Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Dario grinning slightly, tossing me a told-you-so gaze. “If you put it like that, I feel silly,” I admit.
“I don’t mind,” he says. “You clearly have a plan, and even if you didn’t, we could have figured something out together. You sincerely tried and came to the conclusion that it isn’t for you. That’s more than I could ask from you.”
“You knew, didn’t you?”
“Not really, I can’t look into your mind,” he says. “I just knew you weren’t happy.”
“I am still not one hundred percent certain about what to do now,” I admit. “I have a few ideas. I researched a bit, and most classes and courses start in September. I want to make the right decision this time.”
“Felix,” Dad sighs. “Stop freaking out about it. It’s fine. I am sure you will find something that fits you. Have you considered picking up your warrior training?”
“Yes, I did. I definitely want to do that, but also want to learn something just to have some sort of backup.”
“See? Obviously, you have thought it through.”
We are both interrupted by Mom calling out, “Oh!”
Dad spins around immediately, his attention instantly on her. She doesn’t look overly worried, though, just surprised. Following her gaze, my eyes land on a cat. At least it looks like a cat. Another one?
Gwen steps forward, kneeling down and waiting for the cat to approach her. “A manul,” she says, surprised.
Aurelia blinks. “A what?”
“It’s a Pallas’s cat,” Arden explains. “A small, wild cat. They are not domestic here, though. Very weird for one of them to be here.”
“She can move in with the rest of them,” I say. “I just hope she gets along well with all the others.”
“Tiger is the pack leader,” Gwen says, watching how the bird flutters around the manul before settling down on top of its head. The cat looks grumpy, but other than that, doesn’t seem to mind. “It should be fine.”
Mom has watched everything silently, tilting her head now. “Interesting,” she mutters more to herself than anyone else. She has that look in her eyes, the one where she seems to be far away with her thoughts, seeing something no one else can see.
There is no use in asking her what she knows or what she just realized. We all know that, so no one asks her about it.
*GWENDOLYN*
“Done,” Felix says, dropping down next to me on a comfortable chair in our new garden. Two days later, and we are done for the most part. Our otter and capybara have their own little area now, with a little pond. Aurelia and Felix made it while the rest of his family and friends helped me with cleaning and setting everything up.
I still can’t believe this is truly happening. Felix’s family was nothing but supportive and welcoming, and his sister has already set up a date with me to go for drinks next week, to show me around with her friends.
I have met so many pack members already, everyone congratulating Felix and me, and telling me how happy they are to have me here.
“Oh,” Felix perks up again. “Do you want ice cream? Gisela dropped off some special edition maracuja flavor earlier today.”
“Maracuja? Sounds fantastic! Gisela has good taste, obviously,” I say.
“I will tell her you said that,” he grins. “She will be happy.” He jumps up, hurrying back into the house to fetch us the ice cream. Felix has boundless energy. It should intimidate me, but I just love how he can sweep me along and how he matches my own energy. We have been living together for two days now, which isn’t much, but through these two days, it’s already obvious our lifestyles fit well. I love to get up early to feed and care for the pets, and he loves to get up early to help me and to work out.
We are both mediocre cooks and love eating at the packhouse. And he is open and honest with me concerning our future without ever pressuring me.
What I love about him the most, however, is how warm and cheerful he is. It’s like a warm blanket that surrounds me whenever I look into his honest eyes and see his beautiful smile.
“Here, babe.” Felix returns and hands me a cup of ice cream. He even sprinkled some marshmallows on top of it.
“Thank you, sunshine.”
His eyes widen. “Did you just call me by an endearment?”
“Bad?” I ask carefully. I love that he keeps calling me babe. No one has ever done that before. It might be a bit cliché, but it makes me happy, so I want to return the favor.
