Charlie's POV

"Thank you so much for your kindness and wisdom." I smiled, hugging Brantley. He chuckled, patting my back.

"Next time I see you, I hope you're doing better now." He pulled away, a bright smile on his face. He turned his head toward my mate, raising his brows. "You hear that, Presley?"

"Of course, Brant," Presley opened his arms for the submissive wolf. "Thank you both for being so organized with your audit. I haven't had such a smooth one in so long." Presley let go of Brantly and returned to my side.

"Oh, Aasira can't keep herself organized for anything; if it weren't for me, you'd be digging through an unorganized pile of crap." Brantley chuckled.

"I have no doubt. Thank you guys again." Presley bowed his head.

"Of course," The submissive responded, a smile on his face.

"You two have safe travels. I can't wait to see you guys at the Alpha Summit," Aasira responded, reaching out to pat us both on the shoulder.

A voice came over the loudspeaker, "Flight 248 to Venice, Italy is now boarding. Please make sure you have your boarding passes ready to go. We're boarding aisles 1-5."

"That's our flight," Presley announced, grabbing my bag from me.

I looked to my mate, confusion crossing my face. "What?" I asked. "They said Italy?"

"They did," Presley grinned at me, shrugging my bag on his shoulder. "C'mon, angel, we gotta get going. I'll answer your questions on the plane." I blinked a few times, shaking my head a couple of times to make sure I was actually hearing right and was actually awake. "Bye, Aasira and Brantley. We'll see you at the summit."

"Bye, you two." They said in unison. Aasira wrapped her arm around her mate, and the two of them waved at us.

We boarded the plane; Presley put our bags in the overhead bins and let me get into my seat while he did so. I sat down, crossed my legs, and placed my hands on my lap. I waited for Presley to sit down next to me before I bombarded him with questions.

My mate looked over at me with a dopey grin, he reached over to grab my hand into his, and he laced his fingers with mine. "Suprise!" He exclaimed lightly, not bothering the other passengers on the plane. "I know you've been missing home, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take you home to see your family."

My heart fluttered as if a million butterflies were flying around in my chest. "Thank you, Presley." I smiled, leaning over to kiss him. "Thank you so much."

"Any time, angel." He kissed me again. "I hope this time they're a little calmer this time around." Presley laughed nervously, reaching his free hand behind his neck, rubbing it nervously.

"I don't know papa and Karsen will always hate you, possibly little Emilio too." I chuckled, my heart squeezing at the thought of my family. I was around a day away from seeing my family again, and it made me so happy. Phone calls can only go so far. Hugs from my mama couldn't be duplicated.

Video chatting with them and having them there in person was completely different things. I couldn't believe that he had planned for us to go to visit my family without letting me know. It was a welcomed surprise, and I was thankful for him.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he pressed a kiss on the top of my head. "I love you," He muttered into my hair.

I wanted to repeat the words back to him so much, but I couldn't muster up the courage to repeat those words after the intrusive thoughts I let myself have not too long ago. So how could I tell Presley I loved him when I thought of another person? "Thank you," I responded.

"Always." He hummed, kissing my head one more time.

— — —

"My baby!" My mama said when she opened the door to the packhouse. "My bambino!" She pulled me into her arms. The overwhelming emotions running through me made me so happy that tears began to run down my face, and when I pulled away from the hug, her eyes were swollen with tears as well. "Ethan!!!" She called out for my papa.

A couple of minutes later, my papa stumbled down the stairs, his silver hair was a mess, and he was still in his pajamas. His eyes zoned in on me, and they widened. My papa almost fell down the remaining stairs running to me.

He pulled both my mama and me into his arms. I smiled into their embrace, missing the unconditional love they had for me. "We missed you so much," My papa cried into my hair.

"I missed you all too." I squeezed them tighter. "So much more than you could ever know."

"Why didn't you tell me? We would have put together a little celebration with the pack of your homecoming. It's been very dull without you here." My mama pulled away, tears running down her face, but the smile on her face made it hard not to reflect the look on her face.

"Well, I didn't really know until we were boarding the plane we were doing an audit, and I thought we were going back home, but they called for Italy, so here we are," I explained, motioning my hand to my mate. "He surprised me."

"Oh baby, we need to get you two breakfast. Ethan grab their bags and take them to Charlie's old room." My mama demanded.

"Jeez, you get to talk to him more than I do." My papa frowned childishly.

"I don't remember having three babies," she teased.

"I don't remember having three babies." My papa replied in a mocking tone.

My mama gave him a menacing look that reminded me of when I was little, and she would be so mad at my papa and force him to sleep on the couch. I giggled at the memories of my papa begging my mom to let him sleep with her for the night. Later on, my mom revealed that she would always sleep in the middle of the bed when he wasn't there to impede her space.

"Why are you giggling, don't take your mama's side. She's being mean, and I just miss my baby." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Papa, we're going to be here for a week. I promise you, you won't miss anything," I responded, holding my bag out for him to grab. My papa sighed in defeat, grabbing the bag out of my hand. He didn't hesitate to grab Presley by the collar of his shirt, almost as if he were a mother wolf grabbing onto the scruff of her pup's neck.

