Michael P.O.V

The hotel is a quiet place for Charlie and I to lay low for a few days. By morning, the only car in the parking lot is my truck. Charlie sleeps soundly, wrapped up in my jacket.

I sit on the edge of the bed and watch the sun rise. The curtains on the window are almost completely closed, but I open them slightly to allow some light into the room.

Charlie stirs a bit before sitting up. He rubs his eyes and takes out his phone.

"It's six in the morning, why are you up?" he asks softly, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"Couldn't sleep," I reply nonchalantly.

"At all?" he asks through a yawn.

"I didn't want to risk anything."

"Still." Charlie wraps his arms around my torso. "You need to sleep."

After a few moments, I can tell Charlie is already asleep. The last few days have been long and stressful. I gently lay him down and hug him close to me. He hums softly in his sleep.

"Get some sleep," he mumbles.

Eventually, I give in. It takes about an hour, but I do give in to the relaxation of sleep. The stress of the outside world melts away temporarily. Although, I know it will all come flooding back when I wake up.

I finally wake up from blinding sunlight. It becomes too bright for me to handle. A soft groan escapes my lips as I roll off the bed.

"Come on, it's noon," Charlie says after opening the curtains.

"Noon?" I rub my eyes and sit up after a few moments.

Charlie hobbles over to the bed with his crutches and sits down on the edge.

"You were tired. I figured since you were asleep I'd let you stay that way."

"How long have you been up?"

"Roughly two hours. I took a shower while you slept. I figured we could head to the Waffle House up the road for lunch," he suggests.

"That sounds good." I take a few moments to stretch my aching joints. "So does a shower."

"Well, go take one and then we'll get lunch," Charlie says while taking out his phone and leaning back on the bed.

After I shower and get dressed, Charlie and I get in my truck and drive to the Waffle House. There's only a few people inside, including the staff. Waffle House isn't typically crowded on any given day to begin with, but this one feels particularly empty.

Charlie and I sit at a booth in the corner of the restaurant and wait for the only working waitress. She brings us coffee after a few minutes, even though he never ordered it.

"Looks like you boys could use it," she said before taking out her notepad and pen. "What'll it be?"

Charlie orders waffles with a fruit topping. I, however, order regular waffles with the full intent to smother them in syrup.

The waitress returns about ten minutes later with our food. I pour an ungodly amount of maple syrup on them, Charlie watching the entire time.

"How about some waffle with your syrup?" he asks before eating a strawberry.

I roll my eyes as I begin to hack into my meal. Growing up in the family that I did, calories burn quickly and food is gone in a flash.

"So, what's the plan?" Charlie asks after several minutes of silence.

"Drive out for a while and come back after the full moon," I tell him.

He twists the spoon sitting in his coffee cup. The metal scraping against the ceramic cup isn't the most pleasant sound, but it's not impossible to deal with.

"What's so special about the full moon?"

"It's symbolic, I guess, for us. A lot of events are scheduled around it. Coming of age and different stuff like that," I explain vaguely, knowing that I really shouldn't tell Charlie anything.

He hums softly for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table.

"So what event is taking place on this particular full moon?" he asks.

I push my plate to the side and run my fingers through my hair. I can't tell Charlie the truth. It's too risky. He already knows too much about wolves to begin with.

"It's better that you don't know," I tell him.

He raises his eyebrows at me and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"We both know that there are a lot of things that I know that I'm not supposed to. There's no point in keeping secrets now."

I sigh quietly with irritation and bring my hands down over my face. I don't want to tell Charlie the truth. It puts him in even more danger.

"Charlie, please-"

"No more secrets," he says sternly.

After a few moments of silence, I give in. I shouldn't have to keep secrets from Charlie, but I have to. Unfortunately, with him being as stubborn as he is, he'll end up figuring it out eventually.

"Alright, but not here."

The waitress asks if we would like anything else and Charlie asks just for the check. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner he can find out the truth.

"Y'all have a good day," the waitress says after Charlie hands her the money for the meal and a generous tip.

He grabs his crutches and hobbles out to the parking lot with only minor assistance with the doors.

"Are we going back to the hotel?" he asks while hopping into my truck.

"It's better than sitting in a parking lot."

I start up the truck and pull out of the lot. It only takes a couple minutes to return to the vacant hotel. I park in the spot directly in front of our room to make it easier on Charlie, only to see that the door to the room is wide open.

"Didn't we close the door when we left?" Charlie asks slowly, the concern in his eyes becoming apparent.

"Stay in the truck."