I didn't have to wait long for the Vampire to appear because as soon as I talked to Aaron about him through our mindlink, he was there in an instant, following one of the other warriors close behind but also keeping his distance to not scare the warrior into attacking him.

Aaron noticed him as soon as I did and bit back a small snort, clearing his throat to hide a chuckle of amusement. 'I guess that you did not have to wait long for him to appear, Alpha,' he said with a small hum in his voice while he tucked his head closer to me, and a small smirk appeared on his face. 'For there he is just as you thought he would be.'

I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thin line. I did not say a word while I watched both Filip and the warrior walk onto the back porch and enter my house with both of them bowing their heads in respect and in greeting.

Filip stopped following the warrior that he had made his "buddy" into the living room to wait for the meeting to start and studied me with concern and fear filling his eyes. "Lex," he said and bowed his head, and his voice was barely above a whisper while he continued to study me with a small frown on his face.

I filled my eyes and scowled, pressing my lips into a thin line. "Come off it, Filip," I said coldly while I bared my teeth in warning and narrowed my eyes. "I am fine, and I am alive."

Filip scoffed a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Well, you look like shit," he said, and I couldn't help but growl a small warning while I bared my teeth and narrowed my eyes further. He bit back a small smirk and shrugged, biting back a small chuckle, amused.

My grandmother chuckled softly and patted my arm. "He is not wrong, Dear," she said, and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "You still do not look like yourself, Alexandra, Dear, and I am also worried about you."

"But you don't have to be, Grams," I said with a shake of my head. "Neither of you because I am fine." I shot Filip an annoyed look, and the Vampire slowly blinked and pressed his lips into a thin line without saying a word.

He did not believe me...

"I am sure that Salem will say the same thing, yes?" my grandmother asked and looked at the cat, who was still sitting on my grandmother's table and did not adhere to her warning about getting off of her table.

Salem nodded in confirmation and gave me a smug look. They did not say a word, and I couldn't help but scowl and narrowed my eyes at the Shifter, annoyed.

"Well, they are not in the position to say something. Now aren't they?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I gave them a pointed look, and Salem smirked and shrugged, flattening their ears to the side of their head.

I rolled my eyes and bit back a tired sigh while I shook my head and pursed my lips in annoyance. "Shift, Salem," I said and bared my teeth in warning while I narrowed my eyes and growled. "Now." I moved toward them with my whole body tense and in a threatening way, and my grandmother instantly moved with me just to make sure that I wouldn't fall over and make a complete fool out of myself.

Salem's eyes grew wide, and a flicker of doubt filled them as if they didn't know what was going on. Their whole body was tense, but they did what I told them to do and shifted into their human form, after they had jumped off the table.

"Alex," they said, their voice barely above a whisper while they tucked their head close to their chest. Worry and nervousness filled their eyes while they studied me. "Are you ok?"

I shrugged and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line. "I will be fine," I said coldly. "Are you ok?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "Did they hurt you after I left?"

Salem bit back a small smile and shook their head. "They didn't," they said before they cleared their throat and shifted on their feet. "They did not hurt me." They tucked their head closer to their chest and silently told me that we would talk later when this meeting was done.

I pressed my lips into a thinner line and slowly nodded, glancing at Filip when he cleared his throat. "What?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I studied him, and I couldn't help but frown, annoyed. "What do you want, Filip?"

"I want to talk to you as well," he said and narrowed his eyes with a small scowl on his face. "I am not leaving after this meeting is done. Is that understood?"

I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips in annoyance before I slowly nodded, relenting. "Fine," I said, "then the three of us will have a discussion after we are done with everything else."

Salem and Filip looked at each other with a matching annoyed look on their faces before they looked at me. "Together?" they asked in unison, and I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips into a thin line. "Why together?"

"Because I am fucking tired and sore," I all but snapped, baring my teeth in warning. "All I want to do is take a shower and go to bed, but I can not do that because I am babysitting your asses."

I paused and stared at them with a warning look in my eyes, and they couldn't help but stop with their bickering and bowing. "So, are you two going to behave, or are you both going to argue and force me to kick you out without having this stupid discussion after this first meeting we have to do before I talk to both of you and find out what's going on? I do not want to do it separately and waste more damn time when both of you are here at this exact moment."

Both Filip and Salem looked at each other before they looked at me. They did not say a word and slowly tucked their heads closer to their chest, silently indicating that they will stay put and will not argue with each other any longer.

I breathed a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded, making sure that there was no one else that needed to enter the house before I looked at Aaron. "Go ahead and close and lock the door, Aaron," I said. "I think everyone is here, so let's go ahead and get this meeting done so that I can go ahead and get some sleep after I talk with Salem and Filip."

"Yes, Alpha," everyone said and slowly bowed while Aaron closed the back door and locked it without me having to tell him again, and I couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded.

"Good, then let's go." I subtly gestured for my grandmother to start going to the living room, and my grandmother nodded before she started to walk that way with the rest of the group following us.

Oh Goddess, protect us...