Chapter 54 Waiting
fifty-four
Waiting
*FELIX*
Dad has his eyebrows furrowed, his expression dark. Aurelia and Liam mirror his expression, while Maddox keeps pacing around the room. He arrived together with Liam today, while Marius and Gwen decided to stay with Faye so that she feels safe and protected. Celine obviously joined us.
Apparently, Maddox enjoyed his stay at Red Claw a lot and decided to stay there for the remainder of the week. I am taking a wild guess that Charlie might or might not be a huge reason for this.
“Faye is the target,” Aurelia repeats. “I don’t know why we didn’t even consider the option.”
“We were too focused on Gwen, because Felix was targeted too, and she is obviously connected to him,” Celine says.
“Yes, but we forgot that no one truly knows about that connection,” Dad argues. “We are the only ones who know that they are mates, and I am pretty certain that no one blabbed anything, let alone to a person they don’t even know. Plus, Felix and Gwen haven’t left the pack as a couple.”
“I agree.” Liam pinches the bridge of his nose. “This Thomas just knows of the connection between Faye and Gwen, and Faye and her old pack, maybe even Faye and Marina. Faye is the common factor.”
“Which is why Felix and I were followed,” Maddox mutters. “I guess they were watching my pack, and when Felix visited, they remembered him talking to Gwen, who they know is connected to Faye.”
“Exactly, and they followed you because they thought either you have Faye with you, or you will take them to her.”
“And they were tracking Faye today, too,” I add. “Is it going to be a problem that they now know where she is? With our altercation today, they know where and who we are.
“Marius did it on purpose,” Aurelia says.
“Yes, and it was a smart move,” Liam says. “Marius wanted them to come to us, instead of us looking for them.”
“Cut the chase,” Celine adds. “In another scenario, it might have been risky, but Silverlake is a powerful pack, plus Liam and I are connected to it too.”
“Exactly,” Dad says. “It will draw them out. They will be lingering around town or even around the pack. So far, their movements and decisions haven’t been too smart.” He pauses. “I don’t know why, but they seem desperate to receive results.”
“This Thomas has to be more powerful than we thought,” I mutter.
“Everyone!” Arden barges into the room. He looks tired with deep circles around his eyes. Aurelia looks worried when he steps close to her. She wraps her arm around his middle. “I pulled an all-nighter and got something.”
“That’s fantastic news,” I exclaim.
“Anything you have could take us a step forward,” Celine agrees, relief in her eyes. “I want to make sure Faye is safe as soon as possible.”
Arden nods. “Listen, I was able to track the money flow to the account of Thomas Jackson. It was easy once I knew his full name. I used my connections in the Council to pass a few security protocols and got access to his credit card and other sensitive data. And I have an actual picture.” He hands us the image he printed. “Here.”
I wait for my turn to receive the picture and get a look at it. Maddox approaches me, glancing at the image as well. He blinks before looking up and staring at me. We jump at the same time.
“No way!” I exclaim. “Isn’t that…?!”
“It is!” Maddox blurts out.
Celine blinks. “Mind sharing your knowledge with us?”
“It’s the guy from the picture. The one who‘s stood next to Marina.”
“They are right,” Arden verifies. “It’s the same person.”
Dad takes another look at the photo. “Do you know who he is?”
“Yes,” Arden says. “You won’t believe it.”
Liam and Dad exchange a look. “He is an alpha, isn’t he?” Liam asks.
Arden looks at them in surprise. “How could you tell?”
“Going by his attitude, the way he seems to have a group of wolves working for him, the money he obviously has, and the general arrogance of it all,” Dad says.
It’s eerily quiet for a long while until Liam clears his throat. “He did that to his mate,” he finally says. “From what we know, Marina was his mate, and he probably did unimaginable things to her.”
“And Faye is most likely his daughter,” Celine adds, her face darkening.
Again, silence shrouds us. I personally have no idea how anyone could do something like that to another person, let alone their mate. As Liam said, it’s unimaginable.
“We will put a stop to him,” Aurelia says.
“Yes, and Marius’ gut feeling definitely was right,” Celine mutters. “From what we know now, the guy will seek us out.”
“He probably thinks Faye is his property,” I say quietly.
“Let him come,” Dad says grimly. “We will be prepared.”
“And if he doesn’t, we will be able to track him down now,” Aurelia adds. “Talking of tracking him down, Arden, can you actually track his movements now that you know his credit card number?”
“Yes, I can do that,” Arden says. “I will try to keep an eye on him.”
Aurelia stands up and stretches. “I will help you,” she offers.
“Everyone else, be prepared,” Dad says. “Faye cannot be unattended.”
“Don’t worry, Elden. Marius and I will keep an eye on her,” Celine readily offers.
“Gwen shouldn’t stay unattended either,” Liam adds. “She is the only other connection to Faye they know of.”
“I have that covered,” I promise.
Dad nods. “Everyone else, try to get some rest and maybe eat something. I will alert you the moment we know more.”
