Chapter 2: Secret Lover
1736 Words
Chapter 2: Secret Lover
(Charlotte's POV)
My heart felt like it was about to burst as I raced home. Alexander's leather jacket was still wrapped around me, its strong, masculine scent clinging to me like a reminder of what had just happened. But there was no time to process any of it. My mother’s voice had been too panicked over the mind link.
When I reached the front door, I barely stopped to catch my breath before pushing it open.
“Mom?” I called, fear lacing my voice.
The sight inside made my stomach hollow out.
Sarah sat at our small kitchen table, her face buried in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking, silent sobs wracking her frame. She looked nothing like the calm, steady woman who had so often given me strength.
“Mom!” I rushed to her side, my chair screeching across the tiled floor as I pulled it out. I reached for her hands, but she flinched like my touch burned her.
When she raised her face to look at me, her warm brown eyes were red and swollen, tears still streaking down her cheeks. My heart twisted painfully.
“They took him, Charlotte,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “They took your father.”
The words didn’t make sense. I blinked, trying to understand. “What? Who? Who took him?”
Her lips trembled as she tried to form the words, but the anguish was too much. Instead, she reached out through the mind link.
Images flooded my head—a memory drawn from her perspective. Three large pack enforcers stood in our living room. Their broad shoulders seemed to block out the light, and their presence filled the small space with an air of authority that was almost suffocating.
My father, William, stood before them. His jaw was tight, his hands calm and steady at his sides, but I could see the tension in his stance.
One of the enforcers held up a document, stamped with the pack’s official seal. “By order of Crescent Valley’s Alpha heirs, you are under investigation for the embezzlement of pack funds,” the enforcer announced without emotion.
My mother’s voice had trembled in protest. “This has to be a mistake. My husband has served this pack faithfully for years!”
But the enforcers had remained unmoved. They detained my father right there in our living room. My mother’s protests grew louder as they led him out in restraints, but they ignored her. The memory ended as she collapsed onto the couch, tears spilling down her face.
The bond link broke, snapping me back to the present.
“Gabriel claims your father stole from the pack.” My mother’s voice wavered as she tried to keep herself composed. “They’re saying he embezzled money, Charlotte. Can you believe this? Your father!”
I shook my head, my mind reeling. My father was one of the kindest, most hardworking people I knew. He’d worked tirelessly for the Crescent Valley Pack, even though he had always been an ordinary wolf with no rank.
“This is ridiculous,” I said, my voice louder than I intended. “Who would believe such a thing? Everyone knows Dad would never—”
“It doesn’t matter what people think. Gabriel is the heir,” she interrupted, her voice sharp with despair. “He can use his authority however he likes. Pack law is his to twist and manipulate.”
I froze as her meaning sunk in.
“This isn’t about your father, sweetheart. It’s about you. Gabriel is punishing us because of you.”
The words seemed to echo in my ears. Guilt clawed at me. My rejection, my humiliation, now bleeding over into my family.
“Exile,” I breathed. The word fell from my lips like a death sentence.
“Exile.” My mother nodded, her shoulders sagging under its weight. “If they pin this on your father and the council agrees, we’ll all be forced out of the pack territory. Do you know what that means? No protection. No place to call home. Rogues could—”
Her voice broke again, and I reached for her hands. This time, she didn’t pull away.
“You have to do something,” she whispered desperately. “Maybe… maybe if you talk to him. Gabriel used to love you, didn’t he? Maybe you can convince him to be merciful just this once.”
I stared at her, my heart sinking.
Her desperation made me feel even guiltier. I had let Gabriel wreck my life, and now the consequences had extended to my parents—the only people who had ever truly stood by me.
I swallowed hard, knowing what I had to do. Slowly, I closed my eyes and opened a mind link to him.
The connection snapped into place instantly, like he’d been waiting.
“Charlotte,” his voice greeted me coldly.
“Gabriel, we need to talk,” I said, trying and failing to keep my tone neutral.
There was a pause, then a low chuckle. “I wondered when you’d contact me. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“Please,” I forced myself to say. The word burned my throat. “Please leave my father out of this. You know he didn’t do what you’re accusing him of. You know it just as well as I do.”
