Taboo: Her Married Mate

Charles

Charles, Annies's stepfather, was driving in his silver convertible car. Something fancy that Aurora wouldn't be able to name. Aurora knew it was fancy, though, by the way it looked and sounded.

“Charles, you are home early. Does mom know you were going to be home before her?” she said, putting her hands on her hips.

Annie never really liked Charles, but knew he would temporarily make her mom happy, so she put up with him, even though she would never accept his role as her stepfather.

When Charles first started coming around, before Annie's mom and him had gotten married, the girls would joke and say he was the cutest ever. He would come by and hang out and have lunch with Annie and her mom on occasion.

Since Annie and Aurora were always at each other's house, every other weekend, Aurora got to know Charles just as much as Annie did, if not more, since Annie refused to keep up conversation with him for more than ten minutes at a time.

Charles was kind and sweet and very giving. He was tall with lean muscles, his dark chocolate brown hair and occasional facial hair had a salt and pepper shade to it that was barely noticeable and suited him well, he was the CEO of a printing company that did various print jobs like advertising and publishing.

His wife had died in childbirth, along with what would have been his firstborn daughter when he was in his late 20s. Having found his mate at such a young age, Charles always felt he was blessed to have enjoyed what time he had with her. Still, there was a sadness about him.

Aurora could not help but feel sorry for Charles. It is such a sad story to have lost two amazing people on what was supposed to be an amazing special day.

Annie did not give him much sympathy. She was still playing the victim card since her dad had died in a drunk driving accident. Sometimes, it was hard to sympathize with her since her father was the drunk driver.

But Annie was Aurora's best friend, and no matter how dramatic she could be, Aurora knew that Annie had the world's biggest heart.

Eventually, she would accept Charles, but that would be long after Charles and her mom were no longer together.

“Well, hello to you too, Annie. Yes, your mother is well aware that I was going to be home before her. She is going to stop to pick up a few items. Since we are going to have an extra mouth tonight,” Charles said, turning to look at Aurora, giving her a wink.

“Hello, Aurora, how was your week?” he continued. Aurora could not help but stumble on the first few words that came out of her mouth, finally forcing out “It was good.”

Noticing Aurora's awkwardness, Annie gave her a little nudge in the side with her elbow.

“Girls, would you like a ride? I know it is only a few houses away, but I don’t mind.”

“No thanks, Charles, we are still going to gossip a bit before we go inside,” Annie replied to him.

As soon as Charles drove off, Annie turned to look at Aurora. “Seriously, Aurora, when are you going to get over the stupid schoolgirl crush?”

Aurora could not help but feel embarrassed. She looked down at her feet, trying to avoid having to answer the question. Annie ignored her embarrassment and started to walk again.

“I swear, Aurora, it's like you forget that he's older than us and married to my mother.” Annie said, starting one of her tyrants. “I mean, seriously Aurora, in just a few weeks, you and I will both be nineteen. We will have our wolves, and we will finally be matched with our mates. Don't get me wrong, Charles is cute, but stop wasting your time.” Annie said, not even looking back at Aurora.

Aurora followed closely behind Annie. She honestly did not understand why Annie got so upset. The only reason Aurora ever felt uneasy around Charles was because she knew the sadness that he carried. And it was awkward to avoid asking him how he was doing or reaching out to console him.

Reaching the bottom of the driveway to Annie's home, the girls could see Charles' convertible car parked in the driveway. Walking past it, and up to the front door, Annie and Aurora began taking off their bags.

Once in the front foyer of the house, the girls dropped their backpacks at the bottom of the double staircase and began the ascension up the stairs to Annie's room.

The house was large; it was split into halves. On one half of the house were the bedrooms, the guest rooms, and a few bathrooms. In the other half of the house were the family rooms, the kitchen, the office, and the basement.

In the basement was Charles' mancave, where he spent most of his time. Annie's mom spent most of her time in her office or at work. She was an incredibly determined career woman. She kept herself busy with working and was very rarely at home. Annie liked her mom being busy. Her favorite thing about her mom's job was when her mom and Charles would go on vacation and would leave Annie home alone.

Then, that way, Annie and Aurora could have loud sleepovers and eat all kinds of junk food. Aurora loved it too. Any time to be away from her parents and the stiff air that they lived in was an ideal way for her to escape.

Annie's room was large. She had a big bed draped in all kinds of blue and green tapestries. Her bedsheets were blue silk with ruffles all over the edges. Annie loved mermaids and definitely wanted to live amongst them. Her room showed it in every way. There was a little twin-sized bed that sat across the room that was used as a daybed, filled with pillows and folded blankets and stuffed animals. Annie and Aurora would use it as a couch during the day, and Aurora would use it as a bed at night.

Aurora favored Annie's room. It had space for the girls to dance and act out their favorite scenes to their favorite shows. Aurora's room was a bit smaller and only had enough space for Aurora's trundle bed that Annie would use when she came over.

Annie didn't have this room for as long as Aurora knew her, though. Annie's mother and her recently moved into the house after Charles and Annie's mom got married. ‘A bigger home with more space is what we need’ is what Annie's mom would say anytime they looked at a new listing. So they decided to buy the biggest house they could get where they would never see each other.

Annie always said “I do not understand why my mom got married to Charles. Its not like they spend much time together. And everyone knows they do not love each other.” Annie's words made Aurora wonder what they ever even did on their vacations away, if they aren't even in love?