Chapter Seventeen

The sun's rays slipped through the blinds and woke me up for a bright new day. Soon after, a sweet, light kiss dampened my forehead and blocked the light for me. "Good morning," Caesar greeted.

On the side table, he prepared a warm basin for me to wash my face. "I can just go to the bathroom by myself," I proudly said. I stood out of the covers, yet my legs couldn't carry my weight, and I almost slipped.

"Do you want me to bathe you?" He asked.

"Nah, I'm alright." I would crawl if he wasn't watching, but I tried my best to hold my posture and walked through the door for appearance's sake.

I was hurting so much that I couldn't believe I had managed to run that day when I found myself in the hotel bed with him. I had a hot bath feeling more ashamed of myself for how many bites and kiss marks were imprinted all over my body. "Is he a dog? This is too much," I complained, yet I blushed in hypocrisy as I remembered how I bit him myself last night.

After the hot bath, I was welcomed by the fragrance of a hearty meal. He cooked me porridge and a light salad. Next to my glass of water was a daily dose of my health supplements and my prescribed meds. We ate in silence as usual, but it felt nice and peaceful. I would sneakily look at him. He was reading the newspaper and ate like a bird. He took his time reading and eating, making me question how he manages his time and tasks accordingly. He could have been more efficient if he had eaten first and then read. But I forgive that since it gave me more time to observe him while I was eating.

"Why?' He asked, taking the newspaper aside.

"What?"

"You've been watching me. Do you have something to say, Russien?"

"No, just go on." I don't know what took over me, but I diverted the awkward confrontation to his demotion, "I read that Dr. Ting is taking over your position. Are you okay?"

He smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'm still part of the team. Of course, I'm fine." Then he playfully asked me, too, "I haven't read any of your articles these days. Are you doing fine at work?"

"Yeah, of course."

He drove me to my workplace afterward. Then, he wrapped a scarf around my neck in front of the entrance of the company building. It felt so embarrassing when he cheered me to do my best at work. I noted in my heart that my alpha can be sarcastic too, petty even.

"I'll see you later," He bid goodbye and drove away. I stood by the sideroad and watched his car go smaller until other vehicles of different colors got overlaid one after another. I reminisced that moment when I absent-mindedly asked him to be mine, and I got no clear answer from Caesar.

Indeed, his actions were sincere and noble. He assures me, yet he makes me doubtful at the same time.

I went to the office and arrived at a heated argument between Jacob and Mr. Meyer. The other colleagues scrambled over them, watching every detail of the show prepared for everyone to see. "How could you steal and write the story I delayed publishing? There was not enough evidence, but here you are, acting as an expert journalist writing based on street rumors!"

Jacob was the youngest writer in the company, but he was very accomplished thanks to his connections and perhaps because he's very passionate about journalism. From that statement alone and the daily issue of Verde Veritas, I already learned the point of their argument.

Mr. Meyer was emotionally aggressive, and our colleagues had to physically contain him. He spat out curses and personally degrading words to Jacob and conclusively said, "It's already the talk of the town. Whether I write it or not, other news writers will still write about it!!!"

I sat in my cubicle and drank the milk given by Caesar... Now that I've given that son of a bitch the exposure he wants, he will strike sooner or later. I just need to deduct where he will hold his next exhibit.

I went to the library and borrowed a bible. The company had not maintained the library, unfortunately. Dust piled up on the shelf crevices, on the surfaces of the furniture, and on the clutters of books. I sneezed so much and had a hard time finding a bible. Jacob casually informed me that Mr. Meyer had two unread bibles on his desk when I returned to my cubicle.

"Don't worry. Your efforts are not in vain. I wouldn't be able to forgive you if you went to borrow a holy book from an unethical writer like him!" He said jokingly, but I doubt he really meant those words.

"You okay?" I asked, hiding that I was the reason for the leak.

"I'm fine. I'm just worried. What if the culprit strikes earlier and even reveals more victims? Assuming that we were right, he displayed seven skeletons, and fourteen omega glands, then what's next? Twenty-one hearts of innocent kids? Twenty-eight brains? thirty-five perfect and functional kidneys?" Jacob frowned. He walked back and forth, feeling troubled about what was to come.

"That's awfully specific." I went to his desk and informed him about what I found in the church. His complexion quickly brightened hearing about it.

"Let's go meet my darling, then!"

"Come on, we have a lot of things to work on here. Help me crack this chapter and see why, of all the scripture, the flower was placed in chapter nine of the book of Revelations."

"I just watched him for a bit during the protest. I miss him so so much. Just because your alpha covered you with so much pheromone, you have already forgotten what it's like to be in unrequited love."

I thought to myself, "So, he knew he was in impossible one-sided love?" I talked back at him and proudly said, "I've never been in unrequited love."

Jacob looked at me with an expression I couldn't comprehend. I thought about it again and doubted, "or am I?" Caesar is accessible and approachable. I can ask almost anything regarding work and criminal psychology. He's like a teacher or some sort of guardian you can lean on. He's also affectionate and caring. I cannot understand myself. Does the fault lie with him or with me?

Why am I in constant need of validation?

"Rene?" Jacob called over and over again.

"Sorry, Walter. I'll go back to my seat and study this first." I showed him a smile, but I wasn't confident I did well in hiding my frustrations with myself.

I focused on the text written on the pages. I was taught biblical texts during childhood, and it was a different experience when I was reading them for clues. I read the chapter over and over again, but nothing made sense.

It was written like an apocalyptic heavenly judgment, enduring severe torture and hardships, angelic warriors punishing a vast population of mankind, and unapologetic survivors. The most remarkable part to me was the sixth verse... "In those days, they shall seek death and they will not find it."

What kind of agony could make a man want to die, only to be discouraged that death won't come to him?

Physical abuse? Emotional trauma?

I did note the character name of the angel mentioned, Abaddon. And a river called the great Euphrates. Is it safe to assume that the culprit will make another holy and ceremonious exhibit near the river? Lacierta has no river at all. Where could that be?

"What do you think?" I asked Jacob.

Jacob popped up over the cubicle divider, "There are twenty-one verses in this chapter. The pattern might be established soon if we're going by arithmetic sequence. Of all the organs, mouths have been mentioned a lot. Maybe he will display tongues or whatnot. And it's fascinating how it says four angels were loosed to slay a third of men. It makes me think that he's hiring people to do these kinds of stuff."

"That makes a lot of sense. The skeleton exhibit alone is too heavy and flawlessly arranged to be done by only one person in a single night."

I thought about the number of missing omegas through the years. It also makes sense to be abducted by an organized entity rather than by a single pervert. They perfectly executed the abduction from the scouting part to the moment they committed the crime and finally cleaned up their traces.

"Rene, my dear, are we dealing with serial killers or an occult?" Jacob intuitively asked. I tried to search my childhood memories to see if any events might seem like some sort of cult shenanigans, but I can't remember anything like that. However, I have missing memories, and I cannot say for sure.

"We'll become more like conspiracy theorists if that is the case here," I complained.