“I know, but it was on my mind and I wanted to ask her some other questions.” I replied. He looked at me questioningly. “Some were like girl talk, a bit personal for her.”
“Like her and Robby personally?”
“Very much so.” I smiled as I stood up. “We should get moving. I like the idea of a good shower and bed.”
“When we meet up with Steve, we’ll be a few hours from home.” Charlie assured me.
“Robby is picking us all up as soon as we get there. Justin just got back to the house and is out cold according to Sophie.” Paul grumbled as he shifted into his human form. “It’ll be faster if we go in our wolf forms. Anna obviously you can’t fly during the day, so you will have to ride on Charlie’s back” I nodded in understanding.
The idea of holding tightly to my mate thrilled me. Plus, I’ll get to see what his wolf looks like. Charlie smiled, pulled me in close to kiss my lips before he began to shift. I heard his bones crack and snap as he turned into his wolf. He had lush light brown fur similar in color to his hair. I hesitantly reached out my hand to touch his fur and felt how soft it was as he nuzzled me with his snort. “Climb on baby. Let’s head home.” Charlie instructed as he lowered his head so I could climb on more easily. I managed to climb on his back and realized it was not going to be like riding on a horse back. “Keep your head low and hold on tight. I don’t want you falling off, but we’re going to be moving fast in order to make it home by tonight,” Charlie explained. I wrapped my arms around his thick neck and tucked my head in close to his. I breathed in his scent, relieved to be with him finally.
Paul and Charlie took off at full speed. I nuzzled my face into his fur on the back of his neck, relishing the small groan he made as he ran. I lost track of time as we raced on toward the south. When Charlie finally slowed down, I lifted my head up to look around. I blinked at the sky, wondering what time it was. Charlie bent his head down so I could awkwardly slide off his shoulders and shifted back to his human form.
As soon as he shifted, Steve met us in the woods with a bag of clothes for both Paul and Charlie. Steve smiled at me, and I couldn’t resist wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug. “I’m glad to see you safe, Anna.” Steve said shifting on his feet uncomfortably. Paul did the same thing when I gave him a hug. I quickly dropped my arms down to my sides and moved towards Charlie. “Robby will meet us down the street in about twenty minutes.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we moved out of the woods. We walked down the shoulder of the road as quickly as possible to not attract attention. Luckily for us the road was pretty deserted at this time. When an SUV pulled up next to us honking the horn obnoxiously, I rolled my eyes. “Robby will you grow up?” Charlie barked.
I let out a sigh of relief as Charlie and I climbed in the back seat with Paul, while Steve got in the passenger seat. I leaned my head on Charlie’s shoulder allowing my eyes to shut as I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders.
Chapter 19
Charlie
Her gentle breathing tells me that she has passed out on my shoulder. I bend my neck to press my lips to her forehead. The tension in the car is thick, Steve clearing his throat pulls everyone’s attention to him. “What happened out there last night?” Steve finally asked as he turned around in his seat to look at Paul and I.
“Umm, Anna somehow escaped.” Paul stumbled.
“But how?” Steve pressed.
“She said something about her powers finally coming in, and allowed her to break the lock on the chain that was attached to the floor and one of her ankles. Oh, and Anna has wings.” Paul thought back to last night. “Honestly, she glazed over the details last night. She was worried that the other Wolf Henry and Sal would be after her.”
“Turns out her instincts were correct.” I pointed out smugly. “As for the rest, I’ll talk to her and find out what happened.”
“Who is this Henry guy?” Steve thought out loud.
“I’m not sure. I guess he couldn’t keep his stories straight, but some facts stuck out to her. Henry sought the help of her grandfather, but it ended up with her grandfather and him fighting. Now, he wanted her to use her powers at his command.” I quickly replied.
“So, this man did his homework to figure out the fairy’s bloodline. He’s planning something big.” Steve muttered.
