Captive Mate BL-Chapter 653: - - -

Davian was seated in Lake’s chair at FluxCorp when his personal line rang. He picked up instantly because he thought it was his mate calling.

It was one of Lake’s off days, his mate had started complaining less and less about having to stay home, easily winded out recently. And it was all the baby’s fault, he was growing too quickly.

He expected to hear his mate on the other side of the call and not Nikolai’s unwelcome voice.

He wasn’t sick to death with worry because Rosie and Doctor Perez were at the mansion with his mate, all he had to do was run the Mafia House while his mate got to rest.

"What?" He barked into the phone, displeased. It was just past lunchtime, and he hadn’t been the one to cook for Lake. He was very irritable.

"I need to talk to you and Asher about something important," Nikolai went right to the point, ignoring Davian’s shit mood. "We’ll probably come down to your company in a bit."

Davian stared at the phone, Nikolai had hung up after delivering his message. The other Mafia King hadn’t been asking him, he had been telling him.

He tossed the phone on the table and tried to focus on the documents he had to review and approve. Nikolai, having something important to say, could only mean one thing, at least that was some good news in his shitty day.

With all the assistant secretaries, Rosie staying behind with Lake didn’t dent their productivity, it just meant that he was doubly alone. All he had to do was review already scanned and summarized documents, and attend events, his tasks couldn’t be easier.

Compared to when he still ran the Mafia House, what he had to do now was so simple, it shouldn’t take any effort. It shouldn’t, yet he was sludging through his tasks, missing Lake terribly.

Despite how miserable he felt, he completed his tasks efficiently and thoroughly, making sure to clear up backlogs of meetings so that when Lake came in, there was little for his mate to do.

Davian glanced at his phone for the umpteenth time, he really wanted to hear Lake’s voice.

-+-

Asher had been downtown when Nikolai’s call came in, notably more enthusiastic about the news than Davian had been.

"I’ve got to head down to Davian’s turf," He informed Jael, standing in the parking lot of a dingy bar with his second-in-command.

"Alone?" Jael had to clarify because they weren’t done with things down here.

"Yeah," Asher tossed at him, already moving.

Jael watched his Mafia King go, his black fur coat making him look monstrous as he strode to his car. Asher had looked excited about the matter, it made him antsy.

He sighed and refocused on the task at hand. The sooner he was done here, the sooner he could rush to Asher’s side before things went up in flames.

He had some hope, though, because Lake would certainly be there, and with the Omega’s presence, he could be rest-assured that his boss would act right - hopefully.

-+-

Nikolai and Angelo arrived at FluxCorp first, already in Davian’s turf. They were ushered to Lake’s office to see only Davian seated behind the massive desk, looking properly miserable.

"Is Lake taking a break today?" Angelo asked as he looked around, hoping to see the pregnant Omega walking in from one of the side doors.

Davian’s already grim face lost even more color, "Yes."

"I’m going to go call him," Angelo decided, walking out of the office.

Spending so long living with Lake meant that he and the other Omega had formed a friendship. Lake was quiet and steady, the other’s presence was incredibly soothing. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He had been hoping to get to see Lake at the company, but it had completely slipped his mind that today was one of Lake’s off days.

"You look awful," Nikolai complimented Davian when Angelo was out of earshot.

Davian just leveled him a look, jealous. He also wanted to call Lake.

Asher didn’t keep them waiting for long, arriving in record time, bringing with him his smoky scent and the scent of winter. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Davian grumbled, closing the laptop in front of him.

He had expected Nikolai to say something while they waited, but all the Mafia King did was point out how miserable and shitty he looked, it made him happy about Asher’s arrival for the first time ever.

"I’m thinking of rebuilding my casino and reclaiming my turf," Nikolai said, the words the other two had already guessed.

Asher grinned, "About damn time."

Davian also nodded his approval, "The High Council’s one-sided war has already disrupted too much in Haines, we’ve got to push back."

Nikolai knew that this was what he would hear, and it was already telling when the first thing he thought of doing after deciding to go through with it was tell the other two Mafia Kings.

But their well-meaning support still struck him right in the chest. "What about their odd silence?" He brought up the main thing he wanted to talk about.

He had already made his decision to reclaim his turf, but he couldn’t be reckless. The High Council could have been waiting for this very moment to strike.

"I think it has everything to do with Asher," Davian said gravely.

Asher frowned, "Me? Why the fuck?"

"I think their priority has changed, the High Council wants Asher, not Haines." Davian went on, it was all speculation right then, but the patterns were telling.

"They’d be better off resuming the war." The red-haired Alpha said casually, not taking things seriously, and with good reason.

The other two had been a little antsy when they got the information that the High Council had reached out to recruit Asher, but it was obvious that their fears were unfounded.

Davian had more to say on the topic, but they had already been derailed enough. "I don’t think you should worry about the war." He addressed Nikolai, "Even if the High Council does make a move, they’re going to have to deal with all three."

The meeting was a short one, everyone needed to get back to running their turf. Asher drove back alone, the meeting ending before Jael could come play babysitter.