Chapter 100: Chapter 100

Nicholas introduces each and every member of their unnamed pack to Charlotte. She smiles, says a few words and repeats it all over again. The people are respectful but cautious and she can’t blame them. These people have been hiding for years in hopes of meeting their Alpha and now it is revealed it is none other than some girl they had no idea existed.

Soon, the line comes to an end and the only person left is a woman of her age, the very one Theo was staring at earlier.

Or rather was still staring at.

“Alpha, this is Samantha Andrews. She is one of our best trackers.” Nicholas introduces her.

“Hello, Samantha.” Charlotte smiles at her, instantly liking the vibes coming off her.

“Hello, Alpha. I’m so glad we finally found you.” Samantha’s voice is a bit deeper than she is used to hearing from females, though not deeper than hers. Her red eyes flash as she bows her head.

“And I’m glad to meet you.” Charlotte wants to talk more to her, to get to know her but as of now, she has no idea what she should talk about.

Samantha takes the clue and smiles. She steps back and joins her friends who are standing at some distance. Charlotte carefully observes Theo at that moment. He is still looking at her, or more like observing her. his eyes follow her every step, every action. When one of the guys put his arm on Samantha’s shoulder, Theo clenches his jaw and looks away.

Just for a second.

She can see him getting worked up. His palms close into fists at his side and his nostrils flare.

Oh my God!

Is she his mate??

Ahhhh…

But…but if that were the case. He’d have gone to her and claimed her. Not everyone can be as patient as Azraiel.

But…then if not her mate….then why the hell is he looking at her like that?

“Love?” Azraiel’s voice breaks her inner monologue.

“Shall we leave?” Charlotte nods at his question and looks at Nicholas.

“Let us know if the Head contacts you.” Nicholas nods at her and bows his head.

Azraiel, Charlotte and Theo take their leave.

Theo’s behavior the entire ride is drastically different than when they were going to meet her pack.

“Are you okay?” Charlotte turns around and asks him.

“Yeah.” He briefly answers and looks out of the window.

Charlotte furrows her brows and looks at Azraiel.

He is concerned too. She can see it on his face. This is the most Theo has ever been silent. Even when none of them is in the mood to talk, Theo keeps chattering away because he wants to. Right now, the person sitting behind them looks nothing like their Theo.

The ride is silent and soon they reach the pack. Azraiel parks the car in front of the packhouse and the three of them make their way to his office.

“Matt says Kira is doing much better.” Azraiel says as they sit in his office.

“That’s great,” Charlotte smiles. She’s glad that Kira is out of danger now.

“Are you getting to tell us what’s bothering you or I’ll have to beat the shit of you?” Azraiel says to Theo, arching his brow.

Charlotte quietly looks at Theo. She has a feeling this might escalate.

“It’s nothing.” Theo says and stands up. He starts walking towards the door when Azraiel stops him.

“Theo.”

Theo stops and turns towards him.

“What?” His voice is hard and his face is set in a poker face.

“There is something going on… I know that. I saw the way you were looking at the girl back there.” Azraiel says in an equally hard voice.

So it wasn’t just her who found it strange.

Theo doesn’t say anything but moves his eyes away from Azraiel for a second.

“If she is your mate, then I have no problem if she wants to join our pack.” Azraiel’s voice softens.

“She is not my mate.” Theo grits his teeth and Charlotte instantly knows that something is wrong.

Azraiel is about to say something but in that instant the phone rings.

“Yes?” Azraiel answers the phone.

Over the next minute, Azraiel’s expression changes as he listens to what the person on the other side is saying.

“What’s wrong?” Charlotte asks as soon as he puts down the phone.

“The-The Head – Coordinator is coming to our pack. The day after tomorrow.” He sounds astonished.

“What? But-But he never visits any pack.” Theo says, his demeanor changing completely.

“Yeah…I asked to talk to him, about Charlotte’s pack and all. But I had no idea that he’d want to come here himself.” The way these two are talking makes it look like it is indeed a really big deal for the Head-Coordinator to visit any pack.

“Theo, Begin the preparations. Since Kira can’t help us right now, I want you to look over the security and make arrangements for his stay. I don’t know for how long he’ll be staying, so make your arrangements accordingly.” Azraiel instructs Theo.

“I can help.” Charlotte chimes in.

Azraiel nods. “Take her help. Tell her what she is expected to do as the Luna.” Azraiel’s eyes shine as he says ‘Luna’.

Theo and Charlotte start to leave the office to begin the preparations.

“Charlotte?” She hers her mate through mindlink.

“yeah?”

“Talk to Theo. I think that girl is his mate but I don’t know why he is denying it.” She can hear the concern in his voice.

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him.”

Charlotte assures Azraiel and follows Theo to his office.

“Let’s begin.” Theo sits behind the desk and Charlotte decided to wait till he relaxes to strike up the conversation.

“Here!” Theo hands a file over to her. “This has information about the Head- Coordinator. You are our Luna and hence you’ll need to know about the higher-ranking people in the werewolf world as well as the territories of other packs. I think today is the perfect day to start your training.” Theo starts talking in his usual animated way and she feels relieved momentarily. However, she has a feeling he is doing this to get away from the questions he knows she is going to ask.

