Kiss Me if You Can

Josh asked with suspicion in his voice. He was ready to knock someone out at a moment’s notice—and would probably remain that way until Emma was eighty. Emma let out a sigh and continued.
“We went on a few dates. He seems to like me too. I’m taking it slow, really slow, so for now, just leave it at that, okay? I’ll introduce you when the time’s right. I’m not a kid anymore.”
That, of course, only made Josh more concerned. But he held back—for now. If he pushed her and made her feel defensive, she might not come to him if she really needed help. So he swallowed his curiosity and worry and replied in an even tone.

“Okay, got it. But if anything happens, you have to come talk to me.”
“Yeah, I will.”
Emma nodded easily. Josh reached out to ruffle her hair out of habit, but seeing the perfectly styled volume, he lowered his hand and gave her a hug instead. Emma hugged him back, then stepped away.

“I should get going. It’s the weekend, so I’ll have dinner with Pete ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ and Mom.”
“Alright, take care.”
Josh leaned in and made a soft kiss sound by her cheek, then stepped back. Emma turned around and headed back the way she’d come.

Josh watched her for a moment before turning to leave—but stopped mid-step. A strange feeling washed over him. He felt eyes on him.
He quickly glanced around but saw no one. Just in case, he looked up—but aside from the narrow balcony jutting from the house, there was nothing suspicious in sight.
Josh leaned slightly, about to check the balcony—then remembered it was connected to Chase’s room and backed off.

He furrowed his brow, ears straining for any sound, but all he heard was the breeze and the occasional rustling of leaves. After a few tense moments, he let his guard down and began his patrol. Usually, he started from the front garden, but there was no rule saying he had to.
Maybe I’ll start from this side today, he thought, as he began walking. He wanted to finish quickly—he missed Pete’s voice.
It was about an hour later when the manager showed up.

“What brings you here at this hour?”
Mark, sitting in the drawing room and checking over Chase’s schedule, looked up in surprise at the manager’s unexpected visit. The manager gave a brief greeting and spoke casually.
“Filming’s starting soon, right? Lots to do. We’ll all need to stay sharp from now on. How’s Chase today? What’s his mood like?”

After glancing around, he fixed his eyes on Mark. Instead of offering a seat, Mark pulled a soda from the nearby fridge and placed it on the table as he replied.
“Mr. Pitman’s secretary came by this morning.”
“Pitman’s secretary? What for?”
The manager turned to him, startled. Isaac, who happened to be in the room, answered instead.

“There was apparently a bit of an incident at the party yesterday. She said she was here for follow-up, probably worried he might pull out of the contract or something. But nothing really happened—she left shortly after.”
The manager sighed in relief and said,
“Good. The schedule’s packed starting today. It’s a relief the rut’s over, honestly.”

“Schedule?”
Josh had just walked into the drawing room and asked without thinking. The manager nodded.
“Filming starts next week. It should be on the calendar. You all know there’s an interview in three hours today, right?”

“We’ve seen it.”
Mark replied, glancing down reluctantly at the papers in his hand.
“So what’s left? I thought most of the prep schedule for filming was already wrapped up.”

He spoke with a trace of sarcasm, but the manager brushed it off lightly.
“Laura will give you the updated paperwork. …So nothing happened at the party? Miller didn’t pull anything? Laura didn’t say much.”
He popped open the soda Mark had given him and asked casually. The way he talked, like nothing serious could’ve possibly occurred, made Josh avert his eyes. If anything weird happened, it was on my end, he thought, mildly ashamed.

Mark snorted and asked dryly,
“Weird as in odd? Or weird as in completely fucking insane?”
“Either.”

The manager downed half the soda in one go and frowned. The sudden silence after his previously smooth speech made everyone uneasy. He let out a sigh, rubbed his brow, and finally spoke.
“Well, what I mean is… his rut only just ended, right? And after that period’s over, Miller gets… really bad.”
“How could it get worse than usual?”

