15. Because You're Xander Reynolds: Xander's Pov
QOTC- do you want more 'old video scenes' of Charlotte?
"You don't have to worry about me cheating at all. I'm yours, you're mine, no one can change that." I whisper in Charlotte's ear. I hear what she thinks as we walk pass a group of girls; all of them are dressed in short skirts even though it's chilly out here. "You might get mad at me for eating something that's yours, but that's about it."
I don't give any second glances to any of the females that we walk by; the only one I need in my life I Charlotte. Maybe my mom, but that's a different situation.
"You're the only girl I give grass to." I tell her.
"What?"
"When we were in elementary, I didn't know that I was supposed to give you flowers so I gave you blades of grass instead." I explain. "I thought I was the best mate ever."
"You are." Charlotte giggles, standing on her toes to kiss my lips. We both hear the group of girls scoff and feign gagging noises, but we don't break the kiss. "People are staring."
"That's why I'm kissing you." I chuckle.
***
"What do you know about Maddison Beck?" I roughly throw Dylan into the interrogation room. He slides on the smooth concrete floor and tries to get up. "ANSWER ME!"
"She-" he coughs up some blood, his voice coarse and frail. "She sold your mate... to. Me." he wheezes. Every single time I see this poor excuse of a man, I have to refrain from punching the living daylights out of him.
If someone dares to lay a finger on my mate, they would be done for already. Since Dylan abused and staved my mate for ten years, he's going to receive the worst punishment possible. Gary died to quickly; too peacefully. All that he felt was a sudden snap and his life was over. "What is she doing right now?" I ask Dylan.
He doesn't reply. "When I ask you a question, YOU ANSWER ME!" I growl loudly. He makes the mistake of cockily rolling his eyes at my words. I kick him to the side and bend down to pick him up by his dirty shirt. "The next time you disrespect me, I will throw you in the Slaughter House overnight."
His eyes widen as I threaten him; rumors and stories travel throughout packs about Lunar Shadow's "Slaughter House". It's where the worst offenders get sent whenever they commit a crime and aren't honest during interrogation. The only reason Dylan wasn't immediately sent there is because I know that I would push his punishment too far and accidentally kill him.
Whether I'm spending hours in the cells or settling problems between individuals, I always go home frustrated and angry. It isn't until I come home and see Charlotte that I actually calm down. My mind is immediately cleared by the time I see her beautiful face, if I'm still stressed afterwards, then something extremely bad happened.
"Now answer me." I cross my arms and loom over Dylan's defenseless figure. "What is Maddison doing? What's her plan?"
"She's getting revenge." he answers.
"What are her plans?" I try to speak as calmly and clearly as possible so that he doesn't waste time by telling me made up stories. The more nervous he gets, the more likely he'll lie thinking that what he's saying is believable.
"Killing your mate." he mutters. "And your Beta."
***
"Arms above their heads, sitting position." I instruct my guards. "Separate the actual members of Red Stone and the liars."
"Yes, Alpha." the two men nod, swiftly stalk towards the cells. Sounds of yelling and shuffling lets me know that they're doing their jobs correctly. During training, they're all taught not to harm any prisoners during moving times unless told to; just incase there's a child or innocent wolf that accidentally trespassed. For some reason, other packs think that anyone who comes into my territory is killed, I only do that if they give me a reason to be killed.
If there's a rogue family that my wolf and I can sense aren't dangerous, I have them put into the above-ground cells. They're kept for no longer than three days and if I find them safe to be accepted into my pack, then they're released and begin initiation. Four months is how long everyone keeps an eye on them until they're officially considered not a threat. Out of the six years that I've had the Alpha title, I've accepted seventy-five children who haven't shifted yet into my pack.
My wolf and I are able to sense the true position of a person; just like how I recognized Charlotte as my mate before she was even born.
"One of the Red Stone men seems to be intoxicated, Alpha. Do we isolate him from the others?"
"Just knock him out." I run a hand down my face and sigh. Today's been shitty and stressful, all I want to do is go home and see my sweetheart. Is that really too much to ask for?
Four rogue prisoners tried sucking on the silver chains thinking that it would be enough to kill them. I had to switch them to reenforced steel chains just to make sure that they wouldn't harm themselves or each other. My dad came in to help with work and he's been pointing out problems that my guards and I didn't even know we had. 'I want to see mate.' my wolf whines.
