Chapter 27 Marina
twenty-seven
Marina
*GWENDOLYN*
After breakfast, Felix goes to his training, while I spend the time until lunch with Faye and her nanny. Faye is over the moon to be able to play outside. She immediately takes off to the playground and mingles with the other children. To my joy, they all include her in their game.
It’s been so long since she acted like a child instead of holding back because she was being shunned or on the run. Her nanny, the kind elderly woman, tells me about their plans for the next day. There are a lot of activities planned for her, so much that I am a tad surprised.
“She has a full schedule,” I say. “I mean, it’s all awesome, but is there a reason for it?”
“Yes,” the nanny says quietly. “The alpha ordered me to ensure that Faye be outside and with other children as much as she wants.”
“And away from Marina,” I say quietly. “So, Faye can be distracted a little.”
“I don’t know how I would cope if something so awful happened to my mother,” she mutters.
“I know, it must be so hard for her.”
“No child should experience this,” she adds. “And we don’t even know what else Faye might have seen.”
“She never talks about what happened in their former pack,” I say.
The woman nods, her thoughtful eyes searching for Faye on the playground.
She is currently using the swing with two other girls.
She’s been through so much already, and her mom can’t even respond to her.
I wonder what broke Marina to that extent, and if anyone can help her.
Alpha Elden only looked at her briefly, but his eyes said more than words could.
I have very little experience with social life in a pack, but I know that if the alpha makes sure a child is distracted so as not to think too much about their parents, then it can’t be for any positive reasons.
“Is Marina alone?”
“No, she is never alone,” the nanny reassures me. “We always have a nurse with her or a maid.” She shakes her head. “The poor young woman.”
“I will go and check on her.”
“Yes, maybe it‘ll help to see a familiar face,” she says. “Though she… she doesn’t-“
“She doesn’t react to anyone or anything,” I help her.
Before she can answer anything, her eyes flash over. “The alpha is asking for you,” she says. “He said if you are ready, he would like to talk to you,“ she pauses, “... about Marina.”
“Of course!” As dreadful as talking about Marina feels, I just want to know if he was able to find what’s wrong with her. “Is he waiting in his office?”
“No, he said to meet him directly at Marina and Faye’s apartment.”
I bid her goodbye and wave at Faye, who is too busy to properly register me, before walking straight to the packhouse.
Fortunately, Felix, Dario, and Gisela have shown me around during the last couple of days.
Charlie has already returned to her own pack, but we have exchanged numbers and chat regularly.
Being welcomed so warmly and already having friends helps so much.
Charlie is also my first actual girlfriend aside from Marina, and I can’t wait to hang out with her more.
Marina’s apartment is on the second floor in a quiet corridor. As promised, the alpha is already waiting for me. “Alpha Elden,” I greet him politely.
His eyes light up in warmth when he sees me. “Don’t address me so formally,” he says. “You are my son’s mate and part of the family.”
“I will try,” I promise. When I hear footsteps behind me, I notice another man approaching us. He is tall and broad, has ice-blue eyes, and oozes a similar power to Elden. He looks more serious, though, and a bit more stoic. Another alpha?
“This is my oldest son,” Elden says. “Liam.”
“Felix’s oldest brother?” I exclaim.
A smile lights up his otherwise serious expression. “It sounds like he only said good things about me.”
“He admires you,” I say. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
“I won’t,” Liam chuckles, before reaching out his hand to shake mine. “I am happy to meet you, Gwen. Just for the record: Felix talked a lot about you, too, and only mentioned good stuff.”
“I asked Liam to come,” Elden explains. “He is fantastic in feeling a person’s bonds and in reaching their buried wolf spirits.”
“You can do that?” I ask curiously.
“Dad is better at it,” Liam says. “But yes, I can do that.”
“I just have more experience,” Elden says. “But it was you who successfully reached out to Marius when he needed it.”
“Do I have a wolf?” I hear myself say before I can stop myself. “I am sorry,” I blurt out. “This is not the right timing. We are here for Marina.”
“This is exactly the right timing,” Liam assures me.
“He is right. We are going to try to reach Marina, but since we are already on it, we can do it with you, also.”
A relieved sigh escapes me.
Elden lets me open the door to the apartment and step in first. The nurse is already expecting us. She has moved Marina to the living room, where she is sitting in a rocking chair. “Hello, Marina,” I say softly, approaching her to gently squeeze her hand.
