Jael cocked a brow at their appearance which couldn’t be anything pretty.
Caspian didn’t realize that the rain had made his top sheer, not until Asher pulled him against him without warning, flipping off Jael and the men behind him.
They immediately got the memo and averted their heads.
Caspian had never been more relieved to get out of his clothes, hopping in the shower expecting Asher to join him.
He came out bundled in a towel, a little furrow on his brow at the sight of Asher propped up against the wall of the bathroom.
He swallowed back the words that he had been about to say, the heat in Asher’s eyes was enough of an explanation.
By the time they stepped out of the bedroom, all of the men were long gone, Jael perched on the couch.
"The men are already on their way back to Haines," He informed them, getting to his feet.
The rain had stopped by that point, and as they didn’t have a lot of luggage, packing up took only a few minutes.
"I dropped a helpful tip about the ongoing event at Moonstone Pack for the High Council," He tagged on as they walked into the wet parking lot.
It was devoid of people, the sky dark, the smell of wet concrete, and cold clean air filling the space.
Caspian looked back at the Pack house at that, it looked the same as it always did.
He got into the back seat without hesitation, eager to get back to Haines.
Without his past dragging him down, he could be himself, fully and wholly, unfettered.
Caspian didn’t realize how tired he was until he was curled in the back seat on Asher.
The past couple of days had been such a rollercoaster ride, it was no surprise he fell fast asleep when they had barely gotten out of Moonstone.
"Have something you want to tell me?" Asher asked Jael, his voice quiet.
He carded his fingers through Caspian’s hair as he spoke - it was completely out of character to go as far as he had.
But he had been acting that way ever since he saw Caspian on that stage.
"I need a couple of days off," Jael replied after a long silence.
This made Asher’s eyes narrow, although he held the title of ’Mafia King’, Jael held as much power and influence as he did.
If the Beta needed a day off, there was no reason to ask, he could just take it.
"What’s going on?" He demanded.
"Nothing serious, it’s just a personal matter I need to handle," Jael said cryptically.
Asher’s shoulders tensed up, "How many days? Will you leave Haines?"
He couldn’t help but be nosy, Jael rarely told him what was going on in his life.
"Two days. Could be more or less," Jael muttered, clamming up after.
Asher knew that no matter how hard he pushed on the matter, Jael would only tell him what he wanted to share.
"Right," He gritted out, staring out the dark windows, barely catching glimpses of fluorescent lights.
The journey continued in dead silence, Caspian peacefully sleeping through it without a care in the world.
It was quite late in the night when the fortified gates protecting Asher’s mansion were swung open, Jael driving them in.
"Call me if you need anything?" Asher offered, breaking the silence between them.
He didn’t wait to hear Jael’s answer, gently carrying Caspian out of the car. He wasn’t sure he would like what he heard.
The air was dry when he stepped out, cold and crisp and although Caspian was drowning in one of his fur coats, the Omega still shivered.
The trip to Moonstone had gone well, they had managed to do everything they planned in less than two days.
And Caspian looked all the more better after finding out the truth.
He had been a bit worried that uncovering the true events around his parents’ death would send him spiraling.
It was too late to do anything other than go to bed, Caspian barely rousing when he was tucked in.
Asher found that he couldn’t sleep even with Caspian’s warm weight right next to him, the Omega’s sweet scent filling his lungs.
He was well aware of how much he relied on Jael, and all that did was make the fact that he didn’t do the same for Jael stand out in technicolor.
Asher really hoped he was overthinking it but he couldn’t budge the heavy feeling from his middle.
Caspian woke up at dawn from sleeping early the night before, and it was a relief because Asher would be able to head out early.
He got a sleepy kiss from the Omega who looked like he was going to go right back to sleep, striding out while distracted with thoughts.
Not seeing Jael that morning was odd. so was getting driven to one of his clubs by someone else.
Jael always insisted on driving him although that was in no way part of his duties.
By the time he got to the club, there were still stragglers stumbling out of the building into the cool dewy morning.
Asher was only able to stand it for half an hour before he rang up Jael’s phone.
The line being dead shouldn’t have come as a surprise but he found himself trying again, hoping...
It didn’t change the second time, and he tossed the phone to the side, only to pick it up again when a call came in.
"Boss?" A nervous voice called tentatively.
Asher never had to personally answer calls so he understood the man’s fright.
"Report." He said calmly, a stark opposite to how he actually felt, sinking into his duties for the day.
Caspian had been awake for at least an hour now but he was reluctant to get out of bed.
Asher’s fading scent was a good incentive to get out of bed, as well as his rumbling stomach that reminded him that he hadn’t eaten much the day before.
But he was waiting for Lucy...