-Athena-

It been two days now, two days since the party, two days since we were informed of the vampires' arrival in Vancouver city, yet no one seems to be bothered. I think, out of everyone in the room, I was the only one who was worried. Even Theo didn't seem to be bothered when I told him about it. 'Relax love,' was all he said. I mean, come on, am I the only one who is worried? If the cronies are here, I'm sure Amunet will follow soon. How is no one bothered about this?!

''Athena, its two in the morning, please come to bed love.'' Theo's groggy voice breaks my chain of thought. I stop pacing around the room and give him a blank stare.

''This is not good Theo, soon they will be circling the borders and none of you are worried!'' I throw my hands in the air.

''You're overthinking this, Athena. Just calm down, come to bed. You need a good night's sleep. Selene is doing the spell today, remember?''

Well shit! The spell, oh goddess, the spell is tomorrow, I mean, today! How did I forget that, when it was the one thing I was worried about? Has it really been a week? No, it can't be.

''The spell....'' I breathe out.

''Yes, love, it's tonight. Just come to bed please,'' Theo pleads with me. I watch as he slowly gets out of bed, walks up to me, puts his hands around my shoulders and guides me towards it.

''You're sure it's tonight right?'' I look at him, my fingers grazing his cheek.

''Yes, love. So, I need you to be at your fittest today. Come now, we can skip training today and you can sleep in.'' I slip into my side of the bed as Theo does the same from his end. He pulls me closer to him and begins to draw soothing circles on my thigh, before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning it was already past ten. By instinct, my hand flew out to the empty spot next to it. Theo's side of the bed was cold, meaning he was up very early this morning. I sit up and rub my eyes as I stifle a yawn.

The smell of bacon, eggs and coffee wafts around the house as I make my way down the stairs. I half expected to see Theo, waiting downstairs for me, but he wasn't. Instead, there was a rose and small note, placed on next to the coffee pot.

Meet me at Selene's after breakfast.

I love you.

A silly smile forms on my face when I read his note. He didn't even have to sign it for me to know it was from him. His handwriting was proof enough. I couldn't take my eyes off the note, even as I grabbed my cup of coffee and sat the counter.

I was about to take my first bite of the bacon when Charles sauntered in the house. ''Look who's finally awake!''

''Is it necessary for you to shout?''

''Is it necessary for you to breathe?'' he pulls the chair opposite mine and sits on it.

I roll my eyes at him and continue with my breakfast. ''Why are you here?'' I ask him after a long silence, which was weird since this is Charles we're talking about.

''Umm, I'm always here Athena,'' he picks a strawberry and bites into it.

''Right, of course, but don't you have any work to do?''

''Like?'' he picks another strawberry and chomps on it.

''Oh I don't know, maybe looking into pack matters, being the manager for Theo's company, pack finances and all that!''

''You're one to talk, aren't you the alpha of this pack?''

Well that hit a nerve. ''Why, you little piece of-''

''Okay, okay, geez Athena, I'm sorry.'' He puts his hands up in surrender. ''But I'm not wrong.''

He isn't.

As one of the alphas of this pack, I'm responsible for most of the things I'd listed earlier, but I haven't had the time especially with my current state, my running Nightshade from here, the upcoming spell, not to forget the whole Amunet fiasco. Maybe I'll be able to pay more attention to the pack after this spell.

''Athena, Athena, hey, can you hear me?'' Charles' finger clicking breaks me out of my thoughts.

''Right, um, sorry. You were saying?'' I blink my eyes and focus on him.

''I was asking if you wanted more eggs, but since you didn't reply I just refilled your plate.'' He crosses his arms and smiles at me.

I look down at my plate and sure enough he's loaded it with more eggs and bacon. ''Why did you refill my plate; I've already had enough Charles. I can't finish this!'' I shout.

''Of course you can, you're a wolf, you have the appetite, besides Theo will kill me if he finds out?''

''And why would he do that, I usually never have a second helping of my breakfast and he's never killed anyone before.'' I put the coffee mug and squint my eyes at him.

''Well, um- he- ahem-he-'' Charles struggles to reply and nervously scratches the back of his neck.

''He what, Charles?''

''Don't get mad at me Athena,'' I watch as he slowly begins to pull his seat back and gulps. ''But, umm, Theo explicitly asked be to make sure that you're well fed and rested today. He wants you to be at full strength for the spell tonight.''

''He does, does he?'' I chuckle at the thought of Theo sitting Charles down and drilling words into his brain.

''Yup.'' He replies, popping the P. ''Just please, have some more, for my peace of mind and his.''

