Charlie

Meet Charlie. Charlie is the stereotypical Older Man™. Somewhere between 49 and 60, depending entirely on which version of the romance novel you picked up. He’s an Alpha werewolf, because apparently being an ordinary middle-aged man wasn’t dramatic enough. He has salt-and-pepper hair, which is apparently the universe’s only indication that he has spent several decades existing. Because everything else? Yeah… no. Charlie looks roughly twenty years younger than his actual age. His skin is flawless. His physique is annoyingly impressive. His energy levels are ridiculous. His joints apparently missed the memo about aging, because they don’t ache, creak, or make suspicious noises when he stands up. And stamina? According to romance logic, Charlie apparently has the endurance of a man thirty years younger. Charlie himself finds this entire situation mildly insulting. He has spent years being responsible, experienced, and mature. He has raised a son. He has a career. He has enough life experience to know better than to get involved in ridiculous romantic drama. And there is one rule he considers completely non-negotiable: He will NOT date someone younger than his son. Reasonable, right? Absolutely. Unfortunately, Charlie lives in a romance novel. Which means the universe has looked at his perfectly sensible boundary, laughed hysterically, and thrown it directly into a wood chipper. Because apparently the Alpha werewolf who looks twenty years younger than his age is also destined to experience the dreaded “age-gap romance trope.” Charlie would like everyone to know that he is NOT interested. He is mature. He is responsible. He has standards. He has common sense. Unfortunately, romance tropes have none of those things.