Seth asked, genuinely surprised. And fair enough—Chase was always like that.
The manager laughed awkwardly, then frowned again as if debating something. Why is he dragging this out so much? everyone wondered, but there was nothing to do but wait.
At last, the manager made up his mind and began carefully.

“This is something you probably need to know for security. You’ll find out once filming starts anyway… Of course, as stated in the contract, any personal information or secrets of the client you learn while working must be kept absolutely confidential. Breach that, and you’re liable for a massive penalty.”
The warning raised eyebrows. It was obvious, even expected, that client privacy be protected. Mark often said the ones who broke that trust were the reason the job got a bad name.
“No one in this team is that low.”

Mark said stiffly. The manager offered a brief smile, though it didn’t seem entirely sincere. Still guarded, he finally confessed.
“Miller takes medication.”
“Medication? What kind? Ah—sorry.”

Isaac, surprised by the admission, apologized quickly. All eyes turned to the manager as he continued cautiously.
“He’s naturally aggressive. He’s got severe insomnia, is extremely sensitive… He can’t function without meds. And when he’s stressed, he takes double the amount.”
No one had expected that. The group looked at each other in silence. Isaac ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath.

“What the hell… this guy’s seriously doing the most.”
“A drug-dependent Extreme Alpha? Never heard of that one.”
Seth added dryly, clearly exasperated. Josh suddenly remembered—back at Pitman’s party, Chase had opened the fridge and dumped pills into his mouth.

“He takes the meds even when he’s not in rut?”
Josh asked. The manager nodded.
“Yeah,” the manager said. “Whenever he feels like he can’t take it anymore, he just throws pills down his throat. But when he’s in rut, it triples. He mixes all kinds of meds with alcohol and keeps taking them until he passes out. Most extreme alphas go into a deep sleep after their rut ends, but in Mr. Miller’s case, I think it’s the drugs knocking him out.”

He added, as if trying to justify the guards’ shocked expressions.
“If he weren’t an extreme alpha, he’d probably be dead by now.”
Everyone silently agreed. Isaac opened the fridge, looked inside, then came back to his seat only to realize his hands were empty. He cursed under his breath. He wasn’t the only one unsettled—Seth looked uncomfortable, turning his head slightly, while Mark finally spoke up.

“So what do we need to watch out for?”
The direct question got a direct answer. The manager cut to the point.
“Once work starts, he’ll be taking more meds than usual, so just make sure he doesn’t run out or stop taking them. Laura usually prepares the meds in advance when the stock gets low. I’ll give you a list of the meds and what they look like. Laura takes care of it, and Mr. Miller’s pretty consistent about taking them himself… He can’t live without them.”

At that, the manager gave a wry smile.
“I’ve never seen an extreme alpha who takes this many pills. Then again, with someone like him, the drugs probably don’t even work properly. So maybe that’s why he takes so much. Still… it’s kind of impressive in a terrifying way. I thought extreme alphas only went crazy with drugs when they were having sex, but he’s like this even on normal days. Makes you wonder if he’s just going to drop dead of a heart attack someday… Well, hopefully not.”
A heavy silence fell. Mark, Seth, and Isaac all exchanged looks—Seth furrowing his brow, Isaac sighing, and Josh sitting with a shadow darkening his face. Mark turned back to the manager and asked,

“Any other secrets we should know?”
“Nope.”
The manager answered without hesitation. Mark frowned.

“If there’s anything else you’re hiding, it’s going to interfere with our job.”
“There’s really nothing.”
“…”

“Nothing.”
The manager smiled confidently—but trust was far from earned. Still, he clapped his hands twice, briskly.
“Well then, I’ll go see Mr. Miller. And again, what we just talked about is strictly confidential. I’m sure you all remember your contract terms.”