When we found out that Charlotte and my mom were hanging out today, we were both jealous. It seems really weird to be jealous of my own mom, but that's showing how much I want to go home. "Now you know how I felt after work when I was Alpha." my dad chuckles as he walks into the room.
"I want to go home." I say slowly.
"I know how you feel." he nods. "It was the same when I found your mom's grandfather. That bastard shouldn't have laid a hand on her."
"How'd you do it dad?" I ask, watching as he shuts the door.
"Do what?"
"Get mom to tell you about the abuse." I answer. "Charlotte only tells me the headline versions, never anything more. She won't even talk to me about her nightmares."
"It was hard for your mom to talk about that too. You need to straight out ask the next time Charlotte wakes up because of her nightmares, waiting won't do any good; I learned that the hard way." he shakes his head as he recalls a memory. "Your mom still gets them, but they aren't as bad as they used to be."
"She cries more whenever I ask questions." I say, referring to my own mate. "Charlotte never talks about Red Stone unless she's afraid that I'll do the same things that they did to her."
"You have to find out what makes her comfortable." Dad shrugs. "Since you two are marked, it should be easier."
"I just want to go home." I sigh.
***
"STUPID CAR!" I shout in frustration. I kick a crushed can on the cement ground and watch as it flies forty feet away.
"Screw it." I mutter, slamming the hood down. For some reason oil is leaking out of the engine and my steering wheel doesn't even work anymore. I had to step my foot out while I was driving since the brakes wouldn't function.
"Fuck you." I notice a few human drivers speed by and look at me weirdly. All they see is a grown man cursing a car; fuck them too.
'Home.' my wolf childishly demands. 'Now.'
I turn around to make sure that no humans are around, then start pushing my piece of junk metal into the woods. I'll be able to pick it up later, maybe try to sell it to get a discount on the new car that I need. 'I need another car. Same one, but blue. Put it on my tab.' I mindlink the wolves working under mechanics and engineering. It would just take more time to get my phone out and call an actual car company.
It's been at least two hours that I've spent with a damaged car. Two hours ago, I could've went home and spend time with my mate! Two hours!
Everything pretty much went downhill after I talked to my dad; I had to relocate every single prisoner into a different cell and four more lost kids turned up. They're kept together in one room so that they don't feel isolated, but life at the pack's orphanage isn't exactly ideal. It's not like they're forced to do work or serve other pack members, it's just that barely any werewolf couples adopt.
I try my best to find homes for each one of the children and make sure that they get the most out of the childhood. Most of the time, it's mates who have lost their partner or mates who can't have kids that adopt. The only problem in those situations is that I have to make sure that those wolves are sane and that they won't harm the kids.
The older kids like teenagers and wolves who already shifted are the ones who I watch more carefully; mostly the males. Boys are more likely to get shunned by their families or thrown out because they might seem weak before they shift. I have talks with each one of them every once in a while to remind them that they can come to me any time. Now that Charlotte is here, they might feel more comfortable with talking about certain topics with her.
'MATE!!!' my wolf howls.
I leave my car hidden in the deeper parts of the forest and start sprinting in the direction of my home. It might be faster to run in wolf form, but it would take longer to shift back to my human form and put clothes on. All I need right now is my baby.
The guards nod at me as they walk out the house and I wait until the front door closes. "Charlotte!" I call out with a large grin on my face.
"Sweetheart?"
I should've asked where she was before letting the guards off duty. 'Look in our room.' my wolf suggests. 'Maybe she fell asleep waiting for us.'
The messy sheets on the bed confirm that my wolf was right. It's not like Charlotte and I ever make the bed every morning, one of us just covers everything up with a large blanket.
I see one of her feet sticking out of the pillows and blankets piled on top of her; she told me that was called turtle position. "I'm tired too." I pull off my shirt and fix the bed so that we can both lay together.
"Mmm." she softly growls when I take away the blanket.
"Hi." I plop down beside her and stare at her innocent features. Every time she falls asleep, I can't help but admire her beauty; and she's all mine. "I want to watch Girl Meets World when you wake up. I need to know how many kids Cory and Topanga have."
"Xander." Charlotte mumbles, partially awake.
"Yes, baby?"
"Hi." she lazily smiles at me, but keeps her eyes closed.
"Hi." I chuckle as she starts to leave her dreamlike state. "Can we watch Girl Meets World now? I don't know what channel it's on."
