All of this feels real and precious to me. I do not want any changes right now.
I watch how Maddox takes two boxes, puts one on top of the other and grabs them. There is a young man next to him, with sunburnt skin and a bright smile.
Silas is standing with them with a list in his hand, while Charlie is dashing around.
She looks so happy, it warms my heart.
“All the blue boxes go to the stables, Benji,” Silas says.
“Got you,” Benji beams. He turns to Maddox. “Are you okay? Do you need help?”
Maddox is quiet for a while, eventually he nods. “I am fine,” he says.
Benji grabs two boxes as well and then follows one of our warriors to the newly built stables. Meanwhile, Silas approaches me. “I have never met someone as quiet as him,” he says.
“Maddox, you mean?”
Silas frowns. “Yes. He barely talks, and he takes ages to react, as if he isn’t always with us.”
“He probably really isn’t,” I say quietly.
“If he hadn’t been Charlie’s mate, I would have probably invited him to Marc’s and my poven – pack and coven,” Silas says. “But he will do well in Liam’s pack. He can work as an advisor and warrior there and be less in the spotlight than he used to be. I strongly believe it will be good for him.”
Maddox and Benji reach the stables, putting down the boxes. Benji seems to be saying something, and Maddox nods slightly. It’s at that moment that Charlie comes out of the packhouse and runs past the parking lot. She waves briefly at Benji and then stops next to Maddox.
He wraps his arm around her, a smile blooming on his lips.
“Unless he is with her,” Silas says. “Then he suddenly seems to be alive.”
“I think it will be fine,” I say. “Liam will make sure he receives help, and Charlie is obviously very happy to have him around. And he looks happy when she is with him.”
He does. Charlie keeps telling him something, and he seems to be listening intently. It’s not like before with Benji, when he was rather absent-minded; he seems to be fully aware, almost hanging on her lips.
He even brushes a strand of hair past her ear, smiling when she blushes.
Goddess, they are adorable.
I used to think Maddox was a stuck-up, arrogant alpha’s heir, but now he has willingly given up everything to be with his mate. His whole rank and his position never meant anything to him. Funny, in a way, he and I are pretty similar. We both were stuck in an awful pack that treated us like we were disposable.
But now we finally found a person we can love, and who loves us.
And a place for ourselves.
A place called home.
fifty-nine
Forever Together
*FELIX*
Iwatch Gwen lead the pony along the path, with Faye sitting on top of it.
“Daddy, look at me!” Faye calls towards Marius and waves.
He smiles and waves back at her. “You are doing amazing, Sweetie.”
He and I have joined Faye’s horse-riding lesson as spectators. Gwen has recently started working with the kids and teaching them how to ride. Her stable now has five horses and two ponies. She also assists Aurelia in her work. My sister hates anything paperwork-related, so she is happy with the additional help.
