In The Beginning, Chapter 43
Charlie POV
I woke up to Daniel’s lips, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee, I sat up with a tired smile as I wiped the sleep from my eyes.
“Good morning.” I grinned at Daniel, only for it to faulted under his furrowed brow. “What’s wrong? Is it about last night?” I asked concerned.
“No, not at all. I’m so sorry about how I reacted-" I interrupted him by putting my fingers over his lips.
“I know, I’m not mad. What’s wrong today?” I asked, looking at him concerned, he looked exhausted, leaving me to wonder how long he had been awake.
“Change of plans today, we can’t go into work. I’ve called Ben and Kendra, they will cover for us, but I have to stay in Applewood today, and I need you with me.” He huffed, ready for an argument.
“Why do you have to stay here?” I asked, trying not to be frustrated with the little time allotted for work being reduced again.
“The wolves from Eric’s pack are making their way here, families, warriors, the lot. And I need to be here to find out why so many have left and find places for them to stay.” Daniel explained softly.
“And you think having me there as future Luna will...?” I prompted.
“Give them faith I’m nothing like Eric? I dunno, I just... today is going to be long and difficult, and it would help me if you were here.” He sighed.
“Okay, next time ask before you rearrange my whole day.” I grumbled, taking a sip of my latte.
“Thank you.” He sighed, placing his head in my lap. I stroked his hair for a moment, enjoying the serene look on his face.
“The females and the pups will feel better knowing you're here to look out for them. I’m sure most just need reassurance. Kasa called a few hours ago, the wolves that were to join his pack, turned up on his doorstep. He and Astrid agreed to inform the pack, as she was Eric’s only family, she inherited his businesses and money, they said it was a mess there, but it seems they downplayed it.” He mumbled as I massaged his temples.
“How bad was it then?” I asked softly, Daniel opened his eyes groggily, but his gaze was still sharp.
“There were problems with infrastructure, supplies, everything. It seems some of the older water pipes burst from the cold weather, leaving several homes without clean water. Part of the pack has been without electricity since the spring when one of the homes without heat tried to cut down a tree for fuel and clipped a power line. Basically, Eric had been hoarding his wealth, and leaving the pack to suffer.” He growled; I could feel the anger radiating off him.
“Why didn’t they leave?” I asked horrified.
“Trust me it’s the first question I’ll be asking when they get here.” He replied.
“Any idea how many to expect?” I asked, my heart aching for the poor souls.
“They weren’t a big pack, maybe 700 in all, half went to Kasa, but they were still doing a head count when he called.” Daniel explained, looking more and more crestfallen.
“What can I do?” I asked him, desperate to make him feel better.
“Just this for now.” He said with a crooked smile, bringing my hand to his lips. “You are keeping my anger at bay.” He whispered, almost like he was ashamed.
“You should be angry at Eric, what he did was unforgivable.” I reassured him, placing a kiss on his forehead.
“But my anger will serve no good today.” He said as he sat up. “Would you be okay here if I go get some training in before they get here? I want to get some of my aggression out before I’m confronted with the consequences of Eric’s actions.” He asked, and I felt his restlessness through the bond.
“Sure, I’ll be fine here... or I could come with you? Meet some of the Etas and Zetas?” I asked slightly worried I’d mixed up the ranks.
“I’m sure they would love that, but with the mood I’m in, if one of them touched you, even innocently, I don’t think I could hold my wolf back.” He explained, at first looking proud that I had got the ranks right, then worried I would be upset by his reasoning.
“Yeah, that wouldn’t be good... Will it always be like that with your wolf though?” I asked, slightly worried that Theia was right. If he expected me to stay locked away from the males of the pack, how was I supposed to help him lead?
“No, I promise... I’m just on high alert at the moment, so you will have to put up with me being a little overprotective, just for now.” He sighed, brushing my hair behind my ear.
“I don’t want to start a fight, and I will do what you ask today. But I need to know that this won’t be the rest of my life, only being around the pack when you say so, only being allowed to speak to the wolves you approve of, it will become suffocating for me.” I tried to explain my worries.