"It's on Disney." She closes her eyes and starts trying to resume her nap.
"Are you going to watch it with me?" I don't wait for her answer, I just lay back and pull her in front of me. My legs on the outside of hers and my arms holding her petite body against my large one. "I recorded it, no commercials."
"You smell good." Charlotte tells me.
"Do you like Axe or Old Spice better?" I ask.
"I don't know." she answers. "You smell like a mix of both."
She keeps her eyes closed and her head against me. "Watch this with me." I gently shake her. "Are you watching?"
"Yes." she slowly opens her eyes and stares at the bright tv screen.
"My car broke." I state.
"What? How?" Charlotte quickly turns around to face me. "Is that why you came home late?"
"I haven't changed the exhaust or popped the hood for a while. I think it's been a year or two since I made any changes."
"But does the car still work?"
"It's scrap metal now." I shrug. "so what did you do today?"
"Breathe."
"Let me see your arms." I gently grasp her elbows and raise them with the rest of her arm.
"I'm clean." she whispers as I inspect her skin. Most of the scars that came from Red Stone seemed to have vanished, but the marks that she's made herself are what stay visible on her skin. At least there are no new ones today.
"You didn't do anymore to your thighs or stomach, did you?" Even though Charlotte his things from me that she shouldn't have, I'm not going to forcefully check her body for evidence of self harm actions. I know how sensitive she is when it comes to exposing her skin; I'm still surprise that she wore a bikini in front of me.
She always covers up whenever I'm around. It seems like she thinks that I'm constantly judging her, that I don't approve of her appearance. Reality is, she'll always be beautiful in my eyes and to the eyes of our pack. There isn't anything to dislike about her. "Look," she curls her small hand into a fist. "It's a rock."
"Mine is bigger." I wrap my hand around her fist and laugh at how much bigger it is in comparison.
'Of course our rock is bigger.' my wolf smirks.
"I went on a website today, our zodiac signs are compatible." I inform.
"Wait, I thought only girls compare signs."
"Guys do things like that too."
We continue to watch Girl Meets World until she speaks again. "If I as-ask you something, d-do you promise not to get mad? It's a-about Red Stone."
"I'll get mad, but I won't do anything in front of you."
"Okay." she mumbles. "How a-am I still alive?"
"I don't understand."
"I mean, how did I manage to survive? I got beat on a daily basis, and I didn't have food or water to help me heal." she explains. "You said it yourself, wolves can barely last two months without food and water. I went longer and still survived, I don't get how."
"My wolf." I answer. "We both knew you were alive, just not here in Lunar Shadow like you were supposed to be. Since my wolf is stronger than other Alphas, he was able to keep you alive."
"But how? I wasn't marked before I was taken."
"I'm stronger than all other Alphas because of my wolf, that's why I have the Alpha title and not my older brothers. My wolf can communicate with other wolves without mind linking; what he did with you was send your wolf messages. You probably didn't notice because you were weak and starving."
She tries to blink away the tears in her eyes, "If your wo-wolf was communicating with m-mine, how come you c-couldn't find me.?"
"Sweetheart," I turn her around to face me. "My wolf and I couldn't find your location. We could communicate with you, but you weren't able to reply to our messages."
"So if I were stronger, I would've been back home sooner?"
I almost nod in response before I realize what she's asking. "No. You and I still wouldn't be able to mindlink, my wolf wouldn't be able to track you that far away without marking first."
"W-What about Brody?"
"What about him?"
"Why couldn't I mindlink him?" Charlotte doesn't look me in the eyes, she just does what she usually does and stares at her lap.
"You forgot that you had a brother, you can't mindlink someone you don't know exists. And wolves can't mindlink when they're weakened with fatigue and things like that."
"I have a few questions for you to answer too." I put a finger under her chin so that she'll look at me. "Why were you so scared when you woke up in the hospital the first day?"
Charlotte blinks a couple of times, but doesn't answer. A full minute of silence passes until she finally does, "I-I thought that you were going to ki-kill me."
"Why? I still don't understand why you specifically asked me to make it quick. You thought that I would torture you, why?"
"Be-Because you're Xander Reynolds." she whispers. "I heard the stories, y-you take over packs and t-torture trespassers."
"Didn't you recognize me as your mate when you first woke up?
She shakes her head and tells me, "I-I didn't know th-that I had a mate."
