Book 1: Chapter 79

*** Sam’s POV *** 



My jaw was slack as I watched Charles leave without even a word. I didn’t know how to feel. I was angry at Alpha for making him go. Whatever Alpha was talking about clearly was a big issue. Part of me couldn’t actually be mad though. Alpha was saying this out of my protection, not wanting me to get hurt. Charles on the other hand, not only didn’t say anything but he up and left. My heart hammered in my chest.

*‘Mate.’* Renji growled as I felt his irritation at watching him go.

*‘I know. But I don’t think this is going to be the last time. At least, I hope not.’*

Renji paced up a little. *‘You’re right. If he doesn’t though, I’ll go after him myself.’*

I looked over at Alpha who was running his hands through his hair. Even his face showed he wasn’t happy about what just happened. I looked down at the paperwork in front of me.

“Alpha…”

“I’m sorry, Sam. I really am. If it could have been avoided, I would have but I will not let you get hurt.” There was an edge in his voice and even his arm was showing the tension.

I moved around the table and sat down next to him. “I don’t understand.”

Alpha’s eyes narrowed for a moment. “What I am about to tell you is personal to Charles but I think you deserve to know. Especially if he is just going to fucking leave without saying shit.”

I chuckled a little. It wasn’t only me who was mad at Charles for walking out.

“Charles’ first fated mate was named Marlene. She was beautiful and smart and the two of them were so in love it was disgusting. They met right after high school and immediately they were destined for marriage. We all expected it. Hell, we were ready to bring her into the fold of the information about supernaturals.”

Nodding, I watched Alpha as his eyes glazed over, remembering the past.

“She was going to be a vet. Her love was for animals and she was going to school for it.”

My chuckle brought Alpha out of his head.

He blinked and smiled. “Yes, the irony isn’t lost on me either. But Marlene also helped Charles and supported his dream to be a police officer.” Alpha tapped the glass and he took a drink. “Have you ever read the books where there is the rich asshole CEO, usually took over for his parents, gets step up with other rich heiresses to keep the money in the family. Parents live in a castle and dictate every part of their lives as they roll around in billion dollar deals?”

“Alpha, I don’t read that kind of…”

His eyebrow raised as he looked at me as I blushed.

“Okay, maybe I do…”

“Well Charles is the rich asshole.”

I let the surprise show on my face. “What do you mean?”

“His full name is Charles Arthur Lancelot Harold IV. He is the first born to Francis and Colton Harold of the Harold Company. His father is CEO and they are a multi-billion dollar company and Charles was raised as the rich asshole kid in all those stories. He goes by Charles Pierce now to not be hounded while working.”

I couldn’t help it. My jaw dropped open and I turned back to look at the door my mate just walked through. Being Gamma meant I was around Alpha and Beta a lot. So I had met Charles and while I wasn’t one to go hang out at the bar with them, for how often we saw each other I would consider him more than an acquaintance. But never once did I think that he would be the son of a billionaire. He didn’t have the air of it.

“Now, mind you, Charles never wanted any of it. He hates it. Hates the life, hated being controlled and set up. His entire life was planned out for him since he was in diapers. His parents were incredibly controlling and they never allowed him to stray from that path. At least, not until high school. I would say I was partly to blame for his rebellion but I would end up taking that as a compliment.” Alpha grinned and chuckled.

He continued. “When Charles graduated high school, he moved out of his parents house and immediately started the training to be a police officer. He was also going to college and he did graduate but it was after he got on the force. His parents were livid. He was the first born and therefore the one to take over the company. Even though his younger brother was way more receptive and actually is a hell of a businessman.”

My brow furrowed. “So…he broke from his parents?”

Alpha’s nose flared. “Charles never told his parents that he refused to take the job, he just ignored them. It didn’t help when Marlene was in the picture either. She wasn’t an heiress or a daughter of a rich businessman. She was well off actually, her family was much better off than most but it wasn’t enough for the Harold’s. So, when he first introduced her to his parents, it did not go well. They decidedly said that he couldn’t be with her. When Charles made it clear he would not leave her, they turned on Marlene. She was sweet and meek and the Harold’s destroyed her.”

His eyes got dark. “I’m not going to go into the details of what they did to her but on more than one occasion I picked her up in tears. She didn’t want to bother Charles with it but they never pulled punches and nothing was off the table. They tried to force her to leave Charles.”

I swallowed. Alpha was right, I had read enough Billionaire CEO novels to know how much power money gave people. It also seemed to give them the feeling that if you could pay for it, to hell with the consequences. My mind also went to my own family. We were modest to the extreme. My mother was an Omega and my dad was just a regular werewolf. We lived in a small house on the northern end of the pack. I was raised the complete opposite. My mom clipped coupons for the store and my dad worked as an accountant for a small firm in town.

Alpha squeezed my shoulder and brought me out of my own thoughts. He smiled and I knew he probably knew my line of thinking. Shaking his head, he sighed.

“I’m not saying this to make you feel inadequate, Sam. You are my Gamma and my brother and anyone would be damn lucky to be your mate. No matter who they are, I’ll fuck them up if they try to hurt you.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Alpha. I’m okay. Continue.”

