Chapter Thirty-Three: Alone in the Silence
Charlie had lost track of time. She wasn’t sure how long she had been curled up on the thin mattress in her old room, crying until her body felt hollow and her tears had run dry. The sobs that had wracked her frame earlier had quieted, leaving only the dull ache in her chest where her heart felt bruised and broken. But even though the tears had stopped, the pain inside her was still there—just no longer as overwhelming as it had been.
She lay on her side, staring at the peeling wallpaper, the familiar scent of the old room wrapping around her like a suffocating blanket. Silence greeted her from the other side of the door, but she knew they were still there—Liam and Luther. Even though they hadn’t spoken in a while, she could feel their presence. It was something more than just the faint creak of the floorboards or the occasional shuffle of movement. Their scent lingered, too, a comforting reminder of their closeness, even if she wasn’t ready to face them.
Every time one of them shifted position, the air stirred, and their scent—that intoxicating scent—would drift toward her, wrapping her in its warmth. Normally, that scent made her feel safe, cherished. But right now, it only reminded her of the confusion, and the insecurities that had festered inside her ever since Leah’s cruel words.
Charlie let out a shaky breath, her body still curled tightly in on itself. Now that the crying had stopped, the raw, unfiltered thoughts began to creep back into her mind, swirling like dark clouds. Leah’s words had hit her like daggers, sharp and painful, not because they were lies, but because they echoed everything Charlie had already been thinking.
Useless.
The word circled her mind like a vulture, picking apart the fragile confidence she had started to build since discovering she was mated to the twins. She had been trying so hard to believe she had a place with them, that they truly wanted her as their mate. But Leah had ripped those comforting thoughts to shreds with her cruel taunts, and the doubts Charlie had been struggling with from the beginning came crashing back.
What if Leah was right? What if she really was just a passing fling? A momentary distraction before the twins moved on to someone more suited to them? Someone stronger. Someone worthy of being their Luna.
Charlie’s fingers dug into the thin mattress beneath her, a familiar frustration bubbling up. She had been trying to tell herself that her bond with the twins mattered—that she wasn’t just a weak Omega anymore. But now, as she lay there in the quiet, with Liam and Luther waiting outside the door for her to stop crying, she felt foolish. Foolish for running off and locking herself away. Foolish for thinking that she could ever be enough for them.
‘They are Alphas, her mind whispered, the words bitter in her thoughts. ‘And I’m nothing but a foolish child.’
Her chest tightened with the thought, and she squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could push those feelings away. Wishing she could banish the doubts that had haunted her ever since she learned she was their mate. But the insecurities had festered for so long, they felt like a permanent part of her now.
It wasn’t just Leah’s words that had cut so deep. It was the fact that Charlie had already been thinking those things herself. Leah had just given voice to the fears she had been trying to bury.
Charlie wished she could feel their emotions the way they could feel hers. She wished she could reach through the bond and sense what they were feeling. But with her side of the mate bond incomplete, all she could feel was the tension in the air between them. She knew they could feel her pain, her confusion—but what were they feeling? Were they angry? Frustrated? Or worse—disappointed?
The thought of disappointing them made her stomach twist painfully. Liam and Luther had been nothing but patient and caring, and here she was, locking herself away like a child, crying over words she had already been struggling with. And now they were sitting outside, babysitting her while she wallowed in her own self-pity.
How pathetic.
The thought made her feel even worse, and she curled up tighter on the mattress, hugging her knees to her chest as if that would somehow protect her from the torrent of emotions swirling inside her. Her old room, with its worn walls and stale air, felt suffocating, like a reminder of the life she had tried so hard to leave behind.
She didn’t belong in here anymore.
But she also wasn’t sure she belonged outside of it, either.
Charlie’s body grew heavy with exhaustion, the emotional toll of the day catching up with her. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and before she could stop herself, sleep crept in, pulling her into a fitful rest.
When Charlie woke again, the room around her was different.
The thin mattress she had fallen asleep on was gone, replaced by the familiar softness of Luther’s bed. The room was quiet, the soft glow of afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows, and for a moment, Charlie didn’t move. She wasn’t in her old room anymore.
They had brought her back.
She sat up slowly, her heart still heavy with the emotions from earlier, but the raw edge of her pain had dulled. The tears had dried up, and though the ache was still there, it wasn’t as overwhelming as it had been. She let out a long breath, pushing her tangled hair away from her face, and glanced around the room.
Luther’s scent filled the space, warm and earthy, and Charlie couldn’t help but take a deep breath, letting it settle around her like a blanket. For a brief moment, she was glad to be alone, glad to have a few moments to collect herself without their concerned eyes watching her.
But she couldn’t deny the truth that tugged at her heart.
She missed them.
Even now, when the pain still lingered and the uncertainty gnawed at her, she missed Liam and Luther’s presence. She longed for the warmth of their touch, the way they made her feel safe and loved, even when she doubted herself.
But she wasn’t ready to face Luther just yet.
Leah’s words still echoed in her mind, sharp and cruel. Despite Luther’s reassurances through the door earlier, Charlie couldn’t shake the image of him with Leah. She wanted to believe him—wanted to trust in what they had. But the doubt still lingered, like a dark cloud hovering over her heart.
What if Leah was right?
The thought made her stomach twist with unease. Luther had promised he wouldn’t hurt her, but how could she be sure? How could she know that he wouldn’t tire of her the way Leah had claimed?
Charlie let out a shaky breath and sank back into the pillows, pulling the blanket up around her. She hated that she felt this way—hated that Leah’s words had wormed their way into her mind, planting seeds of doubt where there had once been hope.
But she couldn’t help it. The scars from her past ran too deep, and the insecurities that had been beaten into her for years couldn’t be erased in a matter of days or even weeks.
She needed time.
And, for now, she was grateful that they had given her the space to process it all.
But as the silence of the room settled around her, Charlie couldn’t deny the one thing her heart longed for more than anything in that moment.
She wanted to feel their arms around her again. She wanted to feel loved.