Knowing that we've already went into depth about that topic before, I move onto my next question, "Why did you want me to kill you?"
"Because..." she trails off.
"Because what?"
"J-Just because."
'Ask another time, mate won't tell us today.' my wolf tells me.
"So what did you eat today?" I change the subject. Charlotte doesn't reply, she doesn't even open her mouth to say anything.
"Eat this." I sigh, handing her a granola bar that was by the bed. The guards have nothing to do with her eating habits; they probably thought that she just wasn't hungry today. "You need to eat at least two meals a day. Any less and you'll start losing weight again."
'This is getting ridiculous.' my wolf growls. 'Mate is starving herself.'
'She doesn't think that she needs food.'
'Mate still doesn't know we love her.'
'We tell her that we love her everyday.' I don't understand why Charlotte wouldn't think that my wolf and I love her. She said it back to us multiple times before, so how would she not know how we feel about her?
'Mate doesn't believe that anyone loves her.' my wolf whines. 'I can tell how she and her wolf feel about us.'
'Do they love us?' I ask.
'I'm not sure.'
*** (later that night)
Charlotte's Pov
QOTC- do you want more 'old video scenes' of Charlotte?
I open my eyes to complete darkness and debate on whether I should get off the bed or not. His voice is still echoing in my mind, his hands still seem to be roaming my body. Alpha Jones can't be erased from my past.
Shivers are sent down my spine as memories keep flashing in my head. Chains, whips, wolfsbane, and silver. All of the different objects and toxins that he used on me appear in my dreams every night. From the moment I shut my eyes and wish for a goodnight's sleep, to the moment I bolt upright because my wish didn't come true; it's the same routine everyday.
Xander peacefully enjoys his slumber while I lay by his side and try to keep quiet. Some nights my sobs are too loud and he wakes up, thinking that he can make everything better. I would love to believe him, but I know for a fact that I'll never forget what my tormentors did to me. Pretending that I'm happy during the day is already hard, take away razors and blades, then I have no form of release.
I've figured out ways to hide my self harm from my mate; all I have to do is cut where he won't see. Hiding weapons and sharp objects from me only makes it worse, just like not allowing me to drink water will cause me to drink even more later. The only thing is that I've been trying to go back to my old diet.
If I survived a decade barely receiving food or water, I'm pretty sure that I can go another decade doing the exact same thing. It's only a matter of time until Xander and Brody get bored of having me around and send me to another pack; they might even let Maddie choose my fate again.
My breaths come out in short pants, almost as if something isn't letting air into my lungs. 'Don't scream, don't yell.' I repeat over and over again in my head. There have been times back in the Red Stone pack house where I had to keep my composure even though all I wanted to do was to break down; it feels so different but so familiar at the same time.
I'm supposed to feel safe and relaxed, but with one other person in the room, I can't do that.
"Keep control." I whisper out loud. "Stay in control."
A wave of terror washes over me and gravity seems to be pulling me in the wrong direction. My foot shakes with anticipation while my hands tremble in fear. 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.' I deeply inhale and count the seconds in my head.
Exhale, 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.'
I feel suffocated inside the bedroom, yet, all I want is to be held in Xander's arms. I just need to feel protected.
Unloved.
Unwanted.
Worthless.
Insults and voices that I'll never forget constantly fly around my head, each one accompanied by a horrific memory. 'Wake up mate, please.' my wolf begs. She whines and whimpers when I ignore her request.
Every breath is a little bit shorter than it should be and tears are welling in my eyes, but it feels lik nothing will come out; just like how my body is numb, but my brain is thriving with life. It's like there's a clock in my head. Mocking me by making every second seem like an eternity.
"Xander." I only call his name once. If he wakes up, then I'll seek comfort in him. If he doesn't, then I'll deal with my problem alone like how I always did.
"Xander." I repeat, my heart beating loud in my ears.
No response.
More tears develop in my eyes, but still nothing comes out. I try blinking them away, only to be unsuccessful again.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.
I try to focus on my breathing and let my mini panic attack pass. 'Wake up mate.' my wolf whimpers. 'Wake him up!'
"Xander?" I lay on my back this time, trying to steady my voice the best I can. The last thing I want is for him to freak out as well.
"Mmm." he grumbles, not even half asleep. He lifts his arm to pull me closer, but I can't stand the pressure on my chest and take the opportunity to rush into he bathroom.