I glance at Charles' worried face. Poor guy, I wonder what exactly it is Theo told him that has him so shaken up. I nod at him once and his face immediately lights up. And if I'm not mistaken, I think I heard a short sigh of relief too.

Once we were done with breakfast, yes, we, since Charles saw if fit to help himself too. The two of us make our way to Selene's cabin. Luckily it wasn't located too far from my house. I could sense Theo's presence in the house as well as Selene's.

As soon as Charles and I walked in, Selene's face lit up. ''Oh Athena, thank the moon for your arrival. Please take your mate away from here, he's driving me crazy!!'' she yells, throwing her hands in the air. I suppress the urge to laugh, while Theo glares at her.

''Trust me, she knows,'' Charles pipes in and winks knowingly.

''Shut up,'' I elbow him in the ribs. Not that it stopped him from chuckling like a maniac. I ignore him and walk up to Theo who immediately puts his arm around my waist and pulls me closer.

''I missed you love,'' he kisses my hair and inhales deeply.

''Me too,'' I smile. ''So, what have you guys been up to?''

''Well, I am making sure everything is ready for tonight. Your mate on the other hand has decided to make even that harder for me,'' Selene huffs and crosses her arms across her chest.

''That is not true, I'm helping her.'' Theo defends himself.

''He's not!'' Selene retorts. ''Athena, please take him away.''

''As much as I would love that, I'm staying here. I need to be sure that nothing goes wrong tonight.''

''So you don't trust me?'' Selene now faces Theo, her eyes blazing. Oh dear, he shouldn't have said that. Charles takes a step back and pulls me with him as we watch Selene glaring up at Theo who is towering over her. It most certainly was funny.

''You see it too don't you?'' Charles whispers. I simply nod as I try to keep myself from laughing at the scene in front of us.

''No, no, it's not that I don't trust you Selene. I, uh, I just don't want anything to go wrong tonight. This is our only chance. Isn't that what you told me?'' he asks her.

Wait what? What does he mean only chance?

''Theo,'' I approach my mate, ''what's going on, you said only one chance. What- what happens if-'' I stop mid-sentence, not able to speak the words out loud.

''It's nothing to worry about Athena. I'm fully prepared, I have everything ready. You don't stress. I need you to be fully relaxed, calm your mind,'' Selene replied instead.

''And how do you suggest I do that, especially after learning that this is the only chance I've got?! What if it doesn't work, huh? What if something goes wrong? What happens then?!'' I continue yelling as my hands fly around, Theo grabs me from behind and puts some space between Selene and us before I could land a slap on her from all the hand throwing.

''You need to calm down love, '' He whispers into my ear. ''She knows what she's doing.''

Ignoring the shivers his touch sent down my spine, I try to wiggle myself out of his tight grip, but it's to no avail. I light chuckle from the far corner of the living area breaks my eye contact with Selene. I stop my wiggling and glare at Charles, who is now shamelessly laughing.

''You think this is funny, huh? What part of this looks funny to you?!''

''Athena, I-'' he tries to speak but fails miserably.

''Ohh, so now I'm a joke to you! You know what? Just you wait, I'll show you. Theo, let me go, don't hold me back, let me go, I'll show him. Let me go!''

''I'm not holding you love.''

I look down, and sure enough his hand is not around my waist anymore. ''Ohh,'' I laugh sheepishly then turn to face Charles, who looks amused. ''You!'' I point an accusing finger at him. He immediately makes a run for the front door, but not before sending a nod in Theo's direction which I, luckily noticed.

As soon as we were out in the open, Charles made a run for it. Unfortunately for him, I'm much faster. I tackle him from behind and push him to the ground. ''Where do you think you're going?''

''Away from you, that's for sure!'' he jumps back to his feet and glares at me. ''Are you crazy, you could've seriously hurt me there.''

''Ohh, umm, I'm sorry.'' I pat his back to get rid of the dirt and gravel. ''It's just, uhh-''

''Athena are you scared?''

''What, pffft, nooo. Scared? And me? Huh, no way. Why would you think that?'' I wave my hand in the air, trying to dismiss the subject. The truth is I am terrified, but I'd rather die than admit it to Charles. Goddess knows how much fun he'll have teasing me about it.

''It's okay to be scared. I'd be worried if you weren't.''

''What?!''

''Don't lie to me Athena, it's kind of obvious.''

''Really?''

''Yeah. Also, you're terrible at hiding your emotions.''

''Shit, seriously? And here I thought I was good.''