“It was either me or my friend Debbie, who it turns out is a damn elf.” Anna replied, sounding a bit annoyed. “Debbie tried to warn me that Sal was no good, when I became friends with him, so I was easy picking for him.”
“I have a feeling he was more focused on your bloodline if what he told you about your grandfather is true.” Steve insisted. “Your friend was going to be used to make you jealous and get your attention. We’ll talk to Carol when we get back.”
“My mother is a fairy too. Ever stop to think that the grandfather is from her side of the family?” Anna was on edge.
“Hey, are you okay babe?” I asked through our mind link.
“Tired of you wolves making my decisions for me. Steve is your Alpha, not mine. I am not a wolf and he’s beginning to piss me off. Need I remind all of you who fucking rescued me? That’s right, I did it myself. I waited four days, begging to develop my powers as I got punched out, and then slapped. He had everything planned out for me once I got my powers. Now I come back, and you all start talking about MY ordeal as if you all could have changed it. Congrats you killed a wolf who was brainwashed at a young age, but the main threat to ME is still out there. The only one who can end him is me. Why don’t you wolves get that. This is my battle, not yours.” She looked like she was on the verge of crying. She had some valid points. It took us almost four days to find his scent, never mind how long it would have taken us to find where she was being held.
“Anna, I talk to Carol because she is the one who is forthcoming with the information about your family history.” Steve tried to reason with her, but I have a feeling he’s only pissing her off more. “It’s not like Pam has even come to check on you.” He went too far and I felt her stiffen.
There was something different radiating off her. I looked her in the eye trying to figure out what it is. Her eyes were a bright blue, but I couldn’t see through her eyes. “Steve, my relationship with my mother is none of your business.” She snapped. “Keep your damn nose out of my business. You are not my Alpha.”
“Anna, babe, calm down. I think the tension is high, we need to take a break.” I tried to mediate before we found out what is new with her. “Anna, can you tell us how you escaped?”
“I got the shackle off. I had enough of Henry’s abuse and Sal’s twisted antics.” She grumbled. She pushed me away from her and turned to look out the window. “You wolves are no better than my mother. Never listen to a damn word I say.”
“Anna, you're clearly tired.” I tried.
“I just want to go home.” She muttered. “Do any of you have my phone?”
“It’s at the house with Carol.” I informed her.
“Can I use one of yours?” She was clearly annoyed. Robby handed her his phone from the front seat. She took it and began dialing a number.
****************************
Anastasia
I dialed Debbie’s number since I’ve known it by heart since I was 15. “Hello?” She answered.
“Out of everyone in my life, you were the last person I thought would keep a damn secret from me. Were you ever really my friend?”
“Anne?” Debbie asked, shocked. “What is going on? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb with me Deborah!” I snapped. “When were you going to tell me you’re an elf? I had to find out from Sal, who is a werewolf.”
“Anne, calm down. Please let me explain.”
“No, I don’t want to hear it. Everyone but Sal lied to me. My family hid the fact that I’m a fairy from my whole life until I sprouted fucking wings. Yeah, that happened. Sal kidnaps me to start telling me about how you’re an elf. Did I
mention, I’m so sick of fucking werewolves?”
“Anne, are you okay? You sound a bit hysterical.”
“I’ll be fine once I’m home. I'm done with everything.” I replied. I hung up the phone with a sigh. At least I don’t have to worry about missing school if I go home, I just need to shake Charlie. I love him, but I’m exhausted. I need a breather from everyone and everything. I feel like I’m being suffocated.
The rest of the drive back to Charlie’s was completely silent. We all got out of the SUV, and headed into the house. “Annie.” My aunt called as she ran out of the room, she was staying in. She took one look at my face and sadness filled her eyes. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“What happened? Well, let me think…” I said sarcastically. “I was kidnapped by werewolves because I’m a fairy whose bloodline pissed them off. I was beaten and treated like a filthy animal for four days. All I want right now is a shower and a comfortable bed. I’m done talking.” I grumbled and walked past her up the stairs to Charlie’s room.
