Authors Note: Hello all! This chapter is an easy one to get into. It was a blast to write which is why its longer than the other chapters so far. After all the cuddly stuff that the last chapter had in it, it's time to get down and gritty with some of the drama that's been peeking over the horizon! Thank you for reading, and enjoy!
-Saturn
"I promise, I've never had that happen to me in my life," Charlie said. Button had been questioning Charlie about his medical history for the past hour now. The morning was slow, just like Max liked it. The fast pace was starting to interest him less and less. He used to always need something to do. He prided himself in how many things he did for the pack, simply because he never wanted to sit still.
But now all of that has changed. All the extra time he had he wanted to stay with Charlie and relax.
Charlie had fallen asleep in Max's arms when he was holding him that night. He had laid him back in bed, knowing that it wouldn't be as comfortable as he wished it to be when they both woke up in the morning. He barely got any sleep that night, but he was happy and relaxed with Charlie around. And the blond seemed to change a bit around him as well. There was a feeling of closeness that they both had now. Max was still riding on that high.
"Well, there are some other questions that I wanted to ask," Dr. Button said. "But I think I'll wait on that for now."
"So, have I gained anymore weight?" Charlie asked. Button had decided to do a check up on him bright and early in the morning.
"You've gained one more pound," he answered. "It's good progress. But you need to make sure you eat at least a little more for breakfast."
"I'm glad the meal plan is working," Charlie smiled. "I don't think I've eaten this much in a long while."
Max decided to keep his face neutral at that. Charlie had been opening up to him a little this morning, He didn't want to ruin it by reacting in a way that would embarrass him. He wouldn't question him about it either. The best thing he could do is wait until Charlie was ready to tell him.
But it still upset him. These were meal portions that Max ate every day. He never had to worry about food. But Charlie was on the opposite side of that. It hurt him to think about it. He would make sure Charlie never went hungry again.
Button left just in time for Max to enjoy breakfast with him. He had brought some paperwork down from his personal office to have something to do while Charlie read. It would be nice to have someone there while he worked.
"I wonder if Nick cooked these," Charlie said, picking up a piece of pancake. "He made them so fast in the kitchen yesterday."
"Probably," Max replied. "Aldi is taking the day off, and he's usually the next in line for the morning shift."
"Why did he take the day off? Is he okay?"
"Oh, he's fine. It's him and his wife's anniversary today," Max shoved a mouthful of pancakes into his mouth. He had gone to school with Nick too. They weren't as close as the rest of his friends, but Max did have some great memories with him. They would sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night all the time. Nick always seemed to know where all the snacks were hidden.
He was distracted from his thoughts by an amused look on Charlie's face.
"What?" he asked. His mouth was still full of food.
"Nothing," Charlie teased. He looked away with a smile still on his face.
"What are you smiling about?" he swallowed his food and went in for another bite.
"I don't think I've seen anyone put that much food into their mouth before," the blond chuckled. "You reminded me one of the kids at the restaurant."
"I'm just hungry," Max shrugged.
"I don't know how you have such a big appetite in the morning," he shook his head. "I've never really eaten that much when I wake up."
"Usually that's how I wake up," Max said. "It's either from my stomach or my bladder. Most of the time it's both."
"Sounds like a good alarm clock."
"What's yours?"
"I have an internal one. I wake up around five every day, no matter how late I stay up."
"Really?" Max looked incredulous at him. He had never met someone his age that woke up so early willingly. "Even if you've stayed up until, like, 4?"
"Yeah," Charlie nodded. "It always sucked when I was on the closing shift at work. I'd get out of there at 2am and I wouldn't get home until 3. I've pulled a lot of all-nighters because of that."
"That sounds horrible. Maybe you should ask Dr. Button for some sleeping medications. That way you could at least get some sleep when you have to stay up really late."
"I don't really like sleeping pills," the blond shook his head. "I've heard too many bad things about them."
