( C. | Charlotte ) - Blog Posts

Having Kayden by her side in all of this was almost soothing. It was anchoring, the other having been in her life for so long. Who would have thought that they would end up here, from trying to raise hell in town to protecting it. Not that they have had anything against it, never tried to hurt anyone, at least anyone other then themselves. And now here they were, all grown-up and responsible. The thought almost made Charlotte smile. It was ridiculous how much the simple act of him telling her they would figure it out was enough to renew her faith. The process of leading the pack had not been easy, still wasn't. But Kayden was there and that helped. Charlotte had to lead with confidence if she wanted the pack to respect her, to follow her. Confident was the last thing she felt and with Kayden, she could show the doubts she had in herself. "It's the only reason it was in the town's square. I didn't see any signs of struggles near. No blood around, no signs of attack, just the body." What was left of the body at least. A game of cat and mouse, as if they needed that. Charlotte nodded at Kayden's words, it was exactly what it was. Someone was taunting them. "We can't let that happen, not a second time. It shouldn't even have happened this once," she grunted. "We all need to be watching ourselves and find out who did this. Some people will blame us." /@kaydenbedard

The only positive thing to come from all of this was the act of prioritizing how this information was spread through the pack. At the end of the day, they all had to be united. Personally Kayden didn't think any of them were the culprits, not because they weren't capable of such violence - but they were better then that. The whole premise of who they were within was they didn't act on their urges. Just because they were animals in nature didn't mean they had to have that aspect take control of who they all were besides that one aspect of who they were. "We will figure it out." The man promised. There was no other option. This was their town and it wasn't going to be messed with. "I didn't want to draw unwanted attention. But you're right, whoever did this wanted to flaunt it." In making a scene at least. Kayden had this nagging feeling that whoever was behind this wanted to send a message of sorts but that message was still unclear. "Something tells me they're playing a cat and mouse game. I'll keep my eyes and ears open, someone's gotta know something. If they're so unhinged - it's only a matter of time before something like that happens again." The tone of his voice was laced with concern and dread.

"Your guess is at good as mine," she said quietly. There was no guesses, really, and Charlotte was certain Lis would understand what she meant, that it was the kind they knew too well. "It didn't happen here or last night." It happened during a full moon, which was about a week ago. To everyone else, it was fresh, happened last night, but they knew better. And whoever had done it did too, which had her on edge. "There's no details yet, but it looks like something from out of town." Charlotte hadn't asked Lis if she had done anything because she knew she wouldn't. Maybe it would be easier if it was someone from her pack, that way it could be handled quickly. "I hope Samuel has been able to avoid getting near." Not that he wouldn't know, or at least hear a little about it. Or maybe Lis was better at keeping the bad things at bay than her family always had been. / @ofmoonliights

Elisabeth had been on edge since the news broke, sending Samuel to stay with her parents for a few days so that she could help the pack with whatever was needed. They were retired, somewhat, living their lives a couple of towns over and there was no one she trusted more than her father to keep her son safe. That was what mattered. She'd been on edge all day, working from her office in the studio with the door firmly shut, not welcoming lingering conversations but at the same time, not doing anything productive beyond thinking who could've been behind this. Not the Crescent wolves, the Lunara? A lone wolf? Once the studio was quiet enough for her to bail, she was gone, to Brennans and sat at the bar talking to Charlotte. Needing some reassurance. "Any ideas on the kind of animal?" she asked quietly, fingers gripping the beer she had been nursing for a minute now, and knowing that Charlotte would understand her true meaning. Not a what...a who.

Apparently it does. The words sank deep in Charlotte and she couldn't deny them. It had happened here, the other was right. Still, it angered her, somehow. Charlotte couldn't say if it was because of what happened or because it was being put in her face. She had to turn around not to try and stare him down, a second to control herself. She had been a brawler once, not thinking before rush head first, but she couldn't do that anymore, hadn't been that version of herself in a while. "Wonder if they'll arrest the animal who did that," she said with a tired smile. That was the official cover up, one they hadn't use in a long time. "Guess it happens more often in zip codes near a forest or something." Downplaying it was what she had to do, what was expected of her. "Can I get you anything?" / @tcurniquets

Those that were in the know knew. Now, this level of brutality was something that Cord didn't need — he wasn't really into the whole human aspect of things. They tended to just get in the way, if he was honest. Thought they were powerful. Then, you had people like the Crescent pack who patronized them by pretending to work with them. Most might've called it a noble cause, but Cord saw it for what it was. Fear, in both directions. He needed something to eat, he'd been awake since well before dawn. Unsure that he liked it here, he preferred places he could roam. But he was here, and that was that. "Apparently, it does," Cord drawled. "What's the old saying..." Cord tried to think of the leasing agent that showed him his property and her nervous chuckle of, "Crime doesn't have a zip code, or so I was told."

