Alpha Aidan's Rejection Chapter 23

TARA

　　After the rituals, the elders in charge led everyone in a round of singing and prayers, officially marking the end of the multipack moon meet, and I was nostalgic to the point where I shed a tear or two.

　　The event of the decade had affected me in the most positive ways, and I was forever thankful for it.

　　The sun was beginning to set, and the weather was cool and favorable, so the barbecue party was already being set up.

　　Alphas and their packmates who had a longer journey than others, and wanted to make it early had already started retiring to their respective hotels and camps to pack up and hit the road.

　　A larger number of people hung around the pack's square, vibing to the music that had resumed playing or chatting with the new friends they had made, while others just lay around leisurely in their wolf form.

　　Esme, Jenna, and I were with Nadia, enjoying each other's company with some drinks. We were listening to Nadia give us some tea about what was going on at school, and I found myself already in a jolly mood and laughing lightly.

　　I threw my head back in a round of laughter at one of Nadia's jokes, and like the natural golden retriever that I was when it came to him, my eyes did a quick scan and settled on Aidan somewhere in the crowd far behind us.

　　Every other thing tuned itself out, and I subconsciously adjusted in my seat to get a better view of him.

　　He hadn't noticed me yet as he was lost in conversation with the person beside him. One arm was crossed over his broad chest, palm tucked under his armpit and supporting the other arm which was rubbing the back of his neck and stroking his beard simultaneously.

　　His dressing was impeccable usual, exuding all of the marvelous things that mine currently didn't. Aidan's appearance was a stark difference from mine, letting me know that the last eight years of our lives didn't have as much effect on him as it did on me.

　　I was still in my insecure line of thinking when his eyes tracked the crowd and stopped right at me, and I froze.

　　Thankfully, Nadia rescued me from having to duck my head.

　　"Mommy," she shook me by the arm. "Are you listening?"

　　Jenna and Esme seemed to also notice that my attention was no longer on them, and they craned their necks to have a look.

　　"Yes, of course, baby. What were you saying?"

　　Nadia went on with speaking, but my head turned again, and my breath hitched when I noticed that Aidan was now walking towards us.

　　I gulped a lung full of air because it seemed like I had suddenly been thrown into a tight space.

　　"Actually," I said, snapping my head and cutting Nadia off from her narration. "The party is almost starting, so let's go get cleaned up. Jenna, help me get our bag, please."

　　Jenna must have understood my plight immediately, so she spoke.

　　"Come on, Nadia, the kids will start their fun soon. Let's get cleaned so you can join them and not miss any part of it," Jenna said.

　　Nadia nodded, and as we gathered our stuff hurriedly, Esme got up too.

　　"My old bones are weary, kids. It's time for my beauty rest, so you all go on and enjoy the rest of the evening without me."

　　"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a few minutes, Esme?" Jenna asked. "I heard that the kills for the barbecue are fresh, and they brought in three real chefs to do the grilling," she said excitedly.

　　Esme only shook her head, kissed Nadia on the cheek and bid us farewell before leaving.

　　Aidan must have noticed my plot to avoid him, so he stopped approaching us and just watched from a distance instead.

　　The three of us finally moved away from the crowd and went over to the temporary restrooms that were built for the event.

　　I helped Nadia clean her dress and shoes, and she went ahead to fix her hair with the mirror that was available there.

　　Placing the disposable cup that I was still holding on the edge of the sink, I turned to Jenna. "Thank you for the save, Jen. I'm going to talk to him, but I was so unprepared and… I don't know, I just chickened out," I said, and Jenna only nodded with a knowing smile.

　　"Aren't you going to change anymore?" She asked me as she took off her shirt and jeans to change into a more comfortable outfit.

　　I shook my head. "This one's not that bad. I'll just clean up," I said, and as I went for the towel I used in cleaning Nadia's shoes, my hand hit the disposable cup that I placed on the sink, and I gasped as its entire contents splashed directly on my dress.

　　"Oh shit," Jenna said laughing. "Talk about good timing. Good thing we still have the change of clothes, right?"

　　"Mommy," Nadia said through the chaos. "I'm done. Can I go out now?"

　　"Yes yes," I replied half consciously. "Just stay where I can easily see you, okay? Don't go far from the other kids."

　　"Are you okay mom? You spilled the drink on yourself," Nadia said.

　　"Don't worry, baby, I'll change into something else."

　　With that, Nadia kissed me on the cheek and ran outside happily.

　　"I'll give you some privacy to get yourself together. I'll be outside if you need me," Jenna said when she noticed my hesitation to do anything even after Nadia had left us.

　　Offering her my silent thanks, I watched her leave.

　　The truth was that since I had known Jenna, nothing had made me undress in front of her, or in front of many people at all since my incident with Kayla.

　　I was thankful that Jenna didn't probe, and was understanding. She was such a girl's girl.

　　Taking off the ruined dress, I stared at my reflection in the mirror, and emotions clogged my throat.

　　The scars from my attack were still very present, even though not as visible as they were before. I didn't think it was ever going to fully heal.

　　My hand trailed the horizontal line on my abdomen that marked my sacrifice of motherhood, and even though if asked to do it again, I would do so without batting an eye, it still made me feel very conscious of myself.

　　I pushed my sour feelings to the side and threw on another gown that sat past my knee, exposing my high boots, and I packed our stuff to head back outside.

　　As soon as I opened the door to the closet, the first thing I laid eyes on was Aidan. Nadia was with him.

　　He was kneeling on one foot like he would during a proposal, and Nadia sat on his balanced knee with her tiny hands around his neck as she whispered something in his ear.

　　Whatever she said made Aidan break out in a smile that reached his eyes.

　　I swallowed hard, thinking about my resolution to stay away from Aidan, and I asked myself.

　　Would that be possible if his daughter was quickly falling in love with him?