3. When The Past Came Knocking
1636 Words
Charles
This isn’t how I planned to spend my Christmas morning. I breathe slowly as one of my warriors pulls open the SUV door. I step out and find my beta, Eric, waiting with his legs apart and his hands clasped behind his back. The others stand beside him, their heads bowing the moment my eyes meet theirs.
“Alpha,” they greet.
“Where is she?” I ask. My voice stays calm, but my chest feels tight.
Eric straightens. “She is inside the apartment. Room forty five. The warriors are ready if you need…”
“I will handle it myself.” I move past them and head into the high rise.
I take the elevator and walk down the hall until I’m standing in front of room forty five. I pressed the doorbell once. I wait. I’m about to press it again when the door opens.
Catherine stands there…my ex-wife, my ex-mate. Her eyes brighten.
“Charles,” she breathes.
I don’t let her speak. My hand locks around her throat, and I slam her back against the door. It rattles under the force of it.
“Are you out of your f*****g mind?” My voice blasts down the hallway. “How dare you show your face at my daughter’s school.”
My wolf snarls inside me, a violent, ripping sound that claws at my skull.
I grind my teeth, fighting the shift. He’s seconds away from tearing through my skin and ending her right here.
She gasps, grabbing at my wrist. “What did I do? I only went to see our daughter.”
“Do not call her that.” My grip tightens. “You lost that right the moment you abandoned her. When you abandoned us.”
“Charles… please… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please let go.” Her voice cracks. “You know how much I love Lily.”
“Love?” I scoff. “Have you forgotten how easily you walked away even after the doctor diagnosed her with that disease? You didn’t think twice.”
“Charles… I’m sorry.”
“I don’t need your sorry.”
I release her with a grunt. She rubs her neck quickly, like she’s trying to erase my handprint.
“I know I hurt you,” she says. “I hurt her. But I made a mistake. I was blind.”
“No,” I say. “You were not blind. You walked away for another alpha…a richer alpha. You said it yourself. You chose him because you wanted wealth and power.”
She flinches. “Charles…”
“Don’t look at me like that.” I step closer. “He dumped you, and now you want to crawl back. You expect me to pretend we didn’t survive without you?”
“But she is also my daughter.”
“Not anymore.”
Her eyes fill. “Charles, please. I love you.”
A dry laugh slips out of me. “Love? Whatever bond we had is broken. It will never return. Stay away from me and stay away from Lily. This is the last time I will say it.”
She shakes her head. “Charles, wait. Please.”
“If you show up at Lily’s school again and fill her head with anything, I will kill you.”
I turn away from her, cutting her off completely. I have to. If I don’t, my wolf will take over…and he will not show mercy to the woman who betrayed us… who shattered the bond she swore to honor.
Eric is already waiting by the SUV when I step outside. He has the keys in his hand and a box sitting on the backseat.
“Everything is packed and ready,” he says. “Lily is waiting at the cafe, Alpha.”
I take the keys. Before I can open the door, Eric puts a hand on my arm.
“Charles… are you sure about this?” His voice lowers. That tone tells me he’s speaking as my best friend, not my beta. Eric has earned that right. We grew up together. Loyalty like his is rare.
“This is the only way I can cheer her up,” I say. “Catherine messed with her mind.”
Eric nods slowly. “Be careful out there.”
I scoff a little. “They’re just humans, Eric. I’ve spent time around them before. It’s only for a week.”
That makes him smile. “Sure thing.”
“Take care of the pack. If anything happens, alert me immediately.”
“Yes, Alpha.” He bows his head.
I get into the SUV and close the door. The engine rumbles to life, and I pull out of the lot. The cafe is only a few blocks away. I dropped Lily there before coming to face Catherine. I didn’t want my daughter anywhere near that woman today. Not after the damage she caused last night.
Lily’s school held a Christmas Eve party, and Catherine showed up uninvited. She cornered Lily and filled her head with fantasies about being a family again, spending Christmas together. Lies. All lies. After five years of silence, she suddenly wants to come back and ruin the little peace my daughter has built.
I pull up in front of the cafe, kill the engine, and step out. Lily spots me immediately. She slips out of the bodyguard’s hand and runs toward me with her small arms spread wide.
I crouch and lift her into my arms. She clings to me tightly.
“How’s my baby doing?” I ask, brushing my thumb over her cheek.
She pouts. “Where’s she?”
“Who?” I ask, even though I know exactly who she means.
“I thought she was going to spend Christmas with us today,” she says quietly.
“Baby… I already told you, that woman is a bad person. Whatever she told you yesterday, don’t listen to it. She’s lying, the same way she lied five years ago. She doesn't love you.”
Lily’s face crumples a little. “But I want a mom. Everyone at school keeps making fun of me because I don’t have one.”
My jaw tightens. “Who’s doing that? Tell me, and I’ll deal with them.”
She hides her face in my shoulder and refuses to answer.
I sigh and kiss the top of her head. “Don’t worry, baby. I know exactly how to cheer you up.”
I open the back door, set her into her seat, and buckle her in. She stays quiet while I take the driver’s seat again and begin to drive.
A few minutes later I glance at her through the rearview mirror. She leans her head against the window, eyes unfocused and sad.
“Baby, are you okay?” I ask.
Her voice is small. “Where are we going?”
“To a small town,” I say softly. “A human town called Whispering Pine. We’re spending Christmas there. A whole week. It’s quiet. Calm. You’ll love it.”
She doesn’t respond. She just keeps staring out the window, lost in her thoughts.
My chest tightens. Seeing Lily like this tears something open inside me. She deserves more than this pain. If I could give her a mother, I would. But my second chance mate is nowhere in sight. No sign, no scent, nothing. The frustration sits heavy in my chest.
Then I hear soft muffled sounds. I glance at the rearview mirror and see Lily crying, shoulders trembling. My heart clenches so hard it hurts.
She’s truly hurting. Catherine really damaged her. Five years ago when that woman left, Lily was only three, too young to remember much. All she knows now is that she wants a mom. It has been her Christmas wish all year.
“Baby, stop crying please,” I say gently. “You’re going to make yourself sick.”
My reassurance only makes her sob harder.
A convenience store appears ahead, and I pull over and step out. I go straight to the backseat, open the door, and gather Lily into my arms. I crouch beside the car, holding her tightly.
“Baby, it’s okay,” I whisper.
“I just want a mom,” she chokes out.
“I know,” I say, brushing her tears with my thumb. “Soon, baby. Soon I’ll bring one home.”
She pulls back and looks at me with those big, hopeful brown eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, baby. So please stop crying, hmm?”
She tries. She really does. But the tears keep falling in slow, quiet streams.
“Okay. I’m going to get us some tissues,” I say. “Wait here.”
She nods and leans back in the seat.
I close the door and head toward the entrance of the store. The moment I step forward, a scent drifts across my nose. Something distinct and impossibly alluring. Roses. Sandalwood. A warm trace of myrrh. The air itself seems to pull me forward.
My wolf stirs so sharply inside me I stop breathing. He pushes against my senses like he’s just woken from a deep sleep.
I quicken my pace and walk into the store.
The world narrows the moment I see her.
Mate. The word rumbles through me and my wolf at the same time.
A woman stands in the aisle. Average height. Slim curves. Red hair that catches the light like flame. A heart-shaped face. Beautiful. Soft.
My wolf growls with recognition and confusion.
‘She is human,’ he says inside me, restless and shocked.
But I already know. Because every part of me responds.
Every part of me recognizes her.
My second chance mate.
- Writer
