Chapter 47 Worries
forty-seven
Worries
*GWENDOLYN*
We end the day on a positive note. Annie looks much lighter and is making plans with Dave about nursery shopping, while Celine seems to be more optimistic.
Annie handed her the contact details of the doctor she recommended, and we all reassure her that she can talk about this whenever and how often she wants.
“Well, I guess it’s time,” Dave says, stretching slightly. “It’s getting dark outside.”
“I should head back, too,” I say. “I still need to feed the pets.”
“Your private zoo is truly amazing,” Annie says.
“Right?” Celine chuckles. “Marius pretended he didn’t care all that much, but now he is suddenly claiming the pack could do with an alpaca farm.”
Ella and Dave exchange a look. “Charlie mentioned a zoo,” Ella says.
Dave nods. “Now you‘ve made me curious.”
“You can visit anytime,” I offer.
With that, we all get up, helping Annie with cleaning the place before taking our leave. Right at the door, we bump into Liam. He is carrying his two daughters in his arms. He smiles briefly at us before turning towards Ella, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.
“What’s wrong?” Liam asks quietly. “I know there was something off. I could feel it.”
Ella reaches out her hands, taking one of the girls out of Liam’s arm, while Dave takes the second. “Dave is taking the girls for tonight,” she says. “Annie needs you.” She frowns. “Don’t fuck this up, Alpha!”
A hint of amusement flashes in Liam’s eyes. “I would never.”
Then we leave them alone. Grumpy is gracious enough to let me carry him, probably too lazy to climb down the stairs, while Tiger is back to sitting on my shoulder. I must give a hilarious impression, but I truly don’t mind anymore.
“Here you are!” I spot Charlie’s cotton-pink hair instantly. She waves and runs towards us. “Gwen!”
Ella puts her free arm around her shoulder. “Everything alright?”
“I was just wondering,” Charlie takes a deep breath. “Did you hear from Felix?”
I frown. “Why? Did you hear from Maddox?”
“I did, but he just told me everything is fine. Somehow, I call bullshit.”
“How come?” Dave wants to know.
Charlie presses a hand against her chest. “I feel off,” she admits. “I wish I could ask Maddox about it, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on him.”
“Felix told me they were making progress,” I say. “I have only gotten one message from him, though. Seems like they are really trying to get as much work done as possible.”
“Felix would tell you straight if something was wrong, right?” Charlie asks.
I nod. “I strongly believe he would.”
“Do you think Maddox would do the same? And tell me?”
The others all turn to look at me. “I… I don’t really know Maddox much,” I admit. “He is very reserved.”
“Then, I doubt he would want to worry his mate,” Dave points out, surprising me with his honesty.
“I have the same feeling,” Charlie mutters, brushing through her hair. “Would his father hurt him?”
I let her words sink in. I am not sure, but after meeting Maddox again and hearing the others talk about him, I am starting to believe he would. I also remember Daniel’s words about Maddox. Something’s definitely off between him and his father.
“Your silence is pretty loud,” Charlie mutters.
“I am sorry. I really don’t know for sure,” I admit. “But I don’t trust his father at all. I don’t think he is particularly nice to his son.”
Charlie groans. “Why is all of that so complicated? Shouldn’t it be all sparkles and butterflies when you meet your mate?”
“Certainly wasn’t so for me,” Celine admits.
“Me neither,” Dave says. “My first mate hated me, and himself. Raffy suffered from amnesia, and his wolf was suppressed. We didn’t even notice we were mates at first.”
“It was quite difficult for Dante and me, also,” Ella says. “But for different reasons.”
Again, all of them look at me. “Felix gave me time and adapted to my pace, but he… well…”
“Yeah, he is Felix,” Celine concludes with a warm smile. “He is just overall loving and sweet.”
I feel my cheeks warm up slightly. She is right. Felix would have done everything to make me feel comfortable. He actually did so from the first minute we met.
“Why don’t you come with me, Charlie?” I offer, short of any other answer.
Charlie blinks. “Would that really be okay?”
