“Too much testosterone,” Silas says out loud now.
This draws everyone’s attention away from their private talks and first, towards Silas, then Flora and me. Flora shoves me further into the room, skipping some steps around me and opening her arms to the little gathering. “This is Gwendolyn.”
Annie’s face lights up, and she approaches me immediately. “Felix’s mate,” she says warmly, pulling me into a hug.
I instantly feel comfortable in her embrace. I don’t quite remember the luna from my old pack, as she was barely around, but this… this is how I’ve always imagined one. The others soon follow Annie, with Marius playfully wrestling with Elodie to reach me first.
“Happy to meet you, Gwen,” he says while Elodie glares at him. “Felix has been spamming me with messages about how awesome his mate is.”
Annie elbows him. “You keep spamming us with messages about Celine yourself.”
“Well, I can’t help it if my mate is just so perfect,” he grins, before reaching out his hand and patting his mom’s hand. She is so much smaller than him, it looks hilarious. “Glad to see you too, Mom.”
“They all grew so tall,” she complains. “That’s Elden’s genes. Oh!” She beams at me before smirking. “Elden has very good genes by the way, and he-“
“No, no, no,” Marius pulls his hand away. “I know where this is going. I am sorry, you are not tiny, I never implied you are.”
“When will you ever learn?” Elodie asks and rolls her eyes.
Dalila, who has been silent until now, just chuckles. “Welcome, Gwen. We are obviously very happy to have you.”
“Yes, come,” Annie guides me to the table, where Silas is sitting and watching in very clear amusement. “Let them have their fun. We can drink tea, meanwhile.”
I am relieved she has taken the lead, and I sit down next to Dalila, while Annie fills our cups with tea. “Felix mentioned you are very good with animals,” she adds.
This seems to pique Silas’s interest. “Oh, really?”
“They kind of come to me,” I explain. “I am not sure how it works. They are just suddenly there.”
“What kind of animals?”
“Yesterday, an alpaca appeared out of the blue,” I explain. “A couple of days ago, a Pallas’s cat. I also have a capybara, a bird, a raccoon, and several others. Oh shoot, that reminds me that my duck has stolen another egg. I don’t know what’s going to hatch from that.”
“Hm,” Silas hums. “Interesting.”
“Very,” Dalila says. “I would love to have a capybara.”
“You can totally visit anytime and pet Tuesday,” I offer. “That’s his name.”
“Really?” she asks. “Goddess, yes!”
“Does anyone want a glass of wine?” Marius asks when he, Flora, and Elodie join us.
“I wouldn’t mind,” Silas says. Some of the others agree, but Annie shakes her head.
“I have to decline,” she says. “I have been having a queasy stomach since yesterday. Tea for me.”
“Then take another cup,” Silas says. “It’s a good brew. I should know, because I brought it along.”
While the others make themselves comfortable, I sneak another curious peek at him. It’s the first time that I‘ve met anactualvampire. He looks like I would have imagined one. Beautiful, a bit pale, dignified, and a touch intimidating.
“Gwen,” Flora pulls me out of my thoughts. “Why don’t you tell the others what you told us already. About Marina and Faye, your experience with your old pack, and how you left.”
I nod. “Of course.” That’s the story I have prepared myself to tell. The small circle of lunas… and Silas, give off such welcoming vibes that I don’t feel nervous or anxious anymore. I begin to tell them my story, starting with my general life there, up to the point when I landed in a small town at the coast and met Felix.
Annie stirs her cup of tea. “Your friend, Marina...“ she pauses. “Liam told me about her, and now hearing it from you again makes it all the more upsetting.”
I nod. “He and Elden tried to reach out for her wolf, but”-I take a moment to collect myself-“she doesn’t have her wolf spirit anymore.”
