The Wrong Mate

Chapter 2 Charlotte

Charlotte – Summer before 6th Grade

Charlotte rode quietly in the back seat of her parents’ car, staring out the window. The familiar view of the trees and close mountains welcomed her back home. She spent the entire summer at a camp with other female wolves. This year, they had their first vampire join the camp. Charlotte had never met one before, but she was nice enough. The two didn’t exchange phone numbers, so it was likely they wouldn’t see one another again. It was nice to make a friend while away from her actual best friend.

Darrin.

It was near dinner time, and her father pulled into their driveway. Charlotte jumped out of the car and started to run across the street before her father stopped her. 

“He’s not home right now. He and the Alpha went to Emerald Mountain. They’re working on a pact or something.”

Charlotte’s shoulders slumped. He promised he would be there when she got home. His last letter to her at camp said so.

“He will come see you when they get back or you two can see each other tomorrow,” Charlotte’s mother assured. Her parents were always unsure about how close the two had become over the years, but now that things were changing with the kids…hormones, her mother called it…they preferred the kids stick to normal hours of visiting.

A lot they knew about what their daughter did in secret.

Dinner came and went and still no Darrin. Charlotte waited by the bay window in front of their house for hours, watching for the Alpha Everette’s car to pull into their garage.

It was well past bedtime for Charlotte. She was falling asleep in the window as her father picked her up and carried her off to bed.

“You’ll see him in the morning, I’m sure, sweetheart.”

Her father laid her in bed under her covers and shut off the light and closed her door. 

Charlotte drifted back to sleep until a familiar tapping on her window sounded. She smiled and jumped up in bed. Darrin crouched on the second story in front of her window with a smile on his face.

She quietly opened the window, making way for him to get through.

“I’m so sorry, the negotiations were so dumb,” he whispered. “My dad really tried to work with them but they just wanted to argue with him about stuff.”

Charlotte wrapped her arms around Darrin’s shoulders while he explained himself. “I missed you,” she sniffled.

Darrin’s arms wrapped tightly around her. “I missed you too, Char.” He leaned back with a smile, “your mom said they voted you President at the camp or something. What kind of a camp was it?”

“Oh,” she blushed, “girls leadership type of camp. It’s no big deal. Mostly alphas’ daughters and betas. Some, they think are going to be Lunas.”

“That’s a huge deal! You’re a leader, Char. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not a big deal.” He watched her nod in acceptance. He looked over at the disheveled covers on her bed. “You were in bed?”

“I fell asleep waiting for you.”

“I won’t keep you, then. I just wanted to see you right away.”

“It’s fine, really,” she argued. “You want to stay the night again?”

They both knew it wasn’t appropriate, and if their fathers found out, Darrin would get into trouble. Yet they had their sleepovers regardless. “Okay, you want to change?”

She looked down at her jeans. “Yeah, I’ll be right back.” She opened her dresser and pulled out some pajamas. Once she settled on some, she tiptoed to the bathroom to change.

When Charlotte got back, she watched Darrin’s back while he picked up and looked at the various pictures and memorabilia she had out on her dresser. The room was filled with pictures of Charlotte with Rose, and Charlotte with Darrin. Her family. A few with Charlotte, Darrin, Brady, and Rose.

“Okay,” she whispered. Darrin turned around when she came back into the room. They both got into Charlotte’s bed on top of the covers like they had before, and stared at the glowing stars her father put up on her ceiling when they moved in. 

“Do you ever wonder why the goddess makes us have mates?” Darrin asked.

“No, why?”

“What if we have a mate but we find someone better than who the goddess chose for us? Do you think she changes the pairing?”

Charlotte frowned, “I think she knows exactly who she pairs us with and why. Maybe it isn’t about us or what we think we want, but what she knows we need. Who we need.”

Darrin hummed in response. 

“Why do you ask?”

He shrugged, “just curious.”

“What else did you do this summer?”

“Other than training with my dad and Brady and his dad? Not much. Brady and I played some basketball and went fishing and stuff.”

“You hear Rose moved?”

Darrin winced, and she caught it. Darrin had always been her best guy friend, but Rose was her best friend. A girlfriend. And she didn’t miss the few times Darrin watched her long, flowing hair whenever she moved. 

“I didn’t,” he said, “are you okay with that?”

“I’m going to miss her. I mean, she’s my best friend.”

“I’m your best friend, Char.”

“Guy friend. She was my best girlfriend.”

“So, what? You can hang out with me then.” He just had an answer for everything, didn’t he?

“You and Brady,” she corrected. She had never become close with Brady, even though he was always so nice to her. He was a little bit quieter, especially around Charlotte. Darrin always got in between them if they ever talked. Like he was trying to keep them separated.

