Chapter 33 Theories
thirty-three
Theories
*GWENDOLYN*
True to Elden’s words, Flora has been distracting everyone, and only when we return do they notice we were gone. Only Arden and Dario realized what happened, as they are part of the pack link. Dario smiles at me when he sees us, elbowing Arden.
The latter gets up and walks towards me. “Welcome to the pack, Gwen.”
“Thank you, Arden!”
“Oh.“ Liam turns his head to look at us. “So that’s what you were up to. I had a feeling when I saw you missing. Mom was acting so weird.”
Flora puffs her cheeks. “I didn’t act weird at all!”
“Yeah, I was getting the chills,” Marius mutters, glaring at Liam. “If you knew, why didn’t you say anything?”
Liam grins. “It was more fun that way.”
Marcellus sighs. “Please tell me I am not the only one who didn’t notice anything.”
“You weren’t. I had no clue, either,” Henry says to my surprise. It seems like he is rather short and serious, but also very honest.
“Well, whatever it is,” Annie says, beaming at me. “I am so happy you are part of the family now, Gwen.”
“I agree, welcome,” Marius says. “Now, the only one missing is Dario’s mate.” Dario’s eyes widen, and he looks almost anxious. “Oh fuck!” Marius says. “Forget me and my big mouth. I was just thinking aloud. You have all the time you need.”
“He is right,” Liam says. “I was in my mid-twenties when I met Annie.”
“Finn and I were in our twenties, too,” Marius says.
“Henry and Tony were pretty young, though,” Dario muses.
“Yes, we were nineteen,” Tony says. “But I am with Marius; there is no right or wrong age.”
“I was eighteen,” Marcellus says with a grin.
“Oh, Creator, have mercy,” Silas groans. “Don’t remind me.”
“Imagine my surprise when I realized how old my vampire mate was,” Marcellus adds. “I must have secretly had a thing for the age gap.”
“No, seriously.“ Silas narrows his eyes to a glare. “One more word or…”
A smirk curls Marcellus’s lips. “Or what?”
Silas’s eyebrow ticks. When I met him earlier, he seemed like the type of person who would always have the upper hand, but I guess everyone has a weak spot.
“That’s what you get for having such a young lover,” Flora says mercilessly.
Silas frowns. “Thank you, Luna Flora.”
“Oh, it’s my pleasure!”
“How old were you and Uncle Elden?” Henry asks. “I think you were pretty young, too, weren’t you? Dad hinted at it once.”
Flora turns to look at Elden. The latter shrugs. “Depends on what you want to know. When Flora and I knew we were mates, or when the mate bond was strong enough for us to mark each other?”
“That’s a weird question,” Silas says. “Why are you phrasing it like that? How old were you when you knew you were mates?”
“I think I was eight years old,” Elden says.
“I was a year younger,” Flora adds.
At that, my mouth drops open. Fortunately, some others look equally shocked. I guess only their closest family knew about it. “How is that possible?!” Henry gasps. “I have never heard of such a thing!”
“Well, you have now,” Elden points out. “There was a weird prophecy,” he pauses. “And... some other things we can’t talk about.”
“It’s truly intriguing,” Arden says, his voice low and thoughtful. It seems like his mind is suddenly far away. Felix told me he is particularly smart, so maybe he is already making up his own theories.
My mate is still holding my hand, but now looks around. “Where is Celine?” he asks.
His words pull my attention back from the whole mate-talk to our current reality. “And Faye!”
“They went ahead to visit Marina,” Marius explains. “She is stable at the moment, and-“ he sighs. “Faye wanted to see her so badly.”
I can only imagine. Celine promised her she would go with her, and apparently stuck to her promise. She is amazing.
“Gwen,” Annie says. “I didn’t want to just accompany Celine and Faye without your permission, but may I see Marina for myself? Just for a brief moment. I won’t stay for long, just…” her voice trails off.
Someone as warm and gentle as Annie? “Of course,” I say.
“Would you mind if I joined, too?” Marius asks. “Not out of curiosity. But I have worked with a lot of victims. I have a good feel for certain things. Plus… I can try my gift.”
“Oh, yes!” Annie says. “I didn’t even think about that option.”
“What is your gift?” I ask.
“Technically, I can get a glimpse into someone’s mind,” he says.
It dawns on me what he is trying to do. If he indeed sees a glimpse of her mind…. Maybe it will give us answers. “It would be awesome if you tried,” I say.
“I agree, I think it’s a very good idea,” Liam says.
“You have more faith in my gift than I do,” Marius sighs. “We both know I am not good at it. I need to practice much more.”
“You are selling yourself short,” Liam argues.
