I'm Doomed, Oh Goddess!

Charlotte POV

That dangerously tempting aroma had grown stronger while I was sitting there on the fallen tree, trying to get away from the celebration. I had desired to leave it behind. I had intended to avoid contact with whoever it was as much as possible. And yet, here I was, facing him directly.

The best I could hope for would be for him to pass by the place where I was. leaving me alone because he was too preoccupied with whatever he was looking for. All I could hope was that he would miss me.

I said to myself in a whisper, "He probably doesn't notice my scent like I notice his."

I could no longer ignore the aroma, which was growing stronger, when I noticed his silhouette in the distance. He was coming straight for me; he was not going to sidestep me. I hid as best I could by tucking myself under the tree.

He was moving clumsily. It was as if he was blind. even wandering among the woods, he was moving more slowly than I would have thought possible. At that moment, I observed he appeared to be following his nose and had his head bent upward.

At this distance, I was still unable to see his face. All I could see of him was that he was quite tall. His height was most likely six and a half feet. The only people I could think of who were not much older than me were him and Rowan. He was also more muscular than either of my cousins.

It was obvious to me that he would bump into me. There was nothing I could do about it. I was too frightened to speak up and stop him. Later, I could always claim I was sleeping on the tree. Right now, my best option was to just sit there with no movement at all.

His foot struck the tree as he took one last step. He toppled over, landing squarely on top of me. I felt his weight pushing me back, and my face crashed into his shoulder.

He was pressing against me as I sank toward the woodland floor, screaming. My body jolted with astonishment and something else I wasn't entirely sure about when I felt him against me.

He gave me a low growl at my cry. I was not sure if he was angry or not. The sound made me tense, fearing his reaction when he saw me.

His weight left me feeling lighter. He took hold of my elbow and dragged me up with him as he stood, using a slight amount of force.

My hair was still covering much of my face, even after I pushed it out of my eyes. I met his face as soon as I could see. My heart grew afraid of what I witnessed. The Alpha was the man in front of me. This cannot be taking place. I pondered in my mind.

"Oh my Goddess." I let out a shocked gasp. But a voice, or what sounded like a voice of gracious angelic outreach, called out to me before the man could see who I was.

It was Willow, asking, "Charlotte, are you out there?" She was searching for me. After all, I had been gone for a while. I whirled around and sprinted in her direction, giving her a quiet thank you. Behind me, I heard him growl. He was really upset that he had run into me. He would be, of course. I was nobody and he was the Alpha. What will he do when he finds me, Goddess? What fate has in store for me? I was incredibly afraid.

Willow questioned me, "Charlotte, what's wrong?"

Breathlessly, I said to her, "I have to get out of here. Now."

She said, "What happened?" to me. She was unaware of what had transpired because she had not seen the man in the forest with me.

I was on the edge of tears when I said, "I don't want to talk about it, I just want to get out of here."

As we ran up to them, Rowan asked, "Charlotte, are you ok?"

Kyran said, "Astro, what happened?" I simply gave a headshake.

They could see the terror in my eyes and hear the tears that were on the verge of spilling into my voice as I said, "I need to get out of here."

Kyran remarked, taking Willow's hand, "Let's go."

Rowan took hold of my arm and said, "Yeah, come on."

We hurried as fast as we could to the car. Kyran, Willow, and Rowan took the back seats, and I slid into the front. Rowan quickly backed out of the parking space he had taken and headed down the driveway. I wanted him to go a bit quicker, but he went a little faster than he should have.

By the time we got to my place, not a single word had been spoken. We were silent the whole way. I found it impossible to tell them what had transpired. And I might not see the Alpha again if they held me responsible for what occurred in the jungle. I was still unable to tell them what had happened, though.

Willow asked me, "Will you be alright?" In answer, I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm not going to press you for details, not yet, but when you're ready, we will all be here to listen. You hear that Astro." Kyran said to me. I gave a nod.

"I'm worried about you Charlotte, but I want you to know that we are all here for you." Rowan continued. I gave them all a smile.

"Thank you, guys. And I am sorry for ruining your night."

Rowan assured me, "You're more important than some party."

