Captive Mate BL-Chapter 617: - - -

Eaton impatiently tapped his fingers on the desk as he waited for the expected knock on the door. Shaun should have been at his office already, yet the Alpha still hadn’t shown up.

When the door opened without a knock, he didn’t bat an eye at it, sitting up straighter. There were more silver streaks in his black hair, his skin sickly pale.

Shaun’s expression was grim when he took a seat, "Eaton... Are...Are you alright?"

Eaton just let the concern roll off his back, handing over a black box. "I’ll be better when you’re on a flight to Haines."

Shaun clamped his lips shut and took what was offered, knowing that when the other Alpha was hooked onto something, there was no prying him free. He wished he could have gotten back from his trip earlier, just so that Eaton didn’t get this strung up.

"You do remember we are at war with him," He found himself pointing out despite knowing better.

Eaton had already gone over everything with him, including what the head of the High Council needed him to do. Shaun was fine with doing it, he just wanted Eaton to remember that there was next to no chance of getting a positive response.

The look Eaton shot him made him rise to his feet. He had been on the road for hours, but he still didn’t look as haggard as Eaton did. Maybe if he got this out of the way, the head would be able to get a good night’s sleep.

It was still early in the morning, if he left now, he would get to Haines before noon. So he spoke less and got moving, leaving the High Council Headquarters in a fast car.

-+-

Jael had decided to leave to find Gage on the weekend, ignoring Asher’s repeated attempts to get rid of him.

It had only been a day and then some since the Alpha acted out, and the air was still tense, especially around the men. The High Council hadn’t made a move since then, downtown notably quieter for the first time in weeks.

Right then, he was driving his Mafia King to the club, listening to Asher ramble on about how he didn’t really need him for anything that day.

Jael only gave him perfunctory answers, his mind long made up. On the weekend, Caspian would be able to keep an eye on the Mafia King. He didn’t plan to stay long, hoping to return before the start of the new week.

Asher might be back to normal with a healthy dose of guilt clinging to every word he said, but there was still no explanation for why he acted out. There was nothing that seemed to have prompted it too, so there was a high chance it could happen again at any time.

Jael wasn’t going to find Gage just because he was worried about him, it was also because he hoped that the older Alpha would have even a single answer to one of the many questions that burdened him.

Morning went by without event, he spent most of it watching Asher deal with filing just as he had the day before. Caspian calling sometime around noon to inform Asher cheerily that he was bringing lunch was also eerily similar to the day before.

They seemed to have both worn Asher down because the Mafia King didn’t protest, and he had stopped trying to get Jael to leave, giving in to their insistence to cling to him.

Jael’s phone rang after Asher’s call with Caspian dropped, he knew it wasn’t the Omega calling, but he could hope. A call from Caspian would certainly be more pleasant than whatever the men had to tell him.

He picked up, heading outside, the frown that showed up on his face hidden from Asher. Usually, if the men had to call him about a person that showed up, it meant that one of the Mafia Kings had wandered onto their turf.

But right then, there was an unspoken truce, one that was acknowledged even by their men. Until the war was over, the other Mafia Kings were welcome on each other’s turfs.

Jael’s eyes were hard as he walked up to the special visitor who had shown up with a convoy of armed men. "Bringing the fight to my front door?" He asked casually, glancing over at the standoff between Asher’s men and the High Council’s thugs.

Shaun held up his hands, a good-natured smile on his face that was at odds with his shrewd dark eyes. "I apologize for the artillery. I simply want to have a word with Mafia King Asher, but we’re hardly on good terms."

Jael’s hackles rose at the polite and almost respectful way the Alpha said Asher’s title. He almost didn’t want to hear what he had to say, but turning Alpha Shaun Levine away wasn’t up to him.

"If you’re not here for a fight, send your men away." He said calmly, despite how jumpy the powerful Alpha’s presence made him.

A vein ticked on Shaun’s jaw, he calmly put down his hands, making a slight gesture to the men surrounding him.

They obeyed immediately, dropping their guns and getting into their cars to drive off.

"Happy now?" Shaun prompted, struggling to maintain his civil facade.

Jael didn’t let his surprise show, the sirens blaring louder in his head now. "Come with me."

He led them through the club, without giving the order, the men knew to tail the High Council’s lackeys that had driven off. He stopped in front of Asher’s office, "Wait a moment."

With that, he stepped into the office, expression grim, gun drawn.

That was more than enough to catch Asher’s attention, the Mafia King sat up straighter, hazel eyes sharp. "What’s going on?"

"A member of the High Council is here to have a word with you." Jael got right to it, not mentioning that it was a high-ranking member, that wouldn’t matter shit to Asher.

The disgust on Asher’s face was palpable, a gun materializing in his hand. "Let them in."

Jael didn’t try to play mediator, the bastard knew exactly what he was getting himself into by waltzing right into Asher’s territory.