Charlie's POV
My alarm went off and I rubbed my eyes, how many other seventeen year olds woke up at 4am every day I wondered and rolled out of bed, I pulled on my sweats ready to clean before school started and walked out my bedroom whilst tying my black hair up in a bun so it wouldn’t be in the way.
As soon as I left my room I could smell the stench of beer and cigarettes already, I hated it but that was what my life was like living with addicts for parents. Just one more week and I could get out of here although I had nowhere to go.
Beer cans covered every surface along with syringes they had used for drugs, I sighed, this had been my life since I was ten years old. I got up early to clean the mess they left every night, sometimes I would find one of them passed out on the floor or sofa, sometimes completely out cold, sometimes covered in vomit. At least it seemed like they both made it to their bed this time.
Sighing at the mess, I pull on a pair of rubber gloves that I have stashed away, I had to protect myself from being stabbed the best I could and money was tight so rubber gloves were my best option. I start to clean and as I move forward, I felt a crunch beneath me, there was shattered glass on the floor and I was just grateful that I had chosen to put my trainers on before leaving my tidy and clean room.
By 6am I had cleaned and scrubbed every surface, I did wonder why I bothered when it would be exactly the same tomorrow morning and headed to the shower, I was lucky because my father and step mother were always high on drugs or alcohol they had let me have the room at the top of the house which had an ensuite.
I removed my clothes and stepped into the shower, washing away the stench of stale smoke, when I heard him. My father was banging on my bedroom door “Let me in you stupid girl, you threw away my beer” I ignored him knowing the locks on my door would hold.
“Charlotte, open this damn door right now” he was slurring his words and clearly still drunk, I was surprised he even made it up the stairs. As I turned the shower off, my door was ripped off its hinges, I reached for a towel but it was too late, my father marched towards me and grabbed me around the neck, pinning me my wet body against the tiled wall not caring that i was naked.
“Dad please” my words came out squeaky as I begged him to put me down
“Where is it?” his stale breathe was vile and I tried not to urge as it reached my nostrils. “My booze you stupid girl”
“Everything was empty, I checked” I was whimpering now and he threw me down onto the floor of the shower causing me to bang my head.
He stormed out of my room, leaving the door on the floor, as I coughed and spluttered. I stayed here a few minutes more just in case he came back and when I heard the front door open and then slam I finally found the courage to look in the mirror. Bruises were already appearing around my neck “Great”. I wipe away the tears that are threatening to burst out and dress myself, thankfully I had a green turtleneck that would hide the marks perfectly.
I was getting better and better at hiding these marks that my parents would leave me with, sometimes the beatings got so bad I wish they would just kill me but they never did enough to put me in hospital. I pull on a pair of blue skinny jeans and a pair of uggs. The cold weather meant this outfit was perfect, I wasn’t sure what I would do if it was summer.
I stared at myself in the mirror, my black hair was still knotted up in a bun, my skin had lost it’s colour long ago due to poor nutrition and was now a pasty white colour, my eyes were a bluish grey colour, probably the only interesting thing about me. I sighed and looked at my door on the floor, something else I would need to fix to try and keep them out.
Quietly creaping downstairs, I made myself some porridge, it was probably the cheapest meal I could make that would keep me full until this evening or maybe tomorrow if there were no left overs. I checked my school work and made sure that I had completed my homework, I had a routine each and every day and generally would complete my school work at lunch time, whilst everyone else was at lunch, I would use the computers, it wasn’t like I could afford to eat anyway.
My grades stayed the same because of this, they were not the best and they were not the worst, they would get me where I needed to go and also meant that I stayed under the radar with the teachers so they did not harass me either.
A little while later and my father stumbled back into the house slurping from a can whilst carrying a bag with loads more cans in, thankfully he ignored me this time and I was able to leave the house without any problems.
Getting to school was another thing, I had to walk no matter what, I didn’t get the school bus or a taxi, nor would my parents give me a lift, it wasn’t to bad it was only a three mile walk and after a while you get used to it. Bonus was that it wasn’t raining today.
I had managed to save enough money in the summer to buy myself some headphones and a cheap phone, which helped pass the time. I also had to keep it hidden from my parents, no doubt they would sell it so they could score.
Arriving at my school, everyone was rushing around, normally I was one of the first here but today it seemed as if I was one of the last. I pushed past people and made my way to the locker, dumping all the things I wouldn’t need. I watch as some of the girls giggle as they walk, talking about a guy and wondering if he will notice them, others were plastering on makeup using the mirrors in their lockers. What was going on, what had I missed.
“They are really coming” I heard a group of girls standing by me say, I move a little closer to make sure I hear correctly
“Yes” another one nod’s their heads, “The royals are coming”
Oh yes, I remember, they were suppose to come a couple weeks go but it didn’t happen for some reason or another and apparently today was the day they would be coming for the grand opening of the crappy science block. I rolled my eyes, it made sense now, all the girls wanted the single prince to choose them.
I ignored them and carried on to my first class of the day, I did not want anything to do with this, I needed to stay invisible.
