“The answer is thirty,” Zion answered the home tutor, who currently teaches him math.
“Very good,” she beamed at him.
His gaze drifted to the door, where it met Zera’s. His eyes grew wide in disbelief, and he ran off his feet and towards her, abandoning the lesson.
“Mommy!” he called out in excitement and joy, his hands spread out for a hug.
Zera dropped to her knees and scooped him into her arms. Holding him in her arms was a thing of joy, and the warmth was unlike any other. “Baby.”
“I missed you, Mommy,” he said, patting her shoulders with his little hands.
It had taken over four hours to get back home, and all the way home, the drive was done in silence. None of the three in the car wanted to break the silence. Zera would have preferred to get down and run all the way home, but after the events of the day, she just wanted this peace.
She didn’t place her mind on anything but the very thought of seeing Zion. It warmed her heart and made it beat steadily. She had wanted his arms around her, and now that she had them, her joy was complete.
“I missed you too, my boy.” She kissed his hair and pulled back to cup his face in her hand. “I hope you’ve been good.”
He bobbed his head and said, “Yes. Daddy said he would bring you home, and he did,” he beamed at her.
She hugged him again, grateful that she got the chance to do this.
She stepped out of the room to let Zion finish his lesson and made her way into the bedroom. It didn’t surprise her to find Aaron there. It was his room, after all. They had said little to each other since they left Daniel’s place, and she had stayed silent because she didn’t know what to say.
She didn’t know what to say to the man who took the life of her father and kept her in the dark about it.
He was also the man who saved her life countless times.
Daniel was right. He’d lay his life on the line for her without even thinking about it. That was how selfless he was with her.
She stepped up towards Aaron and threw her hands around him, setting aside her anger for a second and clinging to the man who still had her heart. For a moment during the accident, she didn’t think she would ever see him again, and it broke her heart, but he was here.
He tightened his hold around her, dragging a deep breath and burying his face in the crook of her neck. From her calculations, it had been a few days since they last saw each other, but it felt as if it had been a decade, and the longing was real.
They stayed there for a while, neither of them wanting to let the other go, but Zera found strength and pulled away from the loving hug.
She cleared her throat and lowered herself to the bed. “Thank you for coming for me. I’d like to be optimistic, but there’s no certainty what would have happened if you two didn’t show up when you did.”
He shook his head. “It’s the very least we could do. I am responsible for everything that has happened so far, so I owe it to you.”
She glanced up at him. “I need answers. I need the truth.”
He did not argue. “Yes, and that’s what you will get.”
“I know I asked this before, but I need to ask again: did you kill my father?”
“Yes, I did.” He took a step towards her, and her heart picked up a beat. “And I would rather show what happened to you. That’s if you want me to.” He stepped towards her.
“How do I know you won’t utter it to appear the way you want it to?”
“Because it’s my memory. I have no power to change it,” he replied, placing his hands on her temple. The next second, she stood on a dark, lonely road, but Aaron wasn’t beside her.
The cold night breeze blew over her skin, making goosebumps break out all over. The trees around them swayed, and the dry leaves rustled around. Its soft, muffled crackling sound echoed because of how quiet the road was.
The road looked familiar, and she knew she had been on it before. She heard an argument taking place behind her and turned around. There, she found four boys who looked to be in their early twenties standing around the road, and they looked to be waiting for someone. Two, including the one that looked like the younger version of Aaron, had black hair. The third had short red hair, and the fourth had blonde hair. They all stood tall and oozed youthful strength and foolishness.
“What are you going to do if you see him?” The boy with red hair and a mischievous smile on his face asked, and he held a bottle to his mouth.
“We are going to talk,” the younger Aaron answered.
“Talk?” he scoffed. Werewolves aren’t feared and revered because of their ability to talk. They are feared because of the terror they inflict with their glowing eyes, sharp claws, and terrifying fangs.” He answered, and the two others with him bobbed their heads in agreement.
“This man killed three of our own. One of those he killed was my brother, and we should make him pay,” he growled, and the menace in his voice could be heard. He was probably fed up with the silence Aaron gave him in response.
Aaron held his hand up, “Listen, I know you’re grieving over the loss, but there is no guarantee he killed the three pack members, Tosin.” Aaron answered. “That would mean he flew from the States to the UK just to kill our kind. Humans aren’t that powerful, and hunters aren’t that reckless.”
“My intuition never failed before.” The blonde one spoke in defence.
