Everything

4

Benjamin's POV

"I'll be fi-" Charlotte's angelic voice was cut off by an all too familiar growl. My beta lunged from the hallway to the living room, shifting halfway through the air. I watched in horror and in anger as my beta sunk his claws into my mate.

"Michael! Get off of her. Now!" My wolf, Xavier, commanded, sending my beta into fits of submissive whimpering. I lifted Charlotte off of the couch and checked out the three deep and bleeding scratches on her right cheek. I placed her on the couch and ran to grab my first aid kit, hoping to stop the bleeding quickly. I grabbed the first aid kit and carried it back to the living room. I saw Michael glaring over at Charlotte and growled lowly.

"Don't look at her like that. Help me clean her up." I snapped, placing Charlotte's head in my lap. I pressed a cloth to Charlotte's cheek and watched it soak up blood.

"You better hope she's okay." My wolf snarled at Michael.

"Who is she?" Michael asked, digging in the first aid kit for peroxide.

"Her name is Charlotte, and she's my mate." I said, my normal voice overpowering my wolf's.

"I'm so sorry, Ben! I didn't know."

"Just, shut up, and hold her down. She's definitely going to squirm." I sighed, already hating the idea of my mate feeling uncomfortable by my hand. I shook away that thought and replaced it with the thought that I'd be helping her more than harming her.

"Of course." Michael hung his head, and held Charlotte down to the couch.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, pressing a peroxide soaked towel to Charlotte's cheek. I heard the sizzle of the solution cleaning the wound, and the whimpering of my mate. I placed my hand on her forehead, quieting her whimpering.  I pulled the towel from her cheek and placed a gauze pad over the scratches. I used medical tape to carefully tape down the gauze and held Charlotte to my chest. Her breathing became uneven and her blue eyes fluttered open.

"Okay, I know you said to keep an open mind, but I think that flying ball of fur ruined any chance of me liking wolves." Charlotte said, placing a hand gently on her cheek.

"Sorry about that." Michael voiced. Charlotte turned to the new voice and squealed, jumping away from him.

"Don't hurt me again! I didn't do anything!" She squeaked, hiding behind me.

"Look, I know it looks bad, but when I saw you I didn't see my Alpha's mate. I saw a stranger, that could potentially put our pack in danger. I really am sorry, and I hope you'll forgive me." Michael apologized, looking behind me at my mate.

"Y-you scratched me. My face- oh my goodness, my face! I don't care if you can transform into a huge furry wolf, if my face scars because of you, I swear to whatever is up above that I will destroy any chance you have at having children." Charlotte growled, eyes narrowing at Michael. He looked shocked, and looked to me for help.

"I can't help you." I shook my head as Charlotte touched her cheek again.

"Ben, what's his name?" She asked, resting a hand on my shoulder.

"M-Michael." I stutter, loving the feeling of her being this close to me.

"Well, Michael. I assume only time will tell if this will scar, so you better enjoy what you have before it disappears." Charlotte says, glaring directly into my beta's eyes.

I've seen Michael take on six rogues at once, and not even blink. I've seen him stare down people twice his size and grin. 

I've never seen Michael scared of anything, until my mate glared into his soul.

He hung his head and whimpered, nodding frantically at Charlotte. He looked to me for help again, but even my wolf was a little scared to have her glare turned on me.

"Charlotte, can I show you something?" I ask, drawing her attention away from the almost trembling Michael. She turned to me and blinked, her blue eyes shining with amusement.

"If you're going to shift, I'd rather go home." She said, still visibly shaken up about Michael.

"No, it's better than showing you my wolf." I reassured, placing my hand over her cheek. I closed my eyes and focused on the pain my mate was covering up. My wolf caught on to what I was doing and started focusing on it too.

"Ben, wha-"

"Sh, Charlotte. Just let him do his thing." Dylan whispered, cutting off Charlotte's question. I felt the tips of my fingers starting to tingle, and I heard Charlotte gasp. I stayed with my hand planted on her cheek for a few seconds before my fingertips stopped tingling.

"What was that?" Charlotte breathed, looking up at me. I pulled my hand away from her cheek and carefully peeled back the medical tape on her cheek.

"Ben?" She asked, confusion flashing across her face. I peeled the gauze completely off of her face and smiled lightly.

"All better." I grinned, running my fingertips across her now healed cheek. Charlotte's hand shot up to her cheek and she felt her newly healed skin.

"What just happened?" She asked, letting a grin spread across her cheeks.

"Mates have the ability to heal each other, if the injury isn't life threatening. The bond we already have managed to mend your injury." I smiled, liking the sight of a smile present on her face.

"That's so cool!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around my neck. She planted a kiss on my cheek, causing my wolf to howl with joy.

"Thank you!" She beamed, slowly releasing me. I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist and held her in place.

"Not yet." I mumbled into her hair.

"Michael, you're lucky." She said over my shoulder. I placed her feet back on the floor and turned to see Michael silently thanking the moon goddess for the ability to heal our mates.

"I won't make a habit of crossing you, Charlotte." He said, before literally running off to his room. I heard his door slam shut, and thanks to my enhanced hearing, I also heard the lock on his click. I couldn't help myself and started to laugh uncontrollably.

"What?" Charlotte asked, smiling widely at me.

"Michael is scared of you. He's not scared of anything." Charlotte began to giggle, the sound alone making my wolf bark happily. Charlotte, Dylan, and I sat in my living room, laughing loudly for a few more minutes before we all sobered up.

"Ben?" Charlotte asked, leaning back into the couch cushions.

"Yes?"

"Can you show me your wolf?" A grin spread itself across my cheeks as I grabbed her and pulled her out of my house and into the forest.

"Are you ready?" I asked, stepping a few feet away from her. She nodded, leaning against the tree she was next to. The sunlight broke through the trees, making her eyes seem lighter, and her hair seemed to shine like gold. I smiled inwardly at her and allowed my wolf to take over. In a matter of seconds my wolf stood with his head lowered to meet Charlotte's eyes.

"Whoa." Charlotte breathed.