The Angel Within

Chapter 21: Bittersweet

"Trent, Charlotte's going to need as much as protection as she can get; even if she is, no doubt, the strongest inhuman individual who ever graced our world. She is selfless - to a dangerous extent - and she has no intention of hurting our kind, which leaves her vulnerable," Beta Derek informs. "The thin line that barricades the Council's harsh force from reaching her will soon snap. Charlotte's drowning in a sea of trouble and you're her buoy. Only you can save her from this predicament."

My ears were threatening to combust from all the information I was receiving. I gulped and I felt like I was suffocating because of the bleak atmosphere along with the silence that had the room thick with tension. However, my mind was still determined as ever when my eyes met with the intense gaze of Derek.

"Charlotte is mine. And whoever wants to hurt what's mine, well, the consequences are inexplicable," I replied as my wolf, Xavier, growled. He contemplated upon countering the Council's malignant intentions and their devious schemes. However, his - or rather our actions - can only lead to more distress.

The Council is of great importance to the Supernatural World. They wield a power so great; they can snap a finger and people will come to their assistance. So, just imagine what would commence if I managed to rile up their leader. If I cut off the head of the snake, the body will inevitably follow. If I killed one or all of them, I would be killing my pack.

Overall, the Council is both the bane and benefit for our super world. Our society is in their grasp and they possess the ability to control everything and everyone.

"I appreciate your opinion of Charlotte although, you must think of the rest of us. If you managed to lay a daunting finger on any of them - especially the Head of the Council, Jackson - the charges pressed upon our pack will be unbearable. And soon, the Dark Shadow Pack will come to a cease," Beta Derek says, snapping me back to reality.

I shuddered, and my stomach formed a knot. "You're beginning to sound like my father," I remarked, a thoughtful look etching my face. He bared an empty smile that did not reach his eyes.

"I haven't been that for a while," he says, piquing my curiosity.

"Haven't been what exactly?"

"A father. I've been so absorbed into Beta requirements; I haven't noticed I was beginning to forget my own priority: my family. Daniel, Macy, and Charlotte only had each other to depend on because I was never there," he replies, clicking his tongue.

"You're a good father," I interject, a disapproving frown on my face. "A great one in fact."

He shakes his head, ignoring me, with eyes tired and forlorn. "I didn't realize I was such a bad one until Charlotte landed herself into a coma. I lost her that night but, perhaps I already did. I guess society was correct: you don't realize something's importance and value until it's gone."

With that, the world around us froze and transformed into a bitter image of reality. The sadness and apprehension lingering in the Pack House's atmospheres paints it, making it in all ways ugly.

I settled down on a stranded chair next to the window of my bedroom, glaring daggers at the night sky that was equally as dark as today. From the peripheral view of my eye, I see Charlotte's pallid face; no longer was it graced with a smile. Her appearance was truly heart breaking and it sucked the living life out of me.

It was almost imperceptible that Beta Derek was writing something just beside her but I picked up the sound of scrawling with my keen ears anyway. I inquire, "What are you writing, Beta Derek?"

"Words. A poem rather, to give her just enough hope to remind her of her worth," he replies before repositioning himself onto his feet. He folded the paper in half, slipping it into his pocket where the edge could peak.