Charlotte and the wolf spent quite a bit of time lying in the snow, eyeballing each other. Neither had wanted to get up at first. It seemed they both needed a minute to catch their breath once the adrenaline had run it's course.
Eventually, the girl rose to her feet, watching the wolf cautiously. She didn't notice any signs of aggression, his silver eyes followed her movements calmly.
It was odd, but he didn't seem to want to hurt her.
"I have to go," she whispered softly, feeling a bit silly for talking to a wolf. Looking at the sky she saw it was later than she'd realized.
Dusk was approaching quickly and she needed to get back to the house. Her foster parents would be angry with her if she showed up late.
The wolf didn't want to scare her by jumping up to follow, so he waited patiently, allowing the brunette to put some distance between them before rising to his paws to follow her.
This time he didn't hide.
Charlotte noticed him trailing her and for a moment, she was concerned the wolf might try to ambush her, but he just padded along after her quietly, never trying to get any closer. Still, she made sure to keep an eye on the wolf as he treaded after her.
Although the wolf looked intimidating, he certainly didn't act wild, at least not since that first meeting, she realized.
Perhaps he had been someone's pet and they abandoned him here? She mused. Or worse, maybe he'd been bred by humans for trophy hunting? She had yet to figure out what secrets the townspeople were hiding. There were still many unanswered questions regarding the conversation she'd overheard. Whatever it was, there was something strange and a bit mysterious about the black wolf.
They reached the edge of the woods just as the sun was beginning to dip behind the trees, casting its golden light across them.
Charlotte hesitated, turning to look at the wolf. He couldn't follow her up to the house, if someone saw him, it wouldn't be safe.
"Thank you for saving me, but you have to stay here." She pleaded, hoping the animal would somehow understand.
Whether the wolf understood or not she didn't know, but either way, he didn't move to follow her past the edge of the forest.
Although his feet didn't follow, Gio's eyes never left his mate as she crossed the yard and disappeared into the tiny run-down house.
"Where have you been, Charlotte!? We've been worried sick!" Elaine screeched as soon as the girl stepped through the door. She grabbed the brunette's shoulders tightly with her claw-like hands, almost like she wanted to shake her but couldn't.
Charlotte gaped at the woman in surprise before noticing her caseworker perched on the sofa with a cup of tea in his hand. He was peering over the cup as if about to take a sip, watching them.
"I'm sorry Elaine. I walked home and it took longer than I thought. There was a bear..." She tried to explain.
Elaine's beady eyes narrowed.
"A bear... really?" The woman hissed angrily.
Charlotte nodded, wide-eyed.
"Bears aren't awake yet. Won't be for a few months." The woman shook her head. "If you're going to lie at least make it believable." She scolded, before looking over at the caseworker as if to say, see what I have to deal with?
The girl's jaw tightened as she tried to conceal her annoyance.
She considered adding something about Elaine forcing her to walk alone in a storm, but chances were high that the woman would talk her way out of it, probably by making the teen seem like a liar and a brat.
Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself to choose her battles.
"Enough with this nonsense. Peter has been waiting here for hours. He came to see how you're settling in. Let's not waste any more of his time than you already have," the woman chastised.
"It's Paul...." The caseworker corrected. This was actually the third time that day that he'd had to correct the woman.
"No matter, Charlotte is here now so you can get started," Elaine dismissed, pushing Charlotte toward him.
"Yes," Paul agreed, placing his cup of tea down and picking up a yellow legal pad.
"How are you doing Charlotte? Sounds like you had quite the adventure today?" He prodded gently, trying to make her feel comfortable. The tiny brunette appeared to be rather stiff, although she was that way last time if he remembered correctly.
"Fine. It wasn't a big deal. I guess I was confused."The girl answered flatly.
"I see. Well, how is school going? Have you adjusted well?"
Charlotte was acutely aware of Elaine watching them intently from across the room. Her hawklike gaze made the girl uncomfortable.
"It's been good. I've met a few nice people," she answered, shifting nervously.
"That's great! You've made friends?" the man asked cheerfully.
"Yes, I guess you could say that." she shrugged, thinking about Amelia and Maddie.
"Wonderful..." Paul said before continuing with a few more ice-breaking questions, but Charlotte anticipated he would shift to a more probative query soon. She'd been through the process enough times to know what to expect.
"Mrs. Watson, I would like to ask Charlotte a few questions in private. Would you mind waiting in the other room?" Paul asked, his tone shifting as he looked up at the woman.
Yep, here we go, she thought.
"..... of course," Elaine responded, her thin lips tightening in displeasure.
The woman gave Charlotte a stern look as she left the room. A warning not to say anything unfavorable as if the girl hadn't gotten the hint before.
Now that she was free to speak, there were several things Charlotte could complain about and she briefly considered doing so.
Walter and Elaine had her sleeping in a cold, dark basement, they barely fed her, and they weren't particularly nice... but the truth was the brunette had experienced much worse and if she complained she would be taking a gamble that the next family wouldn't treat her worse than this one.
At least here she wasn't being beaten, she thought, stroking the scar on her wrist. A harsh reminder of how bad a foster family could be.