Each step is pure agony and my knees buckle from under me just as I shut the door. I don't think that I could lock it right now, the thought of moving to twist the lock sends another wave of nausea over me. 'Get mate! Get mate!' my wolf pleads. Soon, I have to shut my eyes and lean on the wall for support.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
I can hear the sound of a clock ticking even thought I'm not actually near one. Time starts going by slower and slower, fear and terror still overpowering my senses. It feels like I'm dying and losing my mind at the same time. The only thing I acknowledge is the bright lights of the bathroom; not the cold air tickling my skin or the sounds of Xander getting off of the bed. "Sweetheart-"
"Make it stop." I sob, cutting him off. My voice is cracking with every syllable I speak.
"I'm coming in, baby." he tells me. The door slowly opens and his large body soon looms over mine. "Come here."
I can't understand the words that start coming out of his mouth, all I hear is a muffled voice. "Make it stop." I slowly back away from my mate and hold onto my head. For some odd reason, Xander keeps reminding me of Alpha Jones and Gamma Dolan.
"Come here." the warriors would always say. It was how I knew how bad my punishment would be.
The bodies on top of me, almost like how Xander is standing over me right now.
"Make it stop." I whimper once more. I could hear my loud heartbeat and fear continues to take over my thoughts. All of the things that people did to me, all of the nasty names I was called, I'm being reminded of everything those monsters had me do.
"Baby," I start to make out the words coming out of Xander's mouth.
His blurry figure bends down to sit beside me, but I instinctively flinch away. That unreleased tension in my body still remains; the sparks that I receive from my mate's touch aren't soothing this time, they're alarming. My pulse quickens even more and I start to struggle in his arms. "Make it stop." I sob when I realize how similar his hold and Alpha Jones' are.
Both of them held my arms down, whispered things in my ear, and keep me close to their bodies.
One, two, three, four, five, six-
"No!" I scream and kick away from Xander when I feel his hand on my waist. I scoot away from him until my back hits the wall against one side of the bed. With only five feet between us, I stop concentrating on my breathing and try to let it all go. I try to let all of my frustration and fear out, but it feels like I'm trapped inside my own mind.
"Sweetheart, remember that I won't hurt you." I hear his voice loud and clear, no longer drowned out by the chaos in my head.
"Make it go away." I plead. With my knees pulled up to my chest and my head held in my hands, I try to make myself invisible to Xander. I'm not sure how, but half of me just wants to be held by my mate and the other half just wants to disappear. Panic and anxiety attacks like this happened all the time when I was with Red Stone, but I had no one who would care about my wellbeing; now I do.
'We are hurting mate.' my wolf whimpers.
"I-I'm so-sorry." I manage to choke out, the intense fear of something bad happening still remains. I feel like I have to make sure that everything is okay, because I'm scared that the world is crumbling down on top of me and I start to panic even more because there may be a chance that I'll never calm my mind; because there's a chance that I'll stay in this state forever.
"Shh..." I don't fight this time when Xander wraps his arms around my trembling body. His actions cause me to tense up even more, but I soon remember that he won't actually hurt me. He's proved it to me so many times before and still reminds me every morning that he won't ever do it. "It's okay, just let it out, sweetheart."
I hold onto him tightly, afraid that this moment isn't real; afraid that he's about to push me away and laugh at me fore being so weak. I finally let the tears out and feel a sense of relief once I do. Xander continues to whisper sweet nothings in my ear, trying his best to calm me down.
*** (forty-five minutes later)
"Stop apologizing." Xander tells me. "It's not your fault."
I sit with my back against his front and my eyes closed. He moved my hair to one side of my neck and is lightly kissing our mark to help me stay calm. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asks, moving me to face him.
I shrug and avoid eye contact with him. I don't feel as afraid as earlier, now I'm just embarrassed that I had a panic attack in front of him. "You can start by talking about how it felt like, I read on Google that talking helps." he says, trying to lighten the mood.
"Too soon?" He mumbles a quick apology before resuming to holding me in silence again. I just sit there, focusing on my breathing.
"I'm not leaving you, okay? Stop thinking like that." Xander already knew what my thoughts were leading to. "I love you."
"I l-love you too." I cling onto him, no longer feeling as alone as I was earlier. His strong arms keep me feeling safe and protected, not vulnerable like just moments before. My cheeks are tear stained, my hair is most likely a Ruffles mess, and soft hiccups escape my lips every now and then. "I don't want to go back to sleep." I whisper.
