Authors Note: I think I relate more to Max in the morning. I only really wake up super early when I need to. Of course, how can you sleep when love is in the air? Thank you for reading! Feel free to tell me if there are any grammatical errors and I'll be sure to fix it. Thanks for all the votes and comments!
-Saturn
Max woke up earlier than his usual time. His alarm woke him up at six. As much as his body screamed at the thought of getting out of bed and getting ready, his mind had already whirred to life. Usually, if he ever woke up this early, Max would just go back to bed, but certain circumstances seemed to change things.
And when he had a certain someone on his mind, there was no way of going back to sleep. He was actually trying to get up earlier so that he could have breakfast with Charlie. But he had no idea how early the man got up. Every time he got up earlier and earlier in hopes that he would actually catch Charlie just waking up. He wanted to ask him when he woke up every day, but that seemed a little strange. And Max didn't want to come off as strange.
Especially not after how close he was the day before.
He had Charlie right there. He was so close to kissing him; to asking him to be his; to start off their relationship. Charlie had felt so good in his arms. Every touch they shared sent shock waves through him. If he closed his eyes, he could still feel those small hips that his arms wrapped around. And how soft his face was when he lifted it closer to him.
Dr. Button had seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Max was even there. He sounded really worried when he called out Charlie's name. But all Max could think about was how close he was to getting the one thing he had waited his whole life.
Now that he thought about it, Dr. Button was very attentive to Charlie. It wasn't that Max was getting jealous, as if he'd need to. It just seemed strange that he would be so worried about Charlie. Usually Button left everyone to their own devices. Even if he told them they needed to rest for a while, he wouldn't bother bugging them if he saw them running off. That was just something that werewolves seemed to do.
But with Charlie, he was very attentive. When Max wasn't there, he always tried to eat with him, or to make sure he wasn't wandering off into anything that could get him hurt. It was very much like a protective parent.
Speaking of which, Max needed to get up. Button told him that he would be off on a trip that morning. He needed to make sure that Charlie actually ate. His appetite was growing pretty fast, but he still wound up accidentally eating too much, and he would forget to eat if someone didn't remind him. One of the maids was told to bring him his breakfast as soon as he woke up.
Oh, if only Max knew what time he woke up! He could have used this as an excuse too! Truth be told he was a bit shy to ask. That's why he always settled to eat lunch and dinner with him. It was so hard to tear himself away from him when he needed to go to meetings or help his father with paperwork. His dad would always ask how Charlie was. He didn't have much time to visit with all of his Alpha duties, but he still looked worried about him.
That seemed to be a common trait for everyone that met Charlie. Even Aldi seemed to notice how skinny the blond was. Charlie had been oblivious to the conversation that they had because it was through mind link. But at least Max got him to keep an eye on him if he ever saw him. He had a hunch that Charlie would want to go back there. It was nice seeing him light up like he did when he saw the kitchen. It was something that Max had grown up with, so he never paid attention to it. But Charlie was awestruck by it. It gave Max a sense of pride that he was able to make Charlie feel that way.
Max decided against really doing anything with his hair. That would take forever, and he didn't have forever. Instead he settled for a quick shower to let the Russian roulette wheel of fate decide how his hair was going to dry. He just hoped it didn't look too ridiculous.
"Hey Max!" Ed came up to him. He didn't know how Ed had gotten up this early, as he was usually just like Max in the sense that he liked to sleep in, but he didn't like it.
"Maximillion!" Ed continued. He was trying to ignore him. He needed to get downstairs to see Charlie. But his friend was persistent. "Maxidexterous! Maxi-pad!"
"You can stop with the dumb nicknames now," he sighed. Ed had been doing that since High school. It made it interesting for anyone who didn't like him. Of course, if someone wanted to start anything with him, it wasn't like that was a problem. He just didn't find enjoyment out of scaring them, so it made some humans think he was weak.
They learned their lessons quickly.
High school was full of more fun memories than any bad ones. Max couldn't help but smile at the stupid nicknames that Ed had shouted. It reminded him of the days when none of them had mates or children to worry about.
