Chapter Seven: Guilt and Resolve

Liam leaned against the doorframe of Charlie's small, empty room, running a hand through his dark hair in frustration. The silence that hung between him and Luther was thick, weighed down by the magnitude of what they'd discovered. His mind was still spinning, unable to fully grasp the reality of it all—Charlie, the girl they'd tormented and ignored, was their mate. Their future Luna.

Luna to a pack that has done nothing but physically and mentally abuse her at every chance they could get. How will she ever be able to forgive us all and take on her new role within the pack?

"I can't believe we were so blind," Luther muttered, breaking the silence. He paced the narrow hallway outside Charlie’s room, his brow furrowed, a deep scowl etched into his face. "How did we not see it? How did we let things get so bad?"

Liam's chest tightened with guilt. He had asked himself the same question a dozen times already. How could they have stood by and watched while the pack mistreated her? They had been cruel in their indifference, ignoring the torment she endured daily. They hadn’t just let it happen—they had contributed to it. He had let his father's cold command dictate how he treated her, and now that he knew she was his mate, the weight of his past behavior pressed down on him like a leaden burden.

“We failed her,” Liam said quietly, his voice thick with regret. He clenched his fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white. “All this time, she was ours and we treated her like… like trash. Worse than trash because at least trash has a place in this world. We should’ve protected her. We should have stopped it—”

“I know,” Luther cut in, his voice harsh. “I know, Liam. But we can’t change what we did. All we can do now is work to make things better and hope that she can forgive us.”

Liam nodded, but the knot of guilt in his chest didn’t ease. How could they ever make this right? How could they expect Charlie to forgive them after everything they’d put her through?

“We need to apologize,” Liam said after a moment. “We need to explain. She has to know that we didn’t—” He swallowed, his throat tight. “We didn’t know.”

Luther’s expression darkened. “You think an apology is going to be enough? After everything she’s been through because of us?” He shook his head. “We’ve got to do more than apologize. We have to show her—prove to her that things are going to change. She’s our mate, our future Luna. She shouldn’t be cooking and cleaning for the pack, taking their abuse at every turn. We’ll make sure no one ever hurts her again.”

Liam’s chest warmed at his brother’s words, but a flicker of doubt remained. It wasn’t just about changing the way they treated her, it was about earning her trust. After years of cruelty and indifference, that would take time. And even then, there was no guarantee she would accept them as her mates.

“If we can find her,” Liam said softly, his gaze drifting back to the small, empty room. “What if she… What if she doesn’t want anything to do with us?”

Luther’s expression hardened. “We’ll find her,” he said firmly. “And we’ll make it right.”

With that, they both turned and headed for the kitchen. They expected to find her there, busy cleaning up after the day’s work as she always was. But now that they knew she was their mate, the idea of her scrubbing floors and cooking meals for the pack was unbearable.

As they made their way down the stairs, shame gnawed at them both. How many times had they walked past her without so much as a second glance? How many times had they allowed their father’s cruel words to dictate their own indifference? They had been raised to believe in strength, in power, and they had let that blind them to the truth. Charlie was their mate, and they had failed her in every possible way.

“We should have stopped the abuse a long time ago,” Liam said, his voice barely above a whisper as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “We should have seen who she was to us. She didn’t deserve any of it.”

Luther’s jaw clenched as they stepped into the kitchen. “I know,” he said, his voice tight with anger—anger directed at himself, at the pack, and at their father. “But we can’t dwell on it now. We have to focus on finding her.”

But when they stepped into the kitchen, it was empty.

Liam’s heart skipped a beat as he scanned the room, his eyes darting from the countertops to the stove, searching for any sign of her. But there was none. No half-cleaned dishes, no clattering pans. Nothing.

“She’s not here,” Luther said, his voice filled with worry.

Liam’s stomach twisted with fear. He moved further into the kitchen, his wolf stirring anxiously inside him, urging him to move faster. His gaze landed on the back door, and his breath caught in his throat. Charlie’s scent was strong here, so strong that it nearly overwhelmed him. He moved closer, inhaling deeply, and knew instantly that she had been here recently. Very recently.

Luther joined him at the door, his expression tight with concern. “She must’ve gone outside.”

Liam’s heart pounded in his chest. His wolf, Al, was practically vibrating with the need to follow her, to track her down and bring her back safely. Liam opened the door and stepped outside, the cool night air hitting his face like a shock. The scent was even stronger here, and there, in the dirt, were faint traces of her—small footprints leading toward the edge of the forest.

“She’s gone into the woods,” Liam said, his voice filled with urgency. His body tensed, every muscle coiled and ready to spring forward.

Luther’s eyes flashed gold as his wolf stirred within him. “We need to find her, before something, or someone, else does.”

Before Liam could respond, his wolf surged forward in his mind, taking control of their shared body. Al pushed past Liam’s resistance, and within seconds, Liam felt the familiar, bone-deep shift as his body contorted, fur sprouting from his skin as his wolf form took over. His senses sharpened instantly, the scent of his mate filling his nose with even greater clarity.

Liam—now fully shifted—threw his head back and let out a long, mournful howl that echoed through the night. It was a call—a plea for his mate to return, for her to know that he was coming for her.

Without another thought, Liam’s powerful wolf legs propelled him forward, racing toward the woods, his nose to the ground as he tracked Charlie’s scent. Luther shifted behind him, his own wolf following close on his heels as they plunged into the trees, the shadows of the forest swallowing them whole.

Their only thought was of her—of finding her before it was too late.

And when they did, they would do whatever it took to make her understand. She was their mate, their Luna, and no matter what had happened before, they would spend the rest of their lives making it right.