*NOT EDITED*
"Really?" I asked shocked.
"Yeah, but only when it is just the two of us," he added. I knew that he was trying to maintain a tough exterior, but he has already started to accept me as a mate, and that made me extremely happy.
"Okay, Axel," I addressed him, with a small smile on my face. "Do you have any Alpha work that you need to take care of?" I asked him, not knowing whether he was going to leave the room or stay.
"Yeah. But, I can work on it here. I was working on some paperwork when you were asleep anyway," he answered.
"Can I help?" I asked.
"It's really boring. You should just rest," he brushed me off.
"Come on, Axel, just sitting in bed is boring enough, and that way I have something to take my mind off my heat. Plus, you are in pain because of the silver you keep subjecting yourself to, and you are probably working slower than usual. If we work together, we can work at the same speed that you can on a normal day. I won't pester you, I promise," I pressed.
"How good are you with numbers?" he asked me.
"Axel, I am a straight A student. Math is my forte," I boast.
"Here, then," he said handing me a pile of heavy folders. "You can work on these. These are confidential files. If you breathe a word about this to any person, part of this pack or not, you will be charged with treason. Do I make myself clear?" he emphasized. However, I just rolled my eyes and nodded my head, opening the first folder, noticing that Axel's full name was on the top right-hand corner of the folder in cursive letters. Axel Chance Knight. Cute.
"What should I do?"
"Well, you need to look for this serial number in the rightmost column," he said handing me a small piece of paper with a number containing about 17 digits.
"Does the number have to match up exactly?" I asked. He just gave me a blank stare like I was the stupidest person on the planet. Granted it was a stupid question. But, the task seemed very tedious.
"Yes, Calista. The number has to match exactly."
"Why is it important that we find this number?" I thought I was going to be doing some math. This turned out to be just a boring number finding task.
"Because I said so. Are you going to work or keep asking questions?"
"I can talk and look for the number at the same time, Axel, obviously" I stated. "Are you working on the same thing?"
"I am not working on finding the number, but it is for the same project," he answered.
"What is the project?" I asked curious.
"It's classified."
"Fine." I conceded. I wasn't happy that he wasn't telling me what any of this was about. Baby steps, Calista. Baby steps, I reminded myself. It was a while since I had started working on finding the number, and even though the silence wasn't awkward, I wanted to use this time to get to know Axel a little. As I was looking at the sheet in my hands, from the corner of my eye, I saw him reach for another folder off the floor.
"When did you get all these folders here?" I asked, starting the stupidest conversation I could think of. Obviously when you were sleeping, idiot.
"I went to get them when you were sleeping. I didn't know what to do, and I couldn't fall asleep. So, I figured I could get some work done. When I came back you were sweating like crazy which is why I put the cold towel on your forehead. I was only gone for a minute, I didn't know that it would affect you like that even when you were asleep," he answered, but he stayed looking at his pile of papers.
"That's okay. I didn't know that my body would react that way either. How important is this project?" I asked curiously.
"Very important."
"Okay."
We went silent again. I wished that he would talk to me, but he was really engrossed in whatever he was working on, so I stopped trying to spark a conversation.
I kept looking for the number, but my eyes started losing focus after looking at all the digits after a while.
"Why aren't these on a computer? It would be so much easier to look for one of these numbers," I added.
"I don't want the computer to be hacked and have the Blood Venom's information compromised. If they are as files like this, they can be properly stored and locked. What's the problem? I thought you said you were good with numbers," he added, smirking at me.
"There is no problem, and I am good with numbers," I defended. "And you know what? I will find this number by the end of the day today," I stated with determination.
"That's not gonna happen," he blankly refuted.
"Wanna bet?"
"It is cute that you think you will be able to win." I blushed when he called me cute, but gathering my strength I said, "If I win, you will have to answer five questions that I ask you truthfully. You can't lie, and you can't not answer. And you have to give me a full answer. It can't be half-assed." I was dying to know something extra about Axel, and since he wasn't opening up to me, I was going to have to force him to talk.
"Okay, but what do I get if I win?" he grinned, leaning over towards me. I could have sworn I saw his eyes flicker towards my lips, but they quickly met my own eyes.
"You get the satisfaction of knowing that you were right, and I was wrong." I answered, nudging him away from me, simultaneously feeling his bicep and wishing I could rest my hand on it just a little longer.
"No, that's not enough. If I win, you would have to do something that I ask you to do," he challenged, while inching back closer towards me.
"Anything?" I nervously asked.
"Anything."
"Um, it is one thing, right?"
"Yeah, only one thing. But you wouldn't have to worry, because you said that you are going to win the bet." I knew that he was trying to bait me, but I knew that he wouldn't ask me to do anything that will hurt me. Plus, I really wanted him to open up to me. After weighing the pros and cons and cursing myself for not choosing a better prize, I said, "Deal," extending my hand out for him to shake. While keeping eye contact with me, he grabbed my hand and shook it saying, "Deal."
I went back to work, making sure that I don't waste any precious time. However, it was about 6:00pm now, and I still couldn't find the goddamn number. I think he could tell that I was getting frustrated because I heard him say, "You could give up now if you want, and then you can stop looking at those horrible numbers."
"No. I still have six hours, and I don't back down from a challenge."
"Cali, are you sure, you are really tired. And you look like you are in so much pain." The concern in his voice was evident, but I wasn't sure if it was an act to get me to lose the bet. Although, I was thinking that he was sincere since he used a nickname instead of calling me Calista like he normally does. However, I could feel that my body was getting extremely tired, and for some reason, for the past hour, my pain was intensifying.
"Of course, I am in pain! I am in heat, Axel." I tried to chide back at him. However, even though I wanted my voice to come out strong, all that came out is something close to a whisper.
"Ok that's it. Give me the folder," he commanded.
"No," I refused, trying to grab the folder before he can snatch it from my lap, but as expected, he was much faster than me, and was able to effectively grab it away from me.
"Listen, I will answer whatever it is that you want me to answer, alright. Just rest."
I slumped into the bed, and laid back, smiling.
"Then I guess, since you are willing to answer my intrusive questions, I will do whatever it is that you wanted me to do," I offered.
"Ok, but I haven't thought of anything yet, so I will tell you to do it, when I figure it out," he sheepishly admitted.
I released a slight laugh and admitted, "I know the first question I want to ask you."
"Shoot," he said.
"What is the project that we were just working on?" I knew that he didn't want to answer me before, and it may have been a little dirty to ask him, but if he were serious about what he said, then he would answer.
He released a sigh, and said, "This was actually my dad's project. He started it before he died. If you look at the papers that I handed to you, there are three columns. The first is irrelevant. I think, or at least I can't figure out what it is for. The second column, may seem like a bunch of random letters. But, it is in fact, a code for the Blood Venom confidential libraries and locations to where certain files, money, and important items are. These items can vary anywhere between pack members' legal information all the way to the jewelry and dresses that a previous Blood Venom Luna wore a hundred years ago. I am not completely certain how to crack the location code yet, but I have gotten pretty close. My dad died before he could give me all that information. And this is obviously above the Council's classification level" he asked me. I just nodded my head, baffled that he was actually telling me all this information.
He continued, "Each item or file also gets a certain numerical code. That is the long ass number you see in the third column aka the number you were trying to find. If you know which item you want, and you know its numerical code, you can find out where it is hidden or stored by matching it with this chart. My dad didn't want people to find out what he was working on, so he stashed it somewhere but left me the numerical code so that I could find it. Long story short, my dad was working on a legal way to get rid of the Lunar Trials and abolish the entire Council."
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