With that, the manager turned and headed up the stairs. For a while, the remaining guards watched his back in silence. Of them, Josh felt the most unsettled. His thoughts were a tangled mess.
“When filming starts, that’ll be another whole thing to manage…” Isaac said at last.
“Yeah,” Mark replied. “I’m worried fans might show up and cause problems at the set. …C better listen to us when that happens.”

They’d already added extra clauses to the contract after the Henry incident, but no one could say for sure whether Chase would follow them. Eventually, the team dispersed to prepare for their next shift.
***
Knock knock.

There was no answer. As usual. The manager waited a moment, then opened the door.
A sharp gust of cold wind blew past, making him pause. Regaining his focus, he lifted his head and saw the balcony doors wide open. Chase was sitting in a chair at the tea table, staring out at the garden. Without hesitation, the manager approached.
“Mr. Miller, how was the party yesterday? I hope nothing made you uncomfortable.”

He tried for a friendly tone, but Chase didn’t move an inch.
What’s he staring at?
The manager leaned over slightly, curious—but all he could see was the garden, obscured by tree branches. This side of the mansion didn’t have any extravagant landscaping. The manager tilted his head, then shrugged. Since when did this guy ever make sense?

“As I mentioned before, I brought the book. It’d be great if you could go over it multiple times. It’s the only one where Doctor Flame is the main character. He’s a major figure throughout the series, but since he’s not the protagonist, there isn’t much background on him elsewhere. Even if you don’t read the others, this one should be enough.”
He rambled a bit, but Chase didn’t react. Didn’t even glance his way. He’d been ignored like this more times than he could count, but it still drained him every single time. With a small sigh, the manager kept going.
“The trailer is ready too. I’ll send you some photos of the interior. If you need anything, just let me know. You’re aware of today’s schedule, right? The security team’s already preparing, so if you could start getting ready…”

“…”
That’s when Chase muttered something. The manager paused, straining to hear. But Chase didn’t speak again. After a moment of hesitation, the manager asked carefully,
“Sorry, Mr. Miller… what was that?”

Even after his patient prompt, Chase didn’t reply. The manager gave up, feeling both awkward and resigned. But then Chase spoke again.
“…The guard.”
“Yes? The guards?”

The manager answered quickly. Chase paused, then added,
“One of the guards. The beta.”
“Oh… you mean the team leader? Or Josh?”

“…”
Again, Chase fell silent. The manager got the sense that Chase was struggling with something—unusually so.
“If there’s something about the guards you’re unhappy with, unfortunately we don’t really have a choice—”

“That’s not it.”
Chase cut him off, his face twisting, still staring into one corner of the garden.
“That’s not it.”

“…”
“Never mind.”
And with that, he went quiet again. The manager waited a moment, then smoothly changed the subject.

“Well then, shall we get ready for your interview? While you shower, I’ll set aside what you need. Wardrobe and props will be prepared on-site, so we’ll keep it simple here.”
With that, the manager hurried out of the room toward the dressing area.
Chase, who hadn’t moved at all until then, clenched his teeth and muttered a curse.

His gaze remained locked on the very spot where Josh had been standing with Emma. What Chase’s bodyguard did with Pitman’s secretary wasn’t any of his business. What truly infuriated him was the fact that he’d come in Josh’s hands. The memory of that vulgar man’s skillful touch—
“…Fuck.”
He rubbed his eyelids angrily.

So what the hell makes me any different from Grayson or those other extreme alphas?
The self-loathing was enough to drive him mad. He wanted to storm downstairs and throttle Josh, but he knew it was pointless. Faced with the same situation again, he’d fall to the same result. It didn’t matter who it was—it wouldn’t change anything.
All he could do was retreat into the bathroom, rip open the medicine cabinet, and toss another handful of pills into his mouth. As the familiar dizziness set in and his eyes closed, the rage began to blur and fade.

Everyone who fucks around should just drop dead.
That thought echoed faintly as consciousness slipped. And yes—Josh, and Chase himself, were both included in that list.