Darrin sighed, “I guess if that’s what we have to do.” He looked at her and pointed a finger in her face, “but you can’t kiss him. That would be gross and weird.”

Charlotte giggled and agreed. “That would be weird.”

They lay there in silence a while longer before Darrin asked another question. “Do you think you can know who your mate is before your coming of age?”

“I don’t know. Why are you so focused on mates?”

“My dad’s been talking about mates lately, and how important they are,” he sounded annoyed talking about it. 

“What’s wrong, Darrin?”

“I just, I don’t want to find out I’m mated with some girl who isn’t worth my time, you know? I want her to be my friend before anything else and not some stuck-up girl who just wants a title.”

“We’re eleven, Darrin. We have some time,” she put her hand on his chest playfully. “You don’t have to worry about that stuff until later.”

Darrin exhaled at her words. When she pulled her hand away, he grabbed it and held it on his chest. “Do you think it hurts if you reject your mate?”

“Why are you talking like this? The goddess puts us together for a reason. Of course it is going to hurt. She puts us with our true mates. You’re linked by your souls. Darrin,” she leaned up on her elbow, “why are you worrying about this stuff?”

He turned to his side to face her. His long, shaggy hair swept down his forehead. “I think I know who I want my mate to be, and if the goddess didn’t set it right, I’m going to reject her.”

His words were too serious for an eleven-year-old. They scared her. They had all been taught to respect the mate bond their entire lives. To embrace it. Not fight it. It was sacred. Here he was, an eleven-year-old boy, talking about rejecting his mate for someone. 

She was afraid to ask who he wanted.

“You already plan to reject your mate? What if you really love her?”

His jaw worked in a circle before he answered. “Because I think…I think I love somebody else, Char, and I don’t want to lose her.”

Charlotte gulped, looking into his eyes. “Who…” she cleared her throat, “who are you talking about?”

He pursed his lips.

“Is it someone I know?”

He nodded.

“Who is it?”

He sighed, “it doesn’t matter. It’s like you said, she puts us with people for a reason. They’re our other half of a soul or whatever.”

Her stomach dropped. Part of her thought it would be her, but he was obviously hiding something. Maybe he was upset about Rose leaving. 

They both turned back to the glowing stars on the ceiling. 

“You ready for school this year?” she asked.

“I guess. New school, new teachers. Whatever. Middle school is whatever until you get to high school.”

“Did you talk to your dad about going to college before you become Alpha?”

Charlotte was going to go off to college after she graduated. She wanted to go for the experience. To get something that would make her feel as though she amounted to something. Somewhere along the line, she convinced Darrin he should go to college, too. They could study abroad, see the world, experience new things.

Together.

“He says we’ll talk about it when I get closer but he said it would be important for me to take on my alpha role.”

“We’ll still be friends if we’re apart, right?”

He turned his body to face Rose again. “We’re always going to be friends, Char. Even if you were on the other side of the world, I’d still find time to visit you and make sure you were okay and happy. Then I’d bring you home where you belong anyway.”

“Why would you bring me back if I was living somewhere else?” She loved watching his face contort and squirm. Darrin was nervous. 

“Because even though you want to see the world, I’ll still need you close by.”

“Why?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?”

“You started it!”

“Shh…” he warned, “your dad might hear.”

“My walls are all soundproof, like my parents’. They can’t hear us.”

“Then why do we whisper?”

“Because it’s nighttime and its more fun.” Darrin rolled his eyes and she reminded him of her own question. “Why do you need me here?”

“Because you’re…you’re my friend and I like my friends close by.”

“Okay.” It wasn’t the answer she wanted, or hoped for, but it would do. 

“Can I ask you a personal question, Char?”

“Aren’t they all personal questions?”

“Be serious, please,” he scowled. “Have you ever thought about kissing someone before?”

“What, like my dad?”

“No!” he argued, “like,” he groaned, “never mind.” He flipped back onto his back to stare at the ceiling. 

They laid there in silence, though neither felt tired. Charlotte had been falling asleep before, but since the tapping on her window, she was kept awake by the butterflies in her tummy. 

She rested her hand down by her side, and felt his come down beside hers. Their knuckles brushed against each other. She felt the small bit of warmth from Darrin’s skin, which brought a familiar comfort from being around him. With Darrin, she always felt like she was truly home. It had been that way since she first met him in Kindergarten, when he was blocking her from being able to pull her own chair out.

Darrin’s fingers moved, intertwining with hers. She smiled to herself, feeling his smile just inches away. She wondered if he felt the same warmth touching her like she did him.