66

66

Aurora’s POV

“What a hell of a meeting!” I gasped, reached for my car keys and opened the door. “I wondered how these two men cope with themselves in that house,” I murmured, heaving a sigh of relief.

I was in no haste to rush home and moreover, I decided to take the next day off so I could tidy up some files in readiness for the next mission which I am earnestly praying not to partake in.

Slowly, I drove, steering to the left and to the right as the sun smiled happily at me. Ahead of me was a dark sky pregnant with rain. I was baffled at how nature always found a way to bring balance to the atmosphere.

Without permission, my mind floated off to my nanny holding hands at the hospital the day Alpha Simon chose to assist me with helping one of my kids to the hospital in my absence.

Deep in my heart, I could tell or maybe assume that Austin passed the night at my place in my absence. I allowed my mind to sweep in the many things that could go down as a result of his presence in my house that night.

Also, I couldn't conclude the matter because my nanny didn’t seem like one who would dabble into something illicit with Austin right in the confines of my home.

Certainly, if I brought up the question, she would not hesitate to tell me all I needed to know on the matter but, I haven’t given it any thought yet. Maybe I will consider it, maybe I will not. I heaved another sigh and shrugged my shoulders.

I could see Jasmine and Jake waving at me from the front of the house, they seemed happily impatient. I couldn’t wait to park the car and rush to scoop them into my arms, caressing their backs as I take in the peace that comes from having my kids around me.

They are the best thing that ever happened to me and I do not think the record will likely change anytime soon. As I revved my car to make it fit into the small parking space available for it, a sourness rose from the pit of my belly.

‘What if Alpha Killian, after discovering the kids are his, seeks to fight tooth and nail to have the kids all to himself and lock me out of their lives like he did to me some years ago?’ I thought, my hands yanking the keys off the ignition hole and stepping out.

“Momma, momma,” Jasmine and Jake chorused as they rushed to get into the larger portion of my embrace.

“I got to her first,” Jasmine warned her brother firmly, wriggling her body to push Jake off completely.

“No! I got to her before you did,” he shot back with his tiny voice, folding both arms in sheer frustration.

“No! You--”

“What’s all the fuss about? Momma is enough for everyone,” I cut in, spreading my arms apart as I dragged Jake into my bosom with smiles all over my face.

“Jasmine, Jake is your brother. If you will have momma, he will have momma too. Learn to share. Momma’s love can go round,” I advised calmly, touching the tip of her nose and ruffling her hair simultaneously. She smiled so hard that the gaps in her gum were revealed unashamedly.

I hugged both of them again, this time, a little tightly. I couldn’t have enough of the warmth and colour they brought into my life.

“Momma, would Austin come again?” Jake asked, his eyes shimmering with childish exuberance. I knew it! The nanny had Austin stay the night at my place while I was away.

“Well, do you want him to come again?” I asked, adjusting my frame on one of my knees as I bent. “Yeeessss!” Jasmine and Jake chorused gleefully. “Okay??” I said, feigning suspicion as my eyebrows arched visibly.

I shot my gaze at the nanny who stood some centimetres away observing us. Our eyes met for a second but she quickly took her eyes off like one who shudders under the piercing gaze of a detective when s/he know s/he is guilty as charged. Maybe she felt guilty already, I couldn’t tell.

Rising to my feet, I rested my hands on their shoulders and made to whisk them in when a question from Jake tingled my eardrums. “There! Who is that man over there?” Jake pointed to an open space across the road which was closer to the car I had just parked some minutes ago.

“Come on, Jake. There’s no one there. Let’s go inside, okay?” I assured him. I didn’t want to entertain the thought of being followed down home. Who even wants to follow me? The pack has been one of the safest packs so far.

“Mum, it's true. I saw him too, did you bring someone along as you came?” Jasmine confirmed. “If I brought someone home, he needn’t hide,” I said looking deeply into her soft eyes.

“You must have been followed, then. What do we do now?” Jake asked, a little panicky.

“Shhhhh, you are safe. This is nothing to worry about. That person you saw may just be passing by or is probably stranded. Momma is safe and so are you, okay?” I explained calmly, trying to beat down their fears.
This was not the first time I had been followed but since Alpha Killian arrived the pack, had doubled. While I cannot say if he is the orchestrator of these incessant followings, I also know that someone somewhere is gathering information on me to launch an attack.

I led my kids into the house but returned to pick up the files I was to review from the car. I made sure to look over my shoulders intermittently till I had extracted all the file documents from my briefcase.

Marching towards the house, I felt a strange presence behind me. I hastened my steps immediately, got into the house and locked the door behind me, breathing heavily.

“Momma---”
“Shhhhhh,” I signalled, placing my pointer finger in between my closed lips.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Subtle at first and harder by the seconds.