"You are helping me." My papa demanded, leaving no room for protest.

I chuckled, cheekily waiving to my mate, who was begging for help with his eyes. I wiggled my fingers at him and shook my head. My mama grabbed my hand and pulled me along with her to the packhouse's kitchen. Several pack members stared at me, entering the room almost as if I were a ghost.

"Hello everyone, how are you?" I beamed, waving to them.

"Welcome back, Charlie!" The three girls sitting at the island responded in unison.

"Thank you." My mom motioned for me to sit down with them while she started grabbing ingredients out of the cupboard. The girls all crowded around me, automatically bombarding me with questions about the United States, asking if it was like the movies and shows we would watch. Then they asked how it was like being mated with Presley and asked if he was a gentle mate. To which I responded he was the perfect mate.

I let my mind wander to Presley again, but then I was plagued with thoughts of Mateo. I frowned for a second, not listening to them chatter any longer. Something didn't seem right, though. Why would I even think of him like that? It just didn't make sense at all. Was it normal to have thoughts of someone else while being mated to another?

All of my friends and family who were mated always told me that when they mated with their person, it was as if no one else existed. It was virtually impossible to cheat on your mate, it wasn't impossible, but it was very unheard of and very taboo.

I just found it weird that every time I thought of Presley's kindness or that I was falling in love with him, somehow Mateo would cross my mind. Was it because of the attention he gave me when Presley hadn't been attentive to me? Or was it something more profound that my heart wasn't communicating to my brain?

"Are you okay?" My mama asked, setting a mug full of coffee down in front of me. I gave her a half-smile and nodded, picking up the mug and blowing the coffee to cool it.

"I'm fine, mama, just a little tired from traveling," I responded, taking a sip.

"You know you can tell me anything, baby?" Her weathered face looked so homely, so comforting.

"I know, mama. Do you think we can talk later on when we're settled?" I asked. I had to get this off of my chest. I knew my mama wouldn't judge me and would guide me to the correct place with my intruding thoughts.

"Of course, baby." She gave me her gentle smile.

"Thank you, mama." I smiled, taking another sip of my coffee.

"Always, baby."

— — —

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" My mama pulled me into her bedroom later in the afternoon. Telling Presley and papa that she was going to talk with me about something.

Their bedroom was filled with plants that my mom had taken care of since I was a mere pup. Their bed was neatly made with a new yellow duvet and several decorative pillows that my papa called a waste of room. But my mama would always quip that she didn't ask my papa for his opinion on anything. Then he would go and pout like a baby in the family room.

She motioned for me to sit on her ornate chaise lounge chair, to which I complied, and she sat down next to me.

"So, mama, have you ever heard about someone who was mated to their other half but ended up having intrusive thoughts and feelings toward another?" I bit down on my bottom lip.

"What do you mean?" She blinked, confused.

"So say there's someone that's really close to say, someone like me, and I'm mated, and I start thinking about this close someone that isn't Presley while being intimate with him?" I asked. My mama's eyes widened.

"I mean, you probably need to tell your friend that it's wrong and against the laws of the goddess to go against your bonded mate." She shook her head.

"I– They know that. Is there something wrong with them? Did you ever think about anyone else other than papa?" I bounced my leg, anxiety taking over me.

"Never, my eyes only were for your papa and no one else, Charlie." I started to pick at my fingernails. "I know not everyone is perfect and that we all have our faults, Charlie. Maybe tell them they need to cut that person out and go to counseling with their mate to get to the bottom of the problem."

"Well, they told me that they don't have any problems with their mate now and that they love their mate, but every time they think about their mate, they think about the other person, and it's not intentional." I frantically responded, grinding my teeth.

"Hmm, I think I've heard something like that before, but I don't remember the details. I think we need to go back into the living room before your papa kills Presley." She rolled her eyes. "Karsen and Emilio should also be getting back from their trip. I'm around five hundred percent sure that Emilio is going to cry in happiness at the sight of you."

"I think I might cry at the sight of him. I missed you guys. He doesn't even seem interested in talking to me on the phone anyways."

"I mean," She drawled, "he was distraught that you left. It was a big adjustment for a toddler like him. You were one of his main caregivers."

I swallowed, nodding in agreeance, reaching my hand behind my neck, apprehensively scratching my nape.

"I'll make sure to spend a lot of time with him," I pulled my lips into a straight line in a half-hearted attempt to smile. "I really wish that Presley had let me know that we were coming here. I would have brought him a present."

"Oh, baby, you're the present he wants. That's all he'll be excited to see, and no toy can outshine you." Tears began to pool in my eyes, and it reminded me how much I loved having my mama tell me things that would make my heart feel full. Words that only a mom could make their child feel calm and collected.

"I missed you, mama," I reached over to hug her.

"And I, you, baby," She wrapped her arms around me, giving me soothing pats on my back. 

A/N: So like-- o-o You can get up to chapter 29 on Patreon... 

Also, I just wanted to let y'all know o-o Chapters will get short again, because my sweet spot is 1.5k and I won't let no one dictate how much I write any longer. Mkay? If you wanna insult my writing, please do so elsewhere.

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