''Maybe to the people who don't know you.'' He grabs my hand and squeezes it. ''It'll be okay.''

''She said only one chance, Charles. What if it doesn't work? I- I really want this. Not only for myself but for Theo too.''

''I know you do,'' he replies. ''And I also know it will work, you need to trust Selene.''

''Is it weird that a teeny tiny part of me still doesn't trust her?''

''Why do you think Theo is there?'' he glances at me and smirks.

''Ohh.''

''Yes, oh, that's the correct reaction,'' he chuckles. ''Listen, my job today is to make sure you don't overthink and worry too much about tonight, and by the looks of it, I'm doing a really bad job. Theo will handle it, don't stress.''

''I don't doubt that he will, but I doubt he knows much about witches.'' I shrug and continue walking ahead, but Charles' laughter stops me. ''What's so funny?'' I throw him a glare.

''Ahh nothing. Just that, you'd be surprised about what Theo knows.'' He shakes his head and smirks once again.

''What's that supposed to mean?''

''Nothing that should concern you at the moment. Come on let's go towards the lake.'' In two long strides he catches up to me and continues walking. When he notices me not following him, he stops. ''So, are you coming?''

''Oh well, okay.'' I shrug and follow him.

The walk to the lake was fairly short and surprisingly quiet. Charles kept to himself, although I would notice his eyes glaze for a while like he would be remembering something. I chuckle to myself, knowing that soon, I'll be able to do so too. To remember, without any nerve blasting headaches. I just hope Selene doesn't mess it up.

''You're still thinking about the spell, aren't you?'' Charles' voice makes me look up.

''Why would you think that? I could be thinking about anything.'' I stop next to him and sit down by the lakeshore.

He follows suit and plops down next to me. ''You've got that look on your face.''

''What look?''

''The one you usually have when you're worried and overthinking. Truth to be told, that look is always there, like ninety-five percent of the time.''

''Haha, very funny.'' I roll my eyes at him.

''No, but seriously Athena, you always have that look on your face. It's a miracle you don't migraines from all the overthinking you do.''

''You really want to talk about migraines Charles? I've had my fair share. I can't wait to finally be rid them. Just talking about it makes me feel like there's one coming.'' I rub my fingers on my temple out of instinct. ''Let's not talk about headaches please.''

''Okay, so what do you want to talk about?'' he asks as he grabs a handful of sand and slowly allows it to fall through his fingers.

''You,'' I reply. ''Tell me about yourself, apart from Charles, Theo's best friend and beta, I don't know much about you.''

''Actually you do,'' he chuckles, ''but let me tell you. It's not like we have anywhere to be right now.''

''Couldn't agree more.''

He chuckles lightly and stares ahead at the lake, his eyes glazed over once more like he was remembering something, a memory from his childhood perhaps.

''Charles?'' I nudge him.

''Yeah! Uhh what? What?'' he looks at me startled.

''You were quiet for like half a minute.''

''Really? Oh, umm sorry. I was actually thinking about the day my parents died. I was very young then, about six or seven years old if I'm not wrong.''

''Oh goddess, I'm so sorry Charles, I didn't know you were that young. I mean, I had a feeling that your parents were, you know, not alive, but I always thought they'd died a few years ago.''

''It's okay, you don't need to apologize Athena. That was a long time ago. Anyway, I was with Theo in the training grounds, we were sparring and just messing around since there weren't a lot of people.''

''Why, where was everyone?'' I sit up and cross my legs against my chest. My interest in the story peeked.

''All I know is that there was a problem with rogue wolves. It was an uprising of some sort. Sean's father had banished his gamma, accused him of being a traitor to his pack. Guess he didn't take it well and joined hands with the rogues.'' He chuckles humorlessly.

''Wow, what happened then?''

''The usual, he rounded up a few hundred rogues and attacked Shadow pack wanting to take down Benjamin, but-''

''He failed, didn't he?''

''Rude to interrupt, Athena,'' he smirks. ''But yes, he did. The other packs came together and fought. Theo's father and Benjamin were close, so naturally he was the first one to offer his help. My dad, the then beta was at the helm of the charge. Alpha Kevin, Theo's father did not take part in the fight since Lila was pregnant with the twins,'' he explains.

''So Theo's father offers to help, but he doesn't take part in the fight? That doesn't sound right.'' I mean, why would he do that? Why offer to help if you can't do it yourself and then send someone else on behalf of you? Did he even ask Charles' father if he wanted to go fight on his behalf?

''Before you judge him Athena,'' Charles says, ''Listen first.''