He has one of his hands on the small of my back while the other is running up and down my arm. "We don't have to go to sleep, I'll stay up with you."
"D-Don't you ha-have work tomorrow?" I ask in-between hiccups.
"Not for the next three days." he shakes his head. "I've completed my sixty hours for the week, I just have to check up on the cells and we could go to the packhouse tomorrow to see how everyone's doing."
"Mmhmm." I nod. It's easier to steady my breathing and calm down with Xander next to me. He speaks a little slower and doesn't raise his voice like he usually does.
"Do you get panic attacks like head often?" he asks.
"Every night." I murmur.
"What? Why don't I know about this?" Xander puts a little bit of distance between us and looks me in the eyes.
"I try no-not to wake y-you up." It's true; every night I wake up from a nightmare and the scene that I dreamt about doesn't leave my mind until morning comes. I usually lay on the bed and try my best to hold in my screams and tears in attempt to let my anxiety pass. My fear is completely irrational, but there is a voice in my head that always leads me to believe that there's a chance that I'll end up in Alpha Jones' possession again and that I will re-live my past. I come up with scenarios that are extremely similar to life in the Red Stone pack territory.
"You need to tell me whenever something like this happens, just like with your cutting." I wince a little at how direct he is when he mentions my self harm, but nod in response. "I can't believe you go through this every night. Was this time worse compared to the others?"
"It was the sa-same as yesterday, a-and the day before that... And the day b-before that." I start becoming irritated by my hiccups. They keep causing breaks in my speech, just like when I stutter. "I go to the bathroom to cool down and then come ba-back to bed afterwards."
"But why didn't you wake me up? I could've helped you all of those nights, my wolf and I can't sense when something is wrong unless we know what it is." When I stay silent, he takes it as a sign to continue. "I'm here to face your problems with you, not stay asleep while you go through them."
"I didn't want to bother you." I tell him, pressing my head against his chest. I can still hear my heart loud and clear in my head, but the sound isn't as intense as it was earlier.
"How does it feel?" he asks with a hint of curiosity in his tone.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and answer, "It feels like you're going to lose your mind, have a heart attack, and die at the same time."
"I know that you tried to kill yourself when we left the hospital for the first time." Xander informs.
I tense at his statement and say, "I-I thought that you were go-going to kill me, I w-wanted to do it my-myself."
Tears start to develop in my eyes again as I speak. Before Xander found me, I was already planning to take my life again. I had enough pills and blades to do it without failing, but then I was rescued from my torturous "home". The moment I saw Xander sitting next to my hospital bed, I truly believed that he would kill me.
"Why? Why did you think that I was going to kill you when I was the one who brought you to the hospital?"
"Be-Because you're Xander Reynolds."
"What does my name have anything to do with this? Is it because of the rumors and stories?"
I nod and hide my face from him. The fear I have of Xander isn't nearly as strong as when I first saw him by the hospital bed, but some of it is still there. I am still afraid that somehow I'll be reason that he gets angry and then Lunar Shadow will become Red Stone 2.0.
"Don't think like that." he growls. "I would never hurt you like that. The only times I've hurt you was unintentional, and sometimes I don't even realize what I'm doing."
"I know. I-It isn't your fault." I close my eyes and concentrate on the sound of Xander's heart beating. Since my head is resting against his chest, I can hear it loud and clear. "Does Brody know that I tried to do it?"
"Who do you think told me?"
***
"I'm gonna kill that bitch." Brody growls. I flinch at his words, thinking that the word "bitch" was associated with me for a second.
"What's happened?" I ask as I rush into the room. His strikes the sand punching bag one last time before the chain breaks. "Are you okay?"
"Maddie's gonna die." he says through gritted teeth. His eyes soften a little when he sees me behind him, but he still shakes with anger. "She did it, she was the one who started the fires."
*** A/N I was going to stop here, but I'm going to continue for you awesome readers
"You don't know about the fire? I thought I told you the story." Brody hands me a bottle of water and sits down in front of me.
"You don-don't have to t-tell me if you don't wa-want to."
"It's how our parents died." he states. "You need to know why we don't have any family besides each other."
"Why do you think that I haven't introduced you to our cousins, aunts, grandparents, or parents?" he asks. "It's because of Maddie."