"Where have you been this past week?" he asked. His human form wasn't much different from his wolf. He kept the black hair and golden eyes that his wolf form had. He was just, well, more human in this form. "We missed you."
"You mean you missed me?" he asked. Ed was following him down the stairs now. With Tyler as his Beta, and the next pack Beta, he still talked to him every day. He knew that Tyler was curious about the different schedule that Max now had, but he didn't question him. That's why Max loved Tyler.
As for Sam, he had been up to his elbows in work at home. Ever since his wife got pregnant with their first child, Sam was in constant work mode. It was either taking care of the business that they both shared, or taking care of the kids. Sam was constantly moving. The only time they could really hang out with him was when they were all scheduled to go hunting together. And that was typically only once a month.
At least Tyler was more organized than Sam. And his children were angels compared to Sam's.
And as for Ed? He didn't have any children yet. His mate wanted to wait until she went through college first and started her career. And he was perfectly fine with that. It meant that him and Max spent more time together than the rest. So not talking to him for the past week must have been very suspicious to him.
"Anyway," Ed changed the subject and put an arm around Max's shoulders. "I was thinking about convincing Sam to have a guys night tonight, wanna come?"
"I'll pass," he brushed his arm off. "Sam's just going to be grumpy about it anyway." He knew it seemed mean, but he really needed to lose Ed so he could go check up on Charlie. Maybe he'd get lucky and the blond would actually be asleep.
He wondered how he looked when he slept. Was it peacefully? Did he toss and turn a lot? There was so much that Max was dying to learn about him.
"Come on, give him some credit. I mean, he laughed at a human last week."
"True," this small talk was just making things worse. Max knew that Ed had woken up this early for some specific reason, that wasn't just a guy's night. There was something that he wanted from Max. And that didn't exactly excite him.
"You know that human smelt really different from all the other humans I've smelt," Ed coaxed. Max sighed. He knew he wasn't going to like where this was going.
"Spare me the word play, Ed," He started. He knew that Ed could keep a secret at least, even when he was playing detective. "Yes, he's here. Yes, my dad knows. No, my grandfather doesn't know. And I'd like to keep as little people knowing about it as possible."
"Your dad knows?!" Ed's jaw almost dropped.
"What? Did you think I just snuck him into the mansion?" he looked at his friend incredulously. "Of course, my dad knows, I wouldn't have been able to bring him here if he didn't know. He's the Alpha, after all."
"Why did you bring him here?"
Max wound up telling him what had happened in the restaurant that night. The more he remembered from that night, the more he wished he had actually been able to at least strangle that man that hurt Charlie. Even if it wasn't Charlie, Max wouldn't want that to happen to anyone, and that man probably did it to more people. If he didn't already, then he was going to. And Max hated that fact.
What if when Charlie went back, Evon just attacked him again? Would he get as lucky as this time? No. No, Max wouldn't let there be a next time. He would either try to convince him to stay with him forever, or he would pick him up from work if he had to.
Ed usually didn't care that much about humans. None of them really focused on them. None of them around their territory were really troublesome, or threatening towards them. They usually just let them all be. Charlie seemed to be the exception for everyone who had met him. And Ed looked more concerned the more he heard Max say.
"Is he okay?!"
"He's recovering," Max answered. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to tell Ed. But he supposed he needed someone to talk to about this. "The main concern is his weight."
"What about it?" Ed asked. He was just as curious about the human as Max.
"Button said he was really underweight and malnutritioned."
"He did look really skinny when we first saw him," Ed said. "I wonder what happened to him."
"I don't really know," Max told him. He wished he knew the answer to that one. He wasn't even sure if Charlie would tell him anything about what was going on in his personal life.
"Can I meet him?" Ed practically bounced up and down.
"Fine," Max couldn't help but smile at his friend. Ed was always the easiest to talk to about anything and everything. As the next Gamma of the pack, it was a great trait to have.
