Among the Peonies

Whispers of War

A light knock on the door resounded, making Blade groan. I laughed lightly at his reaction, rolling off of him so he could answer the door. He lazily got off the bed, sulking to the large mahogany door. He opened it, Jay standing there patiently.

"Sir, Alex has found prints of the rogues and has made a plan. He would like to discuss with you."

Blade's posture straightened, going into Alpha mode. "Where are the fighters?"

"In the meeting room."

He nodded, and glanced back at me. He seemed to be trying to decide something. Jay got the idea, and left to the meeting room.

"What?" I finally asked Bumblebee.

A small smile captured his lips. "Want to come with me?"

I sprung up into an enthralled sitting position on the bed. "Yes!" He laughed lightly, walking to the bed. He picked me up and carried me out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind us. "I can walk you know," I said, amused.

"I'm surprised you don't know by now that I don't give a fuck," he said to me, looking down with a teasing gaze. I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled softly.

We arrived at a large, mahogany door. Like the bedroom, this screamed "don't enter unless you want to die". Well, unless you had permission obviously.

Bumblebee set me down softly, keeping me close to him. He leaned down, whispering in my ear, "stay close, Babydoll." I nodded. Let's do this!

He opened the door, and I strolled in, stopping in my tracks. All of the men were staring at me, then they saw Blade and nodded to him. I looked to Bumblebee. He nodded back to them. He lightly touched the small of my back, guiding me to the largest chair in the room. Large, dark, and dominant, Bumblebee sat in it, suiting it perfectly. He placed me in his lap immediately, and everyone got the hint. All of the men gathered their work and walked to the table, taking a seat.

"Talk," Blade ordered.

"Rogue tracks were found on the North border. Maybe one thousand. No less than eight hundred, though," someone began.

"The tracks go everywhere. It's impossible to follow them by sight," another said.

"They may be using different routes. We will have to take the most current one when we get out there," yet another added.

Bumblebee nodded, turning to Alex, "plan?"

"We head out at dusk, tracking their route by scent. We'll have the best trackers on front, so even if the scent is old, we will still get it. Once we find it, break into six groups. Three surround their hideout, giving them one way out. Kill anyone who tries differently. Chase the rest down to the south, where the other three groups are. One will be waiting for the majority, and the other two will be on the sides, not letting anyone escape. Kill them all. Come back home. Simple."

Blade nodded. "When do you suggest we leave?"

"Earlier is better, so the scent doesn't disappear too much."

Blade sighed, holding me tighter. I suppose he already had a plan. "We leave tomorrow night. Get everything gathered."

"Sir!" they said in unison. As Bumblebee stood to leave, everyone stood in respect. We walked out of the room, and back to the bedroom. Blade was quiet. He locked the door behind us.

I looked at the clock. 9:47.

"We should probably get ready for bed," I said quietly. He nodded.

We walked to the bathroom, brushing our teeth and changing into pajamas. Well, I was in Bumblebee's shirt and he was just in his boxers.

I ran, leaping onto the bed and landing on my stomach with a thud! I giggled. Blade turned off the lights and I crawled under the covers, him following me. He immediately reached out for me, pulling me to him tightly. After a few moments, I spoke.

"So... want to talk about the rogues?" I asked tentatively.

"No," he growled out.

"But you're leaving tomo-"

"Annabel, I don't want to think about being away from you. Just let me hold you, okay?"

I lied there, shocked for a moment, before smiling in the darkness. "Okay," I whispered, placing a shy kiss on his lips. His body stiffened, surprised, and before he could react, I pulled away, nuzzling into his chest. He growled lightly, like a purr, pulling me even closer.

I fell asleep to the soothing hum of his happiness.

---

Waking up, I was groggy and irritated. I felt like I got an awful night rest, but I didn't know why.

I felt around the bed, my fingertips blindly searching for Blade's warmth. When all I met was cool sheets, I opened my eyes. He was nowhere to be seen. "Bumblebee?" I called. Nothing.

I pulled on some of Blade's boxers before walking into the hallway. I thought of where he might go.

I began walking to the meeting room. I tried the knob a bit. Locked. I knocked on the door quietly. Moments passed before it cracked open.

The glaring eyes of the man soon became surprised and apologetic. "L-Luna!"

"Let her in, Kayden," Bumblebee's voice traveled out to me. The door opened wide, and I stepped in, my feet taking soft, delicate steps. I looked around the room. Everyone stared at me. One gaze was more intense than the others. I knew what he wanted. I walked to Blade, sitting on his lap as softly as could. He growled approvingly, wrapping his arms around my waist tightly. "Continue," he ordered.

They began business, discussing the amount of food to bring, how many fighters, how many should be in each group, and so on. I dozed out, cuddling into Blade. He growled happily, and I smiled a bit into his chest. I fell asleep there, warm and comfortable.

I was awoken by the gentle playing of my hair. I opened my eyes to see Blade with a content expression, his fingers buried in my hair. I smiled, relaxing back against him. Everyone in the room was back to work: making phone calls, researching, mapping the plan, doing the math for supplies, informing warrior leaders, and so on.

"You hungry, Babydoll?" Bumblebee asked me softly. I shook my head. He frowned. "Not even for peaches?" I sprung up, alert. He laughed. "C'mon."

He picked me up and carried us to the kitchen. The chefs became alert. "Alpha," they said, ready for any orders their alpha might give.

"How many peaches?" he asked me.

"Two, I'm going light today," I answered.

He looked to the chefs. They nodded. "Give her a bowl of cereal, too," he said. They nodded. "And my usual." The nodded. We sat at the table patiently, but the food was in front of us in less than three minutes.

I guess Blade's 'usual' was just two cups of coffee.

Black, of course.