Marius snorts. “Always the big brother,” he chuckles. “There is no switch to turn it off, huh?”
“Like you don’t have a brother complex,” Aurelia says. “Liam has always been your role model.”
Liam raises his brows. “Oh, is that true?”
“What?!” Marius groans. “Obviously not. Why would I? You are all delusional.” He gets up. “So, are we ready to go?”
Hey, babe, do you want me to come with you? Felix links me.
I think I am okay, I tell him. Maybe it’s better if you take everyone to our place and show them our zoo. That would really help. I think it would overwhelm me a little if I had to do it later.
Got you!
True to his words, Felix steps forward and ushers everyone else away, while Annie, Marius and I stay behind. I let out a relieved sigh.
“You have issues with big crowds, don’t you?” Marius asks. “I sometimes get overwhelmed, too.”
“I am just not used to it,” I admit. “Does it get easier?”
“For me it did,” Marius says.
“Just don’t stress over it,” Annie tells me. “Take the time you need.”
“So, ready to go?” Marius asks.
I nod, following them out into the corridor. Marius and Annie know the way better than I do, and soon we find our way towards the infirmary. I am still caught in my thoughts, thinking about the talk we all just had.
“You all get along so well, Marius,” I say. “I mean, you and your siblings. I am an only child.”
“It wasn’t always that way, especially not between Liam and me,” Marius admits.
“I wasn’t a good brother, but he always was.
I will never forget that he was there for me in my darkest hour and believed in me.
” He squeezes Annie’s shoulder. “And I will never forget how kind and forgiving my sister-in-law was.”
“Yes,” she says seriously. “I am just that awesome.”
Marius snorts. “Liam is rubbing off on you!”
Dad and I were always alone, just the two of us. Being part of such a huge family might be a little overwhelming, but it also makes me happy to finally have the chance to experience what I never could.
“Oh, there is Celine,” Annie points out.
Celine must have heard her, because she turns her head and smiles at us.
Marius picks up his pace to be with her quicker, wrapping an arm around her once he reaches her.
She is standing in front of a door. “Faye is inside with Marina,” she tells me.
“One of the nurses put a small bed in there for her. I don’t think she will want to leave. ”
I sigh. “That’s what I feared.”
“Won’t it be too traumatic for her?” Annie asks.
“I don’t know,” I mutter. “But I still remember when Dad died. He was in the infirmary for a couple of hours before he passed, and no one was able to make me leave his side. It might be traumatic, but I am still grateful that I was able to be there for his last hours.”
“I guess Faye feels the same,” Celine agrees. “I am sure she is very much aware of the fact that her mom won’t be with her for long. Let’s give her the chance to say goodbye on her own terms.”
“That makes sense. Maybe it would be more traumatic to force her away from Marina,” Annie adds. “But I am not a therapist, I don’t know for certain.”
“None of us is,” Marius says. “We can only try to listen to our gut feeling.”
“Talking about a gut feeling.” Celine frowns. “Remember when Faye bumped into us, and what she said, about being a good girl?” She pauses. “Didn’t that sound weird?”
“She stays in her room and doesn’t cry,” Marius recites. “Did she ever say that before?”
“No,” I say. “It’s the first time I heard it.”
“Someone must have said it to her,” Annie points out. “No child would come up with that by themselves. The ice cream and her favorite movie, sure, she self-projects while playing with her dolls. My girls do that too. But the other? Someone told her to stay in her room and be quiet.”
“She definitely knows something,” Marius says. “But she probably doesn’t even realize she knows. I have seen this a lot in child victims.”
“You think they sent her to her room, while they did whatever they did with Marina,” Annie concludes.
It’s silent around us for a moment. “Yes,” Marius says quietly.
“Goddess,” I whisper. “No!”
Marius’s gaze is pinned on the door. “Let me try to get a glimpse.”
Celine takes his hand. “Do you want me to come with you or stay here?”
“Come with me, please. It’s usually easier with you around.” He turns to me. “Is it okay if it’s just Celine and me?”
“Of course,” I say quietly. “I hate to admit it, but I don’t know what to do anyway.”
“We’ll wait here,” Annie promises before taking my hand. She waits for Celine and Marius to disappear into the room before she looks at me. “There is nothing shameful about relying on help,” she tells me. “You don’t need to shoulder everything on your own.”
“It’s just so difficult,” I admit. “I feel like I should be able to help Marina. She has been my only friend for so long.”
“And you did,” Annie appeases me. “You did help her. And now you let other people come forward to do what they can because you know you can trust them, and you know that they can provide a type of help you can’t.
That’s very mature of you and will help Marina and, particularly, Faye much more than relying on a false sense of pride. ”