12. Charlie

12

Charlie

Lazily, my eyes blink open.

“Morning Charlie, fancy finding you here?” Will’s voice makes me smile with his teasing. His leather jacket hangs off the chair behind him. His feet kicked up on the small wooden table.

“Where’s Jackson?” I ask as I wipe the sleep from my face.

“He had to take care of things, so you get to spend the rest of the day with me.” He taps his phone screen. “Though you were sleepy, it’s already after three in the afternoon.”

I nod, trying to think about what day it even is. The dream I had is still sitting heavily in my mind. Just the thought of it has tears brimming my lashes. Ax made me watch while his two goons beat the tar out of my brother. I thought he was dead when the beating finally ended.

The last words Ax said, “This is what happens when you don’t behave.” His grip tightened on my waist and then pushed me towards Ryan’s crumpled form on the ground. His face down, lying in the mud, unmoving.

Will sits on the bed’s edge as the memory fades. A chill sweeps through my body, and I bring Jackson’s black comforter up around me and breathe deeply.

“You want to talk about it?” Will’s voice is soft as he glances sideways at me. I shake my head. I know that he means well. I haven’t spent much time with him, but Holly has told me a lot about him, and he’s a good guy.

“Not really…”

“That’s good. I don’t think I want to know.” He laughs, heading towards the door, “How about we get your stuff from the condo and move you in here?”

My eyes flash. “Wait, what?”

“Those were the orders,” Will’s hand runs through his shaggy brown hair while his shoulders rise. “Well, he said you’re moving in here with him.”

“Has he always been this…” my hand waves in the air, “Bossy?”

“Yes, he has, no doubt about it, Jackson’s had Alpha energy his whole life,” Will says with a small laugh.

“I want you to give me all the embarrassing stories on the way,” I smile, thinking of Jackson as a child. “I’ll meet you downstairs?” I ask.

“Good deal. See you in a few.”

Will shuts the door, and the loneliness floods my body. I know Jackson came in when I woke up, but he doesn’t know that my past haunts me nightly.I’ve struggled to form bonds or put roots down in this town. I feel the ghost pressure of Ax’s fingers still pressing into my waist, and the scent of burnt cinnamon makes my eyes water. My breathing quickens, and I try to overpower the building anxiety.

I’m okay.

I’m safe.

I. Am. Safe. Ax can’t touch me now.

I breathe in Jackson’s scent again, trying to disperse the smell that pulls at my memories.

One last deep breath pushes down the threatening anxiety. I’m determined to leave this bed. My breath seems to last forever as I finally drag my tired body towards the en suite.

Jackson’s scent hangs heavy in this room. The bathroom is ornate, with black stone tiles from floor to ceiling. The cold stone is even on the floor, and the dark, fluffy rugs give my feet a reprieve from the harshness of the tile.

The vanity has two sinks and seems to stretch over the entire wall until you reach a clawfoot black bathtub next to another French window similar to the one in his room. ‘It’s all so dark,’ I tell my wolf, allowing her to take in the room.

‘I like it; it’s like our cave,’ she says.

I hum my approval as I continue to the shower. It’s a large open shower with dark tiles and gold accents. I flip the switch near it, and the shower illuminates in a dull gold glow.

‘What does a man need with four shower heads?’

I turn the nozzle closest to me, which I assumed would turn the water on, but nothing happens. My other hand presses to the cold stone as I look at the other three knobs.

‘How do you work this?’ I ask my wolf.

‘Maybe a bath is a better option,’ she says.

I turn to the large clawfoot tub, which, from the skinny, curved bronze nozzle adorning it, looks like it would take hours to fill.

‘We don’t have time for that, so let’s try this nozzle.’

I yelp as water shoots straight at me, hitting me square in the face. The coldness is shocking, and the surprise has me laughing while I shuffle to turn it off.

‘ We could ask our mate to come and assist us.’ My hussie wolf offers, and I kind of agree with her. Imagining Jackson’s rough hands holding me against the cold tiles while the warm water flows down my soft, soapy body.

‘No, no. Well, later.’ I attempt to shake the building heat away.

‘The third nozzle must be it.’ I turn it slowly, attempting not to be assaulted by the water again, and it drips from the proper shower head, which is easily eight feet high on the wall. I give myself a high five for not being defeated by the shower.

With the water pouring down, I slip Jackson’s shirt off into the scalding spray. I think about Jackson as I massage my scalp with his soap, his scent filling the room. My mind floats back to the idea of him taking me in the shower. My hand slips down to my center, and I rub it gently the way he did. The moan is uncontrollable.

‘ Mate?’ Jackson presses in our mind.

‘Jackson,’ I moan as I move my fingers faster. I feel the heat of the moment flood my body; it’s like Jackson is watching me, and the thought makes me impossibly hotter.

‘Feel how wet you are, little wolf?’ He purrs as I slide two fingers between my folds. The sensation is so new and overwhelming.

