Amara – Reunion

Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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Breakfast was lively and without incidents.

Lazarus was busy with something on his phone, Luca was quiet (as usually), Ash chatted with Hugo and Emilio, and Zoe was in the group with the girls.

Mona was visibly tired but happy.

"What did I miss?", Mona asked when she sat at the table opposite me and Duke.

"Nothing much.", I responded. "How was your night?"

Mona wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. "Julian left at dawn."

"That good, a?"

Mona didn't deny it and I was sure that if not for Duke, Lazarus, and a bunch of teens, she would give me all the naughty details that make me blush fiercely.

"How was your night?", Mona asked.

My night was wonderful. Duke's scent and his proximity lulled me into a peaceful slumber, and I woke up refreshed. It was a natural sleep and not the one which knocks me out due to lack of energy. I enjoyed Duke's sleepy face for about fifteen minutes before Ash came to ask us to join him in the study, and Duke was adorably grumpy because I woke up before him.

I paused my tea-sipping in order to respond. "I slept like a baby."

Mona looked at me mischievously. "I'm sure babies don't do what you did with mister hot stuff."

"Pft!" I sprayed my tea over the table, some droplets even reached Mona. "Sorry, sorry…", I said while nearly choking on my tea.

I can't believe that she called Duke 'mister hot stuff' and implied we did the naughty, and he was right next to me! 

Duke handed me a napkin with an amusement twirling in his eyes. He was enjoying this.

I was laughing but I felt the heat seeping up my cheeks. There was no point in denying that anything happened because it would just sound like an excuse, so I had to suck it up.

I diverted the topic to our upcoming outing.

"You are leaving us again?", Mona asked in fake outrage. In the next moment, she waved her hand, indicating that it's fine. "Don't worry about us. We will manage."

"Thanks, Mona. We are going to meet someone in Nice and will be back in three hours at most."

Mona inched closer and asked in a whisper, "Is that someone Marius?"

I had no idea from where Marius popped up in our conversation. Maybe from Mona's desires. "Sorry, but no. It's Drago's assistant."

Mona wiggled her eyebrows. "Sergio is hot. Maybe I should tag along."

I shook my head helplessly. "This is business and I need to take care of it personally. Please, make sure kids behave."

Mona assured me that she has things under control. "After breakfast, we are going to the beach. I got snorkeling gear and surfboards ready and kids asked me yesterday if those massive rocks towering above water are good for cliff diving."

"Be careful. Cliff diving is dangerous.", I warned her. I know that those are werewolves, but they can still get injured.

"Don't worry about us.", Mona assured me. "We will go snorkeling first to ensure that the water is deep enough before we start jumping in."

"We? Are you going also?"

"Of course! Do you think I came here to sit and watch?"

I admired Mona's enthusiasm. She is always ready for an adventure and trying out new things while I… am not. I worried if Duke will see me as boring.

After breakfast, Mona gave prizes to the winners of the scavenger hunt. All kids got smartwatches and Hugo and Violet (who won first place) received each a Nintendo Switch and several games. Kids were ecstatic.

Duke went upstairs to our room to change and kids scattered, so I used the opportunity to tell Lazarus that we will be absent.

"We will be back by lunchtime. Please keep an eye on kids, especially Luca and Ash. With Duke not present, feel free to give them a werewolf-appropriate punishment if they misbehave."

"Do you need to go?", Lazarus asked with disapproval obvious in his voice.

I realized that he thought I'm going on a date with Duke, so I decided to explain. 

"Ash wants to go to London as soon as possible and to start his internship. Drago's assistant is in Nice currently and we are going to meet with him. I want to talk to him in person and ask him to keep an eye on Ash. He is a werewolf."

Lazarus's eyebrows furrowed at this information but he nodded stiffly, indicating that he understood.

Next, I wanted to ensure that any flames from last night were extinguished in order to reduce the risk of leaving only to return to a completely ruined party if things escalate in my absence.

First was Luca. I found him next to the pool in the chaise with his eyes closed.

"How are you doing?", I asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I am concerned about you guys, but otherwise I'm fine."

"Sorry to worry you."

I was touched that he apologized. Luca was always the thoughtful one. "Don't apologize. Zoe is lucky to have you. We all are."

Luca let out a long exhale and I could see in his eyes a plethora of emotions he would never put into words.

I patted his shoulder. "I will bring you a souvenir from Nice."

Originally, I wanted to talk to Ash and check on what he wants to say to Zoe, but considering his plans to speed up the internship, I had a good idea what he was about to say, and I didn't want to meddle. The only thing I didn't know was if Ash spoke to her already or not and I wanted to make sure she was fine.

Zoe was in the room with Chiara, Violet, and Christina. They were huddled around Violet who was holding her brand new Nintendo Switch and trying to catch a Pokémon.

Zoe and I found privacy in one of the guest bedrooms.

Zoe sat on the edge of the chair and stared at her feet.

My heart ached to see always cheerful and bubbly girl silent and looking down.

"Tell me what's going on, Zoe." 

"Last night I spoke with Drago, and I realized that I disappointed you."

I was surprised to hear that Duke spoke with Zoe also. It seems that he spoke with kids and made them realize their mistakes.

I was torn between scolding Duke for doing things behind my back and thanking him for making kids use their heads.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you last night what happened.", Zoe said. "I was with Ash, and we were kissing, and Luca saw us and… It's not Luca's fault. He was protecting me."

"Protecting you? Did Ash force you?"

"No. It's just that…" Zoe let out a long breath. "Luca is overprotective."

"If you could go back in time and restart the scavenger's hunt, would you do anything differently?"

"I would make sure that Luca and Ash don't end up fighting."

"How? By going deeper into the forest so that Luca can't find you or by sticking to the game and not getting into a compromising situation? Or maybe by not switching teammates?"

Zoe opened her mouth and closed it and I could see that she didn't have answers to these questions.

She lowered her head and I felt horrible, but I was not done talking. 

"How much I know, you were supposed to be a teammate with Cristina. Can you imagine how Cristina felt when you told her that you pick Ash over her? Do you know how Luca felt when he saw you with Ash? No one is against you dating Ash, but you should think about the circumstances."

"What do you want me to do?", Zoe asked and looked at me with eyes full of tears that threatened to fall.

"It's about what YOU want to do, Zoe. Right now, you need to come up with some answers and take corresponding actions. Do you want to be friends with Cristina? You shouldn't leave your friends behind if you committed to staying together. Luca is worried, he thinks that you are blaming him. Do you? And last but not least, how far do you want to go with Ash before you confirm if he is your mate? Think about it with a clear head and stick to it, or you might end up with regrets."

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