~Charles~
Sitting in front of the computer, my mouth parted in a wide yawn as I reached for the coffee cup next to my hand.
If I counted correctly, I already spent three hours in the private room, with my eyes fixed on the screen non-stop. I just understood why my late father never left this room.
After taking a large gulp from the coffee cup, I took a glance away from the screen to place the cup back on the table, only for me to look up and see that the computer had gone off.
“What the hell is wrong with this thing?” I muttered in frustration. It was the second time in three hours that it had gone off and it was beginning to piss me off.
I had to call Ceaser both times to make it start working again, but this time, I was going to do it myself. I watched him closely both times.
‘I can do this.’ I stood up and pushed my chair back. I stared at the wire and socket he touched and nodded, assuring myself.
I knelt in front of the junction box and picked up the wires. Recalling how he did it in my head, I proceeded to put the wires into the socket.
As soon as they went in, I felt a surge of electricity rush through my whole body.
“Arghh!” I yelled as I fell backward, staring at the socket in shock. ‘Did I just get electrocuted?’
“Alpha Charles! Alpha Charles!” Caesar called out, running to where I was, on the floor.
“What happened?” He grabbed me from behind, holding onto my arms as he raised me from the ground.
I clenched my jaws and shook my head as I got his hand off me. I couldn’t tell him what happened because it was embarrassing.
“Why does the computer keep going off anyway?!” I asked angrily as I sat on the chair.
“Why didn’t you call me?” He asked, staring at me in disbelief.
“I can’t keep calling you. Why can’t you just make it stop turning off?” I asked, staring back at him.
He heaved a sigh and moved closer to the socket. He picked up the wire, causing me to clench my jaws.
“You should be careful with that,” I muttered, looking away.
“You were electrocuted?” He asked, looking at me with a smile on his face.
“Why are you smiling?” I asked, feeling offended.
“You’re cute.” He responded, catching me unaware. I stared speechlessly at him and gulped hard.
“That isn’t how you talk to your Alpha. I can hurt you.”
“But you won’t.” He answered as he kept himself busy with the wires. After a few minutes, all the computers came on, and he raised his head to look at me.
“All done.” He uttered, still grinning widely.
“Only for it to go off again,” I mumbled, shaking my head and reaching for the mouse.
“Don’t worry, this time it won’t go off.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked.
“Because I made sure it won’t.” He answered, and I raised my head to look at him.
“Why didn’t you do that the first time it went off?”
“Because if I did that, you wouldn’t call me to help you. But now, I can’t risk you getting electrocuted again. I figured you wouldn’t call me anymore.”
“You intentionally did it in a way that it has to go off all the time? Why would you even do that?”
“Because I want to keep seeing your face. That’s why.” He answered, leaning closer to me. I raised my brows in surprise as I watched him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked in my defense.
“Checking to see if there’s anything else wrong with the computers…”
“On my face?” I asked in disbelief, and he smirked and nodded. I scoffed and looked away, staring at the screens.
“You can leave now. You’ll be called when you're…”
The sound of him dragging a chair closer to where I sat made me stop talking. I looked up and watched him sit next to me in shock.
“Just in case something else goes wrong.” He uttered before I could say anything.
I heaved out a sigh and gulped hard, before fully turning to look at him.
“What is this, Caesar??” I asked as calmly as possible. He smiled and looked me in the eyes.
“Making sure you don’t get electrocuted again.”
“No, not that. I mean, what do you think you’re doing trying to get close to me like this? I am your Alpha. You should be scared of me.”
“You haven’t given me any reason to be scared of you, or hate you, Alpha Charles. And, I like being close to you. Your energy makes me happy.”
“Whatever you think you’re trying to do, stop it. It’s not going to work.” I answered almost immediately, looking away from him.
“Why? I just want you to know how I feel about you. I’m sorry but I can’t keep this to myself anymore. I’ve been keeping this feeling to myself since the first day you came into this house. Have you forgotten?
“The first day I saw you, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I was so lost in your beauty. You did notice, but you ignored me.”
“It was my first time in the house? How was I supposed to know you meant something when you stared at me like that?”
“And I am telling you now that since that day, I fell in love with you, Alpha Charles. I wanted to get close to you, talk and laugh with you, but then, I found out you had eyes for someone else. A friend of mine… Danny.”
Hearing his name, I shut my eyes and clenched my jaws. “Don’t call his name.”
“You can’t keep bottling up this feeling, Alpha Charles. I loved him too. He was my friend and a very good person. I was hurt after what Alpha Darius did to him, and I let myself grieve. If you don’t grieve…”
“I said stop!” I roared in rage, reached for his shirt, grabbed it, and pulled him up the chair. “I said stop talking!” I growled. I hated that I could feel tears heating the back of my eyes, threatening to roll down my cheeks.
He stared into my watery eyes without an ounce of fear. All I could see in his eyes was remorse and love.
“I’m sorry about what happened to Danny. I wish it didn’t…”
“Get out!” I yelled, pushing him against the wall. I placed my hand over my mouth and turned my back to him.
“Alpha…”
“I said get out!” I threw a punch at his face, and instantly, his lower lips burst and he began to bleed.
At this point, I was breathing heavily in anger. I hated that he made me feel what I had been trying to avoid for weeks.
“I’ll be out there anytime you need me.” He uttered before heading out. As soon as he shut the door behind him, I fell to the ground and broke into tears.
“Argh!” I screamed, hitting the floor intensely. I could feel my hands hurting, but I didn’t stop. I needed to feel all the pain I could.
I lay on the ground, curled up, and embraced myself. My head was full of him now. I couldn’t help but hear his sweet voice. The last words he said to me before he was murdered.
I could feel intense pain in my heart. ‘It was all my fault.’ I thought as I cried even harder. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled, with my eyes tightly shut.
***
“…Alpha Charles. Alpha Charles.” I heard my name being called from afar.
“Alpha Charles!” The voice sounded very close and sharp this time, causing me to jolt out of my slumber. My eyes slightly opened and I squinted to see who was in front of me.
It was Caesar.
“Are you alright?” He asked, grabbing my arms as he helped me up the ground. I creased my eyes and looked at the floor.
‘I fell asleep.’
“For how long was I out?” I asked as he helped me sit.
“An hour and a half. I didn’t hear any sound for a while and I couldn’t help but come in to check on you. I saw blood and I rushed to get the first aid box.” He uttered, reaching for my hand to look at my wounds.
“I… I had a dream.” I muttered as he started helping me clean my wounds.
“A dream?”
“I saw Danny,” I uttered, and he raised his head to look at me, while I stared into space. “He looked at me and smiled. He said, ‘Be happy, Charles’. He spoke to me.”
After speaking, I turned to look at Caesar, who smiled and nodded.
“I’m glad he spoke to you.” He answered as he continued taking care of me.
Just then, I remembered I had punched him. I could still see blood on his lower lip.
“Let me see that.” I tried to reach for his face, but he moved away and shook his head.
“It’s fine.”
“Caesar, let me see that,” I said again, this time, more adamantly.
He swallowed hard and moved his face closer so I could reach it. I lifted his face with my hand, staring at his burst lip.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you don’t have to say that. I should have left when you asked me to.” He answered, breathing out softly.
“Let me help you clean that.” I reached for the box, but he stopped me.
“No, you don’t have to. I have done that already.”
He packed the box and stood up. “I’ll be outside if you need me.” He uttered, bowing slightly before turning to leave.
“Caesar,” I called, making him stop. I wasn’t sure why I called him, but I just wanted to call him.
He smiled softly at me before he finally walked out of the door and shut it behind him.
“Ahh.” I sighed, throwing my head backward.