“Maybe he had an inkling about her whereabouts,” he muses. “She wasn’t just a one-night stand. They met semi-regularly.”
My eyes widen. “He must have known a little bit about her!”
“Exactly, that’s what I always suspected, but he died before he could share what he knew.”
“Did you ever meet her?” I ask.
“I did. Twice.”
“So, you know what she looks like?” I pause. Maybe I am going to overstep, but this is something I want to find out for Gwen. I know she suffers from not knowing who her mother is, and why she left. “Would you be able to search for her?”
Daniel looks at me thoughtfully. “I have been thinking about that for a while. I always wondered if I should do it…” He pauses. “I don’t know. I want Gwen to have closure, but I am scared it might hurt her. That is, if I even find her mother.”
“Please try,” I say. “I will get Gwen’s opinion on this. If she doesn’t want you to do it, I will inform you.”
Again, Daniel looks at me for a long minute. Then he takes out a business card. “Here is my number. Call me or message me anytime. I won’t ask you how you know Gwen or where she is,but when she is ready and feels safe enough to do so, I would be over the moon if she reached out to me.”
I take his card, nodding my agreement. We don’t have much more time to talk anyway, as Maddox returns to us. He looks tired, but not as lost as before. It seems like he got his emotions back in check. Something about this is truly sad. Daniel is right. This is just a terrible situation to be in.
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?”
