"So little brother, how does it feel? Leaving the pack for four years and becoming a big man on campus?" Liam lay back on his brother's bed, his shoes kicked off, his feet propped up as both of his younger brothers began to unpack the half dozen boxes that they had just finished hauling in from his truck. His golden hair was tousled and his thick muscular arms were up over his head, pulling his shirt up just enough to expose his washboard abs as he tried to steal a few minutes of sleep.
"It would feel a Hell of a lot better if you'd get off your ass and help us unpack." Camden, who was seventeen, and who Liam would be making the long drive home with, made the comment as he picked up a pillow and tossed it at his oldest sibling. Liam caught it with one hand and quickly folded the pillow in half before tucking it under his head.
"Sorry little bro. Mom only recruited me for the drive out here today. And to carry boxes up. I don't do dorm room set ups. At least not until I have my own pups. Besides, I need the sleep. I was out on patrol last night until almost four. And I'm on the schedule for tonight after I drive the pup home." He jerked his chin towards Camden, who still had one more year one more year of high school left.
"Are you a cop?" The question was asked by a gorgeous redhead as she slipped into the room, a small box in her arms and an enormous backpacking pack on her back. In a moment Liam was on his feet, lifting the box and placing it on the desk on the opposite side of the room.
"Not exactly-" Camden's head snapped towards the future Alpha, his eyes wide. His usually arrogant oldest brother sounded surprisingly unsure of himself when he responded to the petite redhead's question, and he was now watching her with his head tilted to one side. He had heard his brother bullshit people about who they were and what he did all his life. And now he was barely forming coherent words.
"Wait, so my roommate's a chick?" Camden was standing right next to Liam as Luke, the middle brother in the trio, who actually was moving into the room, spoke, and it was impossible for Camden to miss the growl that rumbled in Liam's chest, at Luke's words. Even the girl must have heard it because she turned her head in his direction and drew her eyebrows together.
"Did you just growl?" she asked, and it was clear that she was trying not to laugh.
"Growl, him? No way. He just has this really bad indigestion thing going on?" Liam gave his youngest brother a look that said he was going to beat him as soon as this girl was out of the room, before shaking his head and rolling his eyes and shrugging.
"This is a really old building. I think you'll probably hear all sorts of weird sounds in here. I think it's the pipes." Camden, as the youngest, and a natural born comedian, had always been much more talkative than Luke and today was no exception. "But is this really your room?"
"I guess so. It's probably because of my name. People get confused all the time. But, I don't mind rooming together if you don't. I mean it's not like we share a bathroom or anything. Besides. I rarely get along with other girls. This ought to work out just fine. As long as no one notices?"
Camden glanced at Liam and saw his hands in fists, his knuckles turning white. He tried to catch his older brother's eye. What the Hell was going on with him.
"I'm fine with it." Luke gave the pretty redhead a quick once over and continued to unpack on his side of the room. "I bet you'll be a lot neater than most of the guy roommates I could have gotten stuck with."
"I don't know. I have had some pretty messy female roommates over the years. But you're right, I'm neat. And I don't have much stuff anyways, so my side should stay super tidy.
Liam's eyes skimmed over the girl's belongings as she unzipped the battered backpack that she'd slipped from her freckled shoulders. She pulled out a blanket and fitted sheet, but no fancy bed set like so many kids brought to college.
She made her bed with military precision, minus a pillow, while Liam settled back to watch her unpack with unbridled curiosity that he couldn't even explain to himself. He found himself wanting to know all that he could about the slender beauty that would be living with his brother.
"So what did you say your name was?" Luke asked after a few minutes of silence. In that time she'd managed to put away her entire wardrobe, which Liam saw consisted of four shirts, two pairs of jeans, one tiny pair of jean shorts, an even smaller pair of satin shorts with a matching top that must have been for sleeping in, plus the shorts and tank top that she had on, and for shoes, only the battered pair of sneakers on her feet.
"I didn't tell you my name," she replied, pulling three books out of the box she'd carried in with her, along with a photo album that looked like it was falling apart and a small bag of toiletries.
Narrowing his eyes Liam read the titles on the three books she'd carefully stacked on the back corner of her desk. Wuthering Heights. A Hundred Years of Solitude. The Great Gatsby. All three copies looked so worn that it was hard to believe their covers were holding them together.
"Well, I'm Luke, and these are my brothers Liam and Camden."
"So you're the one who I'm going to be rooming with?" The girl whose name they still didn't know walked over to her empty closet and hung her backpack over the door before closing it again. She didn't seem to have anything to fill it with.
"Yup. My brothers are making the drive home as soon as they finish helping me unpack." Her eyes drifted over to where Liam was sprawled out on the bed and one eyebrow raised slightly.
"Yeah, lucky you have so much-" her voice trailed off and she shrugged her shoulders slightly, the corners of her mouth turning up- "help, I guess, to get everything here. Oh and I'm Charlie, which I guess is how we ended up as roommates."
Liam shook his head slightly and stared up at the ceiling forcing his breathing to stay slow and even. She wasn't his mate. He was certain he would have known it if she was. Fuck, she was just some human girl.
And yet his wolf was going berserk in his chest at the idea of leaving the stunning little redhead alone with his little brother, who was without a doubt the most respectful eighteen year old he'd ever met in his entire life. The kid had never even kissed a girl. He was pretty sure he didn't even think about kissing girls he was so caught up in his math and science theories. Liam couldn't make sense of the feelings that were clawing at his chest.
What the Hell was wrong with him? Closing his eyes he tried to ignore how fucking good she smelled so that he could actually get some rest before he made the long drive home.
A/N- I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you did I'd love it if you'd comment and click that little star button to vote for it.
This is Chapter One, but don't worry the entire story will be posted here in the next week. I'll be posting super frequently as a sort of Valentine's Day present! February is long and cold and it needs a little brightening. Or at least entertainment!
This entire story is already up on Patreon for anyone who can't wait that long, along with many others under "The Alpha and The Red Head." And for those of you who want more stories, long and short, right this second and who want to read Patreon exclusive short stories, you may also want to check out the link below:
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Chasing Charlie
Werewolf"She unwrapped her legs from his waist and slid down his body, ignoring his murmur of surprise as she brushed his hands to the side. She knew how to take control and a part of her sensed that that was exactly what he wanted, even before he knew it h...
