noun ~ the second in command in wolf hierarchy

CHARLIE

Another day, another dollar and all that.

If Phoenix paid me, I would be rich.

Admittedly, the payment of being able to sit in his office chair was enough to sate me for now. But working the Alpha shift was damn hard work.

My head fell onto Phoenix's desk as a groan of complaint left my mouth. Nova had given birth to the twins four days ago. Tomorrow would mark their fifth day of being born and finally, I can meet my new minions. I would have them on my side and we would forever work as a trio in ruling the household.

A sinister smile erupted on my face just as a knock sounded on the door.

"Who is it?" I sang.

They let themselves in, and I turned to watch as Sean slipped through the crack in the door.

"Well, that is an interesting greeting for the stand-in Alpha." He rose an eyebrow.

"By all means, you take the job." I rolled my eyes.

"No, thank you. I did it when you were on the north pole."

I snorted a laugh, sliding the latest paperwork to the side. "What you want?"

"Charming." He tutted. "What time are you going around tomorrow? Phoenix said that all of us have to go at the same time."

"He did?" I frowned.

That meant less Uncle Charlie time.

"I was thinking we go before lunch." Sean shrugged, sitting in the chair opposite me.

"For food?"

"No, Nova cannot cook. Her brother said so."

"Which brother?" I wondered.

"Pollux." He smirked.

Damn, if Pollux said it, then it must be right.

"How is she even coping?"

"They're in a bubble." Pollux's voice interrupted as he entered the office unannounced.

"Welcome to you too." I scoffed, leaning back in my chair.

My chair. How wonderful!

I rubbed my hands along the leather arms, sighing contentedly. Sean watched me with concern, but I ignored him, shifting my attention to the Nova-twin.

"What do you mean?"

"How much do you hear from Phoenix?" He probed. "I assumed barely once a day."

"If that." I shrugged. "He's busy, right?"

"I have been around every day and the house is a mess. I tidy it when they sleep. I don't think Nova even realises." He explained, crossing his leg over his knee as he sat. "Other than that, they live off food I either bring or whatever is in the freezer."

"Sounds like a calm time to me." I shrugged.

"No, you aren't listening." He scolded, and I pouted. "They are like zombies."

"They have two babies; it's bound to be hard." Sean muttered. "I had Reya yesterday afternoon, and that was hard, and she is eight weeks old!"

"True, I never even met a baby." I hummed, my heart twinging at the thought of being unable to have my own. "Tomorrow is a new beginning for all of us!"

Sean was staring at me blankly, but Pollux's face was down-turned. I sighed, falling back into the seat to match his gaze.

"What is it now?"

"Stop faking your happy exterior, Charlie." Pollux chided me.

My jaw tensed, and I grumbled. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"I hear your wolf whine whenever you think about children." Pollux stated, cocking his head.

His green eyes studied me, travelling the length of my body. I subconsciously crossed my arms, adjusting the t-shirt I wore better. Was his mind-ability like x-ray vision? Could he see through my clothes and my skin?

Could he read my thoughts?

Sean likes to eat ass.

Hmm... Nope, no reaction.

Not a mind-reader then.

"Look, you need to be open-minded tomorrow. Try to not let your jealously impede your chance with Phoenix's babies."

"Jealous? I am not jealous." I scoffed.

"You want a baby, don't you?" He rolled his eyes.

"Well, my own would be nice." I clicked my tongue. "But that is besides the points. These are my... nieces? Nephews?"

Pollux's lips stayed firmly shut, and I huffed. Nobody was telling me the sex of the twins, and I could not pick up the scents from Pollux whenever he came back. On top of being forced to fill out inventory and check the patrols, the new baby scent that lingered in the fibres of his skin and hair constantly distracted me. Babies had little hormone difference so young, so I couldn't tell what they were yet!

My wolf paced. Axel was not a gentle beast. He did not care about petty emotions and often thought I was deranged. We both knew that my humour wasn't my true self, just a result of hiding my angry wolf. I did a good job of locking that dark part of me away.

Win for me!

