Chapter 59 Forever Together
fifty-nine
Forever Together
*FELIX*
Iwatch Gwen lead the pony along the path, with Faye sitting on top of it.
“Daddy, look at me!” Faye calls towards Marius and waves.
He smiles and waves back at her. “You are doing amazing, Sweetie.”
He and I have joined Faye’s horse-riding lesson as spectators.
Gwen has recently started working with the kids and teaching them how to ride.
Her stable now has five horses and two ponies.
She also assists Aurelia in her work. My sister hates anything paperwork-related, so she is happy with the additional help.
I turn to look at Marius. “Things are going well with the three of you?”
“Yes.” When Gwen moves Faye’s pony past us, Marius blows Faye a kiss, making her laugh. “She is our light.”
“How is she holding up?”
“Well, considering what she went through. But not every day is good,” Marius explains. “That‘s to be expected. Therapy works well for her, and she is such a little fighter.”
“Of course she is.” I smile
“Yes, after all, she is…” Marius’ voice trails off. He clenches his fists. “She is an alpha’s firstborn.”
“Thomas’ pack is her birthright,” I note.
“Yes, we will prepare her for the task in case she wants to take over one day. The elders have meanwhile set up an interim leader there. But I want Faye to have a choice,” he says. “She is Celine‘s and my daughter.”
“You mean, she could decide to lead Moon Blood instead.”
“Exactly.”
“She is still a little kid. You have plenty of time to think things through,” I remind him.
“You are right. There is no need to stress.” He pauses. “Did I tell you Celine decided to talk to a specialist for in vitro fertilization?”
“Gwen mentioned it,” I admit.
“It’s okay. She is not keeping it a secret anymore.” Marius’ eyes light up. “You know, I do want more children. But whatever happens, happens. Celine told me she isn’t that stressed about it anymore. I think Faye has healed her heart.”
“I am sure you will have more children,” I say. “I have a gut feeling.”
“One of us has to up Liam,” Marius adds.
“No way!” I laugh. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but he has his third on the way. I doubt one of us will catch up.”
“You are saying that now,” Marius grins. “But you don’t know how your own future will be.”
“We have only just started with our lives. A baby is too soon,” I argue.
Marius pats my shoulder. “I was just teasing you. Don’t worry. You have plenty of time.” He looks around. “Where is Dario? I wanted to catch up with him when I arrived, but he was nowhere to be seen.”
“He briefly met with Maddox for a class they are in together, but then went off to… I don’t know where. He has made himself scarce recently,” I admit. “I tried to talk to him about it, but I don’t know…”
“You think something is off?”
“Yes, but he won’t tell me,” I groan. “I hope it’s not because I have a mate now. I don’t want him to feel lonely.”
“I am not sure that’s it,” Marius frowns. “You always make time for family or friends, and even before, you two didn’t always go everywhere together.”
“I want to help, but I can’t if he won’t let me. Liam thinks I should give him room to come to his own decision and be patient. He said, Dario might not be ready to share whatever is bothering him yet.”
“I think Liam is right,” Marius admits. “He knows he can come to you. Just leave the door open for him in case he needs it. But you can’t push him.”
“I know. Doesn’t mean I like it, though.”
Gwen helps Faye down off the pony. They lead it to the stables together to clean it up and brush it. Gwen is adamant about teaching the kids how to treat a horse properly. It’s not just about horse riding. “You can go ahead,” Gwen calls towards us. “Faye and I have it covered.”
“Are you sure?” Marius asks, a worried expression on his face.
He tries to play it cool, but he can be such a helicopter parent when it’s about Faye. Faye beams at him and nods. “Yes, I am with Gwennie!”
“Right.” Marius takes a deep breath before turning towards me. “Take me away from here or I might piss both of them off.”
I chuckle. “Don’t worry. Gwen protected Faye for a long time. She is safe with her.”
“I know.” Marius sighs, but obediently follows me back to the packhouse, where we bump into Dad.
“Two of my boys,” he says happily. “Will you stay for lunch, Marius?”
“Yes, I’d love to.” Marius grins. “Besides, Faye is obsessed with you and Mom.”
“With so many grandchildren, it’s going to get lively again,” Dad says. “I am happy to have her around anytime.”
“Now that we other kids are grown up, you can try for a seventh one,” Marius says with a serious expression.
Dad stares at him. “You did not just say that?!”
“Just think of a cute, little-“
“A baby?” Mom appears next to us all of a sudden. I didn’t even see her approaching.
“Marius is joking,” Dad tells her.
“But now that I think about it,” she frowns. “They have such cute noses and little toes.”
“We can’t make another baby just because they are cute,” Dad argues, before a glint appears in his eyes. “But maybe Marius and Felix would like to hear how cute they were as babies.”
“No, we don’t,” Marius says promptly.
“We really don’t,” I agree.
But Mom is on the case now, much to Dad’s obvious delight. She links her arms with us and drags us into the packhouse, while beginning to tell us all the embarrassing baby stories she can come up with.