I went in, closed the door then stripped. As I stood under the water of the shower, I let myself fall apart. I cried hard about everything; my ordeal, the truths that I now know, my relief to be away from Henry, and the sadness of Sal’s death. I know it sounds odd, but Sal was just as afraid of Henry as I was. He was confused and brainwashed by Henry since he was little, and now he’s dead because of Henry and me.
When the door to the bathroom opened, I was sobbing so hard that I couldn’t stop. Charlie stepped into the shower and wrapped his arms around me not saying anything. He held me close as I balled my eyes out. When I finished crying, I stayed in his arms.
“You look like you need to rest.” He mumbled as he kissed my forehead.
“I need to actually wash up first.” I replied quietly. He nodded and stepped to give me some space to scrub my hair and body as he did the same. When we were finished, I shut the water off as he handed me a towel. I slowly dried off with a sigh. “Charlie, I love you, but I want to go home for a while. Everything is getting too much for me here, I need to go back home.”
“I’m sure Pam and Bo will let you.”
“No, you’re not listening. I want to go home, not my mother’s house, but home.”
I watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Can you wait two weeks, please? I would like to spend your birthday with you. Everyone has been planning a party for you, but it’s supposed to be a surprise. If you wait until after your birthday, I’ll go with you, just the two of us.” He replied. Honestly, with everything going on this past week, I forgot about my birthday.
“Just the two of us. No supernatural shit? I need a break from everything, everyone I’ve ever known has lied to me. My parents, my aunt, and my best friend. I don’t understand why they would keep this information from me. Now I have wings and powers and I have no idea how to really use them, nor do I have a desire to use them. I just want to be a normal human again.” I began sobbing.
“I know it’s been hard for you. I’m here for you no matter what. You know you can tell me anything and I’ll do my best to listen and understand.” He replied, leading me to the bed. “We both can use some sleep. I’m just so happy to have you in my arms again, I can’t imagine letting you leave my side.”
I laid down and curled up against Charlie. His arms were wrapped around me as I began to drift off to sleep. “I love you Charlie.”
“I love you, Anna.” He whispered, kissing my forehead.
Chapter 20
Charlie
I woke up a few hours later, holding her close. She seemed to finally be resting peacefully. She wants to go back to New England away from everything for a little while. I needed to do that for her, or I could lose her forever. I reached for my phone and messaged Steve. ‘Hey man. I’m going to tell Anna’s friends they can come here next week. She needs them. Then after her birthday, I’m going to take a vacation with her back to New England for Christmas.’
Steve’s message was almost immediate, ‘Invite her friends, but we need to talk about you leaving. We still have the threat of that other wolf.’
I let out a sigh and sent Billy a message asking if he and Debbie could get here earlier than planned. I explained that Anna is feeling extra sad this year since her dad is not alive to celebrate, and reminded him I’ll be paying for the tickets. I truly hope this surprise will help brighten her days, even though she is upset with Debbie.
I knocked on the door and pulled me out of my thoughts. “Yeah?” I called out.
“How’s my girl doing?” Carol asked as she entered the room.
“As good as she can be.” I mumbled. “Out of curiosity, do you still have possession of Ray’s house?”
“It was never left to me.” Carol replied. “That’s Annie’s house. But I haven’t touched anything in it since the two weeks after he passed.”
“I see.”
“I came up here to give her back her phone. Debbie has been calling it like crazy and really wants to speak to Annie. Something about Annie calling her and yelling about werewolves.” Carol replied. “She’s really confused.”
“The wolf that had Sal take Anna told her that Debbie is an elf. Anna is going through a lot and needs some time off. She saved herself, and I hate knowing that I couldn’t get to her sooner.”
“I see, well I guess maybe you should call Debbie and explain calmly so she’ll know how to talk to Annie.” I nodded as she handed me Anna’s phone. “Thank you for taking such good care of her Charlie. Ray would have loved you.” She turned and headed out of the room.
