Black cherries and jasmine, it was soft, dark, and sensual, and shouldn’t at all be clinging to the skin of a Beta. Nikolai braced himself and gently pulled Angelo off him, he didn’t make a sound, his entire body boneless despite still being conscious.
It was a train wreck, and he had to right up the train somehow. The thought that he wasn’t into men was far away at the moment, instead, he was taken up by the strange circumstances around Angelo, and how the assassin was hiding more secrets than he thought.
Letting Angelo lean against him, he shoved his bloody dick back in his pants, grimacing. Regret wasn’t an often used word in his dictionary but he was feeling a lot of it right then.
He picked up Angelo who still weighed nothing despite the fact that he tried to get him to eat more, placing him on the bed.
Angelo immediately curled up on his side but Nikolai knew it wasn’t from the pain, it was more of a protective gesture. He clenched and unclenched his fists, he knew endless ways to kill a person but he wasn’t great with comfort.
He moved, heading to the bathroom. Although Angelo’s hoodie provided some cover, he knew the assassin was bleeding under it. Cleaning Angelo up was surprisingly easy, although the assassin was curled up tight, he put up no resistance when Nikolai tried to touch him, it turned his expression ugly.
He wanted to have Silvia brought over so he could demand for answers from her but just like earlier, he knew she wouldn’t tell him a thing. He cleaned him up as gently as he could and was once again stumped on what to do.
"Angelo?" He broke the stretched out silence between them, keeping a distance. Angelo’s guards were completely down, he was no longer the dangerous assassin, just a vulnerable Omega.
Angelo lifted his head slightly, his hair covering the lower part of his face, his pupils were blown out, a spaced-out look on his face. There was barely any recognition on his face, those pale eyes seeing nothing.
Nikolai cursed under his breath and made a decision, leaving the room momentarily. He returned with a glass of wine in hand, walking back to the bed where Angelo had gone back to being curled up.
There was no snapping him out of whatever head space he was in so Nikolai intended to put him to sleep, if he woke up the same, he was dragging Silvia over and forcing out answers from her regardless of the methods he had to use.
He was slightly nervous as he approached with the glass of wine, not sure how Angelo was going to take to it. Nikolai liked being in control, and his sadistic tendencies were no secret either but seeing such an intense reaction, an instinct that seemed to be carved into Angelo’s very bones, it made him nauseous.
"Hey," He tried to say softly, catching Angelo’s attention. "Do you uh... do you want to drink this?"
Some recognition came back to those pale green eyes, Angelo sitting up straighter to take the offered drink.
"It’s just something to put you to sleep," Nikolai found himself explaining, although Angelo was drinking it down without any qualms.
The assassin watched him over the rim of the glass, looking more like himself.
Nikolai took back the empty glass and watched Angelo curl up once more but there was a slight change in his demeanor, like he wasn’t trying to protect himself anymore and was merely getting comfortable.
Standing there just staring was awkward and Nikolai still needed to clean up, so he turned to the door when he made sure that Angelo wouldn’t move until he slept off.
After a quick shower, he wandered back. Angelo was already fast asleep, still wearing just his hoodie, pale legs pulled in close to his chest. He walked over and pulled the sheets over him, lingering in the room instead of simply leaving.
All he had gotten were glimpses of the secrets Angelo had, he still didn’t know anymore now than he did when the assassin tried to kill him, he was just left with more questions. Why did Angelo want to kill him? Why was he hiding his secondary gender? Why was there the clear imprints of being forced branded on his psyche? Were all those three things related? Did they all have to do with him?
Nikolai sat on a different sofa, this one faced away from Angelo. He was deep in thought, trying to straighten things out in his head. It didn’t help that every time he tried to draw up a memory of Angelo from the past, he simply drew a blank, nor could he remember any situation similar.
He had no choice but to sit and wait for Angelo to wake up and provide answers. Was the reason Angelo wanted to leave suddenly, his telltale scent that revealed him to be an Omega? He couldn’t think of much else.
Lake leaned back in the car seat, his seat belt on, the wind blowing through his hair. "Do you want me to drive on our way back?"
Davian glanced over his mate who had his eyes closed, a blissful look on his face. "I’m fine."
The village was just up ahead, and he drove right up to a restaurant. It was dark but it was lively, tourists walking through the brightly lit streets hand in hand, happy laughter in the air.
It was too late for them to visit gift shops or tour the village so they would just get their dinner and return to the beach house.
The restaurant wasn’t crowded despite the bustle, and it probably had something to do with the spicy food, because the other restaurants were seeing a lot more customers.
Lake didn’t seem to mind, impatiently taking his seat at a table far from the windows, it brought the noise from the streets down to a quiet hum. He picked up the menu that was placed at the center of the table, choosing his order.