Skull and heart

Ten years ago

**Charlotte's POV**

Seated before a mirror in my parents' room, I gently brushed my hair with my mom's hairbrush.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, and staring back at me was a certain girl with hazel eyes and amber blonde hair.

I'm Charlotte, a ten-year-old beautiful she-wolf. It's an essential part of who I am, the first daughter, and only child of Alpha Michael, for now.

It was 3 o'clock in the morning, and today is the day we've all been waiting for, the day Luna would finally conceive, and we'll be able to know if it's a male or female child.

Most of the pack members said it should be a male child, while a few said it shouldn't be a male, but a female.

If the majority were to carry the vote in this case, my mom might conceive a male child.

It's going to be a grand occasion today, and I couldn't sleep all through last night, always checking the time until we crossed into a new day.

Immediately it was 12 AM, I ran into my parents' room to stay with them. I'm among the top fans who want my mom to give birth to a male child.

It might sound funny, but I don't want a sister; I want a brother.

I was dressed in loose black jeans, a white cropped top, and a black loose jacket.

This is how all those who wanted Luna to conceive a male child were dressed, while the opposing side which wants our Luna to conceive a female were all dressed in blue ball gowns, both male and female.

We haven't checked the baby's gender in a hospital, so we were all oblivious. It's something fun we do in the all-brown pack, and the same thing was done at my birth.

The all-brown pack is a very peaceful place, just like my dad who was a good leader, and we all love him.

I would definitely be dramatic if it turns out to be a female, and yes, I'll be sitting on my throne today as the first daughter of the all-brown pack Alpha. Since I'll be having a little brother, just as I hope, it'll mean I'm no longer a kid.

I spied on my parents through the mirror; my mom was bathing my dad in the relaxing bathtub.

The whole room was scented with sweet ointment, and warm steams enveloped the atmosphere.

I always wondered why my parents would make their bathtub in the middle of their room. Could it be a design or something else?

Their room was very large, usually dark ever since my mom got pregnant. Unlike mine, which is an elegant conservatory room.

My mom was crouched beside the bathtub, gently giving my dad a romantic massage, and he purred in satisfaction under her touch.

A scoff escaped my lips, and I made a sarcastic eye roll.

I was disgusted by how he purred under my mom's touch, though it was a playful one because I was jealous.

It seems my scoff has sounded louder than I expected because the next thing I knew, there were two eyes, chocolate and blue, staring at me through the mirror, and I froze.

They caught me spying on them, and when I tilted my head backward to confirm, they were truly staring at me, and they were nude.

My mom would conceive today, just as the doctor has assured, but I wonder why she hasn't gone into labor yet.

She's heavily pregnant, with a bumpy stomach which I love caressing, hugging, and feeling the shifting and turning of my sibling who is yet to arrive.

The mirror has deceived me because when peering at them through it, I failed to realize that they were nude.

My mom, knowing I would be scolded by my dad for staring too long, immediately pulled him in for a kiss.

"Charlotte, my dear, could you excuse us for a minute?" My mom's voice rang in my head after she broke away from the kiss.

I, on the other hand, found it difficult to tear my gaze away from the sight of witnessing my parents kiss.

Seeing them kiss wasn't a new thing to me because I've seen them kiss many times, but not kissing naked.

Indeed, today is a big day, I thought to myself, before finally tearing my gaze away from them.

I jumped down from the stool, before retrieving my white tiara designed with blue shining stones from the table where I had placed it earlier, and I walked out of their room, hearing their compliments on my outfit. They laughed at my desperation for having a little brother, not a sister.

When I closed the door to their room behind me, I grinned, my hands covering my crimson red face, before I ran into my room which was at the dark end of the hallway.

But a thought has been lingering in my head, though I've been ignoring it with the thought that it was a normal thing that happens to busy-bodied people like me.

"What if today wouldn't be the best day I've always looked forward to?"

Just as my mom would always say, "You don't let your heart get disturbed by your thoughts. As long as there's a shrug, then you're free to shrug off all your problems like running a brush through your hair."

The thoughts just wouldn't let me be, no matter how I try not to listen to it.

"What if something bad happens?" I finally paid attention to it, asking myself, but I still didn't want to think about it.

I tossed myself onto the bed and covered myself with my fluffy blue duvet, but before my eyes could flutter close, I caught a glimpse of a pair of eyes staring at me.

Unfortunately for me, I batted my lashes, but within that short moment, the eyes disappeared.

I shot out of bed, my eyes widening. Was someone spying on me?

I climbed down the bed, before heading to where I had seen the eyes. I couldn't pinpoint the eye's color, but I wasn't too sure if I had truly seen someone, but I only felt watched.

How could anyone get up here? My room wasn't made of walls; it was a conservatory, so how could anyone reach up here to draw a skull on my glass wall?

With my trembling hands, I drew a danger sign on the skull, before drawing a heart beside it, trying to prove to whoever had drawn this that I wasn't fazed.

But fear gripped me, and I looked around, fearing that whoever had drawn this could be watching me, but I saw no one.

I immediately began drawing down all the curtains, and when I finished, I was breathing like someone who just finished running a marathon.

I felt safe now, knowing that no one could see me from outside. My room was on the third floor, so I was safe, or so I thought, before going back to bed and sleeping without the least care in the world.