Charlotte takes the file silently and begins reading.

The Head- coordinator looks like an Alpha. She hasn’t met the man but she can feel the authority right from the photo. His brown eyes are set hard just like his sharp jaw. His brown hair is neatly combed back and he looks very much serious. He is young but the look in his eyes tells her that his experiences are not.

Charlotte starts to read his profile. Apparently, he is the younger brother of the former Beta of the King, who was in fact Azraiel’s uncle, his Aunt Caitlyn’s husband. When his uncle was declared King’s Beta, his younger brother Daniel Scott took over the Golden Forest pack as Alpha. After the death of King’s Beta, Daniel Scott was appointed the Head Coordinator by vote and Aunt Caitlyn took over the pack as Alpha.

“Have you met him?” Charlotte asks Theo.

“The head coordinator?” Theo asks and Charlotte nods.

“Yeah. I’ve met him.” Theo answers and goes back to his work.

“What’s he like?”

Theo chuckles. “He is actually pretty chill. When you’ll meet him, he’ll look like the scariest person, very serious and powerful. But in reality, he is really supportive and laid back. We have known him all our lives you know.” Charlotte nods and has a feeling Theo is back to being his chatty self.

Good…it’ll help lower his defenses.

“We used to go to his pack during summer when he was the Alpha. He was the closest we all had to a big brother. Since he was way younger than Aunt Caitlyn’s husband, we kind of bonded instantly with him. He taught us how to fight, and how to relax, some of our most useful tactics in the field are his teachings. He not only taught us everything but also made our childhood memorable. You know he used to take us swimming in the river and we used to play for hours. It was really fun.” Charlotte can see it really was fun. Theo’s eyes lighten at the memory and a faint smile can be seen on his lips.

Theo suddenly looks up from his file and smiles widely. “You are going to love him Charlotte. He is like a father to Azraiel but really, he is younger than you’d think and he hates it when people treat him like an old man.” Theo chuckles again.

Charlotte smiles at Theo’s enthusiasm.

This is the Theo she loves. But sometimes, she wonders how he does that all the time. Be the tension breaker, the Gamma, and a great friend all the time?

Maybe the laughter and goofiness are to hide something. She hadn’t thought like this before, but the way he has been behaving since morning and now the complete shift in his attitude makes her think that it is indeed a defense mechanism or maybe a coping one instead.

Charlotte takes a long look at Theo.

“Theo.” He looks at her, sensing the change in her voice.

“We are going to talk about today. It doesn’t have to be right now, but whenever you feel ready to talk. Just…just know that you can talk to me. Not as your Luna, but as your friend.” Charlotte softly says.

Theo doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t even look up from the papers in his hand which she knows he isn’t reading.

“There is nothing to talk about Charlotte.” He answers, detachedly.

“Really?” Charlotte scoffs and narrows her eyes at him.

“Mhmm. Really. That girl is not my mate. I was looking at her because I was looking at others too. Azraiel just caught me looking at her and not others. That’s all.” Theo nonchalantly answers and shrugs his shoulders.

“Then why did you get angry when her friend put his arm on her shoulder?” Charlotte asks. No point in going around the bush when he isn’t evading the conversation.

Theo looks up and he looks shocked.

Yeah..I saw that.

“I-I wasn’t angry.” He answers defiantly but he knows he has been caught.

“Really?” Charlotte says sarcastically.

“Really.” Theo narrows his eyes at her, gaining his lost composure.

“Mhmm. So, you won’t have any problem if I set her up with someone else?” Charlotte decided to play the game. If he isn’t going to answer straight, then maybe she has to force it out of him.

Theo’s jaw clenches again, and that’s all she has to see to determine that she is definitely something to him.

“No. I won’t.” He answers, gritting his teeth. The paper in his hand is creased from where he has been holding it.

Good. He is angry.

“Great, then. I’m thinking I should set her up with Matt. He hasn’t found his mate yet, right? Maybe they can be chosen mates.” Charlotte knows it’s angering him and for some fucked up reason she is enjoying watching him getting all worked up.

As soon as she finishes her sentence, a loud growl comes out of his throat and his eyes flash yellow.

His wolf is on edge.

“What’s wrong Theo?” She asks softly. “You don’t like the thought of her being with someone else?”

“She is not my mate.” It looks like Theo is struggling to take control back from his wolf since his eyes are flashing back to yellow and then to his own eyes.

“But I think she is indeed your mate. Look at the way your wolf is reacting.” Charlotte tries to reason with him.

Theo glances up and snarls at Charlotte. “She is not my mate,” His voice is not his own anymore. It is much deeper and frightening. For a second, Charlotte feels like he is going to shift right there in the room. She gulps and quietly asks Azraiel to come here through the mindlink.

Before she can understand what is happening, Theo says just one line and then storms off from the office with a loud snarl.

“She can’t be my mate because my mate is dead.”