Ever since I wound up on Phoenix's land all those years ago, I felt like I had lost a part of myself. My family was dead, my pack gone... I was alone, and despite the familial feeling of Blood Moon pack, it just wasn't the same. That ache in my chest never went away. My wolf sought his blood family.

But they were gone.

And perhaps so were my future chances of having more.

I was alone.

Nova had done me a solid in forcing me to speak to my mate. We had conversed little since she came here in the summer, and now it had been over nine months and we were not anywhere closer on the bond.

However, the talk did me some good. It allowed me to see what something troubled my mate and she let me into her world. It made me feel wanted; it made her feel closer to me, and it was just the kick up the arse I needed...

five days prior

Women are infuriating.

Nova, although my luna and my dearest friend, knew just how to push my buttons. In all of my years I spent in this pack, Phoenix never got under my skin the way she did. I don't know how she did it, but she either entertained me, annoyed the shit out of me, or brought my weak side to the surface.

It was just as bad with Calida.

And now I was being forced to go speak with her.

Trudging out of the house and down the short path to the gardens, I contemplated what would happen if I just ran in the opposite direction. Nova wasn't out here. She wouldn't see me?

Would she?

I looked around, my nose in the air to try scent her.

No, she was still inside with Pollux.

I could just leave right now. Save the wrath of my no-doubt furious mate and go back to my office to eat the cookies I had hidden in my locked drawer. They were my favourite and nobody, and I mean nobody, was allowed one.

A grin tore apart my face, and I stopped my stride to turn around. But the moment I did, the wind shifted and my spine tensed at the smell of tears. My wolf whined and within seconds, I was running around the side of the house to see what had caused so much trouble for my mate.

Calida jumped at the sound of my growl before tutting and waving me away.

"Oh Charlie, stop growling."

My growl didn't subside, my wolf displeased with his mate's unacceptance of her emotions and his concern.

"What's wrong?" I wondered, coming to stand beside her.

She was messing with the hem of her sleeves, head dipped down so I couldn't see her face. I knew she had been crying because every three breaths held a sniffle. Sighing, I squatted before her, knowing her stubborn ass would not tell me. I hesitantly reached out for her, cautiously placing my palms on either side of her face. She was always like a time bomb, and it was hard to understand.

Just when I thought she would let me hold her head, she shook me off and my hands fell to my lap. I sighed and dropped my head before admitting defeat and sitting beside her.

We were quiet, the only sound her snotty sniffles as she fiddled with her sleeves.

I counted fifty-three flower heads before she spoke first. I turned to her with surprise, not expecting her to break the silence. We often just surrounded each other in quiet, my wolf happy with just being near her.

"I am assuming you did not come out here for me?"

I shook my head, inching the slightest bit closer to her on the bench. "I did. Well... Nova told me to come speak to you."

Her head reeled back, those dark eyes meeting mine with unease. "Was she upset? I hurt her feelings."

I grimaced. "She was not upset. She was angry at me, instead."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Want to tell me why?"

Her deep brown eyes peered up at me, hesitance clear as day. I could feel the bond in my chest tighten at the eye contact, my wolf whining for acceptance, a piece of guidance from our mate.

Just let me in. I begged.

Her nose twitched and my eyes dropped to watch it before they fell to her soft, dark rose lips. They parted with a sigh, and I felt my wolf perk up at the prospect of vocabulary.

"I think I insulted her." She eventually muttered. "We got talking about the whole... scarring thing, and I wasn't listening to her."

My eyes dropped to her hand when she waved it over her stomach, and my jaw tightened with the reminder. Kate had cornered me after one of her scans, not wanting to traumatise my mate further with her discoveries just yet.

We had discovered scarring and tissue growth in places it shouldn't be, which is what Calida knew. But some of the damage, some of the scarring, was because of an unknown procedure. Kate said nothing was out of place apart from a lack of eggs, however, there were entry wounds that she believed to be from an operation.

Because of the state Calida was in, I begged Kate to not tell her just yet. We had barely got through the trauma of the cause of her scarring, let alone add more to it when Calida needed time to process. For now, she believed that the results of the latest exam were on the way. Then that is when I would tell her.

