Chapter 33 Theories #2
“I know, Flora and Felix keep saying the same, so does Elden,” I admit. “I will try to keep it in my mind.”
“You know I am just an omega, don’t you?”
I nod. “Felix told me.”
“When I found out I was mated to Liam, I panicked. It wasn’t even because of him or something he said.
He was emotionally available and very much wanted me from the first minute on.
He never made me feel like I was less than him.
It was just me who felt like that. At the beginning, I thought I needed to prove myself by dealing with my problems myself.
I had a stalker back then and tried to deal with it myself.
Guess what, obviously that was a stupid decision, and Liam had to save me nevertheless.
” She chuckles. “The only good thing about it was that we were much better at communicating with each other from that moment on. So, you see-“ She squeezes my hand. “We don’t need to feel inferior. It’s okay to rely on those we love. In return, they will rely on us, too. It’s a give and take. ”
In a surprising way, her words resonate with me so much.
I don’t know why it is like that. Or maybe I do.
Annie is an omega she-wolf, and I am half human.
In a way, we both come from a world where others looked down on us.
I am sure she went through that too, and on top of that, she was mated to Liam, the firstborn son and heir to a royal lycan family.
I am sure she didn’t have it easy back then.
“Thank you, Annie!” I say. “Honestly, hearing it from you… it’s different.”
“Here.” She scribbles something down on a piece of paper and hands it to me. “This is my number. You can always call me.” She chuckles. “If you feel like there is something our very royal family doesn’t quite get, reach out to me.”
I smile. “Thank you.”
I don’t know how she did it, but I do feel so much lighter all of a sudden, and definitely ready to face the demons ahead of me.
I gaze through the window into the room, noting how Marius has sat down next to Marina on a chair, holding her hand now, while Celine is sitting with Faye, reading one of the children’s books that the infirmary must have provided to her.
The expression on Marius’s face is one of the highest concentration, but there are flashes of frustration in his eyes.
“What’s going on in there?” I ask Annie.
“It’s a difficult gift,” she tells me. “And like he said, he doesn’t have a lot of practice. Gifts like this usually need to be nourished while growing up. But-“ she smiles. “Don’t worry, he is his father’s son. These siblings are awfully persistent and never give up.”
“I noticed that,” I say, my heart instantly jumps when I think about it. “Felix is like that, too.”
“Your whole face lights up when you talk about him,” Annie says.
“You are aware that Liam looks at you like you are the personification of a miracle?”
She grins. “Yes, I guess, in a way we are all like that with our mates.”
We turn our gaze back towards Marina and Marius.
His expression is now thoughtful and worried.
There is also a hint of shock on his face.
Then he carefully puts Marina’s hand back on the blanket, gets up and approaches Celine and Faye.
For a little while, they continue to sit together until Faye’s eyes look like they‘re getting drowsy.
Celine puts her into her bed and covers her with a blanket.
Once done, she and Marius exit the room silently. Marius looks tired but smiles when Celine reaches out to hold his hand.
“Not good, huh?” I ask quietly.
“She truly is far away,” he admits. “Like Dad and Liam said, there is no wolf. I can barely reach anything of her, but I saw a glimpse of…” He pauses.
“I am not sure, Gwen. I wish I could say more. But there were glimpses of hands that tugged at her, and I think she was in a cold room. I will need to piece this together with Liam and Dad,” he admits.
“A lot of the stuff I see could be metaphorical, and I might be wrong, but…”
His voice trails off.
“But?” Celine nudges him gently.
“I think she died,” he says. “I mean not right now, but before.”
Annie, Celine and I just stare at him in shock. “What?” Annie asks. “You mean…”
“No way!” The blood in my veins runs cold. “Is this… is this why her wolf is gone?”
“But sometimes shifters can go into cardiac arrest, and they return with their wolves,” Celine says. “Granted, it doesn’t happen a lot, because the reason why we don’t die is our wolf spirits. Does that make sense?”
“It does,” Annie says. “However…” she pauses. “What Marius saw-“
“What I believe I saw,” he adds. “I don’t know for certain, Annie, I might be wrong.”
“Liam is right with what he told you,” she says, surprisingly bluntly. “You need more confidence in your skills. I fully believe you when you say this is what you saw.”
To my surprise, Marius looks a little flustered at her words. “Maybe,” he admits.
“It makes sense,” Annie adds. “It… it makes almost too much sense. Goddess, yes. Celine is right, usually our wolf spirits heal us when something drastic happens, they prevent our hearts from stopping completely, and yes, we can be revived again. It usually doesn’t do much harm, because it also means reviving our wolf spirits.
But what if they used wolfsbane on her and silver?
What if her wolf was weakened already, and what if she died more than once? ”
“By the goddess,” Marius whispers.
I can only stare at her in shock. “No way. But… no… this is just…” I pause, not sure what to say, because the horrifying realization settles that Annie might be right. Chances are high that this is at least close to what happened.
“Gwen.” Annie pulls me into a hug. “Please go to the others. Be with Felix, okay?”
“What are you planning on doing? I can help.”
She brushes my hair, taking my face between her hands. “Remember what we talked about? This is me stepping up now. We will keep you updated the moment we know more.”
I take a shaky breath. “Okay.”
Annie lets go of me. “Alright, you all go to be with the others. I will fetch Liam and Elden, and talk to them about it,” Annie says.
“I can come, too,” Marius offers.
“Yes, we’ll probably need you. Is it okay? You barely had any rest.”
“Don’t worry, I am okay.” He turns to Celine. “Just go ahead, I will catch up with you later, my luscious beauty.”
At that, Celine snorts. “You just had to say the last part out loud, didn’t you? Be careful, please, and don’t over-exhaust yourself.”
“Promise,” Marius says.
Meanwhile, Celine puts an arm around my shoulder and pulls me with her. “Come, Gwen, they are right. Let them do their thing, and we can return to the others. There is also an idea I have that we could try later.”
“What kind of idea?”
“Felix’s gift is to make others feel relaxed, isn’t it?”
“Yes, something like that. He can make everyone feel positive and happy.” I pause, suddenly realizing what she is hinting at.
“He could maybe do that for Marina. So that she won’t need to leave this world with her final memories being focused on what she experienced.
” I pause. “That would be… yes… it would be... it would be…”
“It would be something only you and Felix can give her,” Celine says.
“I am not sure what you and Annie talked about, but I guess this is what she meant by saying ‘This is me stepping up now‘. We all have our strengths. And Felix’s is to give Marina an ounce of comfort, and from experience, I know that these types of gifts work the best with their mates‘ present. Which means if you are with Felix, I am sure it will work the best.”
She is right. This is something I can do for Marina. Well, Felix will do it, but I can support him. A final gift for my best friend.