Chapter 19 Jackpot
nineteen
Jackpot
*GWENDOLYN*
The night ended way too quickly, and suddenly, I find myself outside the club again with Felix accompanying me home.
“You don’t need to decide anything tonight,” he says.
“About where you want to live. Granted, I won’t leave you if you want to travel around for a bit longer.
I will definitely stick around.” He grins.
“But at least allow me to show my pack to you!”
I definitely want to see his pack. The only reason I haven’t agreed to it yet is that I want to talk to Amelia first, and just get a second opinion on it. I don’t know any other packs than my own, but maybe she has heard more about Felix’s pack.
Instead of an answer, I take his face between my hands, happy when he wraps his arms around me and leans into a kiss.
Felix captures my lips with so much intent that it takes my breath away, as if he were just waiting for an opportunity to kiss me.
One of his hands is firmly on my back, while the other moves to the back of my head.
“Just so it’s clear,” I whisper against his lips. “In case it wasn’t obvious: I, Gwen Lambert, accept you, Felix Alcott, as my mate.”
His eyes widen, and he looks so happy and joyful that it takes my breath away. “Do you want to drop by later today? You can take Dario and Charlie along,” I offer. “So we can get to know each other better.”
“I’d love to,” he says.
I am about to lean into another kiss when I can feel something tugging at my pants. My gaze wanders downwards to the ground, falling onto-
“An otter,” I mutter.
Felix follows my gaze. “Is that yours?”
“No.” When the otter tilts its head and tugs at my pants again, I can only shake my head, completely dumbfounded. “I don’t know where they all are coming from.”
“What do you mean?” Felix asks.
“I have been involuntarily collecting pets,” I admit. “They just suddenly come to me. It’s so weird.”
“Now, I am even more curious to visit you later!” Felix grins.
I can’t believe he still doesn’t find me completely weird.
I am inclined to invite him in immediately, but then I hear Faye’s little steps.
She is already up and running around. I really need to talk to her first, and also prepare her for us moving soon.
“I need to...“ I sigh. “I wish I could, but…”
“Don’t worry.” Felix squeezes my hand. “Just take your time explaining everything. I will be there at,“ he pauses. “When?”
“5 p.m.?” I offer.
He smiles happily. “I’ll bring snacks. Anything you and Faye like in particular?”
“Well, Faye likes cake,” I chuckle. “As for me, I am more for savory things.”
“Got you.” He pulls me into a hug, kissing the side of my head before letting me go. I feel sad seeing him walk away from me, although he is only leaving for his hotel and will be back in a couple of hours. This is insane, but I already feel so attached to him.
It only strikes me now that I found my mate.
And not only did I find him, but he actually wants me; he accepted me and wants to stick around.
I hope he still wants to do that when he meets Marina and Faye, and realizes how bad our situation truly is.
Hopefully, he isn’t thinking everything over and getting doubts.
Felix has almost disappeared behind the corner of a house when he turns around, smiles and waves at me.
Oh fuck, I just want to jump his bones! He is cute and fun, and just so genuine! He seems to be so in tune with his feelings and straightforward without coming off as an arrogant douchebag. I return his smile and wave as well.
Before I go inside, though, I sit down on the small bench in the garden and grab my phone to give Amelia a call. I need to talk to her and see what she thinks about Felix and his pack. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, only to get them shattered again.
“Sweetheart,” Amelia picks up on the second ring, starting to ramble immediately. “Hi, I am happy you called, but I am sorry, I don’t have any news yet.”
“But I do,” I say.
She is on alert immediately. “Did something happen?”
“I found my mate.”
“By the goddess,” Amelia exclaims. “Tell me he is a good guy, or I will get onto an airplane and kick his ass.”
“He is good. At least as far as I can tell,” I say. “And he wants me, with or without a wolf.” I pause. “I just need to verify… You know, I was burnt once.” I pause, feeling my chest clench at doubting Felix. “Goddess, I hate doing this.”
“You want to know if his pack is any good?” Amelia guesses correctly.
“Yes.”
“Makes sense,” she says softly. “No one would hold it against you, after all you went through. What’s his pack? I can research.”
“Silverlake pack,” I say.
I am greeted by silence.
“Amelia?”
“No fucking way,” she mutters.
My heartbeat instantly picks up. “Is it that bad?”
“Girl, it’s the jackpot,” she exclaims. “That’s an extremely renowned lycan pack. I can’t believe you don’t know them! They really left you completely out of the loop in your pack, didn’t they?”
“I had no idea,” I admit. The weight on my chest feels a bit lighter now that I heard her reaction.
“So, who is your mate? A warrior? Tell me everything!”
“He said, his father is the current alpha-“
A loud noise echoes through the phone, and some quiet cursing. “Amelia, are you okay?”
“I dropped something in shock,” she says breathlessly. “Did you just say you are mated to one of the alpha’s sons?”
“Yes,” I say.
“You are the mate of one of the lycan princes! I can’t believe it! I am friends with the mate of one of the Alcotts!”
