Death Wish
The voice startled Kael, making him raise his head immediately to check who's the owner of that chilling voice and their eyes locked instantly.
Man, he's hot. He must be the alpha husband. His brother's alpha. Flushed, Kael dragged his gaze away. Remembering the threat he received not an hour ago, he must be Zenon.
"No, it's good. It's actually delicious. I was just―." He was cut-off when the man turned away, as if he was not there.
"Laian, tell Jake that I'm having dinner in my room." The alpha spoke without looking.
Laian bows at him before she leaves the dining table. And without sparing him another glance, the man proceeded to leave.
Baffled by this alpha's rudeness, his eyebrow raised an arc before letting out a scoff of disbelief. "Even with a handsome face and endless money, your wife will no wonder run away because of your rudeness," Kael mumbled as he shoved his food to his mouth to finish eating, glaring to the door where the alpha exited.
Laian was back shortly and cleaned after him. Kael offered to help but was rejected and told to just rest in his room. He is not a sucker for household chores anyway so he went back to his room. If he hadn't met some maids cleaning along the way, he would think that there are only four people in the mansion.
Maybe because of the exhaustion of his travel but once his back touched the soft mattress, he fell asleep.
The shrill ring of the phone pierced the silence of the room, jolting him awake. He fumbled while his eyes closed, searching for the source of the sound. Once he found it, he checked the caller's ID with half open eyes. It's Alec this time.
"I'm still alive, there's nothing to worry about," he remarked as soon as he pressed to answer.
"Of course, your ass is alive and didn't even bother to call. I knew you won't initiate the call so I let you rest first," the person on the other hand said but obviously he's not angry, just worried.
"Ah I feel so loved," he teased.
"Stop joking around. You didn't make trouble in your first hours in New York, right?"
"Now, I feel wronged," he pouted, pretending to be sulking. "Have I ever caused trouble?"
If Alec would be there, he'd give him a 'you-know-what-you-did' look. "Of course you do, I lose count of how much trouble you've caused since grade school," Alec reminded.
"Yeah, yeah. Gosh, can't you forget about it already." He rose from the mattress and went to the nearby window in the room and slid the curtain open. The sun rays that were blocked by the thick curtain were now freely shining in to his room.
"Too many to forget. So, how is it?"
"What is?" he asked back as if he didn't know what he was talking about.
"Cut the shit out! I know you flying to New York has something to do with having a twin." Well, isn't he like a girl? He shows different moods in a single conversation.
"Fine, geez. The situation is kinda difficult right now." Kael finally confessed. "It might take longer than a week."
"Is there something I can help you with?"
"Actually, yes. My bike, don't let my bike feel lonely." Both of them let out a chuckle when he said that.
"T said he's in New York right now. If you find yourself in trouble, hit him up. Send my regards too."
"He's busy circumnavigating, why is he here?"
"Work."
"How about the boss?"
Alec let out a grunt. "He wants you back as soon as possible. You know he can't survive without his number one."
"He'll live since number two is there." Alec was baffled by this friend of his. "Gotta go. Say hi to Anneliese for me."
Alec, like a mother to his son, let out a few nagging before he ended the call. Kael can only shake his head.
After the phone call, Kael decided to head to the kitchen for his morning coffee. When he arrived in the kitchen, someone was already there. She's probably the maid responsible for cooking since it's the first time he had seen her.
Kael greeted her 'good morning' with a bright face and the latter replied back with formality.
"What do you like to eat, sir? I can cook it for you." She asked.
Kael shakes his head. "I don't eat breakfast, miss. I'm just here for my coffee."
The maid put a lid on the pot where she was stirring a while ago. "How do you like your coffee, sir?"
"I'll make it myself, thank you." He makes great coffee after all.
He headed to the other side of the kitchen counter and the cook, Marta, helped him find the ingredients he needed for his coffee. After making his coffee diligently, he was about to take a sip on it when a hot gorgeous alpha entered the kitchen.
