Charlotte could see him tense when she finished her sentence. He was now standing beside her bed. Yes, Charlotte has always been a little shy and reserved but whenever she wasn't having a conversation, she was observing; which was mostly all the time. Right now, the man in front of her was trying so hard to pull on a poker face. If it were anyone else, they would have definitely believed him. But, it wasn't just anyone in front of Azraiel, it was Charlotte.
Any doubts that she had about these men's 'super naturalism' flew right out of the window the moment she saw his reaction to her calling him an Alpha. Not only Azraiel, but Matt too had reacted the same way; like she shouldn't have known about them. Well, what did they expect?
Charlotte removed her eyes from him. She knew he wouldn't leave until he explained everything or until he learned from her everything she knew.
It is true then, she thought to herself. Supernaturals do exist. Shit. She always thought that those books she read were just fictional stories meant for entertainment. She never thought that reality wasn't far from fiction.
Well, now that she knew she was right, a lot of things have started to clear in her mind. Right from the moment, she has woken up, there was only one question constantly running in her mind. What she saw in the woods was real or just a hallucination?
Somewhere her rational mind argued that it was indeed real. There is no way her mind could have imagined it. But, she still needed someone to confirm that she did see a man turning into a wolf followed by a lot of abnormally huge wolves.
Her thoughts were confirmed when she talked to Matt. He had asked her if she remembered who attacked her in the woods and she had replied with a single word- "Werewolf". Matt's reaction to the term was all she needed to believe that she didn't imagine it at all. Not only did she see a werewolf but the men helping her were werewolves too. However, her gut told her to trust them. They haven't tried to harm her so far and besides, she didn't have any other option now, did she?
Charlotte wasn't as clueless as they thought. She had read books about werewolves and although they were nowhere near reality, she still knew more than other humans. She now knew that she wasn't in the 'Blue Orchid town' but 'The Blue Orchid Pack'. The handsome man trying to speak something wasn't the 'President of Welfare committee' but the leader, the Alpha of the pack. And as far as she knew, she was the only 'human' in the radius of 10 kilometers.
Charlotte glanced at Azraiel to find him now seated on the chair and looking at her with the same poker face.
"So...You know." Azraiel spoke quietly. It wasn't a question, probably because Charlotte wasn't as good at making a straight face as she thought.
She just nodded her head slightly and waited for him to say something...anything. When he didn't speak up for another minute, she decided to ask whatever she has been worried about.
"What are you going to do to me now?" Charlotte internally cringed at the fear laced in her voice. Her uncle's words instantly came to her mind. 'Don't let them smell your fear or else they will feed on it."He always used to say that.
Azraiel pondered for a few seconds and then asked," Do you know what happens when a human is bitten by a werewolf?"
Charlotte instantly dropped her eyes and muttered a low 'no'. Of course, she had thought about it, and honestly, she was afraid that whatever he would say would just confirm her suspicions.
Azariel was now in the professional mode. He wanted Charlotte to understand the seriousness of the situation now that she already knew about his reality. However, he was still not over the fact that she knew who he was. Well, he was hoping that she would remember everything she saw so that he didn't have to tell her about them being werewolves. It was the toughest task of all.
"Whenever a human is bitten by a werewolf, there are only two ways it could go. First, the human body unable to cope up with the pain and complexities just shuts down and the human dies. Second, the human lives and completes his shift into a werewolf. The second one hasn't happened till now." Azraiel said in a grave voice and waited for her to absorb it all.
Charlotte was afraid he would say something like this. She had already considered the first option. She was alive right now and she felt pretty much fine except the pain in her leg. So, she had already crossed out that one. The second one occurred to her just like children fear that a plant will grow in their stomachs if they ate a seed. She was bitten by a werewolf and however childish it may sound, she feared she would turn into a werewolf. Judging by the grim look Azraiel was supporting, she knew it wouldn't be as easy as a girl turning into Cinderella.
"What are the chances that I would survive?" Charlotte asked controlling the tears that had started brimming her eyes.
Azraiel pinched the bridge of his nose at the sight in front of him and heaved a sigh. He knew he has to tell her as it is but he just didn't want her to give up. He wanted her to hope and believe that she would live. He wanted to believe that she would live.
"No human has been able to complete the shift, but our doctor believes that you will. Not only that, but you are also the first-ever human to stay alive after being bitten. I think this increases your chances of survival even more. If you decide to stay here, my pack and I will help you to get prepared for your shift. Once you complete the shift, you can become a part of my pack or join any other if you want. However, if you choose not to, then you are free to leave whenever you want." Azraiel could feel the fear creeping in his heart with the last sentence. No...no...he didn't want her to leave. She would definitely die if she did.
Charlotte couldn't help but notice that he sounded almost sure that she would complete the shift if she didn't leave his pack.
"What will happen if I decide to leave before the shift?" Charlotte asked. She wanted to explore all her options. She never learned to quit. She was a survivor. Lord knows, she had survived a lot of things. She couldn't and wouldn't give up now, especially now that she was free from him. This was her second and last chance at survival and she would do everything in her power to defeat death.
"Werewolves aren't meant to survive alone. We have always traveled and lived in packs. It is important for our sanity as well as survival. Packs help us to maintain the balance between our wolf and human side. As the day to your shift comes nearer, your wolf would start making an appearance gradually. It can happen that your wolf takes complete control over your mind and body. So, if you leave before your shift and there is no one to help you, then there is a high chance that you might die or worse, go insane. " Azraiel finished, afraid that she would choose to leave.
Charlotte just nodded her head and asked the second question in her mind, "You said you will help me if I stay. But...But Why? I mean...From what I understand, I am nothing but a threat to you and your pack. There is no benefit for you in helping me out. " She doubted that Azrael was selfless in this cruel and selfish world.
"Because you were found near my territory and If you complete the shift, you will become one of our kind. If I leave you on your own, there is a high chance you'd never make it out of the woods. Besides, I am not exactly sure but from the events you have described, it seems there are a few more people involved in the attack on you. Those wolves that helped you, the ones with red eyes, are called Rogues and they aren't very helpful or sane as a matter of fact. But according to you, they not only saved you from Richard but also disposed you near our borders, which means they have been roaming around the woods undetected by my team. This just puts the safety of my lack in jeopardy. Until I get to the truth behind these matters, I'd like you to stay here both for your and my pack's safety." Azrael said, saying everything but the most important thing he had wanted to say. He wanted to tell her so badly.
It didn't seem like she was given a choice, Charlotte thought. She was sure that Azrael wanted to keep her here just so that he can keep an eye on her. He was afraid she was an imposter and would pose a threat to his pack if she left. The Blue Orchid pack didn't sound like an open territory with all those security measures and he was definitely assuming that she would reveal its location to others if she got out. Tons and tons of scenarios were through her head as if competing to be true.
Azrael watched as she thought about what he said. He could see that she was thinking hard about something. He just hoped she wouldn't leave. He promised himself that he would do everything in his power to keep her alive.
Azraiel released a breath he didn't know he was holding when he heard her answer.
"Alright. I'll stay."