The Chill restaurant was in the third building opposite the university, which made it easy to locate, and that was where Lionel stayed, waiting for her. He reached out to her this morning, and he told her he hoped to see her and do a little catching up. She hadn’t seen him since the company’s anniversary party, which took place two weeks ago. Since the battle between packs ended two years ago, he and Sesi moved outside the pack estate. They had no cause not to, and that made it harder to reach them. Their relationship was stronger than ever. She didn’t have any reason to say no to the meeting, but she hinted that she only had a thirty-minute lunch break and couldn’t go very far. Lionel then told her they would have to find the closest place to sit out and talk. So she suggested lunch at the Chill restaurant because it was closer to her place of work.
Zera waved at Lionel, who sat at the lunch table waiting for her arrival, and after a few seconds of waving nonstop, Lionel noticed. He waved back and beckoned to her, and she stepped further into the Chill restaurant, which had only a few customers seated. As she got close to where he sat, she felt cold shivers in her veins that halted her walk. She had never experienced such a thing before, and it felt as if her life was being drained out of her as fast as the speed of light. Lionel’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her, confused as to why she wouldn’t move.
“Zera,” he called, and like a spell, she snapped out of the trance and walked all the way to meet him. “What the hell was that?” He asked with widened eyes filled with panic.
She sat and shook her head, saying in honesty, “I have no idea.”
“Are you okay, though?” he asked, his eyes staying on her in concern.
She nodded, “I am fine.”
“Does that always happen?”
She shook her head, answering genuinely, “No, this is the first time,” but she doubts this will be the last. A lot of things have been happening to her, and she doesn’t have explanations for them.
“Does Aaron know about all this?” he asked with a furrowed brow.
She bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah, he does.” He didn’t know about this particular happening, but he knew about others.
“And what did he say or do about it?”
Honestly, he hadn’t done much; she didn’t tell him about most of the things happening to her anymore because she didn’t want to add to his responsibility as Alpha and father. She met with Ivan, who told her he didn’t have answers to what was happening to her but told her he would get back to her; he never did. Perhaps he was still searching for answers.
She didn’t tell Aaron about Davine Yates because she didn’t see it as important. Since her talk with Gordon a week ago, she hadn’t seen or run into him, and she hoped it would only continue.
Contrary to Gordon’s ignorant assumptions, she wasn’t looking for friends at the university. She didn’t return with the hope of finding friends, but rather with the hope of getting over the grief of miscarrying her baby. She saw the opportunity to return as an escape and didn’t think twice before accepting it. Her job had helped her get back on her feet and given her purpose, and she was grateful and not ready to leave yet. That was why she returned to work-not to be friends with lecturers or even Davine, but to find strength through teaching.
Everyone had ways of getting back up after falling; this was hers. It’s been a week since his presumptions, and there has been no cause for alarm. She didn’t feel like she needed to involve Aaron yet; she had it under control so far.
She didn’t think she’d ever use this as a reason, but she wasn’t like the other staffs at the university. At least so far, that’s what it seemed, and the probability of being the only supernatural being in the university looked unlikely, but that was it. Everyone she’ve come across has proven themselves to be human. It was best to keep to herself. She still had her brother, her husband, his family and her son. That was enough for her.
“I am fine, though, I promise.” She answered and smiled. “It’s my lunch break, and it’s just thirty minutes before my next class starts.” She informed him, hoping he would pick up the cue and change the subject.
At her words, he glanced at his wristwatch, then back at her. He looked reluctant about having to move on, but he didn’t have a choice; he had to. “Yes, so aside from this, how are you?”
“I am fine, and you and Sesi? It’s been a while; how long has it been? Ages!” she answered her own question.
Lionel rolled his eyes and raised his hand to signal the server at the back to bring the menus, and he walked towards them.
“It’s been a little over two weeks, if I remember correctly.” He answered.
The young male server placed the menu before them, and after picking it up, they handed it to him, and he departed.
“Two weeks is a long time; a lot of things happen in only a day; what more in a week and two?” she argued.