"Good morning!" Kael greeted enthusiastically which made the latter look at him with furrowed brows. "Coffee?" he added, raising his just made coffee but the latter ignored him.
Instead, he switched his attention to Marta who seems like it's not her business to pay attention to the tension between the two early in the morning.
"Bring it to the office once done," was the alpha's first words in a stern manner, eyeing on Marta who just nodded.
Kael rolled his eyes as he took a sip on his coffee because once again, he's been ignored.
"You!" Kael brings his attention to the grumpy alpha in front of him. He raised his eyebrow as if asking 'what?'.
Mr. Grumpy gave him an eye, as if he disliked what he saw, he pulled his gaze away attempting to leave the kitchen. "Change. You're coming with me."
A deafening silence. That is the only thing that Kael could use to describe their whole trip. They were just sitting side by side at the backseat with a certain distance between them. Even when they stopped in front of a tall building, the alpha refused to throw him a glance, and it was starting to get under his skin.
When the car came to a halt, Kael unstrapped his seatbelt before the alpha did. He then moved swiftly, grabbing him by the collar, pinning him in the car. The latter seemed to be taken aback by this omega's bold move, but before he could recover, he heard Kael speak.
"I don't fucking know what's wrong with you, but if you're going to be fucking like this, please don't ask me to come with you in the future," he said in almost a whisper, his frustration evident in his voice.
The alpha let out a scoff, making him frown even more. In a blink, the tables had turned. Kael was now pinned in the backseat. How this alpha managed to move that quickly was beyond him.
"Stop playing the innocent here, Mr. Ashworth. If you still have a conscience, start confessing for what you did and accept the consequences."
His low and menacing voice made his skin crawl, not because he felt threatened by what he said, but the fact that he found it attractive. Kael couldn't talk back as he was having a counseling session with himself for finding this guy's voice attractive despite the situation. Although he was having an inner crisis, Kael maintained his furrowed expression to cover it.
Finally, the alpha let go of him, and without looking back, he got out of the car. Kael could only cover his face in disbelief, his ears blushing. In that short moment, he sensed the alluring scent of the alpha, so captivating that he almost found himself lost in the fragrance, tempted to bury his face in the alpha's neck.
He slapped himself with both hands, jolting himself awake from that train of thought. After collecting himself, he finally stepped out of the car and followed wherever the alpha went. He trailed him from behind towards the building entrance when he noticed a moving red dot on the back of the alpha.
His eyes widened when he realized what it was; he was very familiar with that red dot. Without second thoughts, as if his body moved on its own, he rushed forward and threw himself on him, causing them to fall with Kael on top.
Abandoning the guy beneath him, he looked around to locate where the shooter was probably positioned. They were surrounded by tall infrastructures, making it hard to pinpoint the exact location.
He was so occupied with searching the surroundings that he didn't notice the growing rage of the alpha beneath him. With great force, he was pushed away and grabbed by the collar, still on the ground.
Blinded by anger at being pushed like that, the alpha threatened, "What's your deal? Do you really have a death wish?"
"Is this how you say 'thank you'?" Kael responded, trying to make him let go of his shirt.
The guards by the entrance rushed to inspect the situation. "Sir, your shoulder..." one guard trailed off, pointing at Kael.
That's when they noticed the tear in Kael's shoulder cloth, now soaked in red.
Kael was brought inside the building to treat his wound. It was just a graze, though wounds this small didn't hurt, no more like for Kael, since he had a high tolerance for pain. He was guided to enter an office and told that a personal doctor would come to clean his wound, to which Kael only nodded in response.
When the guard made his way out, Kael scanned his surroundings. There was a table with piles of papers on the sides, a white swivel chair behind it, a sofa set, and a few shelves. The sunlight came in freely from the glass window. Looking out, Kael could see a bustling cityscape below. The view showcased a tapestry of buildings stretching into the distance, each with its unique architecture and design.
His eyes whipped when he heard the door click open. A man in his 30s entered.
"Asher, it's been a while," the man greeted as soon as he closed the door behind him.