Chapter 21 First Meeting
twenty-one
First Meeting
*GWENDOLYN*
The noise finally lures Faye out, too. She comes tapping down the stairs, still tired from her afternoon nap.
Now, however, she halts, blinking at the three new people with her eyes wide.
This is new for her. She knows I never bring anyone into the house who is a stranger to us.
I have been very careful, but her anxious look now is another reason for me to feel guilty for the life I have subjected her to.
“Sweetie,” I reassure her, reaching out my hand. “These are friends. Remember, I told you about them.”
She takes a jump down the last step and takes my hand.
“You don’t need to hide your name,” I say.
At that, Faye beams. “I am Faye,” she exclaims.
Felix smiles brightly at her. “I am Felix.” He points at the other two. “This is my brother Dario, he is super smart. And the cool woman is my friend Charlie.”
“Felix is my mate,” I tell her honestly. She knows what it means, and I don’t see any reason to lie to her.
Faye’s mouth drops open. “They are really wolves!” she exclaims joyfully.
I am surprised at her joy. It seems like she immediately warms up towards them the moment I told her what they are. Goddess, this girl needs a pack to belong to! She is doing okay here with Marina and me, but okay is not enough. She needs more.
“You truly are a little angel,” Felix says. “Like Gwen said.”
“I am not an angel, I am a princess,” she exclaims.
Felix grins at me. “You need more of her attitude!”
I elbow him. “One princess in this house is enough.”
Faye runs to the box with her dolls and plushies, and pulls two dolls out of it. “I want to play,” she beams, holding out her dolls. I love her, but roleplaying with dolls or plushies is seriously something I hate doing, and I am so bad at it.
Fortunately, Charlie jumps in. “I will play with you.” She grins at us. “Step aside, peasants, and let the professional do the work.”
I didn’t believe she would be willing to do it, but apparently, she really means it. Sitting down with Faye, she immediately plays nursery with her. Of course, Faye plays the teacher.
“Wow, Charlie is really good at that,” I mutter.
“Yes, she has a little brother,” Felix says. “She dotes on him all the time. I think he is about Faye’s age.”
“A bit younger,” Dario muses.
“Dad says I spoil him too much,” Charlie grins. “But I can’t help it. Besides, he is one to talk.”
“It’s his first baby,” Felix says. “I bet we are all going to be the same. Liam was like that, too.”
“Liam?” I ask.
“My oldest brother,” he tells me.
“Mom’s the only sane one,” Charlie adds. “She told me she was scared of becoming a mother, but she is so good at it.”
I start to put the pieces together, eyeing my mate carefully. Charlie notices my curiosity, too, and grins. “It’s not a secret,” she tells me. “You can ask.” When Faye tugs at her arm, she gestures towards Felix. “Ask him, instead. I am busy here.”
“Charlie’s mom is actually her aunt,” Felix tells me. “Her parents both passed away. A couple of years ago, they found Charlie and adopted her.”
I smile, happy that they trusted me enough to include me. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Say, Gwen,” Dario says. “May I use your restroom for a moment?”
“Of course! First floor, first door to the right,” I say. “Oh, don’t worry about the otter in there. He is just swimming in the tub.”
Dario stares at me. “Did I just hear the word otter?”
“Oh, the one from last night,” Felix grins. “I forgot. So, he stayed?”
“They never leave,” I explain. “Even if I leave the door open. Once I take them in, they just follow me around and stay.”
Dario looks at me curiously. “Interesting. Was it always like that with you and animals?”
“I always had a good way with them,” I admit. “But not like… this.”
“When did it start?” he asks.
“A couple of months ago.” I pause. “It’s weird, isn’t it?”
“It’s peculiar,” Dario says. “Not weird.”
My gaze wanders from Dario to Felix. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“I have an idea,” Felix says.
Dario nods. “Me too.”
For a moment, they exchange a look, and then both of them nod again. When Dario heads to the restroom, Felix and I start to prepare our afternoon snack – though snack is an understatement for the amount of food they brought along – and I pick the topic up again. “What do you think is going on?”
“Might be your gift,” Felix says. “Did you get tested as a child? What was the outcome?”
“I didn’t get tested.”
Now he stares at me in shock. “They didn’t test you?!”
“I am half human.”
“That’s not a reason,” he exclaims. “You are also half shifter. It doesn’t matter that you are a hybrid; you could still test positive for beta. Then it would mean you have a gift.”
“But… I don’t have a wolf spirit,” I mutter.
He looks at me thoughtfully. “Do you know that for certain?”
“I mean, there is no other presence in me. I don’t feel it.”
“Never?” he pushes.
“Sometimes it does feel like something is pushing me in a direction,” I admit. “Like when I saw you for the first time. It was just… But if it’s there, why wouldn’t it talk to me?”
“Two things can be true at the same time,” he says.
“You definitely smell like a wolf, although it seems wolf shifters can’t take up your smell.
But I can, and Dario can, too,” he pauses.
“My dad and my brother Liam are very good at finding the connections to our lycan and delving into said connections. They might be able to help.”
My heart makes a cautious jump of hope. “Really?”
Felix smiles before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer. “Yes. If you give my family and my pack a chance, I am sure they will happily help as much as they can.”
Moving my hand over his back, I brush through the hair at his neck, butterflies fluttering through my stomach when Felix pulls me into a kiss.