“Well, I guess the next thing was that Marlene was walking from college one night. A werewolf from a neighboring pack was in town and I don’t know the specifics but he went feral. His first and only victim was Marlene.”

My eyes widened. “How…how does he not hate all werewolves?”

Alpha shrugged. “Maybe because he knows more good ones than bad ones. But that would be a question to ask him. Sadly, Charles and his partner were the one who received the call. A woman was raped and murdered, the perpetrator had passed out next to her. When Charles answered the call…well…” He went quiet for a moment. “I know humans don’t go feral but goddess did Charles absolutely go feral. They did put away the werewolf. He’s serving a life sentence for it but even with that, I thought we were going to lose Charles.”

I swallowed, tears filling my eyes. Even if he didn’t know that was his fated mate, even though they didn’t officially mate, that would have been devastating.

“Honestly, he still hasn’t recovered. The Charles I knew is long gone. He used to be brighter. Laughed easily, was a notorious prankster, a smile never leaving his face. His love for life radiated from him and it was hard not to smile right along with him. All that changed. Somehow he made it though but it wasn’t unscathed.”

Alpha grimaced, remembering something. “To tell you what kind of people his fucking parents are…we were at Marlene’s funeral. I was standing next to Charles, Nate on the other side. More than once did we need to help hold him up. But his parents showed up, uninvited I might add. They also brought a woman. She was some CEO princess that they had been trying to hook Charles up with. They brought her to Marlene’s funeral.”

I growled. “How could they? Doesn’t matter if they didn’t approve! Their son loved her! How…how dare they!”

Alpha smiled and nodded. “Oh, I agree. Nate and I had to hold back Charles. He nearly killed his mother right there. She tried to introduce them in the middle of the ceremony. It became a shit show real quick.”

“So his parents know no bounds. They just inflict their will upon everything in his life?”

“Sam, Charles could have stopped it all. Stopped the torture his parents did to Marlene. What they continued to do to him. You see, while he has quite a bit of money on his own, in his name, there is an inheritance from his family. That inheritance is dependent on him taking over the company. The flip side is that if he signs that inheritance away, signs saying he will never be CEO, then his parents can’t do shit. They can’t go after him, they can’t force him to do anything. It’s a legal contract.”

My eyes widened. “But he kept the safety blanket, instead of fully committing to the life he was building.”

Alpha nodded sadly. “He was worried. Humans don’t believe in soulmates, like you said. The issue with that is that there is always a question of whether or not a relationship will work out or not. Charles loved Marlene and she loved him but he couldn’t let go of the safety blanket for her. Which allowed his parents to torture her and really continue to torture him.

A while after Marlene died, his love for life, the love for his job just wasn’t there anymore. He started going on the blind dates that his parents set him up with. I don’t know if he has been thinking of actually moving back and taking over, and I’m not saying he couldn’t. He’s smart enough to maybe even triple the value of that company but it was never something he wanted. But his soul was taken from him.”

“So that’s why you brought it up. Because if he continued down that path…”

“You would end up getting hurt. Either by his decision or by his parents. That’s not something I’m willing to risk. As much as Nate is my brother, so are you Sam. I chose you for a reason to be my Gamma and I can’t image my life without you holding this pack together.”

I blushed. Usually he wasn’t so open with his compliments. It was more that he whined I was too good at my job which made him work more.

“Just like with Marlene, he will think with his heart and that’s okay. But he needs to think of the consequences of that. He was about to do that too and if you mated before he decided what to do, it could end in disaster. I want you two to be together. I think you’re the best fucking pair Aelia has ever put together and I honestly don’t know how I didn’t see it earlier. But I want this to be real for both of you. Either you are all in or not.”

Alpha sat up straight and looked me in the eyes. “You have to go through the full change of an Omega and that’s not something that you can just go back on. On top of that, you would be mated to a human. That brings its own complications for you. So you have to think if you are all in for this relationship and this bond. Just like him. It might be harder for him to be all in but it needs to happen.”

I leaned forward and rested my chin on my arms. “So…what do I do?”

Alpha chuckled. “Well, I will tell you, I’ve known Charles for a long time now. He’s doing one of three things.”

Turning my head, I looked up at him but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at the door.

“One, he could be calling his lawyers. Getting them to send him the information for the break and straight up lighting his parents house on fire. Or, more likely, he’s at the bar, shooting some pool with a couple drinks, thinking and digging himself into a hole about what I said and what he wants to do.” Alpha chuckled.

“And the third option?”

His smile fell. “He’s packing up and going back to his parents.”

My heart felt like it was being stabbed and Renji whined. I took a ragged breath and squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself not to cry. Alpha started to get up and I grabbed his shirt.

“What do I do?”

“If you decide you are all in? Follow your instincts, Sam. Some things you can’t plan out to a tee. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut, or in this case, your heart.”

He started walking out of the kitchen but stopped at the archway. Alpha turned around and tossed something at me. Reaching up, I snatched the item out of the air and looked at it. It was the keys to his truck. My brow furrowed and I looked up at him.

“It’s called Antone’s. It’s downtown near the east end. In case your gut needs it.”

He smiled and into his office. Once the door closed, I looked down at the keys in my hand. My heart clenched. What did my gut say?