“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. Andtalkto 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.”
