Asher looked surprised to see him standing so close, carefully undoing the cuffs around his wrists without getting blood on him.
"I don’t mind the blood," Caspian blurted out. He didn’t know why he felt the need to say that.
He really didn’t mind, he wasn’t queasy and he already knew what Asher did, witnessing the Mafia King kill people wasn’t really that startling.
Asher flicked his eyes up at him, taking off the cuffs and tossing the metal bonds over his shoulder, keys and all.
"Let’s get you back to the mansion."
Caspian obediently followed, it was strange for Asher to be this quiet. Even when he thought his secret was still perfectly safe, there wasn’t this insurmountable wall between them.
They left the massacre Asher had created behind, stepping out into the crisp, cool night air.
He got into the car when Asher opened up the passenger door for him, curiosity eating at him.
He wanted to know what Asher was thinking, he wanted to know what would follow after he got back to the mansion. Would anything change?
The air in the car was tense, blood staining the steering wheel as Asher drove, completely focused on the road.
Caspian sighed softly and sank into the passenger seat, maybe he should have just taken Jael’s offer and left.
Because he knew he just wasn’t attracted to Asher. The longer he hung around, the more likely he was to get his heart broken.
Asher didn’t seem inclined to speak and Caspian didn’t know how to ask what he wanted to know, so the silence thickened as the journey went on.
The tall gates of the mansion eventually came into view, the unmistakable figure of Jael waiting to receive them.
"I hope it was resolved amicably?" He said to Asher as the Alpha opened his door.
As soon as he said that, his nose wrinkled, the smell of blood and death reaching him before he could even properly see Asher. "I guess not," He muttered under his breath.
Asher blatantly ignored him, going around to open Caspian’s door even though that only served to smear more blood on the car.
"Boss, I’d appreciate it if you kept your phone on you and didn’t get rid of it at the slightest inconvenience," Jael walked right up to him again, ignoring the fact that he was being ignored.
"I didn’t," Asher denied, "I just didn’t have the time to take it with me-"
Jael silently brought out the smashed remains of Asher’s phone, his expression set.
"Must have stepped on it by mistake." He evaded the accusations, starting for the mansion.
Jael let his attention stray to Caspian who was back here after all of his attempts to get rid of the Omega.
Asher looked particularly gnarly so it must have not been a pretty fight scene, yet he didn’t look too shaken up, even though he looked like he had been roughed up a little bit.
It would explain why Asher came back looking like he had swam in a pool dyed red.
Maybe he hadn’t been giving the Omega enough credit, maybe he would be able to handle the live wire that was Asher.
"Dinner is ready, so freshen up and eat," He tossed to the two of them, making no comments about the fact that they were both heading to Asher’s room.
Caspian was surprised that Jael didn’t treat him any differently when he returned, considering that the Beta had resorted to threats to get rid of him.
He stepped into the room when Asher opened the door for him, stepping in self-consciously.
The room had been spotlessly cleaned, so he was spared from the chaos that had occurred within it in the past couple days.
He stood awkwardly to the side as Asher closed the door behind himself and immediately starting taking his clothes off.
He paused when his shirt was halfway off, walking closer.
Caspian wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Asher had to say... as much as he wanted the Alpha to break the suffocating silence...
"Do you want to leave?"
Caspian blinked slowly, fighting the urge to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. "Leave? No?" He answered uncertainly.
Asher didn’t bother to be careful about his bloodstained hands this time, holding his face and leaving behind red fingerprints.
"You don’t get to change your mind later," He warned, hazel-gold stare dropping to his lips.
Caspian should be scared of how resolute he was about what he wanted. He had only known Mafia King Asher shy of a couple weeks, and that was time enough to learn that he was no good for him.
Yet, he didn’t consider leaving. If Asher wanted him to stay he would.
Asher’s smoky scent mixed with the smell of blood as he looked up at the Alpha, his voice steady as he spoke. "I know. I want to stay."
Asher let him go then, scowling at the blood staining his pale skin. "You should clean that up."
Caspian couldn’t stop himself from wiping his face off with the shirt he wore, "I’ll just wait till you’re done."
"The bathroom is big enough for the both of us," Asher quipped, some of his usual teasing nature creeping back.
Asher had put off asking that for as long as he could, it would sting worse than a bullet wound but he would have to let Caspian go if that was what he wanted.
He had been expecting a negative response, and despite what he said, he would always let him go if that was what he wanted.
And he would keep things that way. He could be better than his father.
Caspian was still reeling from Asher saying that they shower together. The bathroom was ridiculously large but no space would be big enough to hide the fact that he was going to take his clothes off in front of the Alpha.
He was stained with blood now so he couldn’t put it off completely to spare himself, timidly following Asher into the bathroom.