#Chapter 22: A Surprising Perspective

My face reddened with embarrassment.

"You've got it wrong," I objected. "I was just looking at the latest edition of Social Scene."

He grinned and I slowly realized he was joking.

"Ha ha," I said, sarcastically. "Very cute, Charles." I plunked back down on the couch and navigated back to Social Scene's homepage.

He sat gracefully in the chair across from me. "Did that scare you?"

There was no teasing in his voice, and no judgement. I looked up and saw he was looking at me with open curiosity.

I touched my neck. To my horror, I felt my insides warm at the memory of his touch. I hadn't liked it at that moment, but the memory of it... that was different.

I shook it off. There was no way I was going to allow myself to enjoy physical contact with Charles like that. Alphas were dominating, sure, but unless I had given my consent, I was not going to even think about being okay with that kind of touching.

"It's never fun to be reminded of one's own vulnerability," I said honestly.

He nodded t