Midnight River Shorts

Charlie Monroe and Alex

(Not Charlie Sterling from 'We're Not Brothers.' This is the Charlie that was mentioned in 'The Human and Their Mates,' 'When You Least Expect It,' and 'The Vampire's Siren' where he meets Alex.)

Charlie's POV

I'm patrolling tonight. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sometimes I follow an errant rabbit back to their warren, for something to do.

The wind shifts, and I smell something. Something wonderful. Something different. Not Wolf... No... Vampire. Curious, I stalk toward the scent. I see him.

Mate. Cassius purrs.

Holy shit, my Mate is a Vampire.

"What a fucking day." He mutters to himself, as he's stomping around the forest.

I creep toward him, not noticing the twig under my paw until it snaps.

He whips his head around, looking for whatever made the noise. Looking for me. "Hello?" He calls. "Is someone there?"

I don't bother to be quiet as I walk to him.

"Oh, shit." He gasps when he sees me.

I inch closer to him and sniff, tilting my head. I shift and walk closer to him.

"Oh, shit." He gasps again, and collapses in my arms.

I hold him close and start my walk back to the Pack House. Alpha Jenkins will want to know about a Vampire on Pack lands.

"Holy shit!" He screams suddenly and twists out of my arms, landing on his side and scrambling to stand up. "What the fuck? Who are you? What are you?"

"What?" I whisper.

Does he not know we're his Mate? Cassius whines softly.

"Love, did you hit your head?" I look at him sadly.

"Don't call me 'Love.'" He growls at me. "Who the fuck are you?" He demands, settling into a fighting crouch.

He doesn't know. I say softly to Cassius. I sit on the ground and pat the soil next to me. "Come talk with me." I look at my little Vampire.

The stubborn thing that he is, sits right where he is and glowers at me.

I chuckle. "Well, lovely." I grin at him. "Where should we start?" I do love a spitfire.

He's perfect. Cassius purrs, looking at him admiringly.

"Your name. And what the fuck you are." My little Vampire huffs as he crosses his arms.

"Well, my name is Charles Monroe." I smile at him widely. "And as you saw, I'm a Werewolf. Those exist, ya know." I chuckle softly.

"What the fuck?" He grips his hair tightly.

I quickly cross the empty space between us and gently grasp his hands. "Please don't do that. Just take deep breaths." I say softly.

"I just..." He takes a deep breath. "I didn't know any of this existed." His eyes are full of shock as he looks at me.

I look at him in surprise. "Are you..." I sniff him again. "You're a Vampire, aren't you?" I ask softly. He smells like a Vampire. But he doesn't know about Wolves?

"Yes..." He sighs, nodding. "But very new. Maybe a month at this point?" He shrugs.

"Oh, shit." My eyes widen. Fuck, who Turned him? "Who Turned you? How old are you?"

"I'm twenty. And I didn't get her name." He leans into my hands as I continue to hold his cheeks softly. He slowly relaxes, feeling my skin against his.