“Someone must answer for the missing funds, Charlotte,” he replied, his tone devoid of any sympathy.
“Someone,” I repeated bitterly. “You mean my father, don’t you? Just because you want to hurt me. This is about us, isn’t it? You’re punishing him for something I did.”
Another pause, this one heavier.
“Perhaps,” Gabriel said simply. Then his tone shifted, becoming sickeningly slick, like false honey. “There is… a way this could all go away.”
My wolf bristled. I already knew I wasn’t going to like what came next.
“I am about to mark Crystal as my mate in front of the whole pack,” Gabriel continued smoothly. “It’s a necessity, of course, for political reasons. But we both know how meaningless such bonds are when compared to a fated mate bond.”
He was baiting me, dangling the bond I’d once treasured so deeply.
“So here it is,” he said. “Become my lover, in secret. I’ll make sure your father stays in the territory, safe and sound. You can have me without ruining the alliance I’ve worked so hard to build. Isn’t that what you wanted all along?”
The suggestion hit like a physical blow. Revulsion twisted my stomach, and my wolf let out a snarl so loud inside my mind that I nearly flinched.
“You’re disgusting,” I spat.
His cold laugh echoed through the mind link. “Am I? Or are you just desperate and unwilling to admit it? I’ll give you time. You’ll see reason when your father stands before the pack council. When this exile becomes all too real for you.”
I clenched my fists, shaking with anger and fear.
“You’ll change your mind,” he added softly. “There’s only one person who could challenge an Alpha’s internal pack decisions, you know. The Alpha King…” He let the words trail off, letting the implications sink in. Then he finished them with a cruel twist. “…who just so happens to be my soon-to-be brother-in-law.”
The mind link snapped shut.
I was left sitting there, trembling in rage. I couldn’t let this happen. But I couldn’t fight him alone. I wouldn’t win if it came to a trial.
My father would lose everything.
Before I realized it, I was on my feet, grabbing my keys.
“Where are you going?” my mom called, her voice hoarse.
“To get help,” I said, opening the door. “I’m not letting Gabriel ruin us.”
“Charlotte—”
I was already gone.
---
The Stone Pack headquarters loomed large and foreboding as I pulled up to the gate. Its grand stone towers made Crescent Valley territory look like a poor cousin in comparison. Everything about this place screamed wealth, power, and control.
I barely parked before stepping out. A tall Beta guard—likely one of Alexander’s top men—was already approaching. His expression, sharp and dismissive, told me he didn’t appreciate unannounced visitors.
“State your business,” he commanded, expression unreadable.
“I need to see Alpha Stone,” I said, my voice firm.
He didn’t flinch. “Without formal pack introduction or prior appointment, that is impossible.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but movement from the main entrance caught my eye.
Alexander.
He stepped into the sunlight, tall and commanding, exuding an effortless dominance that even the Beta near me couldn’t match. Despite myself, my breath caught.
But my stomach twisted when I realized he wasn’t alone.
A striking she-wolf clung to his arm, her long, elegant legs balanced on high heels. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back, and her red lips parted in an alluring smile. Lucy Richards. Of course. She was from Cedar Creek Pack, and everyone knew she’d been aiming for Alexander’s attention for years.
She draped herself over him, leaning in as she laughed softly.
“The full moon run is in three days,” she said sweetly, her hand skimming his arm. “Perhaps we could…”
“No,” Alexander interrupted, his tone polite but firm. “Pack duties demand my attention that night.”
He said it smoothly, but I didn’t miss the subtle undercurrent of indifference in his tone.
Lucy faltered, but only for a second. “Well,” she said finally, her voice dripping with sweetness. “I’ll see you at the next summit, then, Alpha Stone.”
She turned, giving him one last coy smile before stepping into her own car and driving away.
Only then did Alexander glance my way. His electric blue eyes locked onto mine, the full weight of his attention making me feel rooted in place.
“Reconsidered our arrangement from last night, little wolf?” he drawled, his voice laced with challenge, curiosity, and… something darker.
My wolf stirred, and I hated myself for the way my heartbeat quickened. But I refused to back down.
- Writer
