Lionel sat across the table, silent, and that felt weird for Zera. She stared at him from time to time, and though she wanted to speak, she couldn’t bring herself to do that. She could deduce from the atmosphere that something had happened, and it wasn’t good. She didn’t want to conclude and wanted him to take the lead in disclosing the reason for this meeting.
He had called her over to his place, which was weird because in the last two years, he had visited the Pack Estate whenever he wanted to see her or Zion. Since he and Sesi lived together, they would come together. That way, Sesi saw her other siblings, especially Ivan, because she worked with Aaron and often saw him. Their visitation was always like killing two birds with one stone.
However, when she asked why she had to come to his place, he said he wanted to see and speak to only her. It wasn’t her first time visiting, but it was her first time being summoned, and thus her suspicion began. She’s been here for ten minutes, and the only thing she’s heard is silence. It was a good thing she had no lecture today, or it would have been an unforgivable waste of time. He also acted strange, moody, and quiet in the last ten minutes, which was unlike Lionel, and she was worried for him, not knowing if she should be.
“You’re going to talk at some point, right?” She said with a raised brow.
He pressed his lips together. “Did Sesi tell you?” He asked so quietly that she almost missed it.
She frowned. “Tell me what?”
“That we are no longer together?”
“What? No!” She hadn’t seen Sesi and didn’t think it mattered because she lived with Lionel and not at the Pack Estate. “You two broke up?”
He nodded, and his head dropped. “Yeah. Um, she broke up with me.” Pain flashed through his eyes, and it broke her heart to see it.
The last time she saw him, over two weeks ago, he had planned to propose to Sesi and was going to wait until they returned from Paris to do it right.
She saw how in love they were these past years, so she wondered what could have happened. She had looked forward to their union as husband and wife. When he called her yesterday, he told her they were coming back home, and she wished him luck on his proposal. She didn’t hear any news from him about how it went, and she figured he forgot or wanted to keep things low. How wrong she was. Hearing that they had ended things now broke her heart, and she couldn’t imagine what it was doing to Lionel.
“What happened? Why did she?”
“She said she found her mate. I asked her to marry me after we came home yesterday, and she told me she had found her mate.”
Her confusion grew. “I thought you were her mate.”
“I thought the same; I have her mark, but she said she made a mistake.”
Having her mark meant he was bound to her for life as a mate, but since he was human and he couldn’t mark her, she wasn’t under such a condition. The pain Lionel must be in.
“I’m sorry, Lionel.” Zera’s eyes dropped remorsefully.
He bit his lips and said, “He’s an alpha, and she’s the strongest beta in the Dominio pack. He makes a better mate than I do.” He said, and she could hear the anguish in his voice.
He felt hurt and betrayed, and his voice and words said it all. He still loved her, though, and that’s what made this worse. His world would be forever tied to hers, even though she was no longer his.
“I don’t think he’s any better than you are.” She began, and he glared at her; he clearly didn’t want to hear that. “I do not want you to beat yourself up. This is not your fault. You did nothing wrong.”
“Then why is she gone?” He asked. A painful tear rolled down his face, and he wiped it off. She didn’t want to see him like this; she had not seen him in this much pain since Tia’s death.
“We will never understand why things happen the way they do, and I can’t say it will get better. But I know none of this is your fault.”
“It doesn’t make it hurt less.” He told her, and she agreed with him.
“I am sorry,” she mumbled.
“How is she? Sesi.” He asked in a small voice after a while of silence.
She flashed him a small smile. Even in his heartbroken state, he still asked about Sesi. He cared for her. “I haven’t seen her at the Pack Estate, but I’ll assume she’s well. She might not be in the happiest state, but she’s doing okay.”
He nodded. “That’s good, then.”
She stayed with him for the rest of the day. She was happy to know that despite this; he kept a level head and wasn’t looking to drugs and alcohol to take the pain away. He was paddling through it. It was just hard to see the silver lining for him. He didn’t just go through a breakup like humans do; this was different. He had been with her for the last three years, and he loved her like his own soul. They had also taken a few extra steps in their relationship.