‘Just like that, push them inside. Imagine it’s me.’ He growls

My other hand holds me up against the wall as I start to slowly pump my fingers in and out while my palm rubs on my clit.

“Oh god,” I say to the empty room.

‘Come for me, little mate. ’ Jackson’s words are possessive. ‘Come only for me, Charlie.’

The last statement has my orgasm shooting through me. My low moan echoes in the tiled bathroom.

‘Good girl, I’ll see you tonight.’ Jackson’s presence seems to leave the bathroom; in his absence, all the emotions I was avoiding come flooding back. The large void of sadness is overwhelming as I rinse my body and let the soft sob fall like the drops around me.

My hair is still slightly wet as I bounce down the stairs. I pasted on my smile as I finished toweling off my hair, determined to not show anyone how badly I’m doing.

‘We are fine,’ I try and convince myself and my wolf.

“Charlie! Charlie!” Kyler yells. His slight frame skids to a halt beside me at the top of the stairs, and Clover runs up behind him. Kyler is one of the youngest pups learning to shift here at the Lodge. I spend a lot of time with these little guys. They’re the best distraction from life’s problems. At only six years old, I love their inquisitive minds.

“Ms. Charlie!!” Clover screeches—I boop her nose. I don’t have favorites in our little pup pack, but if I did, she would be up there. Her wild red curls and ‘can’t tame this’ attitude calls to something inside of me. Maybe if I hadn’t grown up like I did, I would’ve been more like this girl—passionate and wild. She’s the leader of the pups here.

Kyler pushes at Clover, vying for my attention. The little five-year-old in him constantly challenges her even though she’s a solid three inches taller. “I was here first, Clover; move over,” he whines.

I laugh at their antics. “Guys, I have to go.” I crouch down so I’m at their level. “Can I tell you a secret?” My voice is soft. Their eyes light up, and they press in closer. From the corner of my eye, I see Will watching my interaction. No doubt listening in on my secret.

I whisper as softly as I can, “I get to move in here with you!”

They both suck in a gasp quickly. Kyler responds first, “Really?”

“Yes, but it’s a secret.” I tap each of their noses; again, I love it when their eyes cross. It makes me giggle. “’ Kay, I have to run to the bakery, but I’ll grab extra cookies for you guys. Does that sound good?”

“Yes!” They both bounce as I stand, glancing down the stairs at Will, who has a funny, crooked smile. I smile back and realize it’s the first genuine smile I’ve had in a while.

We climb into Jackson’s enormous truck. His scent has me breathing in deeply. Will chuckles, and I swat at his arm. “So spill,” I say. “Tell me every detail of bossy Alpha Jackson.” I smile at the idea of a little Jackson. The man is massive, easily filling a doorway.I need to find proof that he was, in fact, once small.

Will throws his jacket on the center console and runs his hand through his shaggy hair as he turns and takes me in.

“He’s good for you, you know? I’ve known you for what? Four years? With that fake smile, but this…” he gestures at my face, “This is the real you, isn’t it?”

My eyes pinch at his observation. I thought no one saw me, and my heart warms slightly, thinking maybe someone else cares about me. “Maybe…” I shy away from his attention and say, “Now you said you’d tell me.” In reality, Jackson knows more about my past than I know of his, so it is only fair to ask his brother.

With a big sigh, he heads out of the parking lot. “When we were teenagers, we were all playing down by the Falls. Holly was only a year younger, not much younger, but it felt like it when she tried to keep up with us.”

Will makes a slow right turn onto Main Street as he continues, “Well, I showed them a large ledge you could climb up and jump into the lake below, which was dumb. But at the time, I thought it was the best feeling in the world, falling from oblivion to smash into super cold water.”

I hum. My brother would’ve been right with him. A small smile pulls at my lips at the thought of Ryan. “Okay,” I say.

“Well, Holly climbed up with me, I told her not to, but she’s… stubborn. Her foot slipped on the way up, and I freaked out. Jackson and Hunter were at the bottom, watching me try to pull her up. My wolf started to go crazy at the idea of her hurting, and I couldn’t focus on keeping us both safe from falling off the sheer rock side.”

My eyes widen, and my hands clench. I can feel his turmoil over the memory.

Will gives a slight nod. “Yeah... Well, that was the first time we learned Jackson had the Alpha bark. He’d never spoken in such a way, but he was able to command me to calm down and help her up. I will be forever grateful he did that. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d hurt her.” His words trail off as he throws the truck into park.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I tease, using the same words he asked me earlier as I watch the memory weigh him down.

“No. I don’t. Let’s grab your stuff.” His tone is clipped as he slides from the truck.

“Alright then,” I say to the empty cab. A sense of pride fills me as I think about my mate saving his sister and friend when he was only a teenager. I hop down from the lifted cab, thinking about moving back to the Lodge. It doesn’t seem so scary now, knowing I have Jackson.