Aaron leaned in and kissed her lips, and Zion made an ooh sound, making them pull away from each other. He had returned from his tour of the house so quickly. Aaron’s affectionate kiss, however, seemed to have banished the fear that had lingered in her, and only he had the power to do that to her.
She banished the fear that clouded her mind and focused on the event happening today. It was Zion’s big day, after all.
The guests began arriving at exactly 5 p. m., and the first to arrive were Diya, Greg, Nine, and Nina. Zion looked the most excited to see them, and the girls also had excited looks on their faces at his sight. Zion ran over to them, got on his knees, and spoke to them. The girls giggled, as if understanding the words Zion told them.
A few other guests arrived following Diya, and then Ivan arrived, surprising them by coming along with a young, red-haired beauty in his arms. It was an upgrade no one expected but appreciated. They looked more than mere acquaintances, and they shared looks that gave up more than friends as well.
Zera picked up the unfamiliar scent and knew it belonged to the red-haired lady. She glanced at Aaron to see if he was seeing the same thing she was, and she saw him shocked as well. That meant she wasn’t alone.
Lionel came as well, but he came alone. He did his best to keep a positive look on his face as he came up to Zion to wish him a happy birthday and offer him the present he brought. Zion had a wide smile on his face and hugged his uncle immediately, and this act seemed to warm up Lionel, who almost broke down in tears.
“Thank you, Lionel,” Zion said as they pulled away from the hug. He handed the gift Lionel gave him to Aaron, who collected it and added it to the many other gifts those who came for his birthday party brought along.
Zion took Lionel’s hand and led him along, mumbling, “Nine and Nina are over here, and they have matching dresses; it’s so cool.”
An hour went by before they knew it, and the guests all seemed to have arrived at the penthouse to celebrate. Zera, however, didn’t bother herself much about who was yet to come because the thought of Ivan and his date occupied her mind. Every once in a while, she would steal a glance at Ivan and his mystery date as she tried to put the clues together.
“You know you can go and say hello instead of gawking at them from afar, right?” Aaron says, and Zera jumps and turns her attention to find him looking at her with a knowing look on his face.
Her cheeks heated, and she looked away from him. “Don’t tell me I’m the only curious one here.” She groaned.
“I never said you were; I simply suggested that you go over there and introduce yourself. That’s so much better than gawking from afar,” Aaron said, handing her a glass of wine.
She took the glass offered. “Do you think she is his girlfriend?” Her curiosity got the better of her.
He shrugged, looking clueless as well. “I wouldn’t know; I haven’t met her before, so I didn’t even think she existed until an hour ago.”
“This isn’t right. Ivan brought her over, so shouldn’t he have at least brought her over to us and introduced her to us?”
Aaron pressed his lips together and didn’t answer her question, which made her raise a brow at his sudden lack of words. “Well, won’t you say anything?” She raised a brow.
Aaron stared at her, then his gaze moved from her to rest just beside her. That very second, the unfamiliar scent she picked up when Ivan and his woman walked in earlier engulfed her nostrils, only this time stronger. She immediately turned around, only to find Ivan and the woman he came in early with before her.
“Oh,” she swallows nervously and clears her throat. “Ivan, you’re here.”
“Yes, hello,” he said, not sounding like one who had heard her speak bitterly about his decision to keep his woman from them.
“You came with a date, I see,” she said, and her eyes moved to the red-haired woman standing silently beside Ivan. “I know you probably heard me bitching about Ivan, but it’s because I was curious about the woman he came with. I don’t think we have ever seen him with a woman before,” Zera admitted, despite this truth being hard to tell.
Silence fell after she had made this revelation, and she wished someone would speak and save her from this awkwardness.
“This is Xoe; she’s a good friend.” Ivan finally spoke.
“Well, if she’s such a good friend, why am I just finding out about her today?” Aaron asked, making his presence known since Ivan came over.
Ivan’s attention moved to his brother, and he had an unreadable look on his face. “Because you have work always, and whenever she comes over, none of you are home to meet her.”
“She’s been to the estate?” Aaron asked, not believing his ears.
“A few times.”
“As a friend?” Aaron raised a brow, and his tone was laced with disbelief.
Ivan glared at him. “She’s the wise one of the retribution pack, and yes, as hard as it is for you to believe, she’s just a friend.”
Aaron held up his hands in surrender and took a step back. “Alright then.”
Zera smiled at Xoe and said, “Hey, it’s so nice to meet you; I am Zera Hart.” She stretched her hand out to Xoe for a shake.
Despite how they had started, Xoe smiled back genuinely and accepted her hand into hers for a shake. “It’s so nice to meet you. I have heard so much about you from Ivan.”