“Even so, you’re not a wise one, Seth, and so I cannot believe everything you say, so we will talk,” Aaron said to the other black-haired fellow, and his voice told them there was no more negotiating. “I am your alpha, and you will do what I tell you, and I say stand down and let me handle it!”
“He’s coming,” the one with black hair announced, and they stopped quarrelling and took their position on the side road while Aaron stood in the centre.
A red Toyota Corolla, which Zera knew belonged to her father, drove closer towards them. Despite the speed of the incoming car, Aaron didn’t move. He stood and waited. The car drove closer, and it didn’t look ready to stop.
Aaron’s hand shut forward, a way of telling him to stop. At his gesture, he slowed down the car. A smile almost crossed Aaron’s face, but it disappeared when he heard Tosin’s voice from behind.
“Fuck this, fuck talking!” he cussed and charged towards the oncoming car, which was now a few feet away.
“No, Tosin, stop!” He tried stepping in to stop Tosin, who had acted against his command to stand down, but Seth and the blonde-haired boys surged forward to hold him down while Tosin rammed into the car with a force that sent it tumbling off the road.
Aaron watched with wide eyes as horror played before his eyes. “What did you just do?” he shouted from the tarred road where he lay.
“I did what was necessary! As of this minute, you’re no longer our alpha,” Tosin said, and they released their hold on Aaron.
Aaron withdrew his hand from her temple, and she drew a sharp breath and stared at him in disbelief. Her eyes grew glassy, and she couldn’t stop the tears.
“You said you killed him.”
He nodded. “I did. What Tosin and the rest did was on me. I was the alpha. I led them there.”
“Aaron,” she started, taking a step away from him, but he wasn’t done speaking.
“I couldn’t place my attention on the members of my pack who betrayed me. Instead, I ran off the road to the victim, whose car Tosin had thrown off.” His eyes grew remorseful. He pressed his lips together and turned away from her. “I could do nothing. He died on impact.”
She glanced up at him. “What I saw were three young men who disobeyed their alpha’s command and took the laws into their hands. That has nothing on you.”
“I’ve lived with the guilt and the troubles since then. I lost Tosin, Seth, and Derek and never saw them again, not until a few months ago when I received information that they had gone to become a part of the rebellion pack.”
“Was my father a hunter, or was he a victim in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
“Your father was a hunter, but he wasn’t responsible for the deaths of the three members of my pack. Tosin had killed the members of my pack, including his own brother. He intended to put the blame on Levi, so I would take his life as payment. When they saw I had a different plan, they took matters into their own hands. I later learnt Levi was a hunter who hunted around the States and was a thorn in the flesh of the rebellion pack, and they needed it removed. Tosin’s act granted him, Seth, and Derek free passage into the rebellion pack, where they are to this day.”
Her father never told her he was a hunter, and she believed he never told Betty either, but having lived with Daniel and seen his life, she understood why he would have hidden what he did from his family. He wanted to keep them safe, even though they had had little safety since then. There was so much she didn’t know. There was so much she had to learn. “You should have told me the truth.”
“I never knew the man who died because of my negligence was your father, Zera. All these truths I discovered right before Tia’s death, and I waited for the right time to tell you. But it never came. I should never have left you in the dark about my past. Nicole only knew the truth about that night because Tosin told her, and she twisted the story to portray me as the villain. She succeeded.”
“I am sorry.” A tear ran down her face. “I jumped to conclusions about everything, and I should have trusted you more. I’m sorry.”
“You had every right to judge me.”
“I don’t.” She took a step towards him. “I will do better.” Her heart picked up a beat for him. “I need you to promise me that when the time comes, you will point out Tosin and let me handle the rest.”
“I will do that.” He gave her a firm nod.
“Good, I missed you.”
He pressed his lips together, his emotions coming into display. “I’ve missed you too.”
“How much?”
He groaned, and his lashes fluttered. “Very much. I thought I wouldn’t get the chance to talk to you or even hear your voice again.” He took a step forward, closing up the space between them, and his arms wrapped around her waist. “I thought I’d never get to hold you like this anymore. Or kiss you.” He leaned in, and his lips brushed over hers.
She sighed in contentment. “When I lost control of the car, I thought I’d never get to see your face again.”
“You would always have me. I promise you, Zera.” He mumbled against her mouth.
“You swear?”
“I swear.” He took her lips between his.
End of Part 6