He had her mark, and that made their union much different from other forms of dating. His soul was tied to her and will be until his last day on earth. It wouldn’t be easy to move on because moving on would feel like death. It was the only choice left on the table, and he had no choice but to take it.
“How’s Zion?” He asked after they had dinner, and he gathered the plates in the kitchen to go wash them.
“Zion is fine,” she said, following him.
He set the plates in the sink and turned on the tap, saying, “I kind of miss him.”
“I’m sure he misses you, too. Next time I come to visit, I’ll bring him along.”
His eyes lit up, and he turned from the sink over to her. “When will that be?”
“Weekend. Is that okay with you?”
He nodded, and a smile came to his face. “Yeah, thanks.”
“You’re always welcome.”
“Have you and Aaron spoken about having another?” He asked, turning to fix his gaze on the plate in the sink.
He had no clue how much talk they had had. He didn’t know that because she and Aaron had decided to keep the talk private. Learning the truth had given her a new perspective. At first, it hurt because she wanted to have another child, but at least she had Zion. They could not conceive three years ago despite being sexually active because of Aaron’s curse and its effect on him. And after the curse was broken, she was already a sage. It made sense after much thought. It still hurt, but at least it made sense.
Aaron didn’t care about having another child, and so she was trying her best not to. They were happy the way they were, and they also had Zion, so that was okay.
Many people didn’t know about the miscarriage. First, she found out later that she was pregnant, and it was barely two months when she lost it. They chose to keep it from the knowledge of others so that the only ones who knew about it were her, Aaron, and Ivan. It was best that way.
“I have, and we are trying. I think when the time is right, we will have another baby.” She knew much talk wouldn’t come up with the answer she just gave, and that was what she wanted. There would not be another child, but he wouldn’t know that.
She spent another hour with Lionel talking about work before leaving for the house. Since she didn’t use a car here, she figured there was no need to use one back, so she raced it. It was a wonderful feeling to use her speed and ability, and though she didn’t depend on it or use it as often as she should, when she did, she felt on top of the world. What happened two days ago during the full moon still weighed on her mind as she raced home, but she was safe and okay. The nightmare hadn’t repeated itself, and that was a good thing. They will figure it out as they go on.
She met Aaron holding onto Zion’s hand as she returned home, and she concluded this was one of those days when they had gone out on a walk about the estate. It was a father-son bonding moment, and it was always a wholesome sight.
They had on a pair of matching blue shorts and a white round-neck polo. Aaron must have picked up her scent, because he turned around to look at her.
“You ran here.” His brows furrowed.
She pressed her lips together as her cheeks heated. “Yeah.”
At her response, Zion turned around and said, “Mommy!” He released Aaron’s hand and raced over to her.
She carried him into her arms, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Zion would clock seven in a few weeks, and he was growing bigger with the day. She shouldn’t have been able to carry him for long if she didn’t possess the supernatural ability of strength. Luckily, she did.
“How are you, and how was school?”
“It was okay, Mommy; we have a new teacher.” He informed her.
Her eyes widened with interest. “Did you tell Daddy about your new teacher?” He bobbed his head, and she asked, “Do you like your new teacher?”
He shrugged casually and said, “I don’t know yet; it’s the first day. But he seems okay.”
“True that.”
Uwa, Zion’s nanny, walked up towards them, and Zion spoke, “He gave us homework. I should go do them.”
Zera set him on the floor, and he raced to the room without looking back, leaving her alone with Aaron. Uwa silently followed him.
“Hey,” she began, but he silenced her words with a deep kiss.
He pulled away and smiled at her, and she smiled back. “Hello.”
“How did your day go?”
“Great, and I see yours was filled with excitement.” His eyes flickered all over her. “I want it to remain that way.”