I turned to look at Anna for a moment since she began to stir. Oh, my sweet Anastasia, she’s dealing with so much lately and I can’t do anything but hold and love her. I am trying with all my might to make things better for her, and if I could, I’d trade places with her in a heartbeat. I gently brushed her hair out of her face as I watched her sleep.
Her phone began to ring, and the caller I.D. read Debbie. I quickly answered it. “Hello?”
“Charlie, where’s Anne. She called me from a strange number earlier yelling about werewolves. What is going on?” Debbie sounded concerned.
I let out a loud sigh. “Debbie, I’ve been talking to Carol, so let’s not beat around the bush. First, Anna is a fairy and is dealing with her new identity. Sal was a werewolf, and I am one too. She’s been through hell. Sal kidnapped her five days ago and told her about you being an elf.” I continued to tell her all I know about Anna’s ordeal.
“Are you sure it’s safe to have Billy fly out there? He is 100% human, and it sounds like the supernatural world is catching up to her out there.”
“I’m sure. She needs support for this, and then after her birthday we are going back to Ray’s house for Christmas.”
“She would love that, especially if we get snow for Christmas. If you get here before Christmas, we can decorate and make it feel like it always did for her.” Debbie cooed. “Send the tickets, Billy and I will make it work for Anne.” She hung up the phone before I could reply. I set the phone down on the table and picked up mine.
I logged onto the internet and found two plane tickets for next weekend. They will have two weeks with her instead of only one week before her birthday. I sent them to Billy and Debbie, then set my phone back down. I need my mate to be happy again. She went from a feisty, free spirited young woman; to an overtired, and confused person since Ray passed. She has been struggling, and I wonder if Pam would help or hurt the situation.
***************************
Anastasia
I woke up to my stomach growling like crazy. I am beyond hungry, and Charlie was nowhere to be seen. I really didn’t want to go out of the room, me and Steve seem to be butting heads. I climbed out of bed and made my way down to the kitchen, where I found Sophie. She came bounding over to me and wrapping me into a huge hug. “Anna, I was so worried about you. Thank goodness you're alright.” She exclaimed.
“Hey Sophie.” I mumbled.<
br />
“You must be hungry.” She smiled as she let me go. “I was just about to go tell everyone that dinner is ready, but I’ll get you a plate first.”
“Thanks, Soph. Hey, do you know where Charlie is?” I asked as she handed me a large plate of baked lasagna.
“He’s outside with the others having a pack meeting of some sort. I only stepped away to come get dinner. It’s getting chilly out.” She commented.
“Okay.” I replied, turning and heading to the dining room.
I contemplated bringing the plate of food up to the room, but opted out. I wanted to be close to Charlie, even though I want to hide away in the room. He wants to take me back home to New England after my birthday. The idea of him taking time away just to be with me, made me feel amazing and see how much he loves me.
I was just about finished with my plate when everyone began to filter into the dinning room. Charlie came in first and took a seat next to me with a smile. “Is everything okay?” I asked through our mind link.
“Everything is fine. We were just talking about pack stuff and your birthday party that you’re not supposed to know about.” He replied through our mind link before giving me a kiss on my cheek. Everyone sat down at the table and began eating. Once we were done, Charlie and I went up to our room again for the night.
Once the door was closed, he pulled me closer to him pressing his lips to mine. I slid my hands along his muscles as his tongue tasted more of me. His hands gripped the bottom hem of my shirt as his thumbs ran along my under breast, before pulling it off and tossing it on the floor. I pulled him closer to me claiming his lips with mine. He lifted me up off the floor by my hips carrying me to the bed.
“I’ve missed you.” I whimpered as he hovered above me. His eyes were so intense with lust and hunger for me. I pulled him down on top of me more.
“You’ve missed me?” He asked with a smile. “I’ve missed you more.” His lips molded to mine as his hands tugged at the hem of my pants. I pushed at his pants, trying to slide them down as he chuckled. “You’re an eager little fairy.”
The Beta's Mate Page 20