"Maybe you should just work mornings then," Max didn't want to seem like he was going to keep Charlie there forever, but he really didn't want him to go back to that job. The more he talked about it, the more it seemed like a horrible place to work.
"I'd love to, but I don't really have a say in the schedule," Charlie said. "There's a lot of other people who are in school or have kids, so I usually just take whatever they give me."
"You could always stay here, you know," he couldn't help but suggest it. "We could use a pie maker."
"I'm not really a professional at it."
"You made fifteen like it was nothing," Max raised an eyebrow. "And the pies really did taste amazing."
"I knew you'd like that apple one," Charlie smiled.
"That's my favorite type of pie."
"I don't think you guys would want pie every day, though," the blond said. "That, and I'm not sure if all the people here want me to be here."
"Don't worry about them. They'll warm up to you," Max winked at him this time. "And I don't think my dad will ever get sick of pie. Or me, for that matter."
"You should try it with vanilla ice cream," Charlie looked so excited when he said it. "It tastes the best when its warm with a big scoop of ice cream on top."
"I wonder how you taste with ice cream," it slipped out of Max's mouth before he even realized he had been thinking about it. Why did he say that out loud?! He looked over at Charlie to see that he was blushing. His face was a flush of red.
It was beautiful.
"Sorry, I-"
"It's okay," the skinny man laughed nervously.
"I - uh - I'll have to give that a try some time," Max ran his hand through his hair. It was a nervous tick of his. He was an idiot. He just got the man to be more open with him and now he was back to being nervous.
"I'd say we'd probably have to go on a few dates before we tried anything like that," Charlie said. Max looked up to see that his mate was red but still smiling.
Did this mean what Max thought it meant? Did Charlie just say that he wanted to date him?
"First you need to get better," Max changed the subject.
"I am better."
"I'll believe that when you gain more weight."
"I'm already two pounds ahead of you," Charlie looked at him with pride.
"Read your book," Max couldn't help but laugh. Charlie was good at making everything seem light-hearted. It was nice at the moment.
They enjoyed the silence after that. Charlie went to reading his book, and Max started on the paperwork he needed to do. He had actually really loved the comfortable quiet they seemed to share. Even though Charlie loved to talk, and he loved to listen to him, it was nice to know he enjoyed some silent company as well.
"Don't forget about the meeting," Max's father mind linked with him. "I need you to be there. It's important."
He had almost completely forgotten about the meeting. Max rubbed his tired face and looked at the clock. He had one more hour. He wondered what this meeting was going to be about. It wasn't an emergency, or he would have already been notified of it. He wondered what made it so important. Then again, his dad had been nice enough to excuse him from most of his duties because of Charlie. So, he really shouldn't be complaining.
He just wished he had slept more for this. He had been so worried about Charlie that he wasn't able to really fall back to sleep for that long last night. The chairs weren't that comfortable either. He wanted to curl up with the blond in that tiny little bed. Because, even if it was small, it would be better to be uncomfortable with him close in bed than him far away on that small little chair.
He was going to have to get used to it, though. Max didn't think he could sleep all the way in his room anymore. Even that was starting to get too far for him. He missed Charlie even thinking about this meeting. And now he was going to have to get back to his usual duties. Max didn't quite know how to handle that.
"I'll be there," he told his dad.
"Is something wrong?" Charlie asked. It didn't look like he had gotten too far into his book. He must have been looking at Max the whole time.
Or Max was just wishing he would. He couldn't quite tell.
"I forgot about something," he told him.
"What did you forget?" the blond looked amused, like he wasn't surprised that Max would forget something important.
He would be hurt by it, if he didn't enjoy that dazzling smile so much.
"I have a meeting I need to go to today," it was interesting to him that Charlie never asked what he did for work. He just accepted that he needed to do paperwork. He respected his boundaries just as much as Max respected his.
That, or he was afraid to ask, for fear of making him uncomfortable. He wasn't quite sure which one was the truth just yet.
"Ah," Charlie said. "Is it going to be a boring one?"
