18. RobTheBlob

Rob is wearing baggy jeans and a hoodie. I get why Gisela finds him hot; it's the whole bad boy look all my friends in school like. I'm not so sure if I like it, but if all the girls are into that, I assume I should be too?

"Hi, Charlie," he says, smirking at me. He takes my backpack from me, shouldering it. "I knew you would come."

Wow, humble much? "Well, I told you I would," I say.

"I know." He grins. "Let's go?"

"Okay."

"Have you been at the coffee shop here?"

"No, I haven't been around town yet," I admit. "Still new, you know?" And pretty much locked onto the pack grounds because apparently someone is after me. "You are not from my pack, right?"

"Nope, I'm from Emerald Moon."

Emerald Moon… I've heard this pack name before. I furrow my eyebrows, trying to remember what they told me about it. An ally to Red Claw, I think? Something about twins being alphas or going to be alphas? Okay, I get it now. Ella is right; I need to learn more about all of this.

Rob and I chat about school and other stuff. He is all into sports and keeps talking about the last football game nonstop. I haven't seen it, so I'm unsure what he is talking about. "I'm more into hockey and basketball," I explain.

"You should watch football. It's the king of all sports."

"Why?" I want to know. I think basketball is fucking amazing. I've always liked to watch it, and to my surprise, Ella likes it too. Big games we sometimes watch together. Dante doesn't know much about it but always makes sure we have plenty of snacks and then asks oblivious questions all throughout the game. These evenings are pretty fun.

A flash of guilt hits me. I love these two so much, yet I always shoot down the littlest thing they ask from me. In a way, I really suck.

"Hey, you still with me?" Rob asks.

"Sorry, of course," I lie. "I was just listening." I look around. The area we are in looks a lot less crowded than the area around school. There seem to be a few factories and warehouses but no shops and restaurants. "Are you sure we are at the right place?"

"Of course," he says, pointing at a dark alley. "Right around the corner."

"You know," I say. "I forgot that Gisela needed some help with her…" Shoot, I can't say homework because she is a freaking A-class student. "With shopping for her mom. I should return now. Let's postpone this."

Rob's smile falters, and before I can turn around and run, he grabs my arm and pulls me down the alley. My heartbeat picks up, and I hate that I feel terrified. Okay, focus, Charlie. He is not stupid; he knows that everyone knows you are meeting. He is not going to kill you!

But what's his plan then?

Whatever it is! I'm not staying to find out!

I gather my courage, stomping down on his foot before I tug at my arm. It seems like I took him completely by surprise, as he lets go with a groan. I feel relieved for a split second before someone else grabs me from behind.

"That bitch," Rob groans. "Does one of you have your cameras on?"

"I'm filming," another guy says. "We are live!"

I struggle against the grip, my heartbeat quickening again. My chest seems to squeeze itself together so much it's hard to breathe. I can feel how my throat constricts as a heavy anxiety attack hits me. Not good timing, not good timing.

I try to will the panic down. They are not going to kill you. They are not going to kill you.

Dante once said that in a moment of battle I need to keep my nerves and make sure to check my surroundings. So I do that. Alley, dark, no one around. Three, no, four guys. Rob, then the guy who is keeping me hostage, then the one with the camera, and another sly scumbag who is approaching now.

All guys from school, albeit older than I am.

I finally find my voice again. "You are live? Are you stupid!? Everyone is going to see that and know it was you."

"Who cares!? We want to show them the type of person you are!"

I blink. "So, what do you want from me?"

"Just make sure you know your place," Rob snickers. "You beat up one of our friends last time."

"You mean the scum who groped Gisela's ass and then kept calling her and all the other girls sluts?" I ask. "Why am I not surprised you are friends!?"

"Shut up," Rob yells, punching me in my stomach. I gasp at the impact but fuck him, I grew up as an orphan. I know how it feels to roam the streets and to get bullies gang up on me. "Who do you think you are?"

"Who do you think you are!?" I shoot back. "Do you get a kick out of luring girls to a dark alley and then harassing them!?" I turn my face to the camera. "Rob and his minions just can't get a girl, so they have to lie and abduct them. Is this how you losers treat a lady?"

I laugh at how stupid they are. These idiots are live-streaming this. They want me to look bad, but as far as I'm concerned, they are the psychos who assault a girl.

"Fuck," one of his friends curses. "Stop the stream, Fred!"

Oh no way. I want them to stream this to everyone and get their asses busted for being assaulters and stupid as fuck on top of that. I wish I had already started training with this Livia Dante told me about, but well, my self-made superpower is on. Just like in the manga I'm drawing. I make sure to angle my arm and then ram my elbow into the guy's stomach.

He groans, letting go of me. I run towards Rob, kicking him right in his balls. The Robster douchebag curls over in pain while clasping his jewels. "Damn it!" he huffs. "She is only one girl! Just get her!"

The guys circle me now. Okay, hitting these two might have been fun, but I have the slightly uncomfortable feeling I won't be able to keep up against all of them on my own.

"Charlie!" a voice yells.

