Every single fucking time that I overheard them talk about me, Maddox made an effort to say something demeaning about my relationship with Brandon. And during the party, he clearly noticed me and kept pushing for Brandon to give answers.
“You did it on purpose,” I blurt out, my mouth dropping open.
Maddox shifts about, looking awkward again.
“You could have just said something!”
“I said the same when he told me everything,” Daniel agrees. When he notices my curiosity, he explains further. “The day afterTulip died, Maddox visited me and told me everything, including his plan.”
“I want you to take the money,” Maddox says. “And leave with Marina and Faye to a place you can be free and start over. My cousin will be able to set you up with other packs if that’s what you want, but you have time to decide on your next moves. Faye and Marina are pack wolves, though; they will need a pack to belong to eventually.”
“But will they be okay being without a pack for a couple of months?”
“Yes, I can’t link Marina,” Maddox says. “She does not seem to have a connection to this pack. As for Faye, she is a child. She does not have a wolf spirit yet.”
I keep blinking at him, not sure if I am fully grasping what he is telling me. “Jacob has prepared his old car for you, the old jeep,” Daniel adds. “You can load your bike and your necessities on it, and it has room for all three of you.“ Tiger chooses this moment to chirp. “Allfourof you.”
Their words keep running through my mind as I start to think this through. If it’s true what Maddox just said, it will give me the chance to take Faye and Marina away from here, to give them a chance to build a life somewhere else. This could be a solution to our problems. Looking into the envelope, I gape. “I can’t accept this!”
“You can,” Maddox mutters. “I wish I could give you more than that, but if I do, my father might grow suspicious, and he can’t know that I-” He is quiet for a while before shaking his head. “Listen, Gwen, I know I was terrible. I kept watching for years without doing anything, while I should have. I always knew I should have.” His voice trails off again. It’s as if he is far away in his thoughts all of a sudden. I glance at Daniel, but he just shakes his head slightly, so we wait. Eventually, Maddox turns to look at me again. “I wanted to do something, but forsome reason I couldn’t, which makes this even worse. If I ever want to become a good alpha, I need to finally stop being so impassive and change my ways.”
Curiosity starts gnawing at me again. Daniel’s hinted at something being off in his life several times, and it seems he was right. But why did he just keep watching and not interfere when he wanted to? It doesn’t matter to me, though; it doesn’t change anything. But this envelope here can change it all.
“Won’t they be able to track me?” I say. “I mean, I doubt anyone will be interested in the three of us, but technically we would be rogues.”
“It will take them days, if not more, to figure out that you are gone,” Daniel says. “And even then, it’s not clear if they will mind. As for your concern… you don’t smell like a wolf, which is why you won’t smell like a rogue either. The same goes for Faye. As for Marina, her wolf spirit is so weak, it’s very hard to take up her smell.”
Silence engulfs us again, while my thoughts spin. What would Dad want for me? He always kept saying that I am putting myself down, that I am so much better than I believe I am. He would have been proud of me for standing up to Brandon, and he would have been furious about what Brandon did. But none of this would have happened if he were still around. If I am honest with myself, I know that just like Daniel, he would want me to make something out of my life.
Closing my hands around the envelope, I take a deep breath. “When should I leave?”
eight
Failure
*FELIX*
Istare at the red on the paper in my hands, the words jumbling in front of my eyes. Fifty-three percent on my statistics exam. I didn’t pass… again. And goddess knows that I really made an effort.
“Hey, Felix.” Dario, my twin brother, approaches me with a worried expression on his face. “Is everything okay?”
Instead of an answer, I show him the results of the exam.
“Oh,” he says quietly.
Running my fingers through my hair, I turn towards him. We didn’t choose the same major, as Dario chose physics and mathematics, something I am definitely not smart enough for.This is the only class we share. I notice he has put his own paper away. “Don’t hide it,” I say. “If you hide your own achievements, it won’t make me feel better.”
“It just doesn’t seem like the right moment.”
“Come on, Dario.”
He sighs, showing me his results. He got a full score, as usual. He is really academically gifted.
“Wait, you got an extra point!” I stare at the numbers, noting that he managed to think of two ways to solve one of the tasks. “This is fucking awesome!” I wave my own exam at him. “If only I had one tiny part of your brain. Our distribution in Mom’s womb really wasn’t fair. I am muscles with no brain, and you are muscleswitha brain.”
“I am by far not as athletic and strong as you are,” Dario says. “And don’t talk down on yourself. This is just a small test. It means nothing.” He takes the paper out of my hands, skimming over it. “In fact, you did quite well.”
“Now you are lying.”