As soon as she knew, well, as soon as she processed it, she had told Kayden and her siblings. The whole pack, really, in order. This wasn't the kind of thing to found out from the news, not for them. She hadn't ask if it was of them, she knew it wasn't. But the ranks needed to be solid, all of them needing to be closer than ever. Charlotte knew what those who knew would think, whisper. Already, she felt some had came by only to have a look. Still, when Kayden asked, she couldn't say it hadn't crosser her mind, at least for a second. "Not from the pack," she said confidently. "But can't know for a lone wolf. Or anyone just passing through." Keeping their eyes open, that was for certain. Charlotte couldn't help but feel guilty, like this was her fault. This would not have happened if her father was still here. Maybe it wouldn't have happened if her brother was in charge. "I went this morning, before the news really got it. It wasn't pretty Kayden." She had seen death before, but that was especially gruesome. "It was deliberate, I'm sure of it." Maybe this was only her way of putting the blame on someone other than her. "Gonna need one of these board, 2 days without an incident. It's been years since we saw that. Have you been there?" @kaydenbedard

Gossip is poisonous, malicious, and destructive. But to the ones who knew the reality of the situation, that this animal attack was far more malicious then what false narrative the news was setting forth. This was no accident. It was deliberate, but Kayden was aware that Crescent had more structure then this. So, he found himself navigating to Brennan's like it was second nature. "You can say that again." Clearly, he wasn't the only one who had worries about this incident. Something wasn't right. "Do you think it was a straggler?" His tone barely above a whisper, not wanting to gain any unwanted attention considering the subject matter. Perhaps it was a lone wolf who wasn't a native. "We should keep our eyes open." Or better yet, determine who did this so they could be dealt with.

Zoey had barely touched her meal and Charlotte couldn't blame her. She had barely eaten yet, surviving mostly on coffee. She would have to go to the town square later tonight, to see if anything could be tracked and she didn't want to do it at all. "Yeah, dad and the others worked hard for things like that to be keep far from here." They were both very younger the last time such a thing happened. "I hope not but honestly? It's not looking good for them." Maybe she should have reassured her sister, lie and tell her that everything would be fine. But that had never been her style. Charlotte never liked when people kept her in the dark and she made certain her siblings knew what was going on. Even when Zoey was a child, Charlotte did her best to explain things as they were. Maybe she had screwed up her sister for life by not protecting her from the truth, but if there was damage done to any of the Brennan, the Alpha blamed their mother for it. "Have you walked by the town's square?" Not that Charlotte wanted her sister to see such a gruesome thing. There was something strong in her, a need to protect her siblings. "The council had me go early this morning, before the news got out and I have to go back later. See if I can pick up a track or something."

zoey’s mind had been preoccupied since the discovery of the body. she had come to grab a bite, but she hadn’t touched her meal yet. one hand supported her head, elbow on the counter, while the other turned the glass of water next to her plate endlessly. in her mind, she kept going back to the town square.

her sister’s words brought her back to the family bar and the younger brennan hummed in agreement. “it’s been a while.” she shifted ever so slightly in her seat. “do you think the other two students will share the same fate?” she was mindful of the ears in the bar. her question seemed simple, in place, but it contained darker implications. she wondered: will they die if they hadn’t already been killed and will their bodies be displayed as well if they had?

—  BRENNAN’S / OPEN 

What a fucking day this was. Charlotte had been woken up way too early with the awful news. It wasn't one of her own, that she knew, didn't even have to ask to know. Her trust in them was complete, absolute. But the facts could not be denied either. Animal attack, that was the official culprit. It had been years since such a thing had been used in Silverkeep, long enough that suspicions were not present. Except for those who knew better. Day drinkers were not many and Brennan's opened at noon, serving a very small menu and that was where Charlotte was, behind the bar, as usual. "Fucking awful," she groaned to the person sitting at the bar. "This doesn't happen here." Because they had a system, a way of doing things. Because her father had made sure it didn't and she was supposed to do the same thing. What a great job she was doing.