I turn around, noticing how Austen comes running towards us.

"What the fuck?" he yells.

"Oh, your boyfriend is coming," Rob says. "Aw, how cute."

Austen pushes one guy out of the way before standing in front of me. "What are you doing here?" I mutter.

"The other guys wanted to pick up something in the area. I heard the commotion here," he whispers.

"You shouldn't have come."

"Don't worry, I sent a voice message to Levi," he says. "We just need to buy some time."

"I'm so sorry," I say quietly. "You were right. I should have been more cautious."

"That's not your fault," he says before continuing louder. "You need to be a real pathetic pussy to drag a girl here and gang up on her with your friends."

"Well, now you are here, so we don't need to hold back," Rob hisses. I can see he has had it now. His eyes glint in fury. This didn't work out as he planned. I'm not sure how old he is. Is he already seventeen? Does he have his wolf? If yes, Austen and I are doomed. I hate that my own stupidity dragged my friend into this.

Rob dashes forward, throwing himself against Austen. Austen ducks and rams his elbow into the asshole's stomach. The other guys soon follow, and it's all limbs and yells all of a sudden. One of them is pressing Austen down into the ground, while the other just stomps onto his leg.

Oh fuck, Ella is going to chew me out for this one, but I'm not going to let them beat up my friend and stand by watching, especially when it's been my fault.

I jump onto the back of one of Rob's minions, holding his head in a headlock, and bite down on his ear. These fuckers want to play dirty? I can show them dirty! Before I was sent to the SOS Children's Village, I was in London with a foster family. They had ten kids, mostly boys. It was survival of the fittest.

"Fuck, get her off me!" the minion screams. "She is biting my ear off." He stumbles backwards trying to shake me off.

I cling onto him, trying to keep my upper position while hands tug at my shoulder. Someone keeps punching my back. Austen yells for them to stop, and then they suddenly do.

A hand comes forward, grabbing whoever is on top of me and tugging him off. A low growl can be heard, and the guy I'm piggybacking on freezes and stills. I shift my gaze, noticing one of the young alpha twins, the blond one. These are Alpha Liam's brothers!

The blond one has a tuna sandwich secured between his teeth while he effortlessly shoves one of the guys to the ground. Now that's effortlessly cool, Rob, take that. It's the twin with the sand-colored hair, the sun-burnt skin, and the broad smile. Gisela is crushing on him, and she and the others call him the hot beachboy.

I figure it's safe enough now to let go of my prey and jump down from his back. Landing on my feet, I notice one of them hurts. Must be the ankle I strained not too long ago. Peachey.

The other twin, the dark-haired one, who the girls dreamily call their emo prince, tugs Rob off Austen and wordlessly tosses him into a corner. "Austen!" I yell. "Are you okay?" I run towards him, helping him into a sitting position. He certainly doesn't look okay. "You are hurt!" I blurt out, hugging him. "I'm so sorry."

"Austen!" Levi comes running towards us. "Goddess! What happened!?" He narrows his eyes to a glare when he looks at Rob and his minions.

"I came when they were attacking Charlie."

"What?" the emo prince asks. "Four guys gang up against one single girl at least two years their junior?"

"I don't know about that, Dario," beachboy cackles. "She almost bit one of their ears off. That's Aurelia 2.0 if you ask me."

"That's not the point, Felix," emo prince says.

Levi growls at the four bullies, who don't look that brave anymore. "You ganged up on a girl?"

"Actually," I explain. "Rob here asked me on a date, then dragged me here and wanted to beat me up. Something about showing me my place. They live streamed it by the way."

Felix laughs. "They streamed it for the world to see?" He grins, angling for said phone. He looks at Rob, and his eyes turn black for a second. "Where?"

Rob looks terrified. "I…Instagram," he stutters.

"Username?"

"Robtheking."

I roll my eyes. "More like Robtheslob or Robtheblob."

Austen snorts. "I like that more," he agrees, pressing his hands to his sides. "Fuck," he mutters. "I shouldn't laugh."

Levi turns around to us, furrowing his brows in worry. "Oh fuck, you look horrible, Austen." He turns to the twins. "Can I entrust these guys to you, young alphas?"

"Of course," emo prince says. "I will make a few calls now."

"Rob is from Emerald Moon," I say.

He smiles at me. "You were the worst victim they could have chosen."

I sigh. I wished I wouldn't have been a victim at all. "It's all my fault," I say to Austen while Levi checks on his arm and leg. "You told me to be cautious, and I didn't listen. I even dumped my guard with Gisela's help."

"To be fair, I didn't expect Rob to pull off that shit," Austen admits. "I had a feeling he was up to no good, but not… that."

"Because no one would go on a date with me if they were in their right mind, right?" I ask sadly.

"No!" Austen blurts out. "I think everyone would be lucky to invite you on a date! You are fun and smart, and overall really kind. It's just… I know his reputation. I never trusted him."

I feel a bit flustered at his words, not sure if I deserve them. I really need to do better. It's just that sometimes that void in me feels so big like it's going to swallow me as a whole.