"How do you feel about living with the Watsons? Are they kind to you?" Paul asked gently.
"They are decent people, I think." The girl responded noncommittally.
She continued answering questions until Paul seemed satisfied that she wasn't being abused there.
Yeah, it was a low bar.
Once he was done gathering information, Paul let Elaine know that they had passed the initial check.
"It was so nice having you! When will you be back?" Elaine asked feigning niceness as Paul donned his hat and coat in preparation to leave.
Charlotte rolled her eyes, knowing that the true purpose of her question was to ensure she wasn't caught being anything but motherly.
"We make periodic wellness visits, but they are random, so I can't say exactly when the next one will be, but it'll be soon," the man answered kindly.
It wasn't true.
Caseworkers were always overloaded, and they rarely made wellness visits. However, caseworkers often used the threat of a visit to discourage foster parents from abusing their power.
As soon as Paul left, Elaine turned on the girl, dropping the façade. Her face pulled up into an ugly sneer.
"You're lucky that Mr. Rayburn thinks highly of us. What really took you so long girl?!" Elaine snapped.
Charlotte was a bit taken aback by her anger. Also was the woman delusional? No one thought 'highly' of her.
"Were you running around with a boy?" Elaine asked in disdain. She was annoyed and wanted to take her frustration out on someone. In her mind, no one was more deserving of her ire than the brunette.
The woman had been embarrassed when the caseworker showed up and they had no idea where Charlotte was. Having the caseworker here, breathing down her neck had shaken her up, although she'd never admit it.
Danny and Walter were no help, having disappeared after only briefly speaking to the caseworker, leaving Elaine to distract him with tea and vague excuses.
"No," the girl answered firmly, stepping around the woman.
"Charlotte the harlot," Elaine mocked as the brunette headed to her basement room.
A deep frown settled across the girl's face, but she kept walking. It wasn't worth a response. She had no intention of starting a fight with her foster parents.
Not when she was so close to getting out that she could practically taste freedom.
That evening, Charlotte spent laying on the basement mattress, clutching the pillow to her chest and staring at the water stains on the basement ceiling. After the rocky meeting with the caseworker, she didn't dare go upstairs.
For the majority of her life, she had been in foster care. Tossed around carelessly from one home to the next; ignored, abused, and forgotten. After her parents died in the car accident, she had no one. It was as if Charlotte had been thrown into this world completely alone. The only thing that gave her strength was knowing she was a witch.
Charlotte had very few memories of her life before the accident, but there was one memory that stuck out more than the others.
She recalled sitting on her childhood bed with her mom, a purple princess blanket adorned the small mattress. As a little girl, she'd loved that blanket, although now she could no longer remember which princess character it had featured.
Her mother leaned in close to the girl like she was sharing a fun little secret with her. The woman's brown eyes sparkled warmly as she said, "Charlotte, I have something special to tell you," she then paused, building suspense. "I'm a witch, and so are you!"
The woman had gone on to explain how she needed to keep it a secret—that bad people would try to hurt her if she didn't. And the girl had. She'd kept it secret all her life, fearing what might happen if she revealed the truth.
It took Charlotte a while to realize it, but being a witch was her golden ticket. Sure, she didn't know much—or anything really about magic, but it was in her blood. It was like a pulse inside of her that she had learned to move and manipulate. Already she had found it useful, discovering little tricks that helped her survive.
Once she turned 18, she would be free to make her own way and her magic would help that. She was sure of it. Perhaps she could find an older witch to teach her.
That night, the girl fell into a fitful sleep, tossing and turning until eventually sleep pulled her into a strange dream.
She sat in a meadow of sunflowers; her mom was chuckling lightly as she laid a white flower crown on her head.
Down the hill Charlotte could see wooden stalls set up, the delicious smell of food wafted toward them. The air felt warm and friendly. Vendors eagerly chatted with their customers below. Their voices and laughter carried on the wind.
It was the spring festival.
Charlotte smiled contentedly, twirling a candy apple between her fingers. Caramel stuck to her lips and chin as she sunk her teeth into the crisp fruit. It was messy but she didn't mind, she licked the caramel off of her lips with her tongue, wiping the rest away with the back of her hand. Her mom was talking to her excitedly, explaining why the spring festival was so important to witches.
The girl listened dutifully, making sure to nod and 'uh huh' at the correct times.
Suddenly the smile slipped from her mom's face, Charlotte turned to see her black wolf padding gracefully toward them. His large form cast a gentle shade over the mother and daughter as his shoulders blocked the sun.
Yet, she didn't feel afraid. Here, the black wolf had a calming aura about him that made him feel familiar and safe.
The girl turned to assure her mom it was okay. She didn't need to be scared; the wolf was her friend. Her mom had vanished.
Tears pricked the girl's eyes. She jumped up in search of the woman. Her apple dropped to the ground, rolling away as she stood.
She didn't want her mom to leave—but her mom was dead, Charlotte remembered sadly.
This wasn't real. She was alone.
A broken sob escaped her lips, she flopped back to the ground. Her arms wound tightly around her middle as if holding herself together.
"Don't cry little Lottie, I'm here." A deep warm voice said gently, trying to comfort her.
