The Ignored Wolf

A Horrible Cycle

Louise

Charlie stares at me for a few seconds, then his shoulders sag suddenly, his whole body going limp as if his bones have been removed.

"Because she broke up with me," he says quietly, his vulnerability tugging at my heartstrings.

See? I knew tonight's bar trip was about her. I can also predict he's about to launch into a full-blown venting session. Yet, here I am.

"It's not that bad, Charlie," I try to comfort him. "You two have kissed and made up so many times before..."

"Are you mocking me?" He snarls.

"No, I mean it. You two always find your way back to each other," I say.

The anger on his face vanishes, replaced by sorrow. "You don't know anything," he murmurs with a rueful laugh, pulling his knees to his chest. I stand there, watching him curl into a ball in the rain like a miserable stray animal.

I feel something in my chest tighten. Maybe this is why I can never truly let go and move on. Every time I try to build a wall around my heart, he shows me this vulnerable side. It reminds me of the boy who kept me company during my loneliest years.

"Charlie, come on, get up," I coo softly, shifting the umbrella to shelter him from the relentless drizzle.

But Charlie remains rooted to the ground. "She left me, Louise," he mutters to himself, his voice cracking."This time she really left me."

I sigh, "You always say that. And yet..."

"This time is different!" he exclaims.

You say it’s different every time, I retort silently. I think about their breakups and makeups. It is an endless cycle and I've lost count. It's exhausting, and before I know what happened, I’ve been trapped in the whirlwind as their unwilling confidant. Each memory of their sickening love story digs into my mind like tiny thorns.

The first time Charlie and Cassandra fought, he had called me at 3 a.m. on a winter night. Half-asleep, I listened to his incoherent rambling on the phone, his voice a slurry of tears and frustration. Cassandra had thrown his clothes out the window and set fire to their photos balahbalah…I forgot most of the details but remembered he said he needed to see me, urgently. So I threw on my coat and crossed half the city in the middle of the night to meet him. We spent that night on hard plastic chairs at a 24-hour diner, drinking cheap coffee cup after cup. He poured his heart out and I listened to him rant about Cassandra's hysterics.

He swore "I'll be an i***t if I ever speak to her again," and held my hand, murmuring that in this whole world, I was his only safe harbor. Exhausted, he eventually fell asleep on my shoulder, and I sat perfectly still, unwilling to disrupt his peace.

Just as dawn broke, his phone buzzed with a message from Cassandra.

"Sorry, baby. I shouldn't have yelled. Forgive me. I miss you."

Charlie jolted upright as he saw the message. He shook my shoulders with a joy that wasn't for me. "She needs me, Louise! I knew she couldn't live without me!" He typed back furiously, already plotting his return to her side.

"But didn't you say you'd be an i***t if you ever spoke to her again?" I asked, half-heartedly, knowing it was futile.

"Well, I am willing to be an i***t for her," he replied, a sheepish grin on his face. He hugged me quickly and said, "Thanks for being here, Louise. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"It's fine," I forced a smile.

"I'll see you around," he said, then dashed out without a backward glance.

Months later, Cassandra flirted with an Alpha at a party, and they had another fight.

"She's shameless!" he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead in desolation. "What should I do, Louise?"

"Any healthy relationship should make both people happy," I suggested gently, "Maybe talk to her."

He laughed bitterly, reaching for my hand. "Only you give me the sense of security I need, Louise." His words were weighted, almost as if they were scripted for my ears alone.

I took a deep breath and pulled my hand away. I didn’t know whether I was reading too much into his actions or if he actively wanted me to believe I mattered to him.

Two days later, they were back together, with Cassandra posting a video on t****k of them kissing passionately. Her caption was a dagger aiming at me: Some friends are snakes in the grass. Like my half-sister @Louise Blake who tried to break us up but failed!

Then as you may expect, my social media DMs exploded with hate messages from her followers. I attempted to defend myself, but that only incited more anger. They didn't seem to care about the truth; they just wanted to force an apology out of me. Desperate, I called Cassandra to clear the air.

"I know Louise,"She laughed it off. "I just wanted attention. Ignore them. They're idiots."

"You've set them on me!"I said incredulously. "You shouldn’t lie to your fans…"

"They're my fans. What's it to you? Dial back the overblown sympathy," she snapped back before disconnecting.

I had no choice but to block strangers from messaging me. I longed to stop getting entangled in their drama. But when Charlie called again, swearing on the moon this time he was finally ready to move on, I foolishly believed him…Again.

