Thirty-Eight

I’m too busy mumbling to myself mimicking Alexander’s words like a child throwing a temper-tantrum, I don’t realize that there is someone behind me when I take a step back from the sink after washing my hands, “oops, sorry!” I say as I step to the side grabbing a towel to dry my hands on.

“It’s no big deal, I shouldn’t have been standing so close.” Dafne’s sweet voice replies.

I smile at her and move out of her way so that she can wash her hands. “Here you go, I’m done with the sink.”

“Thanks.” She says, brushing against me turning the water on. “Hey Falencia?”

I turn back towards her trying not to think about the shiver that had just crept up my spine when she touched me. “Yeah?”

“I was wondering if you would want to maybe go for a walk with me later and maybe talk one on one, you know, get to know each other?” She asks innocently.

I smile at her, “Sure, I’m sure there will be plenty of time while were stopped.” I reply, and head back towards the group where the food is, trying to figure out where the shivers are coming from and why I’m suddenly feeling them, the thought that Dafne has something to do with them crosses my mind briefly but I quickly throw that thought away since she’s Addam’s mate and is going to be apart of our little family, I don’t think she’d do anything to jeopardize her relationship with Addam.

I walk over to where Fenirick and Addam are talking, “Could I speak with you two privately for a second?”

“Sure, what’s up?” Addam asks.

“Not here, is there a soundproof room in the RV that we could talk?”

“There is, I made sure that there was a room we could have conversations to where others couldn’t hear if we needed.” Fenirick responds.

“Good, I need to talk with you two and the group.” I pause for a second before adding “I don’t want Dafne in on this conversation.” I tell Addam.

He looks at me weirdly. “What’s wrong with my mate being apart of this conversation?” He asks narrowing his eyes at me.

I bite the inside of my bottom lip and sigh “I don’t have anything against her, I just don’t know her very well, and I want this conversation to be with people that I one hundred percent trust, and until she is on that list, I don’t want to say sensitive things in front of her.”

He nods curtly still slightly irritated. “She’s trustworthy.”

“I know that she’s your mate and that you feel that way, but to be completely honest, I don’t know her and this whole ‘road trip’ is to keep me safe, is it not?” I ask.

Fenirick looks from Addam to me “It is, the whole reason we left as early as we did was because of the accusations that Anderson was throwing around, at least mostly.”

Addam huffs and finally nods in agreement “Fine, when do we want to do this?”

“I think the sooner the better, but we can wait until things die down a little if you want.” I reply.

“Let’s just get this over with.” He says as he stalks away towards Dafne.

I look at Fenirick “I know that her being his mate is going to make him want to side with her more often than not, but I truly am starting to wonder if she is his true mate or if something was done to make him think she is.”

Fenirick chuckles at me “are you jealous?”

I sigh “I know I sound like I am, but I promise you, I’m not. I just want to make sure that he’s got someone who has his best interest at heart, I haven’t known Addam for very long, only a couple of weeks, but in that time, he’s shown me that he is truly a good person and I think he deserves the best.”

“I can’t say that I disagree with you, but it is extremely difficult for someone to fake the mate bond, especially when both sides can feel the pull.”

“But it can be done?”

“In very rare circumstances, a dark witch could put a spell on a person and their wolf to make them think that someone is their true mate, it’ll feel like the real deal, but the person who is under the influence of the magic, meaning the person the magic is directed towards will usually feel like there is something wrong. Now, that’s usually, it’s not an exact science, it also depends on how highly trained or how natural the witch that is doing the magic is.”

I nod in understanding, “How many skilled witches does the Underground Society have?”

“Truthfully, I don’t know.”

I suck my teeth and pinch the bridge of my nose as I feel a headache starting to take control. “Would you say that it’s a good possibility that they have at least one highly trained or naturally skilled witch on their side?”

“If we’re being honest, they probably have at least a couple.”

I sigh heavily and turn towards where Alaxander is handing out plates of food. “I think we should have a lunch meeting.” I walk towards the rest of our group, who all have their plates and are sitting around the wooden picnic table sitting in the shade of a tall oak tree. “Guys, I know that we just stopped and everything, but I was hoping we could have a private meeting?”

Berik looks at me worriedly “is everything alright sweetheart?”

“Honestly, I don’t know how to answer that question, but I would like to talk with my family.”

Freyja looks at me as she is in midbite of her hotdog. “Right now?” but it came out as gibberish.

