Jael didn’t stay long, already heading for the door as soon as he was done discussing with Asher.
"Do you need me to get you takeout?" He asked at the door.
"We’ll get it ourselves. You’ve got a lot to do." Asher said.
"Right, right." Jael agreed easily, "Keep an eye on him, Caspian." He tossed over a shoulder before leaving.
Caspian doubted he could do that, Asher only listened when he wanted to.
Granted, he was no better, but he was merely stating things as they were.
"Are you alright?" Asher crossed the room to get to him, getting on the couch with him.
The television in the apartment was minuscule compared to the one back in Asher’s bedroom.
This would be the perfect time to curl up in the Alpha’s arms and watch movies or play games.
But the screen remained black, the atmosphere stagnant, a lot of words unspoken.
"I could be better," He said honestly, leaning his weight on Asher.
There was no need for further conversation, Asher gently holding his face in his hand.
Caspian melted into the kiss. Once again he found himself wishing he could crawl inside Asher’s skin.
Even though he was a supposedly ’dangerous’ Mafia King, he made him feel so safe.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted the moment, making him try to pull away but Asher held him tight, his tongue piercing gentle.
The knock came again, insistent this time, Asher finally pulling away to get to his feet.
Caspian remained on the couch, watching his broad back as he stood to the door and wondering if he should put the face mask back on.
The conversation didn’t leave the doorway, however, Asher returning after a short while.
"Warren wants to have a private conversation with me." He quietly informed Caspian, pressing a kiss to the furrow that appeared on his brows.
Caspian was wary of being all alone but he didn’t let it show. "Try not to shoot him," He whispered.
"No promises." Asher muttered as he started for the door.
Caspian watched the door close, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.
He had spent hours pressed right up to Asher so the Alpha’s scent had sunk into his skin, it was doing a great job of calming him down.
He couldn’t believe he was already back in the Pack house, and it had barely been a month since he left.
Caspian considered hiding away in the bedroom until Asher returned, he could just pretend like he was asleep to dissuade Luna Tammy from seeking him out.
The knock on the door while he contemplated wasn’t as shocking as it should be.
It was very cliche for Alpha Warren to show up after a short while and ask to have a private conversation with Asher to separate them.
He reluctantly rose to his feet, fiddling with the necklace he wore. "Who is it?" He spoke softly, expecting Luna Tammy to respond.
"It’s uh... Noah," A familiar voice responded, "We never go to speak earlier, I just wanted to say hi."
Caspian had an expression of disgust behind the door, why would Noah be the one to seek him out?
"Can I come in?" Noah pushed when silence greeted his response.
Caspian slowly opened the door, struggling to keep a straight face. "You can’t. Asher isn’t here." He said softly.
Noah clearly didn’t expect him to show his face, staring blankly at him.
But just like when Luna Tammy had been trying to make out his voice, Noah also had a hard time.
It was ridiculous. They had shared an apartment for three years, you would think that the first person to recognize him would be Noah.
It couldn’t just be the wig and lipstick, it wasn’t like he was Clark Kent.
Caspian had to admit that he did feel different, his cheeks had filled out as well as the rest of his body, and that was because Lucy had taken it upon herself to get him to the size of a house.
But if he was being honest, while he lived in the Pack house, he avoided everyone and spoke little.
And Noah looked right through him the entire time they were together, whatever helped him get through each day of being mated to a male Omega.
"I said Asher isn’t here," Caspian repeated when all Noah did was stare blankly at him.
That shook the Alpha out of his thoughts, those black eyes staring right at him for the first time.
"Ah right," He mumbled, reaching for his hair and then giving up halfway.
Which was good because it was slicked back with enough gel to lubricate a truck’s engine.
"Can we have a conversation out here instead?" He insisted.
Caspian was concerned now, it was clear that the Reeves’ family suspected his identity. If Noah knew or at least, suspected who he was, they shouldn’t be here.
The Alpha would rather walk on a bed of rusty nails than exchange pleasantries with him, much more hold an actual conversation.
There was only one explanation, his mom had put him up to this.
Caspian leaned against the doorway, just like Jael said, it didn’t matter if they knew who he was, unless they could prove it, they couldn’t do anything.
"About what?" He crossed his arms, a hint of impatience in his voice.
Noah visibly relaxed when he realized that he wasn’t about to be turned down.
"Can I be honest?" He chuckled, "I’m curious about what the Mafia’s like."
Caspian made a pause, careful about his responses. He knew that this entire shtick was to get him to admit something incriminating.
"And you’ll probably stay that way," He said lightly, tucking his hair behind his ears. "There’s an oath of silence," He leaned forward to whisper like they were conspiring.
Noah was stunned again, at a loss of words.
Caspian didn’t hand him a bone this time, stepping back with a smile and slamming the door in his face.
Talking to Noah hadn’t been as bad as he thought it would be. He just needed to treat the Alpha like the stranger he was.