Charlie invited me to dinner and a movie and I was flattered. I was too chicken to confirm with him if this is a date, but I treated it as one anyway. I prepared for hours, doing my hair, my makeup, and putting on a pair of pearl earrings to match the dress. Charlie arrived in time, looking devastatingly handsome and his manners are impeccable.

Everything seemed perfect until a phone call interrupted us. Charlie hesitated and didn't answer it. Thirty seconds later, his phone rang again. Charlie stared at the phone and mumbled, "I'm sorry, Louise. I might have to take this."

No, no, no! I screamed internally. But what could I say? I merely nodded. "Sure."

Charlie answered the call. Cassandra's angry voice pierced through the phone. "What took you so long to pick up the goddamned phone?!" she demanded. Charlie remained silent. Like a shark sensing blood, Cassandra detected something amiss. "You're with someone else, aren't you?"

"That's none of your business," Charlie replied.

"You're seeing another woman, aren't you?" Her voice grew increasingly agitated.

Before Charlie could respond, Cassandra began to cry and scream, claiming a pipe had burst in her apartment and she was frightened. "Please, Charlie, I know you're mad at me, but I need you now."

Charlie sighed, his voice softening as he assured her he'd be right there. He hung up, turning to me apologetically. "I have to go. She can't handle it alone. She gets so scared."

"But she could just call a plumber..." I tried to reason with him.

"You wouldn't understand," Charlie said, shaking his head. "She needs my presence."

"What about me?" I asked, voice trembling. "You promised me dinner and a movie."

"Sorry, Louise," he whispered, looking genuinely guilty. "Maybe next time."

"There won't be a next time," I said,"I won't go out with you again."

"Stop being so dramatic, Louise," Charlie said impatiently. "I have enough to deal with."

I felt confused. Why did he leap to fulfill Cassandra's needs, yet when I merely asked him to keep his promise, I was being dramatic? In hindsight, the answer was painfully obvious—he loved her and had zero interest in me. The sad part was that, blinded by my own feelings, I had tolerated him trampling over my dignity, again and again.

After Charlie left, I sat alone in the restaurant, forcing down the tasteless dessert. The laughter of couples around me only made me feel more out of place. Later, I went to the cinema, unsure whether to watch the movie. It felt like a waste not to use the ticket, but it was an action-shooter flick Charlie had picked, not something I'd usually choose. As I looked at the posters, I noticed a skinny boy in a hoodie. He seemed keen to go in, for his eyes hadn't left the posters.

"Wanna see it?" I asked.

He eyed me warily and remained silent.

"I have two tickets," I said, making a face. "Someone stood me up. Would you like to watch the film with me?"

He hesitated, but finally, his desire for the ticket took the better side, and he nodded. We went in together. I bought us a bucket of popcorn and two sodas. He devoured the popcorn, his cheeks puffing out like a squirrel. He looked so cute that it made me laugh, which salvaged the night a little bit.

As I'm lost in the memory, a sharp honk jolts me back to reality.

I blink, realizing Charlie is still crouched in the rain while I've been holding the entire umbrella over him. My shoulder is drenched. He looks so fragile and helpless... but I shake my head, fighting against the wave of sympathy. One text from Cassandra, and he'd trample my pride without hesitation, running back to my half-sister who can tear him down, but at the same time thrill him in a way I never could.

"Get up, Charlie. The car's here," I say gently.

He stands, and we walk to the taxi. The moment he slumps into the back seat, he throws his arms around me and begins to cry, which startles me.

"Charlie," I say, patting his shoulder awkwardly. "It'll be okay."

"No, it’s over. Really over!" he sobs. "Cassandra met her fated mate."

"What?" I ask, my eyes widening in shock.

"We had a fight last week. You know, the usual drama. I didn’t expect her to go to that party and meet her fated mate there," Charlie says.

"Who is he?" I ask.

"Matthew Cooper. Future Alpha of the Greenwood Pack. Cassandra accepted him that night they met! She moved out of our apartment in three days, and this weekend she's having her Luna coronation ceremony in his pack!"

"I'm so sorry," I say.

"Louise," Charlie leans heavily on my shoulder, drowning in his tears. "I'm going to die of a broken heart. Cassandra left me for her fated mate. I feel like I'm dying."

I sit there stiffly, trying to be a comforting presence. "You won't die from being dumped, Charlie. You just need time—"

"But your mother died not long after your father abandoned her," Charlie snaps, cutting me off cruelly. "Maybe she died precisely because you don’t understand this kind of pain!"

The words cut through me like a knife, and before I even understand what I'm doing, my hand moves on its own, swinging out to slap him hard across his face.