“Yes, I am worried about Felix, too. Like I said, I don’t trust Maddox’s father at all. We can hang out together and wait for one of them to call.” I pause, my own idea making me feel lighter too. “You actually would do me a favor.”
“Thank you,” Charlie lets out a sigh of relief, before turning towards Ella. “Is that okay? You are swamped with work.”
“Don’t worry, I can handle it. Besides, Dante is there and will help,” Ella reassures her, kissing the side of her head. “Go with Gwen and distract each other.”
I am so relieved about the solution. I was already dreading returning home to an empty house, though technically it isn’t empty.
But I know I will miss Felix’s presence.
I was already considering bothering Flora or Aurelia, but now that Charlie is coming with me, it’s a much better option for me.
Charlie is my age, and I feel we are much more on a level than I am with Felix’s siblings or parents.
They are very kind and sweet towards me, but it’s always different to share problems with a friend.
Celine offers to drop by Silverlake to take us home, an offer I happily take her up on.
She drops us off, not without offering to invite me over to her pack once Felix is back.
“Why don’t you bring Faye with you?” she says.
“Mari and I wanted to invite her for a playdate anyway. We promised her she could come. But I guess it would be comforting for her to come with you.”
I doubt Faye would mind. She is obsessed with Celine and Marius, but I don’t want to reject her kind offer. It’s about time to get out of my lonesome shell. “I would love to.”
“Great, I will send you a message so we can talk about the details.”
With that, Charlie and I find ourselves back in the Silverlake pack and ready to tend to the animals. “How about I call Gisela and Dario for help?” Charlie offers.
“Are you sure they won’t mind?”
“Gisela is my best friend,” she points out. “And Dario… I bet he is sick with worry about Felix.”
“Right! I am such a dunce. I completely forgot they are twins. Felix told me they have a very special bond.” I sigh. “I wish I had siblings.”
“Me too,” Charlie says. “Well, technically, I have a little brother too, but you know, it’s different when you are closer in age. But I still love my little potato! He is the cutest little brother in the universe.”
She swiftly adds me to the group chat with Dario and Gisela, then tells them to meet at my place. Then she proceeds to show me pictures of her little brother.
“He really is cute,” I say. “What’s his name?”
“Cedric.” She smiles warmly. “He and my parents are truly everything to me.”
“You are also close to your uncle, right?”
“Yes, Uncle Silas is great. You know, I didn’t have family for so many years, and now that I do, they are just everything.”
“I get that,” I say. “It’s very similar for me. I was so alone. Sure, my mentor, Daniel, did everything he could to watch out for me, but it’s different to be someone’s family. This is the first time I actually feel like I belong.”
Charlie nods. “I know. That‘s why you get it... Don’t you?”
I look at her. It takes a moment for me to understand what she means, but once I do, I just nod. “I do,” I say quietly.
“But what does it mean for me? And for Maddox? He is an alpha’s heir, and I…” She pauses. “Maybe it’s selfish, but I am so happy here.”
I take her hand, squeezing it. “If I learned one thing from meeting Felix, it’s to take one step at a time. And talk to Maddox about it.”
“What if he doesn’t understand? If he doesn’t want to listen?”
“Then you have your answer,” I admit. “But don’t ditch him without trying.”
“I honestly thought you would hate him,” Charlie admits.
“I don’t know. I recently realized I don’t really have any problems with Maddox. My issues are with my ex-boyfriend and my former alpha, and the people who were my dad’s close friends who ditched me the moment he died. Maddox… I don’t think we will become tight friends, but we don’t need to.”
Charlie sighs. “I wish it could be simpler, everything. I wish I could have been mated to a warrior here or in Red Claw, or even in Celine’s pack.
Or... I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind a human mate either or an omega mate.
It doesn’t matter to me. But an alpha mate?
It’s really not a great situation for me to be in. ”
I get her, fully. I’d hate to become luna, and I’d hate it if someone forced me to leave this place. Like me, Charlie spent many years alone, and to imagine she’d have to leave for my old pack, which treated me so badly, doesn’t sit right with me.