They were already at the infirmary at that point. Max knocked softly on the door to Charlie's room. He didn't leave much time for an answer before he just opened it. Charlie only changed in the bathroom that was attached to the room. He was hoping to catch Charlie a little off guard, just to see that smile that he always shared whenever he saw him. He loved that smile.
Instead, there was just a hospital gown on the bed, and some barely touched food on the tray table. Max checked the bathroom, but there wasn't any sign that it had even been used that morning. Everything was folded nice and neatly, just like the maids did every morning as their routine.
There wasn't a hint that Dr. Button was there. He was going to kill Max once he saw that Charlie didn't eat his breakfast.
How early had he gotten up? Where did he go? Was he still here, or did he try to sneak out and head back to the city? Max's heart pounded, and his mind went into a panic. There was nothing but forest for miles outside of the house. If Charlie tried to head back home, he was definitely going to get lost. He could starve out there. Or one of the Rouges could get into their territory again and Charlie could be caught in the middle of the fight.
"He's still here Max," Ed must have sensed his panic, because there was no hint of joking in his voice. Instead, he had gone into full hunting mode. "I can smell him still."
Smell. Right. He could do that. Max had been so panicked, he forgot that he could still track him down.
Ed was right. That apple cinnamon scent was too strong for him to have completely left the house. It was easy to track, especially with Max's hyper-sensitive nose when it came to this particular smell. Max would have mind linked with everyone in the house to see where he was, but he still wanted to keep Charlie a secret for the most part. And with how easy it was to track his scent, he found this method much simpler.
Ed trailed Max through the hallways. The scent got stronger the more they walked. The first place they tried was the library, but he wasn't in there. They walked past it to find that it was getting stronger towards the kitchen.
Great. Max just knew Charlie would wind up wanting to go back there eventually. He just wished the blond didn't go places without him.
"Maybe he just wanted something different for breakfast," Ed said, trying to lighten up the situation. Max was not going to relax until he saw him and knew that he was safe.
They opened the door and walked in a little bit. Everyone was busy getting breakfast ready. Max hadn't really been in the kitchen that much since he worked in it as a kid. His parents wanted to teach him responsibility by helping around as much as possible. It was the main reason why he was so lazy as an adult. He never got a chance to relax when he was a teenager.
Apples and cinnamon. The smell filled the air in the kitchen so much that Max wouldn't be surprised if they were making apple pies at the moment. He could live the rest of his life just standing there, inhaling that lovely smell. It was heavenly.
Then he saw him. Charlie looked like he was dancing. Ingredients were going into their designated spots with such speed and precision that it seemed like they just floated there. That or Charlie was juggling them. He was wearing the same black long-sleeved shirt as that night at the restaurant. Max was glad that he got it dry-cleaned for him the first night they brought him there. Instead of him wearing the restaurant shirt over it, though, the blond had a white apron that was tied around his waist and neck. His sleeves were rolled up to just above his elbows as he worked gracefully with the ingredients he had.
He was gorgeous. The way he smiled when he peeled the apples he had; the way he just seemed to glide through his section of the kitchen when he needed to grab something; the way his hair bounced as he moved from place to place. It was elegant. And Max was more that mesmerized by it all.
Max should be angry that Charlie was doing anything other than recovering. He wasn't supposed to be burning calories, he needed to get as many as possible during the day. And he didn't eat breakfast to boot.
But he just couldn't be mad at his mate. He would beg the Moon Goddess not to ruin this moment if he could. Just to enjoy a little bit of his mate's happiness, that was all he wanted to do.
"You're drooling a bit there, bud," Ed snapped him out of his thoughts. Fear hit Max as he saw his friend had an all-knowing grin on his face.
This was going to be difficult to keep a secret.
He shouldn't be too worried about Ed, though. Ed was always the most open out of all of them. His brother had been mated to another male in their neighbor pack just last year.
"Max!" Chef Aldi looked over to him. "You're up early. Sorry about breakfast. It should be ready soon."
