Stolen Fates - Anna

The Sanctuary

Anna had slept through the car ride to the pack house and still didn't stir when Charlie had lifted her from the seat of the car to carry her inside. A few heads turned in the direction of the pair but Charlie paid them no attention. His only concern was the slight trembling he could still feel resonating through Anna's small frame. He kept his pace quick as he climbed the four flights of stairs to the top floor and adjusted his arms around her to open the door to his room.

Immediately crossing the floor to his bed, he gently laid her down on the mattress and ran a hand through his hair as he looked down at her with worry creasing his brow. Reaching down, he slid her shoes from her feet and pulled the comforter over her, placing a gentle kiss to her temple. Charlie moved to the opposite side of the bed, pulling his t-shirt over his head and tossed it to floor. He stepped out of his jeans and slid under the comforter behind Anna in just his boxers. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest, finally feeling his body and mind relax with her pressed against him and her scent filling his senses.

*****

Charlie was startled awake by a loud pounding on his bedroom door. His arm was around Anna's back, his hand resting on her hip as her blonde head rested on his chest and one of her legs wrapped around his. Charlie heard his father's voice call his name loudly from the other side of the door and Charlie heaved a heavy sigh as he maneuvered himself out of the bed without disturbing Anna. He looked at his window as he made his way across the bedroom and noticed that the sun hadn't even risen yet.

"What," Charlie questioned, not even attempting to disguise the irritation in his tone, as he pulled the door open and eyed his father. Charlie could tell that his father was not in the mood for attitude as the older man simply raised a brow at him.

"Get dressed and meet in the Sanctuary," his father spoke and his tone allowed for no argument. Whatever was going on, Charlie knew it was serious. "And bring the girl," his father said as he turned from Charlie's door and headed back down the stairs.

Charlie closed his door slowly and felt as if his heart had jumped into his throat. He hadn't even tried to talk to Anna about what he was and now he was going to be forced to push all of this on her unexpectedly. He had to admit that he was terrified that she might not understand but that fear was nothing in comparison to what he'd felt last night.

Charlie moved back to the bed and gave Anna's shoulder a gentle shake, smiling fondly down at her as she whined in protest. "Baby, you've gotta wake up," he said encouragingly and drew the comforter down from around her. "We've got to go see some people," he said in the same gentle tone and walked to his closet. He pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a black t-shirt before returning to his bed, smiling when he saw Anna sitting up in the middle of the sheets still looking a bit disoriented.

"What's going on," she asked in confusion as she rubbed at her eyes. Her fingers moved to her temples and rubbed at the remnants of the pain from the previous day.

"Your head still hurts," Charlie said, more a statement than a question and leaned to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. He leaned away to slide his feet into his tennis shoes and stood from the bed, turning to look at her.

He watched as she pulled her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head and secured it with a tie from around her wrist. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching her arms high toward the ceiling, before rifling through the bag she'd brought with her. She pulled a loose fitting hoodie over her head and slid her legs into a pair of black leggings, pushing her feet into a pair of low-top converse after.

Charlie held his hand out to her and gave a reassuring squeeze of his fingers once she'd linked her fingers with his. He used his other arm to pull her into his chest and buried his face into her neck, deeply inhaling her scent.

"Anna," he breathed her name against her skin and paused to withdraw his face and press his forehead to her, holding her blue gaze with his hazel eyes. "Whatever happens, don't be scared," he continued and saw the confusion in her eyes. "Just...remember that...I'd never let anyone hurt you," he said with conviction and while he could still see the confusion, Anna nodded her head to him.

*****

The Sanctuary was situated in the basement of the pack house and was the meeting place of the elders, wolves of the pack with rare abilities that sat in positions of power. Inside the room, several high-backed chairs sat in a circle. The walls looked to be smooth, polished rock but covered in places by tapestries depicting pieces of the pack's history.

Charlie led Anna through the threshold of the Sanctuary and gave her hand another reassuring squeeze when he felt her hesitation. His father was standing inside the door and Charlie gave a brief nod of his head to the man.

"Dad," he began and paused to gently pull Anna to stand before his father. "This is Anna," Charlie said in introduction and repeated the introduction in reverse. "Anna, this is my father, Alexander Petrescu," he said and motioned with his hand to his father.

"Westergard," Anna supplied her last name to Alexander after Charlie had failed to do so. "Anna Westergard," she spoke again and Charlie could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Anna," Charlie heard his father speak and lifted a brow when he heard the man's next statement. "I wish we had more time to get to know each other before jumping into something like this," Alexander said with a wave of his hand toward the center of the room.

"Shall we get started, Alpha," a feminine voice spoke from the opposite side of the room, drawing the attention of the trio. Six aging bodies, three women and three men, entered from a doorway across the room, and Charlie bowed his head to them in respect. These were the elders and they would hopefully hold the answers he yearned for.

The elders each sat in a chair flanking the center of the room and the female that had spoken motioned for the three of them to enter the circle of chairs. Alexander stepped forward first, followed by Charlie. Anna was lead by Charlie's hand and stayed close to his side the tension radiating from her tiny frame. Charlie attempted to soothe her by stoking his thumb across the knuckles held in his hand.

"Charlie, we spoke with the Alpha yesterday. He explained your concerns and honestly, collectively, we know of only one instance when something like this has ever happened before. In that case, the wolf was raised outside of a pack, not knowing their true heritage and the transition came much later in life when contact with another wolf was made. Sadly, with no bond to the wolf and no control of the transition, the wolf did not survive and without it, the human shell that was left also perished shortly after," one of the male elders explained and Charlie's mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to process the information just given to him.

"So...you're saying she'll...die," Charlie questioned the elders in a disbelieving tone and flashed his eyes around the room at each of them quickly, his hand tightening more around Anna's.

"No, Charlie," spoke the female, the first that had entered the room, in a more gentle tone. "Anna's wolf has not attempted to transition, yet, as far as we can tell by looking at her. We still have time to find a way to draw the wolf out without harming either of them," she continued, standing from her seat and moving closer to Charlie and Anna. "If she'll allow it, I'd like to enter her mind. It might help us to find more answers before trying to force her wolf out from hiding," she said with a tilt of her head as she looked into Anna's eyes. "Will you allow it, Anna," she questioned and Charlie drew Anna more into his side while they awaited her reply.

Charlie couldn't help to swallow hard when he saw Anna give a brief nod of her head and take a step forward toward the female elder.

He released her hand as the elder brushed his hand away and he took another step away to simply observe, not failing to notice how tense his shoulders felt. He watched as the elder took hold of one Anna's hands and placed the other on Anna's forehead.

"Just relax, child. Clear your mind. This won't hurt at all," the elder spoke calmly and Charlie watched as she closed her eyes. Not more than a few seconds later, he watched the elders eyes squeeze tightly and heard the painful yelp of the older woman as she jerked her hands back from Anna.

"That's...that's not possible," the elder spoke in a unbelievable tone and continued to step away from Anna. The other elders gathered around the older woman and each gasped in surprise when they looked at the woman's hands. The palms were scorched and what appeared to be the crescent shape of scales had been burned into the woman's flesh.

Charlie caught Anna around the shoulders just as her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor. Gathering her into his lap, he placed his hand on her forehead and looked at the elders angrily.

"What was that," he shouted at them and looked down at the woman in his arms. He'd never felt so helpless in his life and he hated the feeling. "What's wrong with her," he shouted again and felt the growl rise from his chest when the elders only looked back and forth at each other.