“I know, and it won’t be forever, just give me a little time to sort out this mess, and we can set a date for your Luna ceremony. Once the new wolves are initiated into the pack, I will be a little less cautious.” He said kissing my temple before he headed for his sweats. “Stay in bed, drink your coffee, I’ll only be an hour and then we can shower together before they get here.” He said after he was dressed, kissing me on my lips, before dashing from the bedroom. I grabbed the new cell phone Daniel had given me, and sent Kendra an email, before searching through mine for anything urgent. Half an hour later, my latte was finished, my teeth brushed, and the most urgent emails were answered. I was searching for a book to read on my phone when I heard the front door open. Glancing at the time, I realised it was too early for Kathy, so I silently slipped out of the bed, and threw on Daniel’s robe.
“Daniel?” I called, wary of who it could be, and looking for a weapon.
“No, just me!” Ben called from the bottom of the stairs. I rushed out of the bedroom concerned Daniel had been hurt.
“What’s wrong, what happened?” I cried as I reached the top of the stairs, Ben gave me a questioning look.
“Nothing, I’m looking for Daniel. Kasa has been calling him, but he isn’t picking up, and he’s ignoring my links. I thought maybe you two were having an early morning workout.” He insinuated, cocking an eyebrow in my direction.
“He was wound up, angry over Eric’s treatment of his pack so he went to train with the warriors. Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked, as I skipped down the stairs.
“Not really, it looks like a little over 200 are on their way. The elderly were left with the only pack doctor they had, everyone else thought they would be better off here. It’s a mess, just be prepared for a lot of scared and angry wolves to descend on us in a couple of hours.” Ben replied, he too looked exhausted. “Maria will be by later to help with the pups, the day-care has been alerted, as has the hospital, we have no idea what condition most will be in.” He explained with a sigh.
“It couldn’t be that bad surely?” I asked, confused, it should only take around four hours to drive.
“It might not have been, but there wasn’t enough transport, they put the pregnant women and children in vehicles with whatever they thought had value, and a male to protect them, the rest travelled in their wolf forms. Kasa said some of the younger wolves were dehydrated, some have mild hypothermia, all were weak from poor diets and no access to medical facilities. Their hospital had to close as it was one of the buildings without water. Some tried to leave early on, but Kasa had his dogs hunt them down. The men were killed, the pups taken to stop the females trying to leave again. When the ones Eric took with him to Ireland found he had been killed, they fled. The ones left to keep the pack in line, stole what they could and left the pack to rot. As soon as they knew it was safe to leave, they began packing what they could. They didn’t know if they could trust Astrid, as Eric’s sister, so they waited until they were on pack grounds, made a scene. Kasa thinks they believed if they told their stories in front of the pack they would be protected from recriminations.” Ben explained, and my chest clenched painfully at their mistreatment.
“What can I do to help?” I asked again, but more forcefully.
“Keep Daniel calm, let the females and pups know they won’t be mistreated again? Kasa said he had a hard time getting them to the hospital. One of Eric’s tactics was to lower the rank of anyone who sought treatment, he claimed if they were too weak for their wolves to heal them, they didn’t deserve a higher rank.” Ben rubbed his face, like he was trying to wipe the disgusted look from it before they arrived.
“But that’s...” I didn’t have the words I was so appalled.
“Insane? Ridiculous? Medieval? Fuck, plain evil? Yeah, I know!” Ben suddenly screamed, his composure long gone. He walked into the kitchen and took a seat, while I followed him, dumbstruck by everything I had learned. “When Daniel told me what your nymph friend said about the other packs, I thought they were outliers. A few packs suffering at the hands of poor leadership, and hate.” Ben whispered as he stared into space. “Now, I’m wondering if it’s packs like Applewood that are the exception, and your aunt made a mistake creating us.” I didn’t know what to say as I took the seat opposite him. He patted my hand comfortingly and gave me a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes before standing. “I’ve gotta get to Appletree, we need housing, and medical supplies to get these people back on their feet. Wouldn’t be the best idea if our primary source of income went under while we were trying to clean up this shit storm.” He said with a huff. “Tell Daniel to call me and Kasa? I’ll see myself out.” He waved as I went to stand, lowering myself slowly back down, the weight of it all crashing down on me as I sat alone in the quiet house.
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