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 on patrol 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.

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.

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 walk back to the Pack House.

"Holy shit!" He screams suddenly and twists out of my arms. "What the fuck? Who are you? What are you?"

"What?" I whisper. "Love, did you hit your head?"

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

Oh. He doesn't know I'm his Beloved. I sit on the ground and pat the soil next to me. "Come talk with me."

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.

"Your name. And what the fuck you are." He 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."

I look at him in surprise. "Are you..." I sniff him again. "You're a Vampire, aren't you?"

"Yes..." He sighs. "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 nineteen. And I didn't get her name." He leans back on his hands.

I hum for a moment. Alpha? I link Alpha Jenkins.

What's up, Charlie? He replies.

I've found a Vampire on the edge of the forest. He's newly made, about a month, and nineteen years old. I'm near Peter's house. I report.

Take him there, and fill Jasper in. I'll get ahold of Jackson. I'll also have someone cover your shifts until this gets sorted. He orders.

Thank you, Alpha. I reply. "Come with me, please." I stand and look back at my little Vampire. He blushes hard. I look down at my naked body. "I can shift if that makes you more comfortable." I chuckle. "But will you follow me?"