10. Charlie

10

Charlie

I feel less exposed. The rawness in my body is shielded by this soft cotton as I turn back to face the man who is trying to destroy everything I worked so hard to fight against.

He asks softly, “Can you tell me about it?” His voice gently breaks another piece of me.

My head shakes at his request. If my love for my brother destroyed me like this, what could my love for Jackson do to me? I don’t think I would survive this. Survive him.

I haven’t spoken about my brother to anyone else—ever. Lola and Holly have asked, but I couldn’t say it.

He’s dead.

And I’m the reason he’s dead. He loved me so much that I killed him.

‘Maybe telling him will help us,’ my wolf adds softly.

My head shakes as a soft sob ripples through me. ‘I don’t think I can.’ I’m afraid that if I say the words out loud, it will make them real. It’ll make this all real. I’m not ready to face a reality where my brother is dead.

‘Try,’ is all she adds.

I take a deep breath, and Jackson pulls me back against his chest, holding me, holding space. This moment feels like so much more than just a bond. I’m about to bare the deepest part of my soul that no one has seen, “Well…” I pause and try to breathe past the lump in my throat. The rising anxiety of telling the story of my brother feels like too much.

My words are cut off as Jackson surges forward. Urgency pulsing through our bond. His wolf is on high alert, and a growl vibrates through his chest into mine.

“Charlie, I need you to go in the safe room.” He lets me slip from his strong arms. He presses a kiss to my forehead and tries to redirect me, “Fuck, my dad is coming in here, and I need him as far away from you as possible.” His voice is an angry sneer as he says the last part.

“Jackson?” I stutter out, still trying to get a hold of my own emotions.“I don’t understand, your dad, he’s always been kind to me.”

“Please, I’ll tell you later. Just trust me right now,” he begs.

“Maybe I can just go back to our room?” My wolf hums in satisfaction that I called his room ours. Honestly, his room feels safe, and that’s where I want to be right now.

Jackson considers my request for a moment. “Okay, there is a stairwell at the far end of this hall. It’s small and?—”

I cut him off, “I know the one.”

“Good,” he kisses me and holds my hand to the door. “I’m going to block the sight of you. Hurry down there, and I’ll meet you in my room in a little bit.”

Jackson takes my face in his hands and swipes his nose over mine, which makes me smile because it’s such a sweet gesture from a stern-looking man. “See you soon, little mate.”

My toes push me up so my lips meet his. “See you.”

He opens the door and turns away towards the kitchen, where I see Michael White talking to Keelie near the kitchen doorway.

I hurry in the opposite direction to the stairwell.

‘We should tell him the truth,’ my wolf says as we finally reach the landing on the second floor.

‘I don’t know.’ I honestly disagree with telling him the truth. The truth might break me more than it already has.

I push through the large oak door into Jackson’s room and head straight to the bed. The blankets and pillows offer the perfect nest. Jackson’s pine scent fills my lungs as I collapse into the thick pile of comfort. I smile as I squish my face into his pillow, allowing my eyes to fall closed while I enjoy my mate’s safety and comfort.

“Ryan, wait.” My short legs are only so fast as I race my brother through the thick forest. We were playing pirates, but now we are racing to the river that separates our pack lands from Olkain, a bear shifter region.

I hear the sound of rushing water just ahead. My brother’s large form is twenty yards in front of me. He starts to strip off his shirt while running, and I envy how easy he makes everything look.

“Rose, come on, let’s go,” he shouts over his now bare shoulder, his voice full of laughter.

I laugh and start to pull my dress over my head. My petite frame is wrapped in just a cotton sports bra and undies as I let the sundress fall to the ground.

I watch as Ryan balances on the rocks that lie like bombs in the middle of the river.He gracefully leaps from one to the other.

My feet slow as I reach the water’s edge. I look down at my reflection. My birthday was yesterday, and I just turned twenty. My brother is twenty-four, and we’re both too old to be racing through the woods. But I love the freedom of being with Ryan, doing what I shouldn’t be.

“Rose, come on, try this.” Ryan wobbles on a large river rock and then laughs as he slips and falls into the deep river center.I laugh at his terrible balance. The sound feels good rolling through my body .

His head bobs back up, “Holy shit, that’s colder than I thought.”He shouts, causing me to giggle again as I timidly step off the bank.

I let my feet feel the coolness of the water, and then I hop onto the first large boulder. My reflection looks back at me as I crouch down, attempting to avoid Ryan’s splashes. My reflection shows my wolf’s eyes peering back at me.

‘I love this,’ she purrs.

I nod as I take in her golden eyes in the moving water.

Ryan finally makes it to my boulder and pulls me into the water. I push and scream at him because this is glacier melt and far too cold for my liking. I prefer to perch on these large rocks and watch him splash around.

“Rose, you can’t let your guard down. It was too easy for me to pull you under.”

I roll my eyes and push at his chest, “As if I wanted to get in at all, you big ogre.”

His arms wrap around me in bridal style as he carries me from the river and sets me on my feet on the bank.

His tone is more severe as his hands grip my face, “Rose, seriously, never let your guard down. They want to hurt you, take you—” He shakes his head as if sifting through what he wants to say.

“Ryan, you’re scaring me,” I whisper.

He leans his forehead down on mine as he pulls me into a hug, “I’m sorry, I just hate it here, I want to take you away from this place… You don’t know the things that—” His body stiffens as his words fall off.

I cringe at the sudden change of his demeanor as my eyes follow him towards the woods. Alpha Ax pushes from the forest.

“Ryan. Rose.” Ax purrs over my name, sending a chill down my spine.

My feet slip in the mud, and I cringe at the feeling of thick goo oozing between my toes. I step behind Ryan, grabbing his arm in comfort.

“It’s a little chilly for a swim, Rose. Why don’t I help you warm up?” Ax extends his wrinkled hand to me, and I look nervously at my brother. Traditionally, a female should fall in line and accept the hand of any male. But every cell in my body fights this tradition. Ax’s yellow teeth sneer at my hesitation to his offer.

My brother steps more in front of me and grabs my dress. His hand passes it backward to me, and he says, “I’ll take care of her. Thank you, Alpha.”

I slip the dress over my wet body and watch Ax’s face pull into a disgusted sneer as he takes in my brother’s protectiveness. “Be careful, Griffith. You won’t always be around to take care of her.”

My arms wrap around my brother’s body from behind. I’m not sure if I’m comforting him or me.

Then Ax does the one thing only an Alpha can do, “Rose. With me now.” His bark pulls at the submissive side of my wolf. Without my permission, my feet carry me to Ax’s side. His hand wraps possessively around my waist, his fingers spreading wide and low. The touch makes me squirm, and I feel his nose press to the top of my head, taking in my scent.

“Ryan?” I mouth to my brother as tears fill my eyes. Ryan’s gaze is locked on Ax’s hand, which is spreading lower on my waist.The helpless feeling of being trapped here has one tear slipping over my lashes. There’s nothing I can do but beg my brother to make it stop.

“Let her go, now.” My brother growls.

“You threatening your Alpha?” Ax sneers as two men push out of the woods and stand besides Ryan.

Ryan takes in both men who tower over him. I begin to shake, stuck between wanting to help him and being under the control of the Alpha.

“Teach him how to respect his Alpha,” Ax barks. I watch as one man grabs Ryan’s arms and pulls them behind him, and another starts to punch into his stomach and face.

All I can do is scream. The sound echoes through the forest, causing the birds to flee the tall trees.

The sound reverberates through the bedroom I’m in. My skin is slick with sweat. My scream turns into a whimper as Jackson comes barreling through the bedroom door.