''Well, I've kind of already judged him,'' I admit. ''But okay, continue.''

''Alpha Kevin wanted to go, he really did. I remember very well the argument between him and my father at his house. Theo and I sneaked in through the back door and hid inside one of the cabinets,'' he snorts a laugh at the memory. ''I'm pretty sure they knew we were in there.''

The image of an eight-year-old boy with brown hair and light brown eyes filled my head, making me smile. How did Theo look like when he was young and Charles too? Were they one of those kids who had a bowl cut? Hmm, maybe I'll ask Theo someday.

''So anyways, '' Charles continues, ''Alpha Kevin had a very strong moral compass, he knew he was the one who made the promise, and he should fulfill it, but my father was adamant. It took him a while, but he finally agreed and backed down. Also, carrying twin pups was taking a toll on Lila and someone needed to be with her twenty-four seven.''

''Ohh, I see.'' I nod in realization. Seems like I did judge Theo's father too quickly.

''And so yeah, my dad went, naturally so did my mom. She couldn't let him walk into a fight like that alone. They both fought valiantly, but they didn't come back,'' his voice breaks towards the end.

By instinct my hand goes around him and I hug him tight. ''I'm so sorry Charles,'' was all I could say. There was nothing else I could say or do that would make him feel better. Losing both your parents at such a young age is something that I wouldn't wish for anyone, not even my worst enemy. Well, maybe Amunet, I mean that woman's a bitch and I will relish the day I have her head in my hands.

''Athena, Athena, you're hurting me,'' Charles' squirming makes me loosen my grip on his shoulders.

''Are you okay?'' he looks at me worried.

''Never better,'' I smirk and flip my hair. ''Not that I've- oh goddess, I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry Charles.''

''Chill Athena, it's okay.'' He laughs. ''So, can I continue?''

''Yeah, ahem, sure.''

''Well, I cried, obviously. A lot. I didn't eat for days. I couldn't sleep too. I would wander towards their graves in the middle of the night and sit there for hours. Theo always knew where to find me. He himself has spent a few nights with me by their graves.''

''Really? Wow, that was really nice of him.''

''It was. He's was by my side through it all. In fact, if it weren't for him, I'd be dead by now. I owe the guy my life. You know, I almost committed suicide and he saved me?'' he glances in my direction, waiting for my reaction.

''You did not!'' I gasp. ''Charles, you were just six, I'm sure you didn't know what suicide even was at that time!''

''You're right, I didn't. I just thought It would be a quicker way to join them since they were buried next to the lake, right there.'' He points to the graveyard where all the fallen pack members were buried. It was quite far from where we sat, but it was adjacent to the lake.

''Wait a second, you came here to drown yourself. Like, right here?! Oh my, Charles!'' I wrap both my arms around him this time and hug him tight. I felt a wet drop on my arm and realized he was crying. I wanted to say something, but I didn't, because sometimes words don't help, just the mere presence of a friend is enough. Someone who will listen.

After a few seconds, I let go of him and pat his back. ''You okay?''

''Yeah. Thanks.'' He sniffs. ''And thanks for being here.''

''Always.'' I smile.

He gets up and dusts the sand off his pants, ''come on, let's go say hi.''

''Uh yeah, sure, I'd love to.''

We slowly walk towards the graveyard in silence. Both of us occupied by our thoughts. Today I saw Charles in a completely different light. Behind all those jokes and sarcastic remarks lay a lot of repressed sadness and guilt.

As soon as we reached the entrance, I plucked some flowers. Charles watches me with a raised brow. ''What?'' I quirk one of my own. ''I wouldn't want to be rude.''

''You do you Athena,'' he laughs.

We walk towards the farthest end of the eerily quiet graveyard. Charles leads us to the two headstones. The closer we got, the better I could see the engraved names on the headstones. We also passed by Theo's fathers' grave. I put down some flowers on his grave, which was much larger than the rest.

After putting down the flowers and paying my respects to Charles' parents. We both stood in silence.

''They'd be proud of you Charles.'' I tell him.

He nods, ''They'd better be.''

After a few more minutes, we leave the cemetery only to be met by Theo, who's heart is beating going a mile per minute.

''Thought you two would be here,'' he says.

I walk up to him and kiss him softly on the cheek. ''Are you okay?''

He lowers his gaze and stares at me for almost a minute. ''It's time love,'' he finally speaks up. ''Selene is waiting.''

***

An update! Finally!!!

Hope you guys liked the chapter.

Please vote and comment as usual, it'll be much appreciated.

-Jessica.S