*Charlotte*When Mia and Jessica saw me walking towards them, they abruptly ended their conversation, and Jessica ran away without looking at me. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and I felt sad seeing her that way. While Jessica was a bitch to me, she was still a woman, and as a woman, I wanted to sympathize.Mia was about to go as well, but I called her name, and she was left with no choice but to stay and talk to me. I could see the hesitation in Mia’s eyes, but since I was still the future Luna of Dragon Wing in her eyes, she greeted me with a good morning and asked if I needed some help.“Good morning, do you need my help?” she asked instantly. “Good morning, Mia. I saw Jessica crying. What happened?” Mia was a bit surprised by my question but did her best to answer anyway.“Oh, that? She’s just having a bad day. If you don’t need my help, I’ll excuse myself for a moment. I’m needed in the kitchen.” Before I could ask her again, Mia left me, so I just went back to my
*Charlotte*Jessica’s words hung in the air between us like the moment before lightning struck. I could see her trembling, tears swimming in her eyes as she pulled her arms around herself like she was trying to protect herself from a rain of blows. Her fear and despair were visceral. And I knew that look- that fear as intimately as it was my own because I’d seen it over and over again. Felt it myself back when I was still indebted, betrayed, and angry at the world and myself for the situation I’d been thrust into. Trapped in a place that only wanted to take what it could from me and leave me a shell of myself. Terrified of what would become of me when night fell and there was no one to see me if I disappeared. I’d seen women in my situation sell themselves to men whose names they didn’t even know, who’d been tricked by nice smiles and pretty words only to end up abandoned. I’d never thought them foolish because when you’re at the bottom of the darkest hole, you’d tak
*Charlotte*I had to admit, Alexander’s subtle but effective mind was a wonder to behold, I thought as we sat at the dining table for breakfast. Alexander gave me a quick glance, tapping his spoon three times on the dish as a signal, and I suppressed my own smirk, eyeing Carlos.‘Your downfall was about to begin,’ I thought. He’d rue the day he messed with someone from our pack. “I have to admit our journey to Dragon Wing has been incredibly pleasant,” Alpha Kingston said joyfully to Finnley and Diana. “Your reputation is not given lightly and I am a bit sad to leave tomorrow, how about you, Carlos?” Carlos nodded in agreement, a handsome smile on his face as he glanced over at me. “There are one or two things I wish I could stay for.” His intention was obvious and unlike before, where his attention had made me feel better, now his gaze on me felt like bugs crawling across my skin. I suppressed a shiver and look of disgust, plastering on the fake smile I’d mastered af
*Charlotte*“Charlotte, what are you doing?” Alpha Finnley moved first in front of me, blocking my view of Alpha Kingston’s reaction. He glanced at Jessica, worried for both of us in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to hide us both underneath his arms and as heart-warming as that was to see, I knew this wasn’t his battle. “Trust me,” I gave Alpha Finnley and Luna Diana a meaningful look, pleading that they let me finish what I had started. Jessica was trembling by my side, tightly holding onto my sleeve and looking like she might burst into tears or run away at any second, but I set my hand on her back, steadying her.Alpha Finnley and Luna Diana shared a worried glance and I could tell what they were thinking. If this went wrong, and Alpha Kingston took this as an offense, the relationship between the two packs would break down. They could be launched into war.But I knew in my heart that this was the right thing to do. I stepped around Alpha Finnley, pulling Jessic
*Charlotte*“You deliberately set all of this up knowing that causing discord between our two packs could put the security of the whole pack at risk, Charlotte! It was an incredibly reckless and foolish idea!” Luna Diana was furious, her words bombarding me and I sat silently on the couch, head bowed as I accepted their anger and disappointment. I’d known going in that the fallout for this would rest on my head.The meeting room was empty besides the three of us and Alpha Finnley sat across from me, head raised in the air and his hand over his eyes like he was trying to wish all of this away. I knew I’d caused both of them to stress over this incident and despite Alpha Finnley having allowed me to do what I did at the moment, this was the consequence of my actions. Even if I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.Jessica was free, a renewed spirit as she moved on with her life, and Carlos was trying to become a better man. Even Alpha Kingston held more
*Alexander*Being punished unfortunately didn’t mean my regular work as the future alpha stopped. No, Daniel had to stay up with me all night in my room as I rushed to do all the work I would usually do tomorrow during the night. It was three am before I finally settled down for some sleep but only a few hours later I was awoken by my own father’s smug look as he informed me the welfare institution was ready for us. I dressed simply, knowing this wasn’t going to be as easy as Charlotte thought it would be. She looked absolutely chipper and excited to be heading out of the palace and I made a mental note to take her to the main city more often and showcase some of the finer everyday places. Daniel often told me that the mall was fun when he’d sneak out though I’d never gone myself.The welfare institute was anywhere but fun, however. Despite the flashiness of the rest of the town, the bright lights of the red movie theater, and the white polished look of the hospital,
*Charlotte*A flash of lightning struck across the sky, illuminating the dark hallway followed only a few moments later by the rumbling of thunder booming loudly. Even I was startled by the sudden crash, echoing deeply as I lost my grip on the candle.“Fuck!” I cried, as the small flame snuffed out and I fumbled for the holder before it could catch the rug on fire. The hot wax spilled across the floor and signed my fingers and I winced from the pain, moving it around until it no longer felt like the tips of my fingers would be burnt off.In the pitch black, it was hard to see but I kept a hand on the wall, using it to guide me as I found the doorknob- cold brass to the touch. I bit my lip hesitantly, unsure of whether to disturb him or not but the sound of another pained and muffled whimper coming from the other side of the door pushed me to action. “Alexander? Are you there? I heard something so I want to make sure you’re okay,” I knocked, trying to remain quiet so I
*Charlotte*If Alpha Finnley and Luna Diana had thought making me work at the Welfare Institution was a punishment, they were sorely wrong. I had a blast. When I was a kid, my dream was to become a teacher, one unlike the ones I had who were disinterested in bringing our creativity and having fun while learning. I’d always wanted to be a teacher who was the exact opposite. One who let the kids be themselves without stifling their natural gifts, even if it wasn’t counting numbers or memorizing vocab words. I’d never expected that my dream would come true, much less in a world full of werewolves.It felt like something out of a fairytale, to be honest. But I still vowed to do my best. To let these children have the best week of their lives that I could. And true to my word, every class was filled with fun and laughter, the kids even started to respect and pay attention to Alexander’s dreadfully monotone lectures about prime numbers too.And the more time Alexande