Captive Mate BL-Chapter 633: - - -

Asher stepped out of the doors of his club, the sun was setting, the fiery sky reflecting off his dark hair and gold eyes.

He had just been on the phone with Jael, and the other should be arriving any time soon, so they could return in time for dinner.

It was cold, but Asher couldn’t feel it, and it had little to do with the blood-red furcoat he had on. He stood in front of the doors for a moment, absentminded as he stared at the sunset.

A car driving in caught his attention, prompting him to start forward.

Jael also caught sight of him, parking a short distance away and getting out of the car. The day was coming to an end, but black shades obscured his eyes, it made Asher slow down.

He hadn’t seen Jael wear those as often recently, he kept his expression neutral as he approached, pretending not to see the odd accessory.

Jael had been quiet ever since he got back from checking up on Gage. The Beta wasn’t one for words usually, but the quietness had nothing to do with the words he said.

It was his demeanor, it was quiet, heavy.

Asher wanted to ask about it, but he knew that he wouldn’t get answers. He also didn’t know how to talk about his dad.

Jael got in the driver’s seat after he walked up, Asher wanted to join him by getting in the passenger’s seat, but he hesitated.

Then got in the back seat like he usually did, uncharacteristically quiet.

"What’s up your ass?" Jael was the one to break the silence, driving out the parking lot.

"The High Council is awfully quiet." Asher covered up his true thoughts.

"I can’t help but think that it has something to do with the offer they made." Jael muttered, displeased.

The High Council had all but retracted its influence from downtown Haines. Things had practically gone back to the way it was before they declared war.

Asher snorted, "They’re wasting their time trying to prove shit to me." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Jael frowned, the appearance of the signet ring had thrown him for a loop. Asher’s sudden importance to the High Council had a valid explanation; what was startling was how deep the importance ran.

One of the most powerful members of the High Council, essentially Alpha Eaton’s right hand, personally showing up with the High Council’s signet ring was already over the top.

Adding the sudden unspoken truce to all that made him very unsettled.

It was almost like they had moved their focus from Haines to Asher, which couldn’t bode well.

The High Council hadn’t made any moves trying to recruit Asher again since he turned them down, but Jael knew better than to relax. It was only a matter of time before they tried something else.

Caspian was all smiles at dinner time, it was bright enough for them to momentarily forget about the troubles of the High Council.

"I was thinking about how nice it would be to have a home gym just like Lake’s home," Caspian tried to say lightly, not wanting his true motives to be found out.

Asher didn’t even make that connection, grumbling at how happy his mate was from spending the day with Lake. And now he even wanted a gym because his friend had one.

"That’s right, why don’t we have a gym yet?" Jael chimed in, even though, prior to Caspian’s appearance, they barely spent any time at the mansion.

Caspian relaxed slightly when he wasn’t getting any scrutiny regarding his odd request. "I’ll handle the construction."

"There’s no reason to work you so hard," Asher dissuaded, "I’ll have men over first thing tomorrow."

Caspian didn’t push, happy enough that he was getting what he wanted. Asher thought he had spent all day at Lake’s and he didn’t correct him, pleased that his bodyguards had kept to their words.

He had spent all afternoon practising his driving. Soon, he would be confident enough to take a test and get his license.

His request for a gym wasn’t just for himself, it was also to be able to keep up if Lake invited him for another fun exercise session. Being terribly out of shape more than a pregnant Omega couldn’t be good for him, healthwise.

So he was all smiles as they rounded up dinner – it would just be him in the mansion all day as usual, he planned to make the most of it.

-+-

The next morning, Caspian was up as early, waving Asher goodbye from the front steps. He ducked into the mansion when their car left the gates, hurrying up the stairs.

He went right to his room, not even bothering to wait for Patty to arrive at the kitchen before leaving.

The kitchen only noticed his absence because of the lack of the bubbly and beautiful Omega that brightened up the busy kitchen in the mornings, but it was hardly felt in any other area.

Caspian was dressed in record time and was skipping down the stairs to practice driving. He had already rung up his bodyguards, who hid their unease well at what they had signed up for.

He pretended not to see it, as long as they kept his secret from his mate, he had nothing to worry about. And he caught on quickly, in no time, he would be able to confidently drive by himself.

The mansion would be noisy for the next couple days or weeks even, as workers trooped in to work on the home gym. Caspian was curious about it but he had other things to do so he would stay away.

He would only get in the way of the workers anyway, it was best he did.

He only returned to the mansion when it was time of lunch, keeping his distance from the ground floor even though curiosity ate at him.

After lunch, Caspian was too jittery to sit still so he left the mansion again, this time to take a walk. For the walk, he didn’t particularly care if his bodyguards snitched, if Asher showed up when he should be at work, he would just make his mate hike with him.

It was a warm afternoon, the foliage around providing shade. He stopped by the stream and sat on a smooth rock for a while, just watching the water go by.