Goddess, my skin seems to burn whenever I feel him up close.
Since Brandon, I didn’t feel like getting close to a guy again, but this man here makes my head spin.
We pull apart when we hear Dario return. He has splashes of water on his shirt, making both Felix and me laugh. “The otter?” I chuckle.
“Yes, it’s like a water pup,” he says. “I guess it wanted to play.”
“Oh!” Felix looks at me. “I just remembered… You haven’t introduced me to Marina yet.”
“Right,” I say, sudden hesitation overcoming me.
I told him about her, so he knows what’s going on with her, but it’s always different when people actually meet her.
Brandon only saw her once and didn’t know what to do.
He didn’t want to see her again. As for Maddox, he tried and acted normal around her, so I will give him that.
There is no avoiding it, though. Felix needs to meet her.
“Come,” I say, taking his hand and leading him further into the living room past Charlie and Faye.
There on the sofa, small and fragile, is Marina, her eyes pinned to the TV screen, lips parted slightly.
She doesn’t move an inch, doesn’t seem to realize I am here.
“Marina, I want to introduce you to my mate,” I say, as if having a normal conversation. “This is Felix.”
As usual, she doesn’t react. Felix gauges Marina with a thoughtful expression, then he smiles gently. “Hello, Marina, I am Felix. I am happy to meet you.” He doesn’t touch her, he doesn’t make any rash movements, and he sounds warm and kind when he talks to her.
He is such a kind person. Is it true that I really got lucky this time?
I can barely believe it.
But watching Felix standing here and talking to Marina, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world for him, just sends me into a frenzy. It makes me so happy, I want to cry.
I am almost relieved when Faye gets tired of playing and joins Marina on the sofa. It stops me from watching my mate being so sweet to the people who matter the most to me, and to my pets. I am scared I will burst into tears at any moment.
Dario helps me bring Faye some donuts and something to drink, before the four of us sit around the kitchen table to talk about the inevitable.
“Was that the first time you‘ve seen those two shifters?” Charlie asks.
“No, they were in the club once. Now it’s obvious they were there to check on me,” I mutter, a shiver running down my spine.
As if he could feel my discomfort, Mr. Dot comes trotting into the kitchen and jumps onto my lap, curling up there.
He puts his little paw against Felix’s hand that’s resting on my knee, as if he isn’t sure whether he wants to push it away or not.
Felix just grins, playfully petting the little paw.
“Dario and Charlie recorded everything,” he says. “We’ll make sure to find out who they are. On the upside, they weren’t aggressive. If they truly wanted to hurt you or kidnap you, they would have barged into the place.”
“I agree,” Charlie says. “It was more like they were… private detectives, if that makes sense?”
“Someone sent them,” Dario agrees. “For whatever reason, someone is looking for Gwen and sent two warriors to find her.”
“Are we sure they are just warriors?” Charlie asks.
“Yes,” Dario and Felix say in unison.
Their prompt reaction makes me curious. “You can tell it that easily? Because you are lycans?”
“No, it’s the alpha blood in us,” Felix explains.
“They were of no specific rank,” Dario clarifies. “Certainly, strong warriors, but they had no domineering aura around them.”
“Do you recognize them from your old pack?” Charlie asks.
I sigh sadly. “I don’t know, but it isn’t impossible that they are from my pack. I lived so secluded there, I didn’t know many pack members.”
“Did you reject the pack when you left?” Felix asks.
I nod. “I did.”
“And you felt it, right?”
I shrug. “Not really. But that’s not unusual for me. It could be because of my human side.”
Felix tilts his head, frowning slightly. “It could be.”
“They didn’t know you either,” Dario says all of a sudden. “I mean the two men… they had no idea who you were. They didn’t recognize you.”
Felix and I exchange a glance before Felix looks at his brother curiously. “What makes you say that?”
“They weren’t sure if they were truly talking to Gwen.
They probably only had a rough description of her,” he says.
“You have very distinctive features, Gwen. If someone knew you or had an actual picture of you, they would be able to tell it’s you immediately.
” He pauses. “They also both avoided saying anything that would give away that they are shifters in case they were talking to a human.”
My mouth opens slightly at his words as realization settles in. “That’s true. I didn’t even notice!”
“Me neither,” Felix admits.
“It means they weren’t sure if you are who they are looking for,” Dario adds. “We should keep that in mind.”
“It could still be someone from her pack,” Charlie muses. “Gwen just said that not many know her.”
“Yes, that’s making it more difficult,” Dario admits.
“But still, it’s good they aren’t sure who you are and that you managed to play dumb.
It’s also good that Felix intervened and claimed you as his.
As shifters, they were able to tell that he is a lycan.
They will be doubly as careful from now on, which gives us an advantage. ”
He pauses, as if there is more he wants to say, but instead he tosses a glance at Felix.
My mate doesn’t hesitate a second and takes my hand into his again.
“Gwen, I know you’ve been through a lot, and that you don’t trust a pack easily, and I know that you literally achieved everything on your own, but if you would allow me to help you,“ he pauses, insecurity in his voice.
Does he really think I will reject his offer? I can easily put his mind at ease. After my talk with Amelia and after seeing how Faye reacted to meeting fellow wolves, I‘ve made my decision. “If you truly want me, I will come with you.”