5. Progress

I'm equipped with all the necessary documents, every certificate about me and my parents. Emmet actually managed to retrieve one document that proved Dad's first mate gave birth to a child. However, there is no real birth certificate for Candy, and I hope the Council can help.

I'm not sure how Liam did it, but it only took a week for them to contact me and invite me to a meeting. As I'm not a member of the Council or a royal lycan either, I can't just enter. I can only enter the council building when accompanied by an actual member. Annie or Liam could do it because they are both working for the Council due to their rank. Furthermore, Liam's dad is the future king, making Liam the future crown prince.

However, we all decided it would be best if I came with Dave. Dave is unorthodox in his methods, and some people there actually fear his unusual way of handling Council issues. He has no filter and doesn't care for rank as he is human. He is the only human to work for the Council and to ever set foot in it.

"I'm still amazed you are an actual member of the Council," I tell him when he leads me inside the building. It's completely new, as the base here is newly founded. The Council's main base is still in France.

"I can't quite believe it either." Dave chuckles. "One day I'm a normal human, friends with a bunch of wolves, then the next day I'm suddenly mated to one, part of a pack and invited into the Council."

"Thanks for helping me," I say. "I know you have a lot on your plate with your work at university and then here, plus your work for the pack."

"El." He jumps me out of the blue to squeeze me. "You and Annie are my best friends and my chosen family; of course I'd help you anytime! That's what friends are for. Stop being so dramatic."

"Me? Dramatic!?" I breathe out. "This coming from you of all people. Are you trying to insult me?"

He grins. "Feisty suits you better than overly modest."

I roll my eyes while he leads me deeper into the building. We pass by a few Council members. Some of them greet Dave, some seem to be nervous to have him around. He appears to be completely unfazed.

"Hello, Jason!" Dave waves at a middle-aged man, who glares at him. Dave completely ignores his hostile behavior. "How is Clara?"

"She told me to say hello," Jason says begrudgingly.

Dave pretends not to notice it and instead just beams. "She is such a sweetheart! Tell her I will give her a call soon."

Jason just grumbles, but before he can say something, Dave has pulled me along. "I see you got the hang of things," I grin.

"I learned that if you can't get the assholes on your side, you can definitely befriend their wives and mates." Dave chuckles. "And I wasn't lying. Clara is an absolute sweetheart."

"How did Liam manage to make the Council react so fast to my problem?" I ask him. "Don't get me wrong, I know they look into cases like mine, but it's only been a few days."

"Alpha Liam emphasized how dangerous it would be to have a teenage wolf within humans, someone who probably doesn't know what they are." Dave laughs. "I didn't know he could be that cunning. We don't even know if the kid is living with the humans. Could as well be part of a pack. How does he do that? Everyone always seems to listen to him."

His explanation makes sense. Liam probably pulled a few tricks out of his sleeve to make them work faster, plus he is an Alcott, a golden child for the Council.

"Liam has been raised to become alpha," I tell Dave. "Ever since he was born. As the firstborn child of a reigning royal lycan alpha, that alone set him up to be blessed with lots of gifts." I pause. "But it's not just that. His father had him study and learn a lot. He knows how to carry himself in difficult political situations. That's why everyone respects him so much."

"Makes sense," Dave says. "There had to be a lot of pressure on him," he points out.

Liam's father is a great alpha and a generous man. He loves his family and his pack, but Liam is his first child and heir. They have a great relationship, but I assume it wasn't always easy.

But when is it ever?

I sometimes wonder how it would be if my dad was still around. He came from a strong beta lineage, and my mom even had a bit of alpha blood in her. I'm sure they would have pushed me to reach my potential, especially with the gift I have. I'm sure I would have hated that sometimes, but at the same time, I wish I had these moments to butt heads with my parents and to just feel their love, their hope, even their expectations of me.

All I had was people to shun and neglect me until I met Annie and Dave as a teen.

I want to make sure that Charlie, no matter how old he is now, will have a family. That he will have love, security, and the chance to develop and grow.

"You are quiet," Dave says. "Is everything alright?"

"No," I say honestly. "I'm worried."

"We will find Charlie, El."

"Dave…" I pause, finally daring to say what I didn't dare to voice in front of Dante. He lost a child once, and I don't want him to help me just to be faced with disappointment again. "I'm scared. What if Charlie… you know…"

I can barely say it, but Dave understands nevertheless.

"Liam told me that strong wolves can feel the bond to their family," he says quietly. "And your wolf is strong, isn't she?"