I smile at her and nod “Yeah, I was thinking have a lunch meeting.”

“Well, we’re all here, so what’s up?” Dafne asks, her demeanor is completely innocent, but there’s something hidden behind her eyes that I hadn’t seen before.

“Actually, I was wanting to talk with my family in the soundproof meeting room in the bus.”

“Whatever you’re going to talk to Addam about, can be talked about with me, I am his mate and whatever you’re going to say he’s just going to tell me anyway.”

I smile “I’m meaning my family, Berik, Freyja, Cherie, Nik, and Fenirick. It’s not that I don’t trust Addam, I just don’t want to take him away from his new mate, I don’t know much about it, but from what I’ve come to understand it’s a strong bond between two people and I think you both need some alone time to talk and get to know each other better.” I say hoping that they take the bait.

Dafne smiles at me and nods “That makes sense.” Her voice shows no hidden meaning but the fire in her eyes shows that she is angry about something and her body language is giving off some seriously pissed off vibes.

“Great! It’s settled then, Fenirick will you show us to the meeting room so we can get this meeting dealt with?”

Fenirick nods grabbing his plate as the rest of my group grabs theirs following into the RV, I grab my plate from Alaxander whispering discreetly in his ear “would you do me a huge favor?” He nods slightly in response knowing that I don’t want people to know that I am asking him something. “Could you keep an eye on Dafne and Addam? I know I sound like I’m jealous, but there’s something about her that I don’t trust.”

He smiles at me and hugs me, covering up that he’s replying, “I’m so glad that I’m not the only one.” I smile at him taking my plate and heading into the RV to get the meeting underway.

As soon as the door is closed and locked we start the meeting. “Thank you for meeting with me today, I know we just stopped and everyone wants to relax, stretch out, and do whatever else the park provides, but, there’s something that has came to my attention.”

Everyone sits up a little straighter at the sound of possible danger, “I know how this is going to sound, and believe me I even thought about not telling any of you this and figuring it out on my own, but if there’s been one constant thing throughout this whole ordeal it’s been all of you telling me that I’m not alone and that I can’t continue trying to do everything on my own.”

“You’ve always thought or felt that you had to do everything, not just for yourself but for everyone else. And I’m glad that you’re finally realizing that you’re not alone.” Berik says as Freyja and Cherie nod in agreement.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t think Dafne is who she says she is.” I blurt.

Freyja and Cherie look at me as if trying to determine whether or not I’m jealous of the new girl, or if I’m being serious. “Are you sure or are you just jealous?” Freyja asks.

I click my tongue slightly “I promise you, I’m not jealous.” I think about how to explain the reason behind my feelings. “When I was washing up for lunch, she followed me into the RV and stood directly behind me, it was like she was hoping I’d collide with her or something.” I explain.

“She could have just been waiting to wash her hands too.” Berik says. “Maybe she didn’t realize how close she was?”

“I thought that too, which is why I didn’t think much of it until I felt a shiver creep up my spine as she brushed past me to wash her own hands, I don’t know what to think honestly. On one hand, maybe the shiver was nothing but a slightly jealous thing that I didn’t realize was jealousy, but on the other, maybe it’s warning me about something that none of us are seeing? Also, her body language when I asked to speak with everyone kind of seemed like she was upset that I was talking to everyone but her.”

“She may just feel like she’s being left out?” Nik reasons. “Or maybe she sees how close the rest of us are, and how close you are to Addam, and she feels a little threatened?”

I feel like maybe I’m seeing something that may not actually be there, a part of me wants to lash out and get them to hear what I’m telling them, but the other part of me is telling me to let it go, everything will be revealed in time. “You’re right, I’ve never been good with new people, there’s a lot that’s happened over the past couple of weeks. Maybe I’m just overwhelmed with everything.”

Freyja and Cherie smile at me sympathetically “I know that hanging out with fairly large groups of people makes you nervous, but maybe hanging out with us more will help you get to know her and you guys can become friends.” Freyja interjects. “I mean, you and Cherie didn’t get along at first, you thought that she was going to come between us at one point.”

I nod “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll do my best to not hide away and be more social.” I reply not showing that I was hoping for a slightly different outcome. Everyone starts to get up grabbing their plates and remnants of food that they have left.

“I love you sis, but you tend to be a little judgmental of people that’s not in your inner circle.” Freyja says as she gives me a hug.