Before any of us can leave, though, Maddox turns to Liam. “Alpha Liam, can we have a word?” he asks.
Liam looks at him curiously. “Of course, Maddox.”
“You can use my office,” Aurelia offers. “I will join Arden in his.”
“Thank you.”
For a couple of days, nothing happens. We all try to live normally, as normally as we can.
Just that nothing is normal. I make sure that Gwen is never alone, while Celine, Marius and Mom do the same with Faye.
Everyone decided that for now, she is the safest here in Silverlake, and Celine and Marius alternate who sleeps over to stay with Faye.
It’s like there is this impending doom hanging over us, and we don’t know how long it will be. We can only wait it out. To distract us, Dario comes over for a board game afternoon. He has been present a lot the last couple of days, coming up with ideas to get our minds off everything.
After an hour of gaming, Gwen gets up to look after our new pony, leaving Dario and me.
“I wish I could be of more help,” Dario says quietly.
“Don’t say that. You are my biggest emotional support.” I pause. “To be honest, if anyone isn’t doing enough, it’s me.”
“There is nothing more you could do,” Dario says. “You are doing as much as you can.” He smiles. “You are a great mate to Gwen, Felix.”
I can’t help but beam at his words. “I love her.”
“I know, it’s obvious.” Dario smiles. “You have become so much more confident.”
“You think so?” I purse my lips, letting Dario’s words sink in. “I guess I don’t really mind anymore what others think about me.”
Dario nods, a thoughtful expression on his face. For a while, we’re silent, and I wonder where my brother just went to in his thoughts. “Are you okay?” I finally ask.
Dario smiles. “Of course. Why would you think otherwise?”
“I am not sure… You seem so far away sometimes.”
“Nah, I have just been thinking about what you said. You are right, I guess we shouldn’t constantly focus on people who have something bad to say about us. If we do, it’s just going to pull us down.”
“You are right. At that party a while ago, when the girls talked about me being shallow and dumb... I don’t know, Dario, no matter that you and Gisela and even Dad tried to build up my confidence, hearing their words did something to me.”
“Of course it did,” Dario says quietly. “Everyone would be hurt by something like that.”
“I thought my future mate wouldn’t want me,” I admit. “Like she might want someone who is stronger or smarter. “
Dario sighs. “Goddess, Felix-“
“I know it’s not true,” I hurry to clarify. “Obviously, it isn’t. Stupid insecurities. I just kept thinking: All of my other siblings are all in leading positions, and I can’t compare to any of you.”
“I am not in a leading position,” he says.
“Maybe, but you are incredibly smart,” I point out. “You will have a successful career.”
Again, Dario stays silent for a while. “Does it really matter?”
“That you are an amazing student and will have a kickass career, probably like Arden?” I ask. When he nods, I nudge him slightly. “Of course it matters. It’s fucking amazing!”
“I don’t know,” he sighs. “I look at you and Gwen, and how happy you are. You saved her, and she can rely on you; she loves you. That’s what matters much more.”
“I mean, you can have both,” I point out. “Like Liam, or Finn, or Mari.”
“I want my future mate to know that I am reliable and that I can be strong and confident,” Dario says.
“You are.”
When Dario falls into silence a third time, it stirs something in me. “What is this really about? Did someone say something stupid about you!? Did you hear something?”
“Nah, just the usual.”
The usual is pretty much what I was hearing a lot while growing up, just with varying words.
Dario, the smart Alcott, but he is also meek and quiet.
Is he really an alpha’s son? Did he really test alpha?
Even thinking about it makes my blood boil.
Now I understand much more why Dario was so angry when he heard what those girls said about me. “I am not letting anyone badmouth you!”
Dario chuckles. “You always had a protective streak to you, even towards me.”
“Of course, you are my brother.”
“My goal is to begin to stand up for myself,” Dario says.
Is this why he is keeping more to himself?
Maybe he thinks he can’t share a problem with me because it would make him look weak.
I am not good with words, but I at least need to let him know there is nothing wrong with asking for help.
“You can always come to me with whatever bothers you,” I say.
“We are brothers! That’s what I am here for.
If you ask for help, it doesn’t mean you couldn’t do it yourself.
Sometimes it’s smarter and proves more strength to let someone help you. ”
Dario looks at me with an amused expression on his face. “This sounds like something Liam would say! Did he lecture you?”
I snort. “Maybe he said something similar a while ago.”
“I get what you mean,” Dario says. “I am not going to do anything reckless.”
“So, there was truly nothing that happened recently?”
“Don’t worry,” he assures me. “There is just a lot of work.”
“Is that really all? You know you can talk to me. I will always be on your side.”
For a moment, it looks like Dario wants to say something, but then he just smiles. “It’s nothing, really. Just stress.”
I am contemplating asking more questions when I suddenly feel Aurelia’s mind link coming through. Felix, are you prepared?
I jump to my feet immediately. Yes!
Good, because he is here.