The emo prince has finished his phone call, and he and his twin brother help Levi tend to Austen and me while also keeping an eye on the very pathetic and sad group of bullies.

It doesn't take long for the first car to arrive. I notice the car as Dante's. He doesn't even switch it off before exiting it and rushing towards Rob and his minions. His eyes are pitch-black. "You four, you really threatened my niece!?"

Rob looks like he is about to pee himself. "Beta Dante," he stutters.

"They know him?" I blink, turning my head towards Austen.

"Of course," Austen says. "Alpha Liam and his ranked members are pretty well known. Red Claw is the second biggest pack on this continent. Only Silverlake is bigger, and that's the pack being reigned by Alpha Liam's father."

Dante looks furious. "You dared to lay your hands on my niece!"

"I apologize, Beta Dante," one of the pathetic douchebag's whispers. "We didn't know she is your niece."

The beachboy prince approaches Dante. "We already called Alpha Jace from Emerald Moon," he says.

"Thank you, Felix." Dante frowns. "I will have a word with him about these boys later."

"We thought she was just an orphan," Rob explains. "No one important."

The emo prince looks at him. "What?" he asks quietly. "Is this your logic?"

"My grandpa always said a werewolf who can't protect their pup is worthless. You have to understand that, Dario!"

I feel my breath getting stuck in my throat. And unexpected tears burn in my eyes. "My mom was a fucking hero," I yell. "She died just to save me."

Dante turns around, his eyes catching me. They widen in shock, as if he only now realized I am here. "Charlie," he says, hurrying towards me and hugging me. "You are right; Candy did everything to save you. To make sure you would survive. And you did. Both of you are heroes."

I cling to his sweater. "Where is Ella?" I mutter under tears.

"She and Luna Annalise went to a meeting a few hours away. They immediately cut it short and started to travel back the moment I called her," he reassures me.

So, Ella is coming to see me. She isn't mad. I thought she would be, and that's the reason she sent Dante.

Dante is still rocking me in his arms, and I feel more like myself again. Ella didn't give up on me.

"Is Alpha Jace coming in person?" Dante asks the emo prince, Dario.

Dario shakes his head, but a small smile curls his lips. "He is sending his sons. He said as they are going to take over soon, he gets them to deal with everything uncomfortable."

"That's even better," Dante mutters. "Henry Hearst in particular is said to have a zero-tolerance policy against bullies." He shifts his attention to Levi. "What about Austen?"

"I think he broke his leg," Levi says in worry.

"Thank you for helping Charlie," Dante says. "That was very brave."

Austen's cheeks turn pink. "I… I… she is my friend," he stutters. "Of course, I would help."

We all turn our heads when two more vehicles arrive. I see two bulked-up guys getting out of the car. They are identical twins: one looks very angry, the other just looks serious. The angry-looking one walks directly towards Rob and his minions before chewing them out verbally. Rob looks like he wants to cry.

The serious-looking one watches the video beachboy prince Felix shows him, eventually walking towards us and showing it to Dante with a chuckle. "That was a class-A kick from your niece." He looks far less serious now that he is in front of me. He smiles sadly at me. "I'm very sorry, Charlotte, for how our young pack members treated you. You don't need to worry about them anymore. We will deal with the issue."

For a while, the place is buzzing. Rob and the others get shoved into the car, looking really miserable now. Gisela and the guard have arrived too. Gisela looks worried and terrified at first but then relieved. "I'm so glad nothing happened to you!" she blurts out.

"I wouldn't call that nothing," Dante points out.

His eyes gloss over for a while, then he turns towards me. "You snuck out on your guard?" he asks.

"Yes." There is no denying it anyway.

"You don't understand, Beta Dante," Gisela says. "This is not to belittle his competence, but the guy is sticking out like a sore thumb! Do you know how freaky it is to be a new girl at school and have a target on your back to get picked on?"

Man, she really has no fear in her at all. Dante raises his eyebrows. "No, I don't know how that feels. But how about next time you talk to me about it, and we will find a better solution?"

"Deal," Gisela says after a while, like she and Dante just negotiated a business deal.

"I think we will need to discuss this issue a bit more," Dante tells her. "But for now, I want to take you all home." He looks at Felix and Dario. "Are you two coming too?"

"Yes, we wanted to visit Liam for a few days anyway."

"Good, then everyone hop into the car. We are going to get Austen to the infirmary first," Dante says while he moves us all to his car. Thank Goddess, it's one of those fancy SUVs. I'm convinced the company is funding itself completely by the werewolves constantly purchasing them. I make sure to sit down next to Austen.

"How are you hanging in there?" Dante asks him.

Austen smiles slightly. "I'm fine, thank you, Beta Dante."

"Say bye to the friend zone," Felix says to Dario, a grin spreading over his face. When Dante glares at him, his grin just grows. "Just saying," he says before climbing into the car as well.

The others chat during our drive home while I remain silent. I was so lucky that Levi and the twins arrived last minute. If not, my actions might have gotten us seriously hurt. Well, Austen is seriously hurt, but it could have been even worse.