“You heard your dad,” I tell her. “He won’t just hand you over like that. You have a say in this. And I‘ll bet Liam won’t just let anyone take you away, either.”
“True, Dad and Liam are besties. Besides, Liam would never allow anyone to fuck with his pack members, let alone friends.” She takes a deep breath. “But I don’t want to ditch Maddox just like that either. It’s… the mate bond is pretty terrible!”
“It can be great too,” I say. “But you don’t need to rush anything. First, we need to settle the issues in my old pack, anyway. Then... You don’t know Maddox yet. Just get to know him, and be honest, and you will see the type of person he is.”
“Yeah…” her voice trails off, before she nods. “You are right.”
For a moment, we are silent, then someone comes running towards us.
“Hey bitches!” Gisela calls out, successfully startling Tiger and Grumpy.
The latter jumps out of my arms and throws an annoyed glare at us, before trotting towards our house.
Tiger, meanwhile, flutters a little, but then settles on top of my head.
“I am sorry. We startled you, didn’t we?” Dario’s voice comes from the other side. I didn’t even notice him approaching us, which startles me more than Gisela’s arrival, but I don’t tell him.
“Thank you for coming,” I say instead, happy that I am not alone this evening. “I am really glad for some company.”
“Me too,” Dario admits, a frown of worry on his face.
“Makes us three,” Charlie admits.
“Well then,” Gisela links her arms with Charlie and shows her a bottle of wine. “Time to distract you.”
Dario looks at her, amused. “Awesome, but work first. Where do you need help, Gwen?”
We go to work immediately. Felix and I have a good routine by now, so it takes a while to tell the others what to do, but with three friends helping, everything is done quickly. An hour later, all the animals are cared for and fed, and we settle down in my living room…
…and stare at my phone.
“This is ridiculous,” Charlie groans.
“You are right.” Dario pinches the bridge of his nose. “Felix is only going to spend two days there. He told us he would be busy.”
“And he messaged me once, that everything is fine,” I point out.
“You need to trust him,” Gisela says all of a sudden. “Felix is capable. He would never recklessly endanger his life. And Alpha Elden wouldn’t have let him on such a mission if his life were in real danger.”
“He sent Finn on a dangerous mission, though,” Dario says.
“Wasn’t he older?”
“True.” Dario sighs. “You are right. I guess it always drives me crazy when I don’t know where he is. But maybe it’s time to learn how to cope with it.”
“Probably,” Charlie says quietly. “I mean, none of us truly understands a twin bond, so I assume it’s difficult.”
“You are still one of Felix’s top priorities,” I try to reassure him.
Dario smiles at me. “I know, I am not jealous. Actually, I am really happy for him. It’s still a weird feeling not to constantly be with him.”
“You will find your mate,” Gisela says. “Then it will even out for both of you.”
Dario seems to ponder her statement, his eyebrows furrowed. “I guess you are right.” He sounds thoughtful, almost like his mind is somewhere far away. Charlie and Gisela exchange a curious look, but before they can ask anything, he is back with us and smiles. “How about we watch a movie?”
“Good idea,” Gisela takes the controller and chooses a random action movie that won’t be too hard to follow. We are halfway through it when my phone lights up with a message from Felix, and shortly afterwards, the same happens to Charlie’s phone.
I assume it’s Maddox.
Then Dario receives one, too.
“Felix says they made a lot of progress.”
“Oh, and he is bringing Maddox back with him,” Charlie exclaims. “Maddox just wrote he will be staying here a week, at least.”
“That’s great,” Dario says warmly. “You will be able to get to know him a little better that way.”
“Right?” Charlie nods with newfound motivation. “I will try to understand what kind of person he is, and be honest with him.”
I am not sure if she is aware of how happy she looks all of a sudden, but apparently, the prospect of spending time with her mate has tremendously lightened her mood.
I guess this is what the mate bond does to us.
It took me only one talk with Felix to hope, and wish for him to stick around, despite my baggage.
I just hope Maddox won’t disappoint her.