We were just glad it wasn't cancer.

I wasn't sure if I could cope with losing Calida. I barely had her, and she was already so far away.

I wasn't sure what would be worse. Never getting the chance to love her, or loving her with everything I had just to lose her.

"I doubt you insulted her. Nova is very open-minded." I stated, shaking my head.

She huffed, leaning back on the bench. I turned slightly to look at her more head-on, watching the way she scowled at each passing fly or person.

Lucky there were no rocks around and my head is safe for now.

Time to try a risky manoeuvre.

"What did you tell her?"

"What did I tell her?" She snapped. "What didn't I tell her!"

I remained silent, my lips pursed as I tried to let her vent. Last thing I wanted was for her to stop talking to me all together. Whether shouting at me or otherwise, I was just happy to hear her voice.

"I told her I was defective and that she nor anyone else would understand." She sighed. "I told her I don't belong here and never will."

"You are not defective." I mumbled.

"I am, Charlie!" She laughed, exasperated. "I cannot give you children. I cannot even give you a relationship right now. You don't deserve that. I don't think I can ever be intimate with a man when I have been through what I had been through with those men!"

My wolf whined, and I did a hard time trying to hide it under a cough. She tensed, alerting me to the fact she heard it. I cleared my throat and clasped my hands together, leaning over my knees to stare at the floor.

"You are not defective, Calida. You are my mate, no matter what goes on inside or outside of you." I told her softly. "Whatever you went through does not define you as a person."

I was the last person on earth that would ever judge somebody for their past when mine was so rocky.

She had remained rigid, even when I cast her a side glance. Her silence was questionable, but I continued.

"I often thought I was defective. For not being able to save my family." I sighed. "I lost complete control to my wolf, for... way, way too long. Now that is a defective wolf. One who cannot control themselves. You are not defective because of some stupid scarring or some stupid man who ruled your life."

"But Charlie..." she whispered.

"No, Calida, hear me out." I begged, unable to sit still as I moved closer to her. "Whatever power he held over you is gone now with the ashes that carried him to fuck knows where. You are a free woman. You can choose to live however the fuck you want, with me, without me, in an entirely new town. I will never restrict you and I will never hate you for your choices. If you feel you don't belong here, then go, Calida. I will wait for you no matter what happens, because I adore you. But... but you have your own choices in life. You're not their puppet anymore."

Her dark eyes glistened with tears as they darted between my own. Her breath was shaky, lip wobbling as she fought to understand what I was telling her. I meant it with my whole chest. As much as it would kill me slowly, I could not control my mate.

She was as stubborn as I was funny, and that is a lot.

Calida Ramirez has her own life to live and after losing the past ten years of it, I wasn't about to let her ruin her future. She was a human, completely and purely human, who does not understand the mate bond of wolves. She may not even feel a thing, and I could not push that onto such delicate shoulders.

"Do you mean that?"

"That you can leave, do whatever you want? Sure, go ahead." I sighed, running my hand through my hair.

"No, not that part."

"Which part, Calida, because I said a lot." I frowned.

"You said you adored me." She pointed out.

Cocking my head, I stared back at the ground. "I did?"

"Yes." She giggled softly. "You said you adored me."

"Well... It wasn't a lie." I admitted, smiling. "I care for you, Calida, massively. Defective human or not, some stupid body anomaly will not change that fact."

I think this was the first time I ever saw my mate blush. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes cast down, hands unable to control themselves as they once again got lost in her shirt. I reached out without hesitance and placed my hand over her own. She paused, and I held my breath as I waited for her to move away. But when she didn't, and instead turned her palm to face mine, I felt my heart burst. Her fingers wrapped around the back of my hand and I stared at them for a moment before meeting her gaze.

The bond was thrumming with life, my skin warm and tingly as she held it in her soft, yet so cool, hand. Her lips pulled up into a soft smile. I knew right then, that things were going to work out just fine.

Question of the Day:
Watch a movie at home or go to the cinema???