“Jacob did his best to explain it,” Evelyn whispers. “But it’s still…”
She doesn’t need to finish her sentence. I know what she wants to say. Even the most child-friendly explanation does not takethe reality of what happened away. At least with Faye in my arms, I have someone to cuddle.
“I hate it here.”
“What?” I look up at Faye’s tear-stained face. She always smiles, but now she looks sad and small like the little child she is.
“No one is nice here,” she whispers. “Not to mommy, not to you. And they say weird things about me, too.”
My heart sinks. I thought at least Faye would enjoy it here. She is the main reason I stuck around, because I wanted her to have the connection to her mom’s home pack. But it seems I was wrong. Thinking about it now, it makes me look even more foolish. This is Marina’s home pack, yet no one gives a shit about her or Faye. Marina had other friends here before she left, but once she returned, they only visited her a very few times before stopping altogether. The only exceptions are Evelyn, Jacob and Daniel.
Holding Faye tighter, my thoughts start to spin again. What am I supposed to do now? I don’t know any other packs. I alone could maybe leave, but I don’t have the money to take Marina and Faye with me, or to stay somewhere with them. Faye is not at school yet, so technically we could move and figure things out when she needs to go to school – but money remains an issue.
The next couple of days, I go through the motions. Daniel used his contacts to call the coffee shop and tell them I am sick. Usually, they put up a fight and force me to come in even when I am sick, but apparently, with his authority, they didn’t dare say anything.
I am glad, although I could do with some distraction, but just the thought of having to meet Brandon at work again sends me into a spiral. I have spent hours each day thinking about theincident, well aware now that he did it because, in his mind, I humiliated him at the party, unless maybe he wanted to show off in front of the others and keep his cool player image. Remembering what I overheard when Daniel talked to them, I don’t think they intended for anything dramatic to happen, yet it did.
It doesn’t make it better that theyjustwanted to scare me and get a kick out of the chase. It was probably fun for them, until it wasn’t anymore.
Either Evelyn or Jacob visits me daily to check on me and to bring groceries. I don’t want to rely on them that much, though, so I try go grocery shopping myself. But wherever I go, I seem to run into Brandon. It’s as if he knows where I am or where I’m going, and it’s getting more and more difficult to avoid him.
Daniel told him not to bother me, so it seems Brandon’s new strategy is for us to meet accidentally.
None of it makes sense anymore. To make matters worse, Faye isn’t her usual bubbly self anymore either. I guess it always was just a front for her, and now that she sees I am sad too, she’s finally let go of her mask. Poor Faye. She should be able to enjoy her childhood, instead of being treated like an outsider in her own pack.
I spend the afternoon whipping up some dough to make comfort cookies for us, my thoughts still rotating over how I am going to get us out of this shitshow, when there is a knock at my door. Tiger flutters around and lands on my shoulder. “It’s a bit early for Evelyn,” I mutter to her. “But maybe her shift ended earlier.
I wipe my hands clean before heading to the front door, pulling it open. At the sight in front of me, I instinctively close it again, and my heart starts beating so fast I am scared I will pass out any second. What is he doing here now?
There is a gentle knock on the door. “Please let me in,” Maddox says. “I know you don’t want to see me, but I promise you I am not here to give you any trouble.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
It’s one thing to avoid Brandon, but Maddox is the heir to the pack. He is the soon-to-be alpha. There is no way I can avoid him without facing any repercussions.
With my heartbeat picking up again, I open the door.
“Hello, Gwen,” he says.
I stare at him, not sure what he wants me to reply. He has never talked to me, quite literally. I cannot remember ever exchanging words with me. Even when the others kept bullying me and calling me names, he would just be silent. Actually, he doesn’t seem to talk an awful lot in general.
Maddox clears his throat. “I am sorry,” he says.
For barging in? For scaring the shit out of me now? Or for not stopping his goons when they chased Tulip and me? I am not sure, and he doesn’t elaborate.
“Gwendolyn, I have something to tell you and…and an offer to make to you.”
“What do you mean?” I finally find my voice again.
“I know you wouldn’t believe anything I say,” he admits. “Which is why I brought him along.”
‘Him’happens to be Daniel. Seeing him helps me relax immediately. “Hear him out,” Daniel says. “I promise you he has something to tell you that’s worth listening to.”
“Fine.” I nod, finally letting them inside. “Do you want coffee? I also have cookies.”
“What did you make?” Daniel asks with a smile. “I smell strawberries.”
“Strawberry cheesecake cookies.” At Daniel’s happy expression, I can’t help but chuckle. He has a sweet tooth, which is kind of funny since he is a rather serious man otherwise.Daniel leads Maddox to my living room, where I notice Maddox pausing when he eyes Marina. As usual, Daniel walks around the sofa slowly to stand in front of Marina. He does it so as not to startle her in any way or to make her uncomfortable. Not that she reacts to anyone or anything. But he doesn’t want to scare her in case she does. “Hello Marina, it’s nice to see you,” he says. “I brought a guest. We just wanted to say hello and chat a while with Gwen.”
