Captive Mate BL-Chapter 648: - - -

Rae wore a wide grin, sitting across from Jael so he could easily look at the Beta. "Are you sure you don’t need an assistant?" He teased, leaning on the tall wicker table in between them.

Jael’s attention had been on their surroundings, reluctantly paying attention to the gang boss’ words.

"I could hold your guns for you, and maybe keep an ammunition box in my backpack."

All Rae’s words did was draw Jael’s attention to the backpack the kid wore. It was the first time he was seeing it, although Rae had been next to him the entire night.

"What’s in your backpack?"

Rae didn’t even mind that the topic had been abruptly changed, his smile never left his face. "Fudge," He promptly replied, reaching into his backpack. "You want some?"

Jael didn’t fall for the harmless front the kid was putting on, "And what else?"

Rae looked hesitant, the kid wore all his thoughts on his face, it only made Jael a little worried.

"Just fudge," He pouted, feigning hurt. "I’m not carrying any dangerous weapons."

Jael naturally didn’t believe him, reaching across the table to take the backpack from him. He cocked a brow when Rae hung onto the backpack, refusing to let go.

That slight expression was enough to loosen Rae’s fingers, the Alpha wore a shuttered smile on his face as he watched Jael search through the backpack.

Jael looked up a short while after, his eyes questioning. "It’s just fudge," He repeated, shocked by this outcome.

Rae crossed his arms, lips pouted. If the kid weren’t so skinny, he would likely still have baby fat on his face. "I told you, but you didn’t believe me."

Jael didn’t fall for his ploy, "No, I’m asking why you didn’t bring a weapon. Think we’re here to have fun?"

Rae peered up at Jael through his long black lashes, gauging the situation and how best to react. "But I’m still injured," He reminded, chipped nails digging into his palm belied his petulant act.

The edges of Jael’s lips lifted slightly, he tossed the backpack across the table. "Fine," He agreed, "Stick close to me." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Rae just stared wide-eyed, catching the backpack purely out of reflex. Jael had actually replied to him, like an actual person, and not a nuisance he was saddled with.

It was so overwhelming that it made him quieter, his dilated green eyes staring into the distance.

Jael’s lips turned right down, wondering why Rae had gotten so quiet after getting what he wanted. He knew how dangerous the gang boss was, he was the last person who needed his protection.

He knew that, yet he had offered to protect him.

Jael sighed, wishing he had a drink, or even better, a smoke. He was already stretched thin, he didn’t want to adopt anyone else to look after.

Despite the two of them being outwardly distracted, they noticed right away when one of the ladies seated in the furthest gazebo rose to her feet.

The lady lost his interest when she started towards their gazebo. Spoiled Omegas who were given everything they wanted on a silver platter liked to plague him at these kinds of events.

They simply didn’t understand the word no, especially when it came to their attractiveness.

For Rae, however, the Alpha’s distant expression immediately fell off, beautiful eyes sharp and dangerous as he eyed the Omega sashaying over in a dinner dress.

"Jael, hi," The Omega said casually, like they were colleagues, "Asher told me I would find you here."

Jael wasn’t surprised to hear his Mafia King’s name, "Did he give you an order for me?" He asked flatly.

The Omega was flustered by that, "N-No... we were speaking about your little cousin," She hastily tried to salvage the conversation, looking over at the young handsome Alpha, only to nearly bite her tongue at the look on his face.

Jael was the only one amused by the address, "What about my little cousin?" He right away adapted to the term.

Rae instantly lost his interest in the Omega at his question, back at his pouting best. "Who is your cousin? We’re not related."

The Omega wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but she had managed to keep a conversation with Jael going, which was already a feat.

Jael ignored Rae, refocusing on the Omega who was eyeing the spot next to him like she would like to take a seat. "What about my little cousin?" He repeated, a hard quality to his voice this time.

The Omega froze, realizing that she might have miscalculated how well the conversation was going. "I-I was just making small talk, I didn’t know you had a cousin..." Her voice grew smaller with each word she spoke.

The edges of Rae’s lips lifted only for a moment, his pout never completely leaving his face. "Stop calling me your cousin!"

"I-I..." The Omega tried to regain control of the conversation that was fast going off the rails.

Jael’s phone rang then, cutting off the conversation completely. The Beta rose to his feet and walked off to the side to answer the call, even though he didn’t really have to.

This left Rae at the gazebo with the Omega standing awkwardly at the edge of the table.

Rae ignored her like she was part of the landscaping, gingerly taking out the box of fudge to nibble on a bit of it.

"Hey," She smiled, sliding onto the long chair next to him. She tucked her long hair behind an ear, sitting close and leaning even closer.

"So are you really Jael’s cousin?" She asked with her syrupy smile.

Rae didn’t return the gesture, eyes hard as he carefully packed up the box of fudge again. "No."

The Omega was thrown off by the anger in the simple response. Earlier, she had been of the opinion that the teenager didn’t want to be related to Jael, "So how do you know him?"

Rae glanced at her for the first time since Jael left the table, "That’s none of your business. Jael isn’t interested, you should give up."

The Omega was stunned for a long time, it hadn’t been said like a suggestion, the teenaged Alpha seemed to be outright threatening her.

"I..."

"Time to leave," Jael rejoined the conversation, snagging Rae by the scruff of his jacket.

The Alpha let himself be dragged off, dark glare fixed on the Omega abandoned at the gazebo the entire time.

"Watch yourself around heiresses," Jael found himself scolding, "Their dads are dangerous."

Rae had been about to bristle at the first half of Jael’s words - it was the Omega who came to their table first and started name-calling. It was simply self-defence.

But realizing that Jael was only worried instantly calmed him down, he crossed his arms. "Not as dangerous as you."

Jael stopped dragging the gang boss at that point, walking ahead without caring that Rae stumbled and lost his balance. "I’m not saving you if you go ahead and get yourself shot by a CEO."

Rae easily straightened himself up and caught up with Jael, "What if it truly isn’t my fault?" He sidled up, puppy eyes on full display.

Jael ignored him again, unused to having company while on the job. He had no plans to get used to it.