“So, this is good?” I ask carefully.
Amelia is silent again, before she chuckles. “Yes, this is good. It solves a lot of our problems. I’d have had a place for you in another pack next week, but it’s much better for you to go to Silverlake.”
“I hope they will let Marina and Faye come too,” I say. “We are not blood-related, but they are my family.”
“I don’t think your mate will leave you hanging,” Amelia says.
“Just be honest with him that they need to come along,” she pauses.
“For Faye, this could mean a new sense of routine and normality. Gwen, you did what you could all these years, but it’s okay to take a step back and breathe, and allow someone else to take over. ”
“What do you mean?” I ask quietly.
“If someone there wants to be a nanny for her or a caretaker for Marina, so that they can live together, don’t say no immediately.
You don’t need to sacrifice everything for them.
If they are safe and cared for, it’s okay to allow others to help.
It’s okay to take a step back, and it’s more than okay to focus on yourself.
I don’t want you to think you have to shoulder everything alone. ”
I feel relieved first, then a wave of guilt hits me at feeling relieved.
I love Faye and Marina, but deep inside, I wish someone would help.
I want a sense of normality. I hope for someone to be there to treat both of them kindly.
I still want to be in their lives, but I’ve been a caretaker for so long, I am fucking tired.
Yet, my stomach churns at allowing myself these thoughts and hopes.
“Just think about it,” Amelia adds softly.
“Okay, I will.”
I hang up and walk back to the entrance door. On the way, I pick up the otter who has been following me. I don’t even question it anymore, and doubt I could manage to make the funny little bud leave, anyway.
*FELIX*
It was early in the morning when I returned to the hotel, and I only took a two-hour nap, too excited to tell my friends everything and to see Gwen again. Our hotel offers a simple breakfast, so we meet there for brunch late in the morning.
If Dario and Charlie are annoyed by my nonstop talking about Gwen, they hide it well.
“I am very happy for you,” Dario says warmly.
“Me, too!” Charlie exclaims. “She looked cool, at least from what I could tell.”
“She is,” I say promptly. “She also seems to love being in nature, which we obviously share. And she is so beautiful.” I sigh dreamily when I think of her long curls, her green eyes and her beautiful face.
She carries herself with confidence, and it’s obvious she knows how to stand up for herself. “Most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
Charlie and Dario exchange a gaze. “They all say that,” Dario mutters.
“Literally,” Charlie agrees. “My dad does, too.” She pauses, lingering on the thought.
Dario and I never comment on it, but for a year now, she has been addressing her adoptive parents as Mom and Dad.
It must have been a huge step for her, but I am happy she came that far.
“And Alpha Liam,” Charlie continues. “And Livia’s mate, literally everyone.
The pack is full of the most beautiful women alive. ”
Dario and Charlie both laugh, but I just grin at them. “Just wait! I will have the last laugh when you two find your mates!”
“We’ll see about that,” Dario says, amused.
“I mean, I hope I will fancy my mate,” Charlie says. “But I don’t want to get my hopes up too high in case I will be disappointed.”
Dario nods. “Same.”
“You are overthinking it,” I mutter.
My brother narrows his eyes to a glare. Rich coming from you! He links me.
I feel my cheeks burning. He is right. I was more than a little self-conscious about meeting my mate and not being enough. I shouldn’t tease anyone else about overthinking anything.
But I am truly happy for you, Dario adds.
I smile at him. I know, thank you.
“Going by what you told us, she must be very tough,” Dario muses.
“Yeah, her old pack must have sucked,” Charlie says. “At least for the most part.”
“She said that while her father was still alive, they treated her well,” I say, blood burning in my veins when I think about how they treated her once he passed away.
“Unbelievable,” Dario mutters. “Just because she is a hybrid. They weren’t even able to respect her father posthumously.”
“Good thing she had that one old friend from her father and the elderly couple looking out for her,” Charlie muses.
“The alpha’s son giving her money and the option to get out without notice probably helped too,” Dario adds.
“Yeah, but he wasn’t so great beforehand, from what Felix said,” Charlie says.
“It’s hard not to judge,” I admit.
“I want to say I would have never stood by and watched a member of my pack getting bullied,” Dario says. “But I have never been in that situation, so it’s easy to say.”
“You totally would have kicked a bully’s butt,” Charlie says with emphasis.
Dario smiles at her. “Thank you for believing I would.”
“He helped her get out,” I say thoughtfully. “For that, at least, I am thankful. Without his money, she would have been stuck there for longer.”
Dario nods. “We can definitely agree on that.”
“I am still not comfortable that she is alone here,” I say. “What if someone from her pack is looking for her? She said, she feels like someone is watching her.”
“We saw those shifters two days ago,” Dario adds.
All three of us fall into an uncomfortable silence until Charlie breaks it. “Let’s go somewhere else and discuss this further. I need better coffee, though.”
I peer at my own cup of hotel coffee. “Yeah, this one didn’t do it.”