Caspian gulped down the champagne, unable to hold Asher’s burning gaze.
"T-That you don’t have to be so overprotective, I-I can take care of myself," He reaffirmed, his voice less sure now, the glass of champagne rapidly emptying.
Asher stepping back was unexpected, his expression shutter. "You’re right."
"I’ll be back in a moment, I need to go speak to Blackburn." The Alpha said in measured tones, leaning forward to kiss his forehead like he did before he went off to work.
Caspian found himself speechless as he watched Asher’s tall form disappear into the crowd on the floor.
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
He huffed out a breath and drank down the rest of champagne, upset again.
Asher listening to him when he protested about the Alpha overreacting when it came to his safety shouldn’t be upsetting.
Especially as he had fought so hard to actually get Asher to listen to him.
But yet here he was filling up another glass of champagne, his cheeks puffed out in dissatisfaction.
He was happy that Asher finally went off to attend to his duties, but he couldn’t help but think that he had gotten off too easy.
That sounded a little masochistic.
Caspian sighed, maybe he just wasn’t cut out for parties. He never did well in spaces with a lot of people anyway.
Asher didn’t go looking for Blackburn like he said he would, he would get to that eventually, but he needed to put his thoughts in order.
Being around Caspian didn’t help at all, one look at the Omega was enough to make his brain flat line.
He had to admit, he didn’t like listening to people, it forced him to admit to things that he would rather ignore.
He had been quick to shut Silvia down, and although he meant every word he had said, her words had opened his eyes to a world he would rather remain in the dark about.
Asher had walked to the other side of the ballroom, choosing a spot where he could keep an eye on Caspian.
Maybe he was a little overprotective... and maybe there was hint of insecurity in there as well.
It was just that he had never had so much to lose before, it was enough to fill him with terror.
Asher was scared of Caspian being in danger because he was scared to lose him, but that wasn’t the only way he could lose him....
He hated Silvia for making him painfully aware of that.
Because he wanted to try to be a better person for Caspian, but this wasn’t helpful at all.
And matters were made worse by how alluring the Omega looked, he drew men in like moths to a flame.
"You look like you’re having a great time," Davian’s low voice interrupted his spiraling thoughts.
The dark faced Mafia King was notably alone, Isabella off somewhere.
"Fuck off," Asher bit out, uninterested in pleasantries.
"Gladly," Davian was quick to agree, slinking out of the ballroom like he was hiding from someone.
The person he was hiding from quickly made themselves known, Isabella materializing from the crowd with a pout.
Asher’s already dark mood worsened at her presence and the expression on her face, unable to disappear fast enough because she had already sighted him.
"Asher! There you are!" She hurried up to him, pouting like a spoiled toddler.
Asher cursed under his breath, his gaze straying to where Caspian was seated.
The Omega talking to a society climber made his lips tilt down, hazel-gold eyes slowly catching on fire.
"Have you seen Mafia King Davian?" She whined, "I turned away for a moment and he was gone."
"I haven’t," He deigned to answer, his eyes fixed on Caspian.
It was taking a lot for Asher not to stride across the room to crush the man’s head in his hands.
But where would that leave him? He would just be proving Silvia and Caspian’s words.
"Can you help me search for him please?" She held onto his arm, pleading with puppy eyes.
As Asher stared down at her, all he could think was how if Caspian was in Isabella’s place, he would have folded like putty.
But for the heiress, he wanted to flick her away like a bothersome bug.
"If you can’t find him, he’s probably gone," He bluntly said to her, letting her hold onto him because he didn’t trust that he wouldn’t be violent he if tried to get her off.
Isabella’s dark eyes quickly calculated, if she had lost one Mafia King, she just had to attach herself to another.
"You think so?" She said sadly, "By the way, have you spoken to Papa yet?"
Asher gritted his teeth; he could say no but the annoying heiress would probably find another reason to stick to him.
At least this way, he would be able to get rid of her after speaking to her father...
Davian owed him one for this... Asher’s eyes narrowed.
Now that he thought about it, there was no reason for Davian to speak to him, the Mafia King had deliberately led the Blackburn heiress to him.
"I had a feeling that you hadn’t," Isabella answered for him when he said nothing, pulling him away from the wall and back into the crowd.
"The last time I saw Papa, he was at the tables," She beamed, her distress over Davian long forgotten. "I’m sure we should still find him there."
Asher let himself be dragged along, searching for Caspian as they moved through the crowd but finding it difficult.
It was probably a good thing he couldn’t see him, because all he needed was one more... one more sleazebag hitting him up and he would be putting his moral code away for the night.
Oblivious to his increasingly dangerous thoughts was Isabella, proudly walking by his side.
She had thought she would get her pick of Mafia Kings at the function, only for her plan to be ruined by Asher showing up with a partner.
But just as she expected from the Mafia King who never kept lovers, the Omega was already done away with, and it hadn’t even been an hour since they showed up.