Charlie's POV
I could feel Presley get even more anxious as we neared the pack borders of his- our- pack. I, myself, was anxious. I was about to meet members of my mate's family, and I was going to meet his beta and his delta. I wondered if they would react like my family had when they found out I was mated to him. I hoped they'd be understanding or come to an understanding like my family had.
Pulling onto the smoothly paved roads into his pack lands, I shivered, knowing I had just entered his territory. Kids were playing on the roads, making him slow his pace down and honk at them. They smiled, waving at their alpha, moving out of the road so we could continue making our way to the packhouse. I smiled gently at them, waving back to them. Presley lifted his hand off of the steering wheel, giving them a small wave and a nod.
There was so much difference in this pack than the one back home. It was almost the size of a small city. There were rows of houses, and in the center of the suburban area, I could make out the packhouse that stood several stories high.
Presley reached over and placed his hand over mine, stroking the top of it with his thumb in circular motions. His hand was dampened with sweat, nervous for the reactions of everyone he loved.
When we finally pulled up to the towering building, he turned the car off, and we sat there in silence, both nervous about exiting the vehicle. I looked over to him, a frown on his face, his green orbs filled with worry staring at the doors to his home- our home. Finally, he turned to me, squeezing my hand as if his life depended on it.
"Ready?" He asked; I bit my lip, nodding in response.
We got out of the car and started to walk toward the entrance of the packhouse. Presley wrapped an arm around me, releasing his calming pheromones to soothe me. I rested my head on his shoulder, doing the same to calm him.
Walking into the doors of the packhouse, we were greeted with a tall woman who had her hair braided up, and there was purple and pink in her hair. She almost reminded me of a Viking goddess from one of the books I had read. She gave me a gentle smile, patting Presley on his back making him release me from his grasp. She began to converse with him, probably catching him up on what happened while he was gone for all I knew. I noticed that Presley's pack members looked at me with curiosity as I walked with the two, following behind my mate like a lost puppy. She would occasionally look back at me and then avert her eyes back to my mate.
We climbed a few flights of stairs, roaming through hallways, finally stopping at a pair of oak doors, which I assumed was his office. Presley glanced at me then back at the woman, telling who I presumed was his beta, something which warranted a nod in response for her. He opened one of the doors, motioning for me to walk in first. The room was larger than most in my old home, and the walls were lined with dark oak bookshelves filled with books and other items. I wondered what kind of books there were on those shelves. Was it just pack history and other non-fiction books? The windows overlooking the training grounds were covered in drawings. Presley said it was from pups of the pack, easy words for me to know. This made my heart swell with happiness; when we had pups, I wondered if he would do the same for them, putting them on display for other pack members and alpha's alike to see.
The large oak desk in the middle of the room was mostly neat, despite the large stack of paperwork sitting on top of it. I picked up a framed picture; Presley was in between, who I presumed to be his parents. Well, I had met Alexandre Reid before, but I'd never seen August; he was gorgeous, his green eyes reflected my mate's beautiful emerald orbs. Presley's siblings were much younger than him, and they looked like a beautiful mix of the Alpha and Omega.
I looked to my mate, and he was smiling at me, wandering around his office with curiosity in my eyes. I set the framed picture down. Presley came to me, wrapping his arms around me, breathing in my scent. He held me like that for a while, as if his life depended on it.
A knock on the door interrupted our little moment. Presley sighed and asked for the person to come into the room, releasing me from his grasp. A tall man entered the room. He had a scar down the side of his face as if a talon had mauled his once-perfect features; his eyes were brown, almost red from what my eyes could pick up, almost like a rogue's eyes. Although he was smaller than Presley in size, his robust features were almost intimidating.
"I'm Mateo. I'm going to be teaching you English and translating for you. So no need to look like a scared pup; I promise I don't bite-- much." He gave me a toothy grin.
I swallowed, reaching my hand out for him to grab. "I'm Charlie, Presley's mate." Mateo grabbed my hand firmly, shaking it, not letting it go.
"So you're going to be my Luna?" I nodded, trying to pull my hand from his. He didn't loosen his grip, only bringing my hand to his mouth, pressing his lips to the top of my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Luna." Presley's growl made the dominant wolf let go of my hand.
Something stirred inside of me, and I didn't know what it was. Was it a thrill? Uneasiness? I didn't know.
"Please tell him that my parents are waiting until dinner to meet him." Presley glanced at me. Mateo quickly repeated the words to me, and I nodded in response. "Also, I'm going to have to start doing paperwork from the past few weeks. Please show Charlie around the packhouse, I know he probably wanted me to do that for him, but from what Persephone told me, a lot happened while I was gone." Mateo repeated for Presley.