"Why is he here working with you?" Max mind linked with the chef. Aldi was one of the elders of the pack. He was the first Delta to work at what would be considered an Omega's job. His strength and sense of protection was another reason why Max asked Aldi to keep an eye on him if he came to the kitchen again. But he never thought that the chef would be letting him cook with him. Charlie wasn't supposed to be doing anything other than resting.
Why was it so difficult to get the blond to do the simplest of things?
"He came in about an hour ago," Aldi explained. His expression didn't change as he kept his eyes on the food he was making. "He asked if I needed help here. I'm sorry, Max. But when I turned him down, he looked so sad and lost, I didn't have it in me to not let him help."
Max's heart hurt at the thought of Charlie looking that way. He should have gotten up earlier. He needed to just stay up all night to figure out when he woke up.
"Thanks for keeping an eye on him for me," Max told the chef before ending the mind link. He hoped that Aldi wasn't too irritated by watching Charlie for him, at least a little bit.
Charlie perked up immediately when he heard Aldi mention Max's name. He was completely oblivious to the conversation that Aldi and him were really having. He gave Max one of his shy smiles when he saw him.
"You're not supposed to be working, you know," Max walked up to him. The two cooks that were working next to him straightened their backs as he walked past them. Knowing the little that he knew about Charlie, he had probably talked to those two the most. He seemed to love to talk to just about everyone.
Max would have to ask them what Charlie had talked to them about when he had a chance.
"I know, but this really isn't that much," Charlie's voice sounded like honey. It was getting difficult to try and keep a stern face on. "Besides, I might as well do my part if I'm going to be staying here."
Max sighed. No matter how many times both him and Button told him that he didn't have do anything for them letting him stay there, the man insisted on trying anyway. He was as stubborn as bees trying to fight off a honey bear.
"You need to rest if you want to recover."
"But I've had plenty of rest," he looked down at his work and tried to block it from Max's view. It only made Max more curious as to what he was cooking. "I was only thinking about helping in the morning anyway. It's not too much work in the morning as compared to the evenings."
It was adorable that he was comparing this to his restaurant. From Max's experience, the kitchen was busy no matter what. There was always cleaning to be done or someone else that was hungry. He didn't know how Aldi could be in the kitchen all day, let alone enjoy it.
"What are you cooking?" Ed popped up. Max had almost forgotten that his friend was even there. His golden eyes were trying to peak over Charlie's shoulder, looking like a hungry child trying to get a taste of their mothers cooking before it was done. He seemed amused by all of this.
"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise," Charlie blocked the table again.
"Aldi," Max called for the chef again. Instead of walking to him, Aldi just looked up from what he was doing. "What are you having him make?" He knew that Charlie would most likely play a game of roundabout if he tried to get answers from him. But Aldi couldn't keep Charlie's secret when Max asked. He had to honor him as the next Alpha of their pack.
"Well," Aldi shot an apologetic look Charlie's way before continuing, "The boy said he wanted to do something to thank you for helping him. Then he tells us that he knows how to make pie from scratch, so I told him he could use that spot in the kitchen and bake some pies for everyone."
Pies?
Before Max could ask, some of the younger kitchen workers came running in.
"Hey Apple! We got all the fruit you asked for," one of them said. They each dropped baskets of green apples, blueberries, and raspberries.
Apple? They already gave him a nickname? He almost growled at the thought. Charlie had only been there an hour, and they already gave his mate a nickname?!
He wanted to be the first to give him a nickname.
"Woah!" Ed looked like a child on Christmas morning. "How many pies were you planning to make?"
"Well, since my secret's out," Charlie sighed. "I heard that there were a lot of people here, so I was planning to make five of each of the ones I can remember the easiest. So, fifteen total."
"Fifteen?!" Ed laughed. "With all of us, you'd probably need fifty total."
"Five of each is fine," Max glared at his friend. What did he want to do, kill the man by overworking him? Charlie was already recovering from being overworked. "We don't have to invite everyone over pie."
"Are you sure?" Charlie asked. "I could probably make more, but it'll take some more time to bake them all."
"Fifteen pies is good enough," Max said. There was no way he was going to let Charlie make anything more than that.
