Shenaya/Emily’s POV
It’s been a week since the incident that happened at the Paris Fashion Week and everything has been quiet since then. I did a brief investigation on the bartender’s death but there was no point to it and there was only little I could do since the whole case is being handled by the police in the human world.
I hadn’t heard from Ethan or Aiden in the last few days. Ethan is probably out of the country for business. I wasn’t really worried about him. I was particularly worried about Aiden even though I knew I shouldn’t, I just couldn’t help it.
How could he ask me out to dinner and ghost me afterward, it’s not like I wanted to go. I thought to myself.
‘You didn’t want to go but you are looking forward to it, you are so mad at him,’ Lily mocked me ‘Whom are you kidding girl’.
‘Shut up’ I scolded her while she just mocked me.
I decided not to work today so I just strolled through the estate garden. Just as I finished my walk, I sat on a brick bench to take in some air to release my mind from tension and stop thinking about Aiden.
“Mama” tiny voices brought me out of my thoughts. I looked around and it was Leo and Zoey running towards me.
“My babies,” I opened my arms to welcome them as they both competed for who would get to me first. Leo got here first obviously but it doesn’t matter.
“Who brought you home,” I asked them because I didn’t see anyone trailing behind them.
“Papa brought us home,” Leo said with a proud smile. Aiden? I looked around to see if he was coming but I didn’t see him. Aiden is around and didn’t want to see me? Is he avoiding me? My mind started asking different questions.
“Where is your father?” I asked them
“He said he’ll come back later tonight to read us bedtime stories but now he had some important business to attend to,” Leo responded again.
“Mama you have not been spending time with us ever since Papa came back, don’t you like him?” Zoey who had been quiet finally said something.
“Of course not, I just wanted you two to bond with your father, that’s why” I lied, “Don’t you like his company?”
“No, I like him. He is so funny and he calls me princess.” Zoey blushed and I couldn’t help but smile at her innocence. I took them in to make sure they changed from the school wear and settled in properly.
I will wait for him in the pups’ room tonight, I need to get questions out to him. I needed to know if he had been avoiding me for real. I know he wouldn’t break the promises he made to his pups so he would show up.
Ethan’s call woke me up and I growled before picking up.
“You had better have a strong reason for waking me up” I roared to the phone.
“You forgot about routine meetings. It’s happening today and it’s starting in the next 10 mins” Ethan’s voice dripping in all Authority and seriousness. He wasn’t talking to me as his sister, he was talking to me as my Alpha and I got the message.
I rushed like a maniac around the room, trying to fix my hair, find something to wear, and wear my shoes all at the same time. I took a last glance at the mirror and rushed out of my room.
The routine meeting is always an important meeting designed to call all the Alphas in our territory together to plan for danger coming ahead. Ethan was the one who called this meeting because of what happened to me.
I finally got to the pack council hall for the meeting and they were already started by the time I got there, I found a seat in the back corner while Ethan as the council leader was at the podium giving his speech. I scanned through when my eye landed on Aiden. He was sitting with a few other high-ranking members. Our eyes met and a bomb of butterflies exploded in my belly, a spark of tension shot through the air, but I knew this wasn’t the time or place to discuss what was going on between us.
The council meeting wasn’t something big. Ethan discussed the dangers that are lurking in the pack and that every pack leader should be on alert, anything could happen at any time. I didn’t concentrate on what was being said, my whole thoughts were on Aiden as I couldn’t get him out of my mind and it is annoying me so much.
I suddenly started feeling someone’s gaze on me. My instincts were screaming at me that I was being watched by someone. I raised my head and scanned through the room again when my eyes landed on a tall frame watching me from afar. He wasn’t totally in this meeting and his face is extremely unfamiliar. I had seen everyone in this meeting before except for him.
Our eyes locked for a moment and looking into his eyes made me feel a bit familiar, like I could recognize the eyes. He tore his gaze from mine and I also looked away.
The meeting came to an end but to my greatest surprise, the man lurking at the corner had disappeared.
I decided to approach Aiden who was almost running out.
“Are you avoiding me?” I asked him trying to meet his gaze.
“what? Of course not” he said without looking into my eyes.
I decided not to push it further, not here not now.
“Do you know who that man was?” I asked as I kept my voice low
Aiden frowned, following my gaze. “Who?”
“The man standing in the corner during the meeting. He was staring at me.”
Aiden shook his head. “I didn’t see anyone unusual.”
My blood ran cold. I knew what I had seen; it wasn’t just my imagination. Someone was keeping an eye on me, and this person had access to my pack right now.