“True,” he said, nodding his head.
“Zion misses you, though,” she revealed, and she saw the way his eyes lit up.
“I miss the little warrior, too. Send him my regards, will you?”
She nodded. “I can do that, but you can also come over and say hey, buddy.” She pointed it out to him.
“Fine then, I promise that I will come over to see Zion before we leave for Paris.”
Zera’s eyes widened at his words: “You are going to Paris?”
He was taken aback by her question and stayed quiet for a while before realising what he had said and nodding, “Yes, but no one is supposed to know about that.”
“I am not ‘no one’. I am Zera, your sister.”
“I mean, Sesi said it was supposed to be between her and me.”
“Well, does Aaron know about this journey?” she asked with her brow raised. Lionel nodded, and she rolled her eyes. “If he does, then I have as much right to know as well.”
“The only reason he knows is because he is the alpha of the pack.”
“And I am-” He didn’t let her finish.
“A sage.”
“I can be a Luna if I want to be.” She blurted and only realised what she had said after the words left her mouth.
His eyes narrowed at her words: “I don’t think that’s how it works, Zera; I don’t think sages can be Lunas.”
“True, but that doesn’t make me less than Aaron, you know.”
“I never said it did.”
“Then tell me. It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone.”
He sighed in frustration, and a crease formed above both his brows before disappearing. “Sesi and I will leave for France in a few days, and Sesi says it is an important mission that would serve the pack a great deal. She hasn’t told me much about the journey either, but I know it’s important to her. Since my art can be done remotely, I am going with her and taking it along.”
“Oh, that’s sweet, wanting to be with her and by her side always.”
He pressed his lips together to suppress the smile that came onto his face. “When we get back, I am going to ask her to marry me.” He said this and dipped his hand into the pocket of his trousers, pulled out a box, and showed it to her.
Her eyes grew wide, and her hands came up to cover her mouth.
“If you want to propose, I advise you to do it right; get on one knee, young man.” An older woman who just walked in, holding onto the arm of an equally old man, said.
For a second there, Zera thought she had heard wrong, but it didn’t feel like a hallucination. Her attention moved to find the old woman staring at them.
Her eyes widened as she understood what she was talking about, and she shook her head. “He’s not proposing to me.”
“Well, that’s a shame.” She said, adding, “You two look really happy with each other.”
Lionel closed up the box and covered his mouth with his left palm, his face growing red from embarrassment.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I mean, we are siblings; he’s my older brother, and I’m also married.” She held up the diamond ring on her finger in case she didn’t notice that all the while she had been here.
Her face dropped. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Lionel had yet to recover from his embarrassment.
“I told you to let them be, Nine.” The man beside her, whom Zera figured was her husband, spoke, dragging her away from them.
“Oh, my bad, then, but the young men these days don’t seem to know how things are done.” She mumbled her argument as they walked off.
I couldn’t help chuckling as I watched them go. “I’m glad you are happy about that.” Lionel finally spoke.
“I can’t believe we don’t look alike enough to tell her we are related.” They both had dirty blond hair, eyes, and even jaws. Growing up, they were often mistaken for twins, even though they weren’t. She was a big child growing up and was the same size and height as Lionel. The difference came after he hit puberty, but even at that, they still looked like siblings-at least that was what she thought.
“Some couples do look alike naturally.” He pointed it out, and she agreed with him.
“You’re right.”
The male server returned to their table holding two steel trays with their meals on them, which he placed before each of them before walking away.
They ate in silence, and after they finished, she picked up the serviette and wiped her mouth before speaking. “Why don’t you propose to Sesi in Paris? I think that would be so romantic. Won’t that be better than waiting to get back before doing it?” She asked because, despite being quiet and eating in the last ten minutes, these thoughts stayed on her mind.
“I thought about that too, but I am only coming along with her for support; I can’t make it about myself by proposing to her. I will wait. She is worth the wait.” He spoke with much confidence.
She couldn’t be happier for him.