"That bitch fucking tried twice to rip our family apart." he begins. "Ten years ago, the night that you went missing was when the first fire started. Everyone was at grandma's house for a family reunion and you wandered outside. I was supposed to stay next to you because you had anxiety attacks every time we were in a large crowd, but I got distracted... I'm so sorry."
He looks at me with an unreadable expression before continuing, "The first fire killed our grandparents, all of our cousins, five of our aunts, and seven of our uncles. Since we had a big family, everyone was panicking and spent too much time trying to find each other. Eleven didn't make it out of the house, but twenty-two of our relatives died in the hospital because of the amount of smoke and burns."
"Mom and dad were killed by Maddie herself."
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QOTC- do you want more 'old video scenes' of Charlotte?
Badadadada! I'm lovin' it!
I am extremely excited that My Broken Luna has reached 100k reads!!! Thanks to you amazing readers, this book has a (highest) rank of #126 in werewolf!
Just like the previous chapter, I was typing part of the ending on my phone and my finger slipped. I tried replying to all of your comments and messages about not being able to see this chapter during the first upload, and I'm super sorry for the confusion.
Also, to make up for the missed update last week, I made this chapter significantly longer than the rest. Please know that each time I miss a Friday upload, the chapter will most likely be longer since I've had more time to write.
Now here's another bonus scene: 🍔
Adventures With Brody: (at age 12, the night when Charlotte was taken)
"What do you want for your birthday?" I ask my little sister in attempt to calm her nerves. She lightly squeezes my hand and steps closer to me.
"I jus-j-j-jus-just want to ha-have a s-s-s-sleepover." she stutters. "Just m-m-me a-and you."
"I mean what do you want for your present?"
"No-nothing." she shrugs.
"Wait, hold on." I look over my shoulder. "I think Grandma's calling me. Stay here, Aunt Diane is over there if you get scared, love you."
I quickly kiss her forehead and start jogging in the direction of the kitchen. A few of my cousins stop me to talk, but I can't help but feel annoyed by them. My top priority right now is to get back to my sister, I already know what will happen if her anxiety overcomes her. "Did you burn the food?" I hear my mom ask my Grandma.
"Goddess no!" she exclaims. "That smoke isn't coming from me. It must be the men in the basement."
My dad, uncles, and older cousins are all in the basement doing "special work". They said that I could join once I shift, but I have four years to wait.
"Where the hell did that come from?" one of my aunts points to the opaque smoke starting to form outside the windows. Soot starts to stain the glass and I see a red light out there too.
"It can't be." mom gasps. "Call the hospital." she commands one of my older cousins. "Ask if Maddison is in her room."
"Go get Charlotte." I nod and sprint back to the living area where we sitting earlier; I know that mom only says our full first names when she's serious.
"Where's your mom?" dad stops me in the middle of the hallway.
"She's in the kitchen. Did you see Char over there?" I ask pointing to the living room. My aunts as scrambling about trying to find their kids, my uncles stumbling over each other as they try to find their mates.
"She might've went upstairs to the bathroom, go check." he lifts me by arm and sets me on the staircase. "Everything is going to be fine, just find your sister."
I ignore the chaos around me, if I do what mom and dad said, everything will be fine. "Hey, hey." my grandpa's familiar voice stops me from taking another step. "It's not safe up there."
"Char is up there." I tell him. "She's in the bathroom."
"I just checked all of the rooms, no one is upstairs."
"Grandpa, I don't know where she is." I run a hand through my hair. There's no way that he's lying about the top floor being vacant, grandpa is the type of person who makes sure that everyone is safe; especially Char.
"Get out of here, go out the window and don't touch the grass. Charlotte is probably outside already." he coughs because of the heavy air and moves on to tell other kids passing by, making sure that no one traps themselves upstairs.
"Caden!" one of my aunts yells. Her voice is followed by a high pitched screaming, I see a shadow catch on fire out of the corner of my eye.
"EVERYONE OUT!" my grandpa orders. I pick up as many of my younger cousins as I can as I sprint through the house. I end up pulling off my shirt and putting it over my two year old cousin's head when I notice his labored breathing.
"Up, up, up!" One by one, I push them through the small opening of the living room window. "Aunt Diane! The exit is over here!"
I stay inside the burning house, helping my family get into open air, trying to find my own parents. Running back into the kitchen is what I would do to find them, the only things is, I was taught to follow their orders; especially in situations like these.
xoxo Priscilla