"Probably," Max sighed. He stood up and stretched his legs. They had been cramped in one position for most of the morning. It felt so good to stretch them out. He almost felt like going for a run. "Or it'll be aggravating. It's a flip of a coin most of the time."
"Sounds like a party," Charlie joked. "Hopefully it's not too long for you then."
"It shouldn't take too long, honestly. Maybe an hour at most," he went to hug him. Charlie seemed to welcome his hugs ever since yesterday. Max enjoyed the feeling of his mate in his arms. It made him wish he could hold him forever. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"
"Okay," his voice was a little muffled as his face was a bit buried into Max's shoulder. This guy was turning Max sappy. Every time he thought about him, he would pause in the moment just to enjoy the thought of his touch or his face. Being this close to him felt like an addiction. It felt so good when he was there, and so bad when he was gone. Just being able to breathe in his scent was enough to excite and calm him all at once.
Apple pie. He just couldn't get over how this human could smell like a fresh pie. But it was a delicious smell that Max could never tire of.
Being apart from him after spending all of yesterday and last night with him was starting to make leaving him painful. He could only guess it was due to the mate bond getting stronger. It left him hopeful that Charlie would soon be his. For now, he just had to pray that this meeting wouldn't take too long.
This one must be important. When Max got to the meeting room there were his parents with the recent Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Omega. Along with that, there was the next in line's sitting across from them: Tyler, Sam, Ed, and Leah. They were going to take their rightful positions as soon as Max became Alpha. Some of their parents wished it would come already so they could retire, others loved being a part of the leaders of the pack and wanted to keep doing their job. For now, all of Max's friends and soon to be council members just sat in as advisors for the Alpha and Luna. Max's dad liked having a big council meeting when there was something important to discuss that was going to affect the whole pack. It was the best way to get a good view of what the pack wanted. This way, every group was represented, from Alpha's to Omega's and all the in betweens.
Max loved this system, as much as everyone seemed to hate it. It made the room big and the meetings a little confusing, but it felt like a family discussion rather than a political one.
Max didn't quite have time to do his hair, so he let it do its own thing. He had changed clothes at least. Thankfully the maids had ironed out all of his professional dress clothes.
"Hey, stranger," Ed elbowed him. "Long time no see."
"I saw you yesterday," he avoided his friends worried looks. They knew something was wrong. Dr. Button had only told Max's parents about what happened to Charlie. But, after Max announced to them all that they couldn't bother Charlie about his past or come to visit him in groups, they started to realize that something had happened. Tyler had tried to get him to tell him last night, but Max just told him not to worry about it.
It seemed mean to not tell the people that he had known his whole life about what was going on or to ask them for advice, but there was no way they would react well to this. Except Ed. Ed was always the exception. The rest of them had been raised on the same ideals that the pack had. And, while they were slowly getting used to the fact that some men want to be with other men and women with other women, Max still had no idea about how'd they react to their next Luna being a man.
For now, he just stayed aloof. It was one of the things Max knew how to do best.
"How's Charlie?" Leah asked. As an omega, she was really good at reading people. The omega's and alpha's both shared that skill. That was another reason why it had been decided to have an omega on the council those many years ago.
It was relatively new that there had been an omega on the council. That was another result of the revolution that happened during his grandfather's reign. His reign was full of changes and developments that made Max's head spin just trying to recall. He remembered when he first learned about it all, he wasn't sure if his dad was serious or not. When he asked him, his dad just laughed. There was a kingdom reign, a class war, some issue's with mates, and so many enemies that had tried to wipe them out when they were down. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. But, somehow, his grandfather pulled through and helped make changes to the pack that no other pack to their knowledge had ever done. Because of it, they were able to regain some of the territory they lost and finally start growing again. With everyone represented equally, they were finally all able to work in harmony. And the pack turned into a family rather than a kingdom.