Zera’s eyes raced to meet Ivan before returning to Xoe. “Well, I hope all you heard were good things, though.”
She nodded, her smile not dimming. “Yes, they were. Ivan told me you are a sage, and it’s nice to know that you’re just like us.”
“Well, thank you. I try my best to not be different,” she replied, releasing Xoe’s hand.
Xoe’s eyes moved to Aaron, who had been very quiet in his position and was listening in on what they were saying. “I heard much about you as well, Alpha Aaron. I feel like I have known you my whole life with how much Ivan speaks about you.”
“He talks that much?” Aaron seemed to be lost with the revelation happening so far, and he couldn’t hide it as much as he tried to.
He doesn’t have to open his mouth to talk. She clarified, and Aaron nodded, understanding what she meant a little. “It’s nice to meet you.” She bowed her head in respect.
They didn’t stay for much longer; Ivan looked to be in a hurry to pull her away from them, and he succeeded. Zera turned to Aaron, her gaze raised and her lips pressed together. “That didn’t go as I expected. I have to say that I like her.”
“Ivan with a girl is still a surprise to me,” Aaron says with a shrug.
“She’s a wise one and a friend, so that isn’t so much of a surprise.” She said.
Aaron kissed her head and told her he would go have a talk with Diya about the job offer and know if she would be willing to start up on Monday since it was already the weekend. Zera nodded her head and watched him leave, and she didn’t say anything else as she got lost staring at the guests enjoying the party with their children.
She noticed Zion speaking to a few kids his age present at his party. Zion turns around almost immediately, and their gazes meet. He left the rest of his friends and walked towards her. The look on his face was not the brightest or happiest for the celebrant. She went up to meet him halfway.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“Quincy isn’t here.” He replied with a rather sad tone, and she bent and reached her hand out to stroke his face.
“Maybe something happened?”
“He said he’d come; he promised,” he said, almost tearing up at this point, and she didn’t know how to console him.
“Oh, baby, I am sorry. There is still time; he might still make it; let’s give it time.”
“It’s been over an hour, Mommy. Charlotte says she will leave with her mother soon,” he tells her, and she doesn’t know what to tell him. She didn’t want to say sorry; she doubted that was what he wanted to hear. He was looking forward to the arrival of his friend, and now he is sad because of it. There were so many other kids his age present at the party, but he seemed to only care about the presence of one.
It was almost time to cut his cake, and his best friend hadn’t come yet. At this rate, he might never forget, and that would make today the worst birthday ever.
She barely got the thoughts out of her head when she heard a tender voice call. “Zion.”
Zion froze for a moment before turning around to where he heard the voice call to him.
He exhaled in relief. “Quincy!” He called out, dashed out from her over to his friend, and threw his arms around him for a tight hug. They pulled away, and he asked, “What took you so long to get here? Did you get lost?”
The younger boy with blonde hair and brown eyes shook his head and said, “We didn’t get lost, but we lost your present, and we had to get another before coming. Here you go,” he handed Zion a medium-sized box wrapped in silver and blue wrapping paper.
Zion accepted with a wide smile. It warmed Zera’s heart, and she couldn’t fight her smile either. The bond between the two children and the effect they had on each other felt pure.
“Thank you,” Zion told him.
Quincy smiled. “You’re welcome, Zion.”
There was something about him that seemed familiar, and she couldn’t wrap her head around it. Even his dreamy brown eyes reminded her of someone, but her brain felt too clouded to remember, and she didn’t know how to unwrap it and remember.
“Come meet my mom,” Zion said, and he didn’t wait for him to answer before taking his hand and dragging him forward and towards Zera.
Quincy didn’t complain about being dragged over to meet her; if anything, he looked excited and giggled his way through.
They get to where she stands, watching them with steadily beating hearts. “Mom, this is Quincy Yates, my friend from school. Quincy, meet my mom.”
“Hello, ma’am.” The wonderful boy greeted politely.
“Hello, Quincy, I have heard so much about you from Zion; I am so happy you could make it today,” she told him with a smile on his face, hoping he believed her.
He didn’t know what his presence meant to Zion. Their friendship and strong connection, despite how little time they had known each other, shocked and warmed her heart at the same time. They were like an even pair, and watching them felt like a privilege.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he replied quietly. He was a shy boy, perhaps shier than Zion was amidst strangers.
Zera looked behind him as if looking for something before asking. “Where is your mom?”
“I came with my dad,” he replied. “He was behind me when we came in,” he said, turning to look around in search of his father. He seemed to have lost his father among the crowd, and she wondered if there were that many people present at the party to do that.
After a while, “There he is.” He spoke, pointing to something not so far away on his left, and her gaze followed, only to find Davine Yates approaching them.