“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, asnormallyas 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!”
