“I don’t know,” he sighs. “I look at you and Gwen, and how happy you are. You saved her, and she can rely on you; shelovesyou. That’s what matters much more.”
“I mean, you can have both,” I point out. “Like Liam, or Finn, or Mari.”
“I want my future mate to know that I am reliable and that I can be strong and confident,” Dario says.
“You are.”
When Dario falls into silence a third time, it stirs something in me. “What is this really about? Did someone say something stupid about you!? Did you hear something?”
“Nah, just the usual.”
The usualis pretty much what I was hearing a lot while growing up, just with varying words.Dario, the smart Alcott, but he is also meek and quiet. Is he really an alpha’s son? Did he really test alpha?Even thinking about it makes my blood boil. Now I understand much more why Dario was so angry when he heard what those girls said about me. “I am not letting anyone badmouth you!”
Dario chuckles. “You always had a protective streak to you, even towards me.”
“Of course, you are my brother.”
“My goal is to begin to stand up for myself,” Dario says.
Is this why he is keeping more to himself? Maybe he thinks he can’t share a problem with me because it would make him look weak. I am not good with words, but I at least need to let him know there is nothing wrong with asking for help. “You can always come to me with whatever bothers you,” I say. “We are brothers! That’s what I am here for. If you ask for help, it doesn’t mean you couldn’t do it yourself. Sometimes it’s smarter and proves more strength to let someone help you.”
Dario looks at me with an amused expression on his face. “This sounds like something Liam would say! Did he lecture you?”
I snort. “Maybe he said something similar a while ago.”
“I get what you mean,” Dario says. “I am not going to do anything reckless.”
“So, there was truly nothing that happened recently?”
“Don’t worry,” he assures me. “There is just a lot of work.”
“Is that really all? You know you can talk to me. I will always be on your side.”
For a moment, it looks like Dario wants to say something, but then he just smiles. “It’s nothing, really. Just stress.”
I am contemplating asking more questions when I suddenly feel Aurelia’s mind link coming through.Felix, are you prepared?
I jump to my feet immediately.Yes!
Good, because he is here.
fifty-five
TJ
*FELIX*
Thomas Jackson.
TJ.
The only image of him I have is the picture I saw in that awful notebook Maddox’s father was holding onto, and then when Arden dug up some photos of him. But obviously, I have never seen him in person.
I just know that what he did to Marina was so severe that her wolf died, and then she died afterwards. She must have gone through hell, more than once. The thought alone fills me with so much rage and bitterness, which are foreign feelings to me.
Felix,Gwen takes my hand.Thank you.
What for, love? I haven’t done anything.