Very strong, Nefeli says proudly.

I blink, understanding what Dave is hinting at. Why did I not think about it? Nefeli… can you feel it? A bond to a family member?

She seems to be confused at first but then just grumbles. I can't believe we needed a human to tell us we could try that. Give me a moment! She walks around, trying to make herself comfortable. I can feel her relax in my mind. Despite being suppressed for the first years of her existence, she never harbored any resentment towards me or the goddess or anyone else… well… minus our old shithead alpha of course.

She is proud and strong, slightly impatient when our mate fucks up, but she is also such a good friend to me.

I'm not sure, she says. Ella… there is something… it's faint and far away, but I'm picking up something in the distance.

Wait… you feel something!?

Yes, she says. I feel the existence of a young wolf related to us.

"Dave," I exclaim, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "You are the best."

He looks relieved and happy at my words before stopping abruptly in front of a door. "Here we are," he says. "That's Elder Bernard's office. He is usually in Paris but sometimes visits the base here."

And he is a great guy, he links me. Kind of funny. One of the few elders who supported me joining the Council from the beginning on.

Dave knocks at the door, and a minute later, it gets ripped open. An elderly lycan greets us. He is tall, has a bit of a belly, and looks kind and fun. He clasps Dave's shoulder. "My favorite human," he hollers. "And Beta Ella!"

I recognize him instantly from Annie's and Liam's inauguration ceremony; he was one of the elders present that day. "It's an honor to meet you again," I say politely.

"Yeah, yeah, thank you, likewise." He grins. "But you don't need to be so formal with me. Truth is, I was so bored with the usual complaints about awful packs and their alphas that when Liam called me and told me about your story, I was beyond happy with the distraction."

He leads us into his office, a generous, beautiful room, and ushers us to a small, comfortable sitting area. "I have coffee and tea prepared and some cake."

He waits for Dave and me to get comfortable and have a cup of coffee before he hands us a plate with delicious looking chocolate cake. I get why Dave loves this man.

"I've heard that you are doing some great work, David," Bernard says with a bright smile.

"Yes, when the wolves here are not having their panties in a twist, they aren't all that bad." Dave smirks. "It's not always bad to be the Council's trophy human."

Bernard just grins and smacks his shoulder. "You have the right attitude."

That's not something people usually say to Dave, and by the way he looks happy at Bernard's words, I assume he doesn't hear them too often here either. I'm glad that he found a place in our world, though, a place he belongs to and can show his strengths.

"Alright, Ella," Bernard says after a bit of small talk. "This is all we found," he tells me and hands me a USB stick. "There are videos from surveillance cameras, old documents, and photos."

"You got so much in such a short period of time?" I ask. "I don't know what to say, Elder Bernard, aside from thank you so much."

"It was the Council that ignored the issues going on in your old pack," he tells me. "So it's the least we can do now."

"You didn't know," I say.

"Yes, that might be true. But we were ignorant of the many things going wrong with the werewolf packs here. Lycan packs work differently, and we just thought… well… we didn't think much to be honest; we just ignored the main issues. And not knowing what was going on doesn't excuse our ignorance."

"To be honest, I held a lot of resentment for a long time," I admit.

"It's normal that you did."

"But I appreciate how much the Council is doing now and how you built a base here to help packs in need." I smile. "Thank you for helping me too."

"What about Charlie?" Dave asks Bernard.

"The baby? Candance did give birth; that much is for certain," Bernard says. "She entered a hospital heavily pregnant and left it with a baby, but all the documents disappeared."

"She tried to protect Charlie," I mutter.

Bernard nods. "It might make our search difficult now, but it might also mean that she managed to protect her boy. Luna Annalise was right when she said one of the pictures was taken in Florence. Candance was in the hospital there to give birth."

"I can start my search there," I say.

"Yes, I will further provide you with all necessary documents that prove you have the Council's support in case you have to deal with werewolves. As for the humans, I will have your passport, Candance's birth certificate, and everything else ready on Monday, including yours and Beta Dante's tourist visa." He pauses. "All you need to do is book a flight. Furthermore, Liam told me he has contacted his cousin, Eric, Prince of the Council in Paris. He is a fantastic and smart young man. Whenever you need something, make sure to contact him. He will help you with the authorities, the bureaucracy, and the paperwork once you find Charlie."

"I… thank you so much!" I blurt out, jumping up to hug the nice old man. He just laughs and pats my back.

"Make sure to bring the young wolf back home."