"So, you'll let me make them?" Charlie looked as happy as a puppy with a new toy. His eyes sparkled like gemstones.
And Max got completely tricked into letting Charlie work. Button was going to kill him. Again.
"On one condition," Max put his hand in the air.
"What is it?"
"You need to eat something," Max hadn't forgotten the tray of food that was left practically untouched in the room.
Charlie looked guilty when he heard him say that, but he didn't fight him on it. That was one thing that Max didn't have to push him to do at least. Then he got a look on his face that Max had never seen before on him. He got an apple from one of the baskets and rolled it onto his arm before bouncing it off his shoulder and catching it with his other hand. Then he took a big bite out of it and winked at him.
"You got it," he said.
Max was frozen. His heart felt like it had stopped for far too long for him to still be alive. And his body was just about to die from the electricity that was pumping through him. This mate bond seemed to be the strangest one he had ever heard about. But Max wasn't really complaining at this point.
Charlie just winked at him.
Did he just flirt with him?
"Well, I'm gonna leave you guys to it," Ed said. He patted Max on the shoulder. "Looks like I'm going to invite the boys over some pie later today."
"It was nice to meet you," Charlie smiled at him.
"Oh yeah!" Ed slapped his forehead. "I forgot that you probably don't know my name. I'm Ed."
"Charlie," he shook his hand.
Max glared at Ed the whole time. The man always knew the perfect time to cut right into a good moment and end it.
So did Dr. Button.
"Well, I gotta check on some things at home," he pointed his thumb towards the door to the kitchen. "I'll talk to you over some pie later today. See you soon."
"See you soon," Charlie waved goodbye as he left.
Max wanted to glare at his friend some more, but he was quick to get out of the kitchen. And he had an evil grin on his face as he left.
"Guys night to discuss this soon?" Ed mind linked with him.
Max sighed internally. The more he tried to keep things a secret, the more he failed. Was he really that easy to read?
"It was that obvious, huh?"
"Dude, I knew you swung the other way since high school," Ed seemed amused by all of this yet again. How everything just brushed off his shoulders astonished Max.
Wait...
"What?!" he almost said that out loud. He could hear Ed's laughter from outside of the kitchen. "What do you mean, you've known since high school?!"
"I don't know man, you just had this way about you," Ed said. "You never seemed interested in any girls, even when we all got out of school. And you always seemed to be more comfortable around guys than women."
"How does that explain anything?!"
"You just had a thing about you."
Max rubbed his face. This was only getting more confusing. Ed always had a way of reading people. But how could someone know something like that when Max didn't even know?
"You're ridiculous, you know that?"
"Well, I mean, he's not that bad of a looker either," Ed said. "You two would look pretty good together."
He liked that thought. They would look good together. They do look good together. But trying to get the whole pack to see that was going to be the greatest challenge the Moon Goddess had ever given him.
"You aren't going to tell anyone, are you?" the way he sent that thought made it seem tiny in comparison to the other thoughts. It was like someone talking lower than they had before. That was the interesting thing about mind linking, you could do as many things with it as you could if you were actually talking to someone. There were some other things that came with mind linking, but that was more complicated.
"Of course not, dude," Ed answered, "But you aren't going to be able to hide this for long. You acted almost like Sam when he first realized that Leah was his mate."
"I did not! Sam was drooling all over the floor when he saw her!" he recalled that memory in disdain. It wasn't the best night for Max. He got a front row seat at them both making out right in front of them.
"You were drooling too."
"Even if I was, there's no way I drooled like Sam did!"
"Like I said: almost," Ed chuckled. "It would be better if you'd tell them rather than have them find out on their own man."
"You're right." Max agreed. "Tomorrow night."
"It's a date," Ed joked before closing off the mind link.
Max couldn't believe he was drooling like Sam. There was no way. The man had looked the closest thing to a cartoon character that Max had ever seen. He could practically see his eyes bulge out of his sockets. There was no way he looked that stupid.
He regretted this decision almost immediately. How was he going to tell them this? How were they going to react?
He was not looking forward to this.