"He's doing well," he replied. As much as he didn't want to talk to them about his mate, he couldn't be rude to the wife of one of his best friends. That, and she was too nice. Her baby bump had gotten so big, she looked like she was going to burst.
Before they could question him further, the door to the meeting room opened again. In walked a man that Max didn't really get along with.
Liam.
Liam was Max's grandfather. The very same one that had done such greatness for the pack. He used to think highly of him. He admired the old man's resilience and intelligence. But there were just so many things that the old Alpha fought against Max. Every time Max would say that they do one thing, Liam would criticize it - and not constructively. His dad tried to listen to what both of them had to say, but almost always picked Liam's points over his.
The thing that they fought over the most was the extra territories that surrounded theirs. Max wanted to push the rogues back and claim the territory as theirs. The pack had gotten big enough for them to need more space. Liam wanted to wait until they had more skilled fighters. The rogues had been a problem for them since the dawn of time, and had caused nothing but mayhem. As much as Max wanted to push for the gaining of more territory, his father always picked waiting.
Max hated waiting. They had waited long enough to get skilled fighters. They had plenty, and the rogues weren't exactly waiting for their attacks. They looked weak for waiting. And that was one thing that Max wanted to change when he became Alpha.
"Now that everyone's here," his dad cut off the smaller conversations going on, "let's get this meeting started."
They hushed and his dad gestured for the Beta of the pack to speak. Liam had just then taken a seat at his spot on the table. He represented the elders of the pack, as they were the history of them, and without the knowledge of the past, they could easily make the same mistakes in the future.
"The Rogues are getting stronger in the south," the Beta said. He looked so much like Tyler, his son, it was uncanny. "They're starting to try and push into our territory."
"We need to do more than just push them back," Max spoke up. Here came the same argument they had almost every single meeting. How could they not see that the rogues were starting to think of them as a joke? By not doing anything and letting them hover around their territory, they leave themselves open to more attacks and possibly more damage done to the pack or their territory they already claimed.
"I agree," Liam spoke. His purple eyes were much like Max's dads, but they had more of a sharper look to them. He looked more like a general than an Alpha. "But that can't happen yet."
"Why?" Max growled. This was getting insane. This waiting game had gone on for far too long and Max was this close to losing it and handling those rogues himself.
He needed to relax. Maybe if he thought about Charlie...
No. He didn't need that kind of distraction right now.
"The pack's not strong enough to start fights yet."
"I've grown and trained with this pack my whole life," Max argued. "I know our strengths and weaknesses. I know we can win against some rogues. The Crescent Moon pack is ready to fight for our territory!"
"They are ready," his dad silenced the both of them. Max looked shocked that his dad had finally taken his side. There was a sparkle to his dad's eyes when he looked at them. "They're ready to accept their new Alpha to lead them to victory."
Max looked at his father, absolutely baffled by what he said. There was no way that, after all these years of telling him that he had to wait, his father was just going to hand him the title. He searched his face, but all he found was a hint of excitement and something else that he couldn't quite pin point at the moment.
Max had a bad feeling about this.
Murmurs went all around the table as the rest of the council seemed just as shocked as Max was. He knew that many of them had been waiting for a while to have Max be their Alpha, many of the elders were excited to see him fight for the pack. All three generations had such different ways of leading. Liam had to change from dictator to leader; Max's dad had to recover the pack from the waste that it had been in before and try to heal it as best he could; and Max? Max wanted to show just how strong the pack had gotten after all the toil and suffering that they had all gone through. They fought their own battles together, now it was time for them to show everyone what they were made of.
"Nonsense!" Liam said. He practically slammed his fist against the table. "An Alpha cannot rule without a Luna by their side."
"Then it's time to act quickly," his mom replied. She seemed to have the same sparkle in her eyes that his dad had. "Max, we think it's time for you to finally travel to some packs to find your mate."
