How low can he stoop?

Aubrianne Ivanov

Daniela and Timothy had protested, but Alpha Thornton insisted Timothy be there. Ivan did the same, insisting Daniela be there for bonding time between the Beta and Alpha's kids.

Just as it used to be when they were kids, only this time, they have a new member of the family. Ivan had explained as he wondered what had changed between the group of three boys and a girl.

Because he recalled the kids were close-knit once. Nevertheless...

"Boringgg." Daniela sighed audibly.

Just thinking of being in Jada's presence tonight for a while longer pleased Ivan, so he continued to coax his daughter.

He knew Theo would not go to bed once Aubrianne was at the pool. He would only retire for the night after his man returned from taking her home, so Ivan figured he could offer to keep Theo's company. His children were there, after all.

He only eased when Daniela relented, "Fine." She pulls out her tiny compact makeup kit from her tote and checks her makeup and lips.

"Come, baby girl, your old man would like to stretch his legs, give you a full tour and show you to your room," Theo smiled mischievously, "By the way, when are you moving in?"

Theo figured he would put her on the spot one more time. However, Aubrianne was ready for the question as tonight made her realize she would not be moving in anytime soon.

At least not right now, only when everyone warms up to her, gets to know her, and vice versa. As things were right now, she did not feel welcomed by any of her father's family except for Tobias.

Aubrianne did not know how she would go about it at this moment when she would, or if they would be open to it, but she would make an effort for her father.

Jada, Ivan, Brody, Daniel, Timothy, and Christen's ears perked up at Theo's question, awaiting Aubrianne's answer.

Jada wanted to know if she would be closer to Ivan, and Ivan was curious to find out if Jada would be more immediate and wondered if that would be a good thing or if they would get caught faster being so close because they were unable to stay away.

As of right now, Ivan and Jada want to be in their own bubble without their family having their two cents.

Brody secretly hoped Aubrianne was in no rush because it would mean more time to spend at the house with Kirrah, opposite Aubrianne.

Daniel wanted to know if Aubrianne would be closer to him, making it easy to slip through her window at night. As a vivid imagination came to his mind, and he smiled.

While Timothy wished mighty hard that this b!tch stay where she was and not set foot in his house.

And Christen wished hard that she had more time to get used to the idea first. Goddess, that woman's face she grimaced and held her stomach.

"Dad, I am not ready yet. Maybe after the ball." At her father's wide eyes, she hurried on, "Or before?" Which came out more like a question than an answer.

Theo narrowed his eyes at her. Kirrah had reported to him a couple of suspicious things. Including details that someone had been lurking around Aubrianne's property a couple of nights ago, and then Daniel suspected they were being followed.

All this could have absolutely nothing to do with Aubrianne, but Theo was never the type of man to gamble with anything in his life, and he would not start now.

To say he was worried was an understatement. He wanted Aubrianne close. He needed her close. He cannot lose her after finding her; having her with him means the world.

He just couldn't, and now it was like Aubrianne was testing his patience on this. He would lock her in her room upstairs quicker than let her leave tonight.

And at the same time, Theo wanted to give her space to come to him, thinking Aubrianne may need time to open up. But then again, he wanted to just come right out and ask her if she was also in danger.

Nevertheless, about that, his men were already on it. He will get ahead of things because he cannot lose her.

"Ok, baby girl," was all Theo said; they would talk about this some more while they toured. He wanted to at least know why she refused to move in.

Rising from her seat, Aubrianne thanked everyone for being there, welcoming her, and making her evening enjoyable, and she could not wait to do it again!

After Aubrianne had taken stock of her night, all in all, she had to admit, it was a wonderful dinner, except for those little uncomfortable moments.

And she really could not wait to do it again, but of course, she knew it would not be that simple, as Aubrianne is not the type to be pushy and be like, well, Mr. Thornton is my father, and if they don't like me, to hell with them.

Those were Jada's words to her and Jada's thinking, but Aubrianne, on the other hand, wanted peace and harmony, no bad blood.

Aubrianne then turned to Jada and told her she would be back soon. Her father was excited about showing her around, and she would use the opportunity for more bonding time.

Soon Theo and Aubrianne left the table and made their way out to the grounds her father had advised to start out there and work their way in.

"Now that my husband took his leave, I would do the same and retire for the evening. Thank you all for coming," Christen says, almost drained of her energy.

She felt weak because of the effort it took for her to control her emotions for hours on end. She felt exhausted, and still, her mind was not at rest.

The group, preparing to take their exits to the pool area, acknowledged Christen, wishing her a good night.

"Ok, guys, let me help you set up by the pool. This way, you guys can relax and have a few drinks until Aubrianne is back with Theo." Ivan announced to the table, including himself in this somehow.

He was racking his brain on what would not appear strange for an old man like himself to be around the young ones, especially without Theo.

He smiled when he found the perfect in. None of his kids enjoyed setting up anything, and he offered to fix them drinks, get the grill going, and grill some meat.

And whatever they might need at this time, if it was ice from the main house or whatever it was, he was at their service.

Goddess, how low can he stoop?

An ecstatic Daniela squealed and glanced at Daniel wide-eyed, and they shared a look as Daniel's eyes found hers simultaneously.

What did she do to deserve this? It had been so long since her father relaxed with her and Daniel by a pool that she tried to recall the last time.

But she couldn't. It was that long, and had she known this, she would never have made a fuss about going out with Jenna.

"Oh, Dad, come, let's go." Too excited, she grabbed him along with her as the group sitting around doing their own thing jumped to their feet and followed behind.

"Alright, guess we are doing this," Kirrah groans beside Brody. "Oh yes, we are," he responded, a little too chipper.

She sliced him with her deadly look, and he smiled, "How I love it when you look at me dirty." Brody teased, and Kirrah rolled her eyes and sighed loudly.

Theo and Aubrianne's tour was well on the way. Aubrianne was genuinely mesmerized by her new home to be, and right now, she felt like she could move in tonight with all the amenities and comforts.

Aubrianne could get used to this; she felt like she had cared for herself for years; maybe it was high time someone took care of her; perhaps it was time she leaned on someone else for a change.

At seventeen, she lost her mother, which almost killed her. She went to a really dark place for months. She could not shake off that funk she had found herself in.

She had wandered aimlessly for too long, but something had snapped in her one afternoon after crying for the entire morning on her mother's bed.

Aubrianne vowed to make her mother proud because, on that day, she wondered, if my mom could see me now, what would she say?

And Aubrianne knew how hard her mother worked to care for them and save for her college education, and now she was wasting it away; the school term was already long on the way.

What should she do?