Chapter 137
Something unexpected happened that afternoon. No one saw that coming. Throughout Vaughnorths academy, a wail of a baby was heard. Everyone couldn't believe what they were hearing. From wherever they were, they all headed in the direction they heard the sound coming from. Felix, Alexa and Isadora were in tow. When they got to the scene, many people were already there, surrounding the baby. Felix pushed through the crowd in anticipation. It's been a while, but he couldn't mistake the sound of his own child's cry.
Felix pushed through the crowd until he reached the opening where his son was lying on the ground. He froze in disbelief. Despite his loud wails, it didn't feel real. His son was back. Right in front of him and he was alone. Everyone was murmuring to themselves while none made the attempt to pick up the child to pacify him. He snapped out of his daze and went to pick his son up. He turned his back to the people and shielded Horace from their prying eyes. He held him against his chest, and gently strayed, swinging him side to side trying to get him to stop crying.
He looked down at him in awe and a wave of relief washed over him when he saw that he had no visible scars or signs of being abused. Still, he couldn't be sure until he checked his whole body. Horace sensed the familiar scent of his father and calmed down, mellowing in his arms.
" It's really you, my son," Felix muttered under his breath.
His eyes searched around for the person he was looking forward to seeing as well. But there was no sign of her anywhere. He couldn't sense nor smell her scent. Just a faint scent on Horace's clothes.
He escaped the crowd and went back to his room. Alexa and Isadora encountered him on the way, so they followed him back.
" What happened, Felix? Where is Horace coming from?" Alexa asked, looking at little Horace who somehow fell asleep. Felix didn't put him down. He couldn't put him down because he was afraid that everything was just one of his hopeful dreams that he would be reunited with his family. If it was a dream, then everything, everything would fade away if he let go.
" I-I don't know. He was just out there...by himself."
Alexa noticed that there was a distant look in his eyes. His son was finally back in his arms, yet he was not happy at all. It was not enough.
" How is that possible? No one detected any intruder in the premises, so how did the child come back on his own?" Isadora asked the question on everyone's minds.
" Well check that out later. Thankfully, Horace made it back in one piece."
Felix didn't say anything. He just kept on holding on to Horace and rocked himself back and forth. Alexa sat beside him and touched his shoulder.
" Your son is right here, Felix. He is not going anywhere. You can put him down."
He shook his head no.
" I can't put him down. Not after what happened. What if...something happens again? I can't take that chance. Not again."
Alexa sighed. She understood him. Everything that has been happening so far has been traumatic for him. No wonder he was so afraid.
" Alright. We'll leave you and the little one for now. For now, we'll try to find out what is going on."
Isadora followed Alexa out, leaving Felix and Horace in the room.
" Something is not right," Alexa stated.
" I feel the same way as well. It's strange. He appeared out of nowhere."
Both of them made their way to the security and barrier room. They checked with the guards and found out that there was no breach in security. No one came in or out. But while watching the footage, the camera caught a portal which brought Horace. No one but him came through the portal before it disappeared.
" Maybe his mother managed to bring him through before..."
Isadora couldn't complete the sentence. Alexa kept staring at the footage with unwavering attention. Isadora sighed. She almost said something stupid. It was not her place to make speculations. Before she made Alexa upset, she decided to keep quiet. While Alexa, on the other hand, was trying to understand what happened. If it was Mercedes who sent Horace back through the portal, why didn't she come back with him? Why did she stay back? What was the reason? All those questions would never have the answer she wanted. Horace is still a baby and won't be able to tell them what happened to his mother. It was starting to get to her. It was frustrating that one step forward felt like ten steps backwards.
She groaned and slammed her fist on the table, startling Isadora. She didn't say anything, remaining quiet. Alexa walked out of the security room in anger. Hitting the brick wall time after time was finally breaking her. What is this twisted game fate was playing with them? When will it end? This was the limit of what she could take. Alexa made her way back to Felix's room. She walked in without knocking at first, so she stumbled upon him in a miserable state. He had finally put the child on the bed to sleep. He, on the other hand, was on the floor with his head between his legs, his body shaking as his chest heaved. She heard his sniffles and silent cries and her heart ached. As much she would have let him be and allowed him to be weak, she couldn't. The time of being weak was over.
" Stop crying, right now."
The words came out colder and harsher than she intended. Like a sharp blade.
She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She hated what she was doing, but it had to be done. Someone had to knock some sense into him, or he would completely break.
She went closer to him and kneeled beside him.
" Come on now. Enough of this. I know you are hurting. I know that it's difficult for you to function or go on without her, but you have to. For her sake and the sake of your child, you have to gather the courage and strength to go on."
Felix stopped crying and looked up, his eyes red and hollow.
Alexa took his face in her hand and wiped his tears away.
" It's not yet the time to shed tears. She is not dead, she is just missing, so there is still hope. Now, more than ever since, Horace has been returned to us. There is a chance that she could come back as well. But until then, you have a duty you cannot ignore. A duty to be the Alpha and the leader of your pack in this difficult time and a duty to your son in his mother's absence. A duty to find your Luna and bring her back home to her family and her pack. Do you understand?"
Felix didn't even flinch. He remained in the same position, unwilling to move or get up.
" Crying won't change anything. It never has."
His lips trembled as he tried to speak.
" D-Do y-you think-"
" Yes. She is still very much alive. If anything like that happened, you would have been the first to feel it," she replies, cutting him off. She already knew what she was thinking. Tears had stopped coming out but the pain he was feeling would not go away. Alexa was right. He couldn't give in to his grief and collapse. His son still needed him, and he still had to find Mercedes.
When looking at Horace earlier on, he felt ashamed and unworthy of being his father. At such a tender age, he had already been through a lot. It pained him a lot. He couldn't help but fall apart. Its pressure was getting worse by the day.
" Yes, you are right. Although I can barely feel her connection right now, I know she is still there. She is not dead. She is waiting for me to find her. I can't disappoint her anymore than I already have."
He slowly got up from the floor with Alexa's help to steady him. He looked at Alexa and his eyes flashed with a glint of newfound determination.
" That's the spirit. Drakoen aims to make us lose morale and let our guard down. Once we lose all hope and have given up, I am sure then he will show himself and try to strike us when we are at our weakest. So we can give him the chance he wants. I feel that the day is not far away when he will emerge from where he is hiding and attack us. When must begin preparing our forces to fight. This will be the final battle, and we will have to be ready to defeat him or die trying."
Felix nodded his head. Everything Alexa said to him made sense. So that was his strategy after all. To weaken their resolve by taking what is precious to them. It was all a diversion to take their attention from what he was up to.
" If he thinks he can walk all over us, then he is wrong. He won't win this fight because we won't be making it easy for him. So whatever plan he is cooking up, he will not succeed. I will not let it."
" We will not let it. All of us united will stand against him."
Alexa felt relieved that she had stopped Felix from getting pushed to the brink of despair and finally figured out what Drakoen was up to. They spent so much time trying to find Mercedes and ignored their defense strategy against Drakoen. If he decides to attack at that moment, they would be completely unprepared and defenseless. That needed to change. He was going to come and once he did, surely he would bring Mercedes with him. She just hoped that she was fine and hanging in there.