"This is not the time for that," Asher cut in, looking at Nikolai intently. "You mean it?"
Nikolai returned the look, "I always mean what I say."
"This isn’t because of Angelo, is it?" Asher frowned, noting that Davian stayed out of the conversation, Nikolai had clearly poked a sore spot.
But Davian choosing to step down from his seat as Mafia King hadn’t been surprising. The Alpha had only done the bare necessities to keep things running smoothly, not like Nikolai.
Nikolai had bled for everything he built himself, multiple times.
"It’s not," Nikolai glanced at Davian, "And I shouldn’t have said that," He grumbled, the closest to an apology the other Alpha was ever going to get.
"Face it," Nikolai addressed them both, "I’m the weak link, and now that the High Council is no longer hiding behind pretenses, even if I reclaim my turf, they’ll only keep trying."
"Sooner rather than later, they’ll succeed, and I finally have someone that matters to me... You both have mates, I don’t need to explain that."
The darkness on Davian’s face had cleared up, he had been completely caught off guard by Nikolai’s request. But now that he had sufficiently processed it, he understood. "That’s not the only reason, is it?"
When he had proposed quarterly meetings, he had done it out of duty, but over the months, he had learned more than he would have liked to about the other Mafia Kings, their lives had all changed drastically, they were friends of sort...
Nikolai went quiet, Davian had hit the nail a little too hard. He meant all he had said before, but the defining reason was that he no longer felt like he needed to prove something.
Someone had finally chosen him, and it made him realize how empty a life he had led his whole life. The casino blowing up had broken off the last shackle.
He wasn’t going to completely disappear, but he was never meant to be a Mafia King.
His father had literally torn apart pieces of downtown and the other Mafia Kings’ turf and built hell on earth out of them.
Despite the reputation Nikolai had, everything he had done had been in a desperate bid not to become his father, every action, every decision...
"You don’t have to say it," Asher cut in, "We just aren’t eager to take over your turf. Hell, I’d rather the High Council get their hands on it, it’d be fun to get them on the playing field."
Davian nodded seriously, it was a matter of principle. And with the High Council headquarters miles away, it was going to be a battle with a phantom, but if they moved into Nikolai’s turf, there would be something tangible to counter.
"Besides, they’re going to expect that we’ll retaliate, so it’s going to end up being a war of attrition over your turf."
Nikolai smiled, it was an unsettling expression. "The retaliation isn’t going to come from just us, so it’ll happen regardless."
He had just managed to make his Mafia House more presentable when he took over, but there was no forgetting their roots. The High Council were soon to learn that in due time.
"What are you going to do now?" Asher finally took his seat, red hair wild.
Nikolai shrugged, "I still have my uses, I’m not backing out of the war just because I’m giving up on my turf.’ He planned to take his payment back in blood.
"How about you stay with Davian?" Asher suggested.
The Black Mafia House was the longest standing and equally the most powerful and most influential Mafia in Haines. Even if they lost the Lauder and Knight Mafia, they still had a chance against the High Council all by themselves.
"As a merging of Mafia Houses," Davian was quick to offer, a show of his respect for Nikolai. "There’s more than enough space on my turf for your loyal men."
Nikolai focused on the bloody tips of his fingers, frowning when his vision started to swim. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision when he decided to toss out everything he had built, but Asher and Davian hadn’t reacted like they were supposed to.
They were too concerned, too involved, too nice, it made the realization sink in... he was nothing like his dad. There had been wild celebrations when the monster died, Nikolai had half-expected that treatment, he expected that Asher and Davian would be eager to be rid of him and get their hands on his turf, but this...
"Yeah, sure..." He muttered, his voice raspy and a little choked up. "Don’t you need to speak to Lake about that, though?"
Davian shot to his feet like he had gotten a little too caught up in the moment and forgotten to do that, going to a corner to call his mate.
"Caspian would probably be happier if you stayed at mine," Asher tutted, his eyes trailing after Davian. "But he’ll have to settle for dinner at ours."
Nikolai couldn’t get himself to respond, even if he had the words to, they had accepted him so naturally, like they had been waiting for this moment a good long while.
He could still hear the rain falling outside, but it had gotten lighter now, soon it would stop, and the sun would gently break through the dark clouds.
Davian made his way back, "Lake suggested it while I was giving him a briefing of what happened," He flipped his phone, "It’s no surprise he was onboard with it."
"Angelo would probably want Silvia close," Nikolai pointed out dryly.
"Don’t threaten my mate with a good time," Asher quipped, reminded of how well Silvia and Caspian had gotten along together last time, by the end of dinner, they were already thick as thieves.
"She’s welcome if you can convince her," Davian extended the offer.
Nikolai didn’t doubt that Angelo could manage that, moving onto more grim topics. "Are we keeping me a secret from the High Council? They still think I’m dead."
"They’re going to find out sooner or later," Asher was quick to point out, "But there’s no reason to put out an ad about it."
"True, better you stay low for now," Davian agreed, "There’s nothing else to be done at the moment, we just need to watch and wait for the High Council’s next move."