"What?!" this was the first time he was hearing this. Normally, they always suggested parties and inviting other packs over to visit. Max had mentioned going to find his mate many times, but they always told him no. It was too dangerous when he was the only alpha that had the skills they needed to lead the pack. The idea of leaving the territory he had grown up in all his life terrified him now. There was a time when he was itching to do something, to travel, to search the world. But, now that he had found Charlie, there was nowhere he had wanted to go that was not with him.
"Nothing seems to be working," her blue eyes were soft when she spoke. "We want you to find your mate finally, so you can be accepted by the pack as the rightful Alpha and take your father's place."
"What will the pack do while I'm gone?" these journeys that werewolves did to find their mates often took years. There were plenty of stories of them not coming back. Because the only time they come back to the pack is if they found their mate.
"We will still be in charge, keeping everything in order," his dad smiled at him. "It will mean that your council will need to put in some extra work, but I'm sure they're more than willing to do that."
"I don't understand," Max furrowed his eyes, "Why all this now?"
"I thought you were eager to get out and find your mate," his dad said.
"I am! But there's rogues that are here and threatening the whole pack. You think I can leave with that the pack in danger like this?" This was too much. There had to be another reason why they had just now decided this. "What if I don't come back on time? What will happen if it takes years until I come back? What will happen with the pack then?"
"I have faith that you'll be back sooner than you think," his dad replied. "The Moon Goddess wills that you find your mate soon."
"Moon Goddess?"
"She came to me in a dream," his dad explained. "She told me that the next Alpha will be ready soon. When I asked you and your mom to dinner that night, I was going to tell you then, but we all got a bit distracted," he looked at him like a proud parent. "I asked her, in that dream, if you would find your mate before you were ready, and she told me yes."
This was all too much. There was no way Max was going to leave. Not when rogues were still threatening them. Not while Charlie was still there.
"So, your saying," Tyler spoke up, "That Max needs to go find his mate, but he'll find her soon?"
"That's what the Moon Goddess told me."
"But soon isn't set in stone," Tyler argued. "It could mean years from now for all we know. How do you know the pack will be alright with Max being gone for so long?"
"We better prepare for his departure," Leah looked at the rest of the advisors. She looked at Max last. There was a sadness in her expression, but she looked happy for him to be able to go on such an important journey.
"There's no need," Max told her.
"Why is that?" Liam scowled at him. There was a point in time where he would only smile at Max. He missed that time. "Boy, if you're afraid of a little trip then -!"
"I've already found my mate," he announced.
The whole room froze. Max took the short silence to mentally prepare. This was not going to be a fun conversation. All the faces looked so happy for him now. He knew that wasn't going to last long.
"Who?" the Beta, Tyler's dad, asked. The whole council seemed to lean in when he asked. They were all so curious as to how this was kept a secret for so long.
Ed looked at Max with a worried expression. If anything, Max knew that he always had Ed to back him up on this. Tyler was his best friend, and would normally back him up on everything, but he wasn't too sure about this.
"His name is Charlie," he answered. "He's been in the pack house recovering from an injury for the past week and a half now."
"The human?" the Beta looked to his father with a quizzical look. Max didn't even want to look at his father at the moment. He didn't want to see the disappointment on his face.
"Yes."
"You're telling me," Liam spoke. The scowl on his face was only growing. "That, not only is your so-called mate a human, but it's a male?"
Max let out a growl that filled the entire room. He was sick of Liam, even if he was his grandfather. He would not tolerate him talking poorly of Charlie. He could take all the insults he threw at him, but he would not tolerate him insulting Charlie. Or saying that he wasn't his mate.
The whole room flinched at that growl. Everyone except his dad and Liam. He felt a little bad that his friends were afraid of him at that moment. He wasn't aiming it towards them. But there was no helping that.
"Charlie IS my mate," as much as he had been anxious about announcing it, it actually felt freeing to finally say it out loud.
"We've never had a human Luna," the Beta said. He rested his chin on his hand. "I wonder why the Moon Goddess would do something like this."
"I think he'd make a great Luna," Ed chimed in. When Max looked at him, he had the mischievous smile that he always plastered onto his face.