As usual, Marina’s eyes remain empty; she doesn’t react at all. It almost seems like she is even farther away than usual. “Something‘s changed,” I mutter.
“Yes,” the nurse says quietly. “It was harder for her to get up today. She usually goes through a certain routine, but today I had to help her with it.”
“Is that unusual?” Elden asks me.
“Yes, otherwise, I don’t know how I would have managed looking after her,” I admit.
“Or go on the run with her. She goes through the motions. I assume it’s some sort of daily routine she is accustomed to.
She stands up at a certain time, goes to the bathroom, eats at a certain time, and then sits either in front of the TV or on a chair for the whole day, before she goes to sleep.
I just had to get her used to her new surroundings. ”
“Unbelievable,” Elden says quietly before turning to the nurse. “Thank you for your hard work, Cindy. Why don’t you take a break? We have it covered for now.”
She smiles, her cheeks heating up from his kind words. “Thank you, Alpha,” she says, before she grabs her jacket and heads out.
Liam, Elden and I move to the kitchen and sit down there to continue our talk. “What does it mean that she is having difficulties now?” I ask. “Could it be the change of location?”
“You said she didn’t have any troubles while on the run?” Liam asks.
“Everything was as usual, just had to acclimate to the new situation.”
“Then, I doubt it’s the location,” Liam says.
“I agree,” Elden turns his gaze back towards Marina, a worried look in his eyes.
“Can you tell us what happened, Gwen?” Liam asks. “As much as you know.”
“I don’t know anything,” I say bitterly.
“That’s the worst part. Marina is older than I am.
Around five or six years ago, when she just turned eighteen, she met her mate during a party.
She immediately disappeared with him, only saying goodbye to me briefly.
I tried reaching out to her throughout the years, but I heard nothing from her.
Her phone didn’t work, and I didn’t know where she went, so I had no other way to reach her.
Then, around a year ago… or maybe a bit more than a year, she was suddenly standing at the pack borders with a small bag and Faye next to her. ”
“Was she already unresponsive by then?” Elden asks.
“Yes, she was exactly like she is now. The pack doctor was a friend of my late father, and always watched out for me. He and I thought that maybe she was in shock, that she needed time. That’s why I decided to take her and Faye in.” I pause, feeling equal parts tired and sad. “But nothing changed.”
“That must have been so hard for you,” Liam mutters. “You are so young, and having to deal with so much already.”
“Marina was my only friend; I just wanted to help her and her child,” I say quietly.
“You are exhausted,” Elden analyzes. “I can easily tell. You did everything in your power to help both of them, Gwen. It’s okay to be exhausted when dealing with something so severe.”
“I feel like I should have done more,” I say quietly. “Even now, I feel guilty that I don’t live with them.”
“You don’t need to be,” he says. “That’s what a pack is for. For you, it’s time to heal now, to grow and especially to rest. Faye absolutely needs stability and a parental figure,” he adds.
“I feel like it should be me,” I admit. “That’s why I feel so guilty.”
“It doesn’t need to be you,” Liam intervenes.
“I agree with my father. You don’t need to become Faye’s mom.
You can remain her aunt or her big sister or take on any other important role.
You don’t need to feel guilty for not adopting her.
That’s an insane amount of responsibility for someone so young. And don’t forget, we have options.”
“That’s true,” I say quietly.
“Did your alpha say anything?” Elden asks. “Surely, he must have been shocked by one of his pack members returning in such a terrible state.”
“No, he didn’t say anything,” I say, not able to hide the venom in my voice.
“Daniel...“ I pause. “That’s the doctor I mentioned earlier. Daniel has a huge standing in the pack, and he tried to push for answers, but they wouldn’t even tell him. I was pretty much shunned there, but I actually sought out the alpha and wanted answers. He didn’t give me any, just sent me away. ”
“Unbelievable!” Elden exclaims.
“He must know who her mate was,” Liam says. “And which pack she stayed at. It’s completely out of the question that he didn’t know.”
I ball my hands into fists, trying to will my anger down. There is no use in getting upset now. What’s done is done, but I wish I could deal with it. I wish I could bring justice for Marina and reveal the truth.
“We will have to deal with this,” Liam says, as if he just read my thoughts. My eyes snap up to look at him. His eyebrow is twitching slightly; he looks angry.
“Yes,” Elden agrees. “We can’t let this pass. I will call in a meeting for the weekend.”