I didn’t even do anything, I link Dad. Why did you drag me into this?!
It’s more fun like this, he grins.
Later that day, Celine drops by with Annie. Annie is already showing and looks happy. She was much more anxious at the beginning of her pregnancy, but it seems like things are going much smoother for her than the last time.
“We are going to take Gwen and Faye,” Celine says. “And watch a movie.”
“We want to invite Arden to join us,” Annie smiles. “Then you can have a bit of time to yourself. It’s rare that all of you are together.”
She is right. It’s been a long time since I was alone with my siblings.
“I actually like the idea,” Aurelia agrees. “Let’s grab a beer and just hang out.”
“It truly has been a long time,” Marius says. “When is Liam coming?”
“He should be here in a couple of minutes,” Annie says. She looks like she wants to say more, but then she just grins and shakes her head. Celine, meanwhile, has Faye in her arms, following Gwen to our little house.
“Does it even count when it’s not all of us?” I ask.
“I am not so sure about that, either,” Marius says with a sigh, before accepting the beer Aurelia hands him. “But I’ll take what I can get.”
Before I can answer, I feel a well-known presence approaching. “Dario,” I exclaim before the others can see or smell him. He pops his head into the private dining room. “Come join us.”
He comes closer curiously. “What for?”
“Just a little hangout, with your brothers and favorite sister,” Aurelia explains.
“Oh.” Dario nods. He looks tired, but when he sits down next to me, he seems to be his old self, although I catch him looking at his phone with a worried expression. When I look up, I can see Marius watching us. I am sure he has seen it too, but he doesn’t say anything.
There is a knock at the door, and Dad enters. “Are you all here?” he asks. He has a happy shine to his eyes that surprises me a little. Did something good happen?
“Liam is here,” he says. “With a surprise guest.”
“A surprise guest?” Aurelia asks. She peeks through the door, squealing all of a sudden. “I can’t believe it! Finn!”
“No way,” Dario exclaims, running to the door. I follow suit. True to Aurelia’s words, I see Finn. He looks like the last time I saw him, just maybe with one or two more tattoos, and he shows us his signature smile.
“Man,” Marius looks at Liam. “How long did you know?”
“A while,” Liam says.
“You can really hold a secret,” Marius mutters.
“Is Freya with you?” Aurelia asks.
“Not yet. She will come tomorrow, though.”
“Does that mean you are staying longer than usual?” I ask.
“Actually, we are here for business,” Finn admits. “That’s why I am meeting with Liam.”
“Don’t worry,” Liam reassures us. “He will be staying for a couple of days.”
“Are you going to stay here or in Red Claw?” Dad asks.
“Red Claw,” Finn answers. “It’s easier that way. Also, Freya wants to help Annie a little and support her.”
Dad nudges Liam. “You have to drag them here as much as you can,” he says.
“Obviously,” Liam chuckles. “That’s why I immediately came here with him, upon arrival.”
“Yes, I only arrived two hours ago,” Finn grins, before he shows us a silly peace sign, in a cheesy way only he can pull off. “Besides, I want to meet my new niece, too.”
“Right,” Liam says, turning towards Marius. “Let’s not forget to set up a playdate.”
Marius’ eyes light up. “Yeah, I was hoping Faye could befriend Aurora and Asteria.” He eyes Liam curiously. “Do you know what your third one will be?”
Finally, someone asks! None of us quite dared to bombard Liam with questions yet, but now he just smiles. “It’s going to be a boy. Dave, Ella, and Annie went nursery shopping and might or might not have gone overboard a little.”
Finn grins. “I can only imagine.”
It’s probably the other reason why Finn is going to stay in Liam’s pack. Annie, Ella, and Dave are his closest friends. Celine is part of the group, too, but obviously, she is in a different pack. While we all chat and gossip, I notice that Dario has barely said anything.
The others are busy setting up the table for dinner, and I fall back a little. “Hey, twin,” I say, nudging him with my elbow. “Are you still here with us?”
“Of course,” Dario assures me. “Just been a bit in my thoughts.”
“Is there...“ I pause, remembering what Marius said today. Not too long ago, Liam gave me similar advice, as did Dad. “You can always talk to me,” I say instead of pushing him with questions. “I promise I will never judge and always listen. I am your best friend after all. You don’t need to push yourself, but when you are ready… I will be there.”
Dario looks at me thoughtfully. “When I am ready,” he finally says. “Thank you.”
That’s the farthest I have come, and I feel a tad more relieved than before. “Felix, Dario!” Aurelia calls out to us. “Are you two coming?”
“Yes.” I grab Dario’s arm, tugging him along. For a moment, it almost feels like we are little kids again, running after our siblings.
It never mattered what happened; we would always stick together. A twin bond is strong, and Dario has been my first friend and remained my best friend since we were born. When things went wrong, when we were sad or in trouble, we always were able to fall back onto the other.
I want to believe that it’s still the same. Maybe our problems changed, so have our worries, but we are still the same brothers.
With Gwen and my family at my side, I know I can take on any challenge.