Charlotte gasped in surprise, looking up at the wolf.
His silver eyes were gazing down at her lovingly. She's never imagined such sharp silver could look so soft. Was it he who had spoken? The wolf's muzzle never moved; it was more like an echo from far away.
Still, the brunette continued gazing up at the wolf, mesmerized.
"Don't cry little Lottie, I'm here." The voice repeated. This time the voice seemed to originate from somewhere closer.
A man stepped out from behind the wolf.
Charlotte's eyes went wide, she stared at him in awe.
The man was breathtakingly handsome, with light olive skin and angular features. Thick muscles wrapped around his bare torso and his dark hair fell perfectly above his silver eyes. He was tall, even next to the wolf he looked to be well over 6'.
She'd never seen a more attractive man in all her life.
He smiled at her for a moment, then he turned to the wolf. The man and the wolf angled their bodies together, staring at each other as one might gaze into a mirror.
Suddenly, the handsome man fell to his knees, bracing himself against the ground with his forearms, his bones started to crack as he began transforming. The girl winced, covering her eyes.
The transformation looked painful at first, but it was over quickly, and a black, silver-eyed wolf stood in the man's place.
A warm, tingly feeling coursed through her body.
Charlotte gasped, bolting upright as she awoke.
Blinking the sleep from her eyes, the brunette looked around the basement in confusion. What was that about? She wondered, slamming her head back down on her pillow.
Somewhere in the night, she heard a wolf howl. Moments later, a chorus of other wolves joined in.
*** GIO ***
"There's going to be a council meeting and town hall on Sunday... In two moons." The blonde-haired girl informed him. She'd added the lunar reference for clarity because she wasn't sure whether the wolf followed the days of the week as they did anymore. Certainly, he didn't have a calendar to go by.
Gio briefly glanced up from the moonshine he was lapping out of the wooden bowl in front of him, seemingly disinterested.
The silver-colored liquid was a type of alcohol, one much more potent than what humans drank. He was getting a pleasant buzz from it. For a moment, it allowed him to release some tension which was nice. The wolf had been very tense lately.
"I know you no longer care about council meetings, but as the future Alpha, it is important for you to keep up with what's going on. And to do that you must stay connected, and I mean connected with everyone, not just the ones who are like you."
"Also, you mustn't forget your opinions carry a lot of weight here. People look up to you, Gio. The pack needs your guidance," his sister lectured.
The girl was persistent. Even after all this time, she never stopped trying to support and encourage him. She didn't want her brother to become feral and drop off the edge of the earth as so many others had.
Whenever she felt he was drifting too far, she pulled him back using whatever means necessary. She certainly wasn't above bribery, as evidenced by the moonshine and the tasty treats she had laid out for him.
Truth be told, sometimes the girl bribed him for no reason other than to have him come home. It was lonely in their big house all alone, so having her brother around was nice.
Before the curse, the Alpha House always had people coming and going. Gio and his sister had lived there with their parents and various other family and pack members.
Werewolf packs were all about family and togetherness.
They loved spending time together, and the House was where they congregated. You could always find someone willing to lend a hand, give you some advice, or just hang out.
The Alpha House was the heart of the pack.
Of course, not everyone in the pack lived there or had a room there. It was considered an honor. Even those who did often maintained separate homes and only stayed at the Alpha House on occasion, but the ever-rotating pack members served to keep it lively.
Now that the Alpha was gone and the Luna was dead, the house stood mostly empty. Of course, Gio still had a room, but he never slept there anymore.
It was somewhat uncomfortable for a wolf to be in a house. The walls and hallways made him feel trapped.
His sister understood of course, but she still preferred he remain close to home, even if that meant curling up outside or on the porch. Typically, Gio was happy to do so. He felt better knowing his sister was safe.
It had been a while since he'd stayed at the Alpha House though... Not since finding his mate. He decided that tonight he would stay.
Although he yearned to be close to his mate, his little sister was important too.
The wolf lazily used his tongue to lap the remnants of alcohol off his muzzle, before moving over to the snacks.
He reached out to paw a piece of uncooked beef wellington off a nearby plate when his sister said something that caught his attention.
"Uncle says the Council must make a decision about whether the human girl gets to stay. She's stirring up quite a controversy."
The wolf jerked his head back, forgetting the uncooked beef, he looked at her in surprise.
Was the human his sister was referring to his mate? It must be.
His mate was the only newcomer, as far as he knew, and he would know because he ran the border patrol. He was annoyed he couldn't voice these questions directly.
Gio made a noise, prodding his sister for more information.
"The girl? Do you know of her? Long brown hair, skinny, kind of short?" She asked, seeing that he was interested in what she had said.
The wolf nodded affirmatively.
He was not pleased that the Council was having a meeting about his mate. In fact, it somewhat infuriated him.
"Well, whether she can stay is on the agenda for the meeting, so if you have anything to say about it you had better be there."
He most certainly would, the wolf would never allow his mate to be taken from him. His eyes went dark at the thought.
The blonde stepped back into the house, oblivious to her brother's inner turmoil.
Gio tilted his head back and howled into the night. His wolf pack eagerly joined in.