Chapter 32
ASHER
"Wait, wait, wait. Rewind. Zaza is Isabella?" Knox asks her.
"You know Isabella too?" Mom asks him surprised.
"All three of us know Isabella." I confirm. "Knox, welcome our guests to the microphones and we'll find a quiet corner outside to explain everything to Mom with Jax."
"What is there to explain to me? I want to know now." She tells me, pouting like a child.
"Mom, I'm sure that you have the ability to wait a little."
"You're a killjoy like your father." She responds by crossing her arms and I raise my eyebrows. "But you're handsome like him too." She adds with a smirk.
I tell Jax to come join us via the mindlink and I approach the stage with Mom next to me.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
I'd like to start by thanking everyone who helped organize this evening, because it was laborious and the result was worth it. It's just wonderful. I think we can applaud them for that." The guests all clap their hands. "Next, I'd like to thank everyone who came out tonight. Without you, Black enterprise wouldn't exist, and wouldn't be the success that it is. So thank you, and this is your evening..."
I stop listening to Knox's speech and concentrate on trying to see Isabella in the crowd and I finally spot her and Alex. She can't see me from where she is, but I can see the smile on her face as she listens to my younger brother. Pride is written all over her face, and I'm proud too, happy to see how much she appreciates the effort he's put into this evening. It was all his idea, the venue, the decorations, the violinists on the way, and he took credit for nothing. I intend to tell Isabella because he deserves her to know how good he is at what he does.
I'm more than a little surprised to learn that Zaza and Isabella are the same person. I can't wait to find out how these two met, plus it means Mum took her to the pack and introduced her to werewolves. Goddess, sometimes I don't understand her.
Once his speech is over, Knox leaves the stage to applause.
Jax and Knox both join us at the same time. Mom puts her arm in mine and we slip away to explain the situation. When she came over for dinner and to spend the night, we had considered telling her that we'd met our mate, but we knew she wouldn't let go of us to meet Isabella, and we didn't think she'd be ready for a meeting with our mother.
ISABELLA
I was surprised by Knox, but at the same time, I wasn't any the wiser. I'd never seen him so serious and confident, but he seemed totally in his element on that stage. I found the way he highlighted everyone's work fascinating, but I found it so true to himself.
Just after Knox's speech, Alex excuses himself to see an art dealer he recognized. After finding myself alone, I try to find the boys but all three seem to have disappeared. With a glass of champagne in hand, I look around, observing the decorations and table settings. The flowers, the candlesticks, everything is perfect.
"They did a great job, didn't they?" A deep voice asks from behind me.
I turn around to see a man in his thirties, dying in at 6'3" with broad shoulders and blond hair styled back.
"Indeed, it's very pretty." I reply politely.
"I don't believe we've had the pleasure of being introduced. I'm Leo Barnett." He says, holding out his hand.
"Isabella Moretti." I respond, shaking his hand.
"Isabella, it's a pleasure to meet you." He releases my hand. "You don't work for Black Enterprise, do you?"
"No, I don't. I'm..."
"Our mate." A familiar voice cuts me off as it places its hands on my shoulders behind me.
"'Mate?...Wow, I'm sorry, Ash, I didn't know. I didn't feel she was marked otherwise..."
"I know, Leonard. Enjoy the evening." Leo nods and turns back.
"Did you just mark your territory or am I dreaming?" I ask Asher as I turn to face him.
"Of course I did. Didn't you notice the way he looked at you? He wants what's ours."
"I beg your pardon?" I said, placing my hands on my hips.
"If I were you I'd stop looking at me like that because it makes me want to fuck you on the table next to us. And I don't care if everyone looks at us."
I stare at him open-mouthed. I don't know whether to slap him or sit on the table and spread my legs. I can feel my body heat rising as time passes.
"The sexual tension between you two is so thick you could cut it with a knife." Maggie says and I snap out of my trance.
"Maggie?" I ask surprised when I see her approaching with Jax and Knox beside her.
"Isabella, let me introduce you to our mother, Margaret Black or Maggie." Asher says as he places his hand on the small of my back.
"Your mother?" I ask surprised. This evening is nothing like I expected.
"When I tell Frankie you're the mate to my three boys she's not going to believe it." She says to me, giggling. She approaches me and places her arm in mine. "I liked you from the moment I met you but then now that I know you're my daughter-in-law I love you even more. You're the daughter I never had." She speaks but I only half hear. I can't believe she's their mother, does that mean I spent the day with werewolves and didn't know it? I've been in a... pack? She pulls me with her to a table, Knox pulls out a chair for her to sit on and Jax pulls out the one next to it and I sit down. The five of us take our places around the table. I look around for Alex and see him at the next table, deep in conversation with a man about our age. Well, at least he's having a good time.