“I will message you when I am there,” he reassures me. “It’s not like I need to get rid of my phone. The more normal I act, thebetter.” He grins. “They don’t need to know who my mate is, just that I want to call her.”
“Can you-“ I shift around anxiously, not wanting to endanger him with my request.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Could you subtly check on Daniel and Evelyn?” I ask.
“Oh, of course. Maddox said that Daniel is in on it anyway, or he wouldn’t have been able to come up with a convincing cover. I will have Maddox ask him about Evelyn.”
“Does Daniel know I have found my mate?”
“No. We decided for now it’s safer that everything remains hidden.”
I nod. “Makes sense. Once everything is dealt with, I will officially introduce you to him.”
Felix steers his car past the guards at the entrance of the pack, alerting me that we are reaching our destination: Red Claw pack – the pack Liam and Annie lead. I watch in awe as we pass through the pack grounds. “This place is beautiful!”
“Annie and Liam put a lot of work into it,” Felix says. “You should have seen how run-down it was when they took over. Now, they pushed it to Silverlake standards. Plus, the pack is constantly growing. Lycans from Europe who migrate here usually join his pack.”
“Man, this is amazing,” I mutter.
“Liam is very talented,” he explains. “Dad always says he is a born leader.”
He is right. To pull something off of this magnitude, he has to be incredible. “Your parents had to be bummed that he didn’t take over Silverlake.”
“Hm, at first they were,” he says. “But Dad keeps saying that Red Claw was Liam’s calling, and that they needed him and Annie more than Silverlake does. Besides, now Aurelia has stepped up, and she has turned out to be a fantastic leader.”
“Yeah, she is amazing. I haven't known her for a long time, but I can tell as much already.” I smile. “Good thing your parents have so many talented kids. Actually, all of you are.”
Felix looks flustered at my comment, but also happy. I am glad he doesn’t rebuff my words. Two weeks ago, he would have still insisted he can’t do much and that his siblings are much better.
“Oh, look, there is Ella. She is already expecting us.”
“Ella?” I ask.
“Charlie’s aunt, or rather, her mom,” Felix explains. “She is also Annie’s best friend and her beta.”
“Oh! I am so happy to meet her. Will Charlie join us?”
“No, Charlie is hanging out with Dario and Gisela and two of their other friends. They are going to distract her.”
I‘ll bet Dario needs some distraction too, as he is probably very worried for Felix, but I don’t say that out loud. I might not have known Felix for long, but I am well aware that he hates troubling his loved ones. Dario knows it too, which is why instead of voicing his concerns, he built Felix’s confidence up instead. He is the reason I am trying to do the same. I want Felix to go into this mission full of confidence, knowing I trust him and have faith in him.
Before I can climb out of the car, I grab Felix’s face and kiss him. “You will be awesome.”
I then watch him as he heads back to Red Claw to collect Maddox for their trip to Verdant Forest.
forty-three
News
*GWENDOLYN*
Ella greets me with a welcoming and warm smile. “I am very happy to finally meet you,” she says.
“Thank you.” I try to put Grumpy down on the ground, but he just looks at me, annoyed, his paws pressing against me in defiance, so I give up, keeping him in my arms.
Ella grins. “I didn’t expect the additional guests, but Charlie told me about your pets. It’s nice to see your gift in person.”
