Caspian conveniently ignored the implications that Lucy and Jael were together, focusing on the matter at hand.
"He wouldn’t have if he had just worn a jacket," He muttered, still peeved about that.
Lucy slowly walked in, going right to Jael’s side to place a palm on his head. "You caught a fever too?" She accused, still having the hardest time coming to terms with things.
"I didn’t," He denied, trying to sit up.
"Stay down," She said sharply, pushing him back down.
Jael didn’t protest, folding like taffy in her hand. His tattooed body wet with sweat and Caspian tries to get his temperature down.
To Caspian, she spoke in a much gentler tone, "I’ll change out the water, you look worn out, you should get some rest."
Caspian did feel worn out, he had been at this for hours.
He made a move to get out the bed and was instantly snatched up by Asher, the Alpha had been completely silent the entire time.
"You’re hot Asher, let go of me," He protested.
His complaints fell on deaf ears, and he was stuck in the Alpha’s burning embrace until Lucy came over.
"Let go of him," She ordered in a tone that made even Jael flinch although she hadn’t been talking to him. "Or he’ll get your cold as well."
That was enough to get Asher to release him.
"Take a shower and get some rest," Lucy took control of the situation, slapping away Jael’s hand when he tried to touch her.
Lucy moved fluidly, getting a fresh change of water, cool towels folded neatly on the men’s foreheads.
Caspian honestly should have gone to her first.
He did as she said, taking a well-needed shower and curling up on the couch although Lucy insisted that he nap in a spare room.
He woke up late in the morning to find himself on the bed, the sheets had been changed out and the room was empty.
Caspian sat up in a rush attracting Asher’s attention.
"How did you sleep?" He immediately dropped the controller in his hand to focus on him.
Caspian frowned as he stared at Asher, the Alpha was seated on a couch playing games, and looking not at all sick.
Had it all been a fever dream?
He touched his own forehead absently, had he been the sick one instead?
Asher got to his feet at that, making his way over. "Did you catch a fever?"
"No? But shouldn’t you be down with one?" He asked in disbelief.
Asher was shirtless again, a shit-eating grin on his face. "I got better."
Caspian blankly stared at him, no fucking shit.
There was a polite knock on the door then, and the door opened almost immediately.
Lucy shot Asher a wary look and then focused on Caspian, "I was just about to wake you up so you could eat," She said, pushing a tray in.
Asher’s phone rang before Caspian could come up with a response, the Alpha heading to the closet.
"How long have I been asleep?" He whispered to Lucy - maybe he had actually been knocked out for a full day.
"Three hours," She deadpanned, placing the tray on the table. "At least the boss stayed until you woke up, Jael has been at work for over an hour now."
Caspian could tell that Lucy was sick of them, and he totally understood it.
He could picture them immediately doing whatever they wanted the moment their fever broke.
Asher came back out when Lucy was all gone, fully dressed with his hair in a low ponytail.
He appreciated that Asher still waited for him to wake up even in an unfamiliar circumstance.
Asher was in a hurry, stealing a quick kiss that tasted like pancakes and milk tea before leaving.
Caspian smiled softly in the quiet silence that followed Asher’s absence.
All he had wanted was a simple distraction from his troubles of the night before, and he had gotten more than he bargained for.
He could see now why Lucy had been so surprised to find out that they were both sick.
Well... if you could call this being sick.
Now that he was alone with his thoughts, he remembered just what he had insisted on the night before, and all of the macabre news he learned.
It was easier to bear it in the morning sun, Asher’s scent lingering in the room.
He didn’t have anyone to complain to before but now he had a handful of people in his corner.
Caspian refocused on the food that he knew Lucy had made for him... the tea tasted familiar.
By the time Asher and Jael returned later that day, there would be more information.
"Warren Reeves didn’t sound surprised to hear that Asher had a change of mind," Jael spoke up into the room.
He had refused to have the conversation in Asher’s bedroom so they were back in the receiving room where they had first had this conversation.
"He seems pretty confident that we have Caspian," Asher chimed in.
Caspian frowned at that, "Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of me going there?"
Jael leaned forward, "That means you can stay back and let Asher and I handle this."
Caspian looked troubled by this suggestion. He didn’t want to be a nuisance to them, he just...
He needed the closure.
He wanted to be actively involved in uncovering the circumstances around his parents’ death.
Jael scratched his short hair at the tense silence, "Well, even if Warren figures out who you are, he can’t do anything without proof."
"It’s an obvious lie but he can’t do anything about it if we insist that he’s wrong." He went right on. "Even the High Council can’t butt in."
Asher remained silent the entire time, a brooding expression on his face.
As much as he would rather Caspian stayed back, he knew how important this was to him.
Caspian listened intently to Jael’s words, he didn’t know how well he could hold up his fake persona if Alpha Warren could see right through his disguise.