"Tell Presley I will wait for him to show me around the pack." I looked to Presley as I spoke the words.
"What, do you not trust me?" Mateo asked.
I furrowed my brows, "I'm just sleepy. We've traveled almost for a full day, and I just want to sleep. It's nothing to do with trusting someone, although trust is something to be earned, not to have blindly."
"Smart little omega you are," He nodded his head. Telling Presley what I had told him.
"Tell him I'll just take a nap on the couch." I pointed to the comfortable-looking couch against the wall that was free of bookshelves. There was already a pillow and a blanket folded up in a basket next to it. I presumed my mate often slept in his office. I hoped it wouldn't happen too often now that I was here.
"I can always tell him I'll at least show you to your room." I shook my head.
"Our bond is too new, and I'm better off at least being in the same room as he is. Thank you for the offer, though." Mateo nodded, telling Presley my preferences. My mate nodded in response, dismissing Mateo.
Mateo grinned, bowing his head to me, "I'll see you at dinner time Luna."
"Thank you," I gave him a forced smile.
---
Peppering kisses woke me from my sleep; I groaned, pulling the blanket over my shoulder tucking my hands to my chest. I was still too sleepy to wake up. Being in the same timezone my entire life would kill me with this new one across the world.
"C'mon angel; you need to wake up. It's dinner time." Presley said into my ear, making me shiver. I let out a grumble, turning to face him. I popped one of my eyes open, my mate's face right above mine.
"Five, please," I spoke, closing my eye again.
He let out a chuckle, "No."
I groaned, moving away from him closer to the back of the couch, snuggling my face into the fabric. "Sleep." I reached my hand out, grasping onto his shirt, pulling him closer to me.
"We need to see my parent's angel, dinner." I opened my eyes, turning to face him, pouting my lips. Presley let out another chuckle, leaning close to me; he pressed his lips to my pouty ones, making me gasp.
I still wasn't used to the feeling of my mate or the electric feeling he gave me. We hadn't shared many kisses since our heat we shared, and when he did, I cherished every one of them. I wrapped my arm around his neck, and he smiled into the kiss humming in satisfaction.
I let out a squeak as he picked me up off of the couch, the blanket fell to the floor, and I tightened my grip around his neck. "Presley!" I screeched.
"Sorry angel, my mom has been calling for almost an hour. I stalled all that I could." I looked at him in confusion, not understanding most of what he said. "Mateo will be there so you can communicate." I nodded in response, and he carried me out of his office before setting me on the ground so I could walk.
"Bathroom?" I asked, looking around suddenly needing to go. I also wanted to make sure I looked halfway decent before meeting his family.
"I'll take you to our apartment." I hummed in response.
He took me up the stairs to the last floor of the packhouse, typing in a code to the door to unlock it. He opened the door to the apartment, and I almost let out a growl. I could smell the stench of others inside, not just my mate's scent.
"Calm down, Charlie," Presley turned me to face him.
If I were shifted into my wolf form, I would have my hackles raised, and I would snap at him. The happy moment we had just a few moments ago was washed away and replaced with anger. I could smell his past conquests in his apartment space. It was stale and smelled awful.
Blu wanted to claim this place as his own in an instant. I don't like their smell being here. Blu linked to me.
I don't like it either. I snapped back, grinding my teeth together.
"Fuck." Presley muttered to himself, wrapping his arms around me. "Probably a bad idea, shit." Presley released his pheromones, covering the room in his scent, calming me down, almost making me drop to my knees in submission. "You can scent this apartment when we get back, okay?" I furrowed my eyebrows, frowning at him, not understanding what he said. His grip on me loosened, and I could tell he was linking someone. "You can scent this apartment when we get back." He spoke in my native tongue, meaning he probably linked to Mateo.
I huffed in frustration but nodded in agreement. Presley guided me through the apartment to our bedroom and ensuite bathroom. For someone who was probably busy all of the time, his apartment was reasonably clean. He changed his clothes in his closet while I fixed my hair and washed my face off with water. I walked out of the bathroom and back into what would be our room, indicating to him that I was ready to go. I almost itched to get into my suitcases sitting next to the closet door and dig a book out to have as a backup plan just in case I needed a quick escape, but I knew there was no escaping this scenario. Meeting his family was one I needed to face head-on.
A/N: Merry Crisis <3
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What are your thoughts on this chapter? I think I love a feisty little charlie, I love him to death, he's just precious. Did you know I posted a new story? It's called Mafioso, it's a mafia story because :) I need to spice up and show you guys I'm definitely capable of doing more than just Omegaverse. Love y'all.
Merry Chrysler, if you celebrate another holiday, happy holidays <3 if you don't celebrate anything that's cool too, enjoy your extra day off/weeks off.