved and untrusting.

Great… she's got jokes now.

Evander moves around the counter, flips a page in the file, and shows her the map of the area, saving me at least a fraction of her torment.

"It was originally my intention to have someone else make contact. I am aware of the past situation," he offers her apologetically, "But the Boss does tend to do what he wants."

"Clearly," Lena deadpans as she stares down at the map, ignoring me.

Fine, if she wants to be besties with Evander and ignore me, at least she's stopped throwing things. I can always beat the crap out of him later when we train.

I sigh, throw the towel I was using in the sink, and move around them to go get her the coffee she had previously demanded. I grab creamer and sugar and prepare the coffee like she used to drink it while everyone at least seems to jump off the "Cyrus is awful" train for a minute.

"So, what exactly am I looking at here, Ev? Other than some pretty dots all over my town."

"This is everywhere we've encountered these hostiles in your surrounding area. As you can see, Greyson Ridge is their focus right now. Within the town itself, we also have noted a particular focus for them on your property, your shop, this property next to yours, and the high school."

"What are they looking for? All I have is tea, candles, and rocks? I mean, sure, I have some great ointments for eczema and a killer tea for arthritis, but I don't think that's really the stuff of a black ops raid. It's not like my business is so profitable that it's worth robbing my shop."

Lena seems to be at least calming down a bit while listening to Evander. His general personality just seems to calm people naturally.

Too bad he couldn't have used it before the flying dishes.

I slide the mug onto the counter in front of her and am greeted with another raised eyebrow. I can't tell what's behind the look, but I settle in next to her, leaning against the counter. I nod down at the map, trying to return her attention to Evander. That seems safer right now.

"That information is yet to be determined. We do know that based on the attack at your shop and now at your home, there is a genuine and present danger to you and your daughter."

I want to say, "I told you so". I can feel the words right there on the tip of my tongue, but the vaguely sour smell of milk lingers enough in the air to make me hold back. Evander catches my eye and gives me the slightest of head shakes.

Lena closes her eyes and takes a long sip of coffee, exhaling deeply afterward. She looks tired and paler than usual, the weight of this written on her face.

"What are you suggesting, since you've forced me into this situation?"

"I would recommend we keep Cyrus and one other team member at your house at all times. I'd also like to see if we could get Milo into the high school in their vacant assistant teaching position so that he can keep close tabs on Rosie," Evander explains factually, "With him being Cyrus's brother, maybe it could be an easy enough way to help with the cover if he's the one who stays. We could move him in over there as well. We really need to stay as far under the radar as possible while we're here."

"You guys being under the radar was pretty much out of the window from the moment you hit town. This cannot be happening," she sighs, quietly staring down at the map for a few moments of silence, "Rules. We are going to need some strict freaking rules here."

I would give anything to know what she's thinking at this moment. I don't know how Evander has done it, but she seems to be agreeing to it, at least in some fashion.

"Rules?" I ask hopefully, thinking this means that she'll finally agree.

"Yes, Captain…Ground rules. Boundaries. Something you seem to struggle with more than I remember."

"You're so funny this morning," I offer flatly, "Now, what kind of rules?"

"First, Rosie and I will room together. I'll have her move into my room, which will free up one room for you to room with whoever you decide and can fit in her twin-sized bed. Enjoy sharing that or the couch."

A satisfied smile is on her face that is far too sexy for me to stay focused on the fact that she's not going to let me share a bed with her. For a brief moment, I had entertained the idea that she was going to let me just go back to the way we'd been. If I am honest with myself, I wish she would. The minor rational side of my brain knows that was not as likely.

"Fine. We will make it work. What else?"

I feel like I can safely speak now that Evander has gotten her slightly off her rage soap box.

"Second. If anyone even so much as lays a finger on my daughter or even considers flirting with her, I will personally cut your balls off and turn them into a toy for Roscoe to play with. She is so far off-limits that your dicks should shrink in her presence into non-existence. Am I perfectly clear?"

"You won't have to cut anything off," I assure her with a scowl at my team. My voice changes down into that Alpha register they are all familiar with, "They will absolutely not lay a hand on her. Understood?"

All five immediately nod in understanding before my eyes drift back to Lena's. She's biting her lip in a way that derails my attention span. Images of her biting other things are flashing in my mind, and I can't stop the blood flowing straight to my cock. Damn it.

Something she sees seems to snap her out of it, and she backs up a step into Evander. She blushes hard and steps further back, putting distance between us. I miss seeing that look on her face.

"Shirts. That too. No more nakedness. Put some damn clothes on."

"Stop doing crazy shit to get me out of my clothes, and you've got a deal, Babe."