Kyran grinned and said, "Yeah, what's a party when it comes to taking care of your friends?"

With a smile, Willow asked, "Call me when you're ready, ok Charlotte?" When I stepped out of the car, their kindness almost brought me to tears. Despite my extreme fear, I was grateful to have such wonderful friends.

Aunt Eve's emerald eyes widened in alarm as soon as she questioned, "Charlotte, what's wrong?"

Uncle Garrett asked, reflecting Eve's amazement in his own dark brown eyes, "Did something happen?" I felt at home and cosy when I saw Garrett, who had dark brown hair similar to mine, and Eve, who had much softer, lighter brown hair, more like chestnut. Being close to them made me feel safer.

Aunt Eve questioned, "Did someone do something to you?"

I told them, "No, nothing like that." I informed them, "But the party just wasn't for me."

Aunt Eve said, "You look scared and on the verge of tears."

"That looks like more than the party not being for you. If someone was intentionally cruel to you, then that is unacceptable. We can lodge a complaint with the Alpha directly."

"NO!" I yelled. "No, there is no need to involve the Alpha. Everything is fine. Don't worry. I just don't like going to these types of things." I grinned at them.

"Are you sure?" inquired Uncle Garrett.

They cared for me so much that I could feel their affection for me, "I'm sure."

As we were speaking, a voice call came from the door. "Hey." Looks like Robert has returned home.

"Hey Robert, why are you home so early?"

With a shrug, he declared, "The party is over." "The Alpha got really upset about something and ordered everyone to go home. It was the strangest thing."

Aunt Eve said, "Wow, I wonder what it was."

Robert looked at me and said, "No clue." "What happened to you at the party?" he inquired. I leaped at the chance to ask. Unlike Eve and Garrett, Robert had always sensed when I was telling a lie. Still, I didn't want him to be aware of what was happening.

"Everyone that Willow introduced me to was rude and mean. They all snubbed me and made fun of me for even going to the party. It just got to be more than I can handle."

He snarled, "Those assholes." "What makes them think that they're any better than you are?"

I informed him plainly, "They're wolves and I'm not." After all, it was the real deal.

He was so angry that he said, "That doesn't matter, you're still part of the pack." I adored him for his unwavering support of me.

"Thank you, Robert."

"For what."

I flung my arms around him and gave him a tight hug, saying, "Nothing." He always managed to calm me down and was my rock in the group. I was reminded once more of how much of a brother he was to me as I looked up at him with his green eyes that were closer to my shade of blue and his dark hair that was much like our complete family's.

"You're acting strangely," he said. Even though it sounded irritating, he gave me a hug in return.

I chuckled at him and said, "I know." I attempted to give them a happy smile, but I wasn't sure if it came across as "I'm tired though, I'm going to get ready for bed."

I lumbered upstairs to my quarters. It was almost enough just the comfort of having my own space to make me feel better. Nearly. However, it remained uncertain what the Alpha might inflict upon me. It could be insignificant. However, I might be expelled from the pack.

Being banished wasn't all that horrible, except that it meant I wouldn't see my family or the few friends I had managed to make again. And Grandfather would really cut me off entirely if it came to pass. I wouldn't have any means of support and would be on my own. Though it was unsettling to consider, I would find a way. Many others engage in it on a daily basis.

I undressed the outfit that my grandfather had gifted me. Somehow, it had started to disgust me. As if the clothing itself had some bearing on things. I was only trying to find someone to place the blame even though I knew it wasn't true.

I changed out of the outfit and then showered in my bathroom for a long time. The fact that each of us had a separate bathroom and that Uncle Garrett had multiple hot water heaters meant that we never really had to worry about someone else needing hot water at the same time, which was one of the house's benefits. I managed to stand under the steaming water until I started to feel my body's tension from the evening begin to release.

I dried off and got ready for bed in a similar long-sleeved t-shirt and cosy baby blue fleece pyjama bottoms after taking a shower and feeling a little more at ease. But the recollections of the Alpha's growls came back when they crawled into bed. Nothing, it seemed, was going to improve this evening. I truly am doomed.