Alexander’s POV “Do I really need to go?” I glared at my mother across the breakfast table and she completely ignores me as she continued to swan around the kitchen, pretending to look busy and also so she didn’t have to deal with my whining. “Yes Alexander, now stop huffing and go put your grey suit on, we will be leaving soon” I roll my eyes and finish stuffing the last of my cornflakes in my mouth. I hated going to these things, pretending to be royal family of the humans when in fact we were the royals of the largest wolf pack in Europe. I knew why they wanted me to go, I was eighteen almost nineteen and still had not found my mate, yet Max still had not found his and didn’t need to come to these things because he was helping in the pack hospital. I roll my eyes as I walk up the stairs, there was nothing worse than paying a visit to an all girls school. All they did was scream and cry to try and get my attention, I remember one time a girl throwin
Charlie’s POVNothing exciting happened in the first two lessons of the morning, same boring day like any other, the most exiting my life became was in my after school job. Part of the reason I had to do my homework in my lunch hour or early hours of the morning was because of work, I loved my job, yes I was only waiting tables but the tips I get I hid under a broken floorboard in my room, I was trying to save up to get out of this town as soon as I turned eighteen. My parents couldn’t drag me back to their hell hole then.As lunch time neared, the girls were getting more and more excited, I should mention that I go to an all girls school, my father didn’t want me getting knocked up at fourteen like how he had knocked up my mother and then got burdened with me.Apparently the royals were coming at lunch time, they wanted a tour of our school as apparently it was one of the top science schools. If you believed that then you must of seen a pig fl
Alexander’s POVThe attraction was instant, I could feel every emotion radiating off of her small frame, I wanted to kiss her there and then but as she looked at me, I knew she was not yet eighteen. The mate bond would not be showing itself to her yet, but I knew as soon as I smelt her scent she was mine.Gorgeous grey blue eyes framed by brilliant dark eyelashes, she was truly annoyed that I had interrupted her and the thought made my wolf smile, what was concerning was how skinny she looked and I briefly wondered if that was why her skin was so pale. When she wasn’t looking I slipped the extra bag of apple slices I had in my suit pocket into her bag, honestly, it looked as if she hadn’t eaten for days.As i grabbed her arm, a part of her jumper caught on my watch, pulling at the material around her slender neck. Were those bruises on her neck?!, I held back the growl that was forming in my throat, I could not show her my protective side yet.
Charlie’s POV It was almost 7pm and the Royals would be here any minute, I wasn’t sure why they would choose a place like this and not some high end posh place but either way I made sure their table was spotless along with their glasses and cutlery. The King walked in closely followed by the Queen and Prince Alexander who flashed a quick smile at me. Another waiter showed them to their table and introduced me as their server. The King held a chair out for his wife, he was much older than I had imagined, his hair was white and down to his shoulders, with a long white braided beard to match. I’m not sure what it was but he didn’t look how I expected a King would look. I knew they were royalty yet I wasn’t even aware of what country they were King and Queen of. Prince Alexander gave me a wink as they seated. Why was he doing that, it wasn’t like I really knew him. The evening went smoothly but boy did they eat a lot, particularly meat which they liked extremely
Alexander’s POV It was odd seeing my beautiful mate as a servant. The only people that should be servants on the lower class. We had many of them in our house, the female omegas would often do a couple of months each when they came of age. I have to admit, I would have fun with some of them, they were so easy to wind up. Seeing my mate here though, it was not somewhere she belonged but I had put two and two together and it was obvious she was trying to get away from her father by earning money. Something she would not need to worry about when she was with me, she would be able to have whatever she wished for whenever she wanted. I could not take my eyes off of her as she brought us plate after plate of massive steaks and drinks, she looked exhausted, I am guessing due to lack of nutrition but carried on regardless and always with a beautiful smile on her pale lips. She even listened to my father when he cracked jokes whilst my mother and I rolled our eyes. My
Charlie’s POVWhen I came around, I could only open one of my eyes, I used the bed to pull myself to my feet with one arm, the other one wouldn’t move and from what I could see with my one good eye, it was also swollen. Staggering into my bathroom, I look at myself in the mirror, my left eye was swollen shut and a deep purple bruise was already forming. Dried blood was smeared across my chin and out of my nose, the clothes I was wearing had been torn, pain erupted from my ribs as I tried to move and I groaned in pain.I had been hit before but this was different, I had never been beaten into unconsciousness by my father before, this was going to be impossible to hide and not only that, my escape money had completely gone. I didn’t normally cry, usually I would shut down but I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.I crawled into my bed and messaged Sam on my ridiculously old phone telling him I was ill, I never rang in ill as I always foun
Alexander’s POV Charlie was covered in cuts, bruises and swellings. I’m certain she had broke something. I was willing to kill her father on the spot but hearing Charlie’s cries made me stop, my wolf just wanted to attend to her needs. Instead I threatened him, it was obvious he knew I was a wolf as he screwed his nose up at me, sniffing me, he knew I did not mean a lawyer. As I slipped my arms carefully under Charlie’s body, I felt every little bit of pain she was feeling, I wish she was healing but the long term effects of wolfsbane meant it could take years for it to leave her system. I held her close to me and charged towards the man everyone once new as Damon Blackheart. He did not hesitate to move out of the way as I carried my mate towards him, allowing us to pass without even challenging me. Moving down the stairs carefully I noticed how the house stank, stale beer, cigarette smoke and urine. I could not understand how my mate had put up with it for s
Max’s POV When my parents returned without my brother, I was not surprised, he had probably found a girl to follow after, what shocked me was when my mother announced Alexander had actually found a girl he really liked- his mate. They announced that Alexander had stayed behind whilst they had been called back for some urgent pack business. He wanted to keep an eye on her as she was not yet eighteen and therefore had no clue she was his mate. No doubt he would try and rub it in my face. My mother looked at me expectantly “It will be your turn soon” I shake my head at her “You know I do not believe in being mated to someone” My parents had been trying to help us find our mates since we turned sixteen and whilst my father had given up after the hundredth time of telling him I did not believe in destined mates, my mother still hoped that one day it would happen. Why she could not just be happy that I was one of the youngest doctors ever I do not k