"How will you have children?" Liam asked. "How will you pass your title to the next Alpha?"
"We'll adopt," he shrugged. Him and Liam were now standing. The only thing between them was the table. "The Alpha can be decided by the pack."
"So, you're going to let our bloodline die? Our history of leading?"
"I'm not going to deny my mate just so you can feel better about yourself!" he growled at him again. "I've waited for too long to find him. I'm not going to just toss him to the side," the power of his voice alone was enough to keep the rest of them silent.
"Enough!" his dad cut in. He glared at them both until they sat back into their seats. Max's fear of his father's wrath about this resurfaced. The Alpha looked angry towards both of them for their yelling at each other in the middle of a meeting. Max wasn't sure what his thoughts were about what Max had said. Those eyes didn't show any answers. There was silence for a few seconds. Then, with a sigh, he looked over at his wife and held out his hand. "You owe me a twenty."
"What are you talking about, Leo?" the beta asked. Max's mom pouted for a second as she fished for a bill in her purse. "Did you already knew about this?"
Ed was snickering away at this whole scene while Max just sat there, stunned. After all this time he was worried about his father's reaction, this was it?
"Of course," his dad pocketed the twenty, "He was looking at him the same way his mother did when I first met her."
"You knew?" was all Max could say. He shouldn't have been surprised. Why else, would he have been able to convince him to bring him to the pack house? But, for some reason, he thought he could hide at least this from him.
"I had a hunch," he winked at him. "If Charlie is your mate, then the Moon Goddess wills it. And, if the Moon Goddess wills it, then I can't really argue with that. We've survived as a pack and as a family with the Moon Goddess' guidance. If we go against it, then we will crumble."
"As long as you're happy, we're happy," his mom smiled at him. It warmed his heart to hear that from his parents. He almost felt silly for keeping it a secret.
Almost.
"The pack is never going to accept a human man as a Luna," Liam looked at his son. "What's going to happen when they reject him? Are you going to stay Alpha until you die, Leo?"
"They will accept him," Max glared at him.
"And if they don't?" his grandfather scowled back.
"If they don't then I will step down from my position, and Tyler will take my place as Alpha instead," he declared. "That, or you can wait for Scott to get old enough to lead," he referred to his cousin. He was only fourteen, and didn't exactly show potential to lead. It was either him or his baby cousin, Reggie, who was almost five, and he was the runt of the family.
Being Alpha of this pack had been something that Max had been wanting his whole life. He had trained since he was five. He studied the territories surrounding theirs, battle strategies, leading. He worked his ass off so that he could become the best Alpha he could be, and bring the Crescent Moon pack to greatness.
And he would throw that all away for the man that he had only met less than a month ago.
Even Liam seemed shocked at that.
"The first day of winter is three months away," he told him. "That will be the night that a new Alpha is appointed. Are you sure you want to try and convince a whole pack that their Luna is going to be a human male?"
"A new Alpha can be appointed at the first day of any season," his dad barked at Liam. "There is no point in trying to rush through this. That will only stress out the pack and leave them at cross roads."
"Charlie is their next Luna," Max stated. The way he said it to Liam reminded him of something his father would say. "If they won't accept what the Moon Goddess wanted, then they won't accept me." With that, he walked out. There was nothing else to talk about. His dad would figure out the rogue problem. He would have to thank him for helping him gain some extra time rather than let Liam restrict him. He didn't want to put so much pressure on Charlie when he was still trying to recover.
He would go deal with those rogues himself if it weren't for how much he missed Charlie. Maybe Liam would realize how strong the rest of the pack was if he didn't race to help with this problem. Max knew that they could handle it. He trained with all of them growing up.
He had to find a way for the pack to accept Charlie. But how would he do it without Charlie getting too uneasy and fainting like he did last night?
Maybe he should ask some of the elders for advice. They didn't all have Liam's point of view.
"Oh, Moon Goddess, why do you have to challenge me so much?"