Lucy had always been strong-willed; it was what attracted him to her in the first place, and it became her undoing.
He had gotten a call back in Moonstone, that she was in the gang’s possession and he needed to pay for her release; he had sent off the men afterward.
Jael knew that they had called the first person in her contacts, but he didn’t even mind paying triple.
He had paid immediately he got the call and as soon as he got back to Haines, he set out to find her.
It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he couldn’t reach the gang members after paying them, even miscreants knew not to fall for such a basic scam.
He spent the rest of the night searching and by mid-morning, he stumbled on their base.
It had almost been ironic that it would be the same unique memory from his childhood, but...
He had been too late.
Lucy was already dead, and she had been clutching her brother like she had been trying to protect him.
Jael had tuned out the gang panicking at his presence and demanding to know what he wanted.
This was probably what Lucy wanted... She hated to have to rely on anyone.
It was who she was; nothing Jael could have done would change that.
The next several hours had been a blur; He had lit Lucy on fire and watched her burn until she consumed the building.
"This is the least I could do for her," He concluded, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
"Ready to head back?" Asher quietly asked, the sound of the fire and people noisy in the background.
"Yeah," He sighed, "I’m sleepy."
Asher drove back as carefully as he could, Jael keeping true to his words and falling dead asleep before they could even leave the street.
The cloud of black smoke kept them company for miles, disappearing when they got closer to the mansion.
Asher gently knocked his tongue piercing against his teeth as he drove, deep in thought.
He couldn’t understand how Jael had listened to Lucy even when it put her life in danger.
Maybe it was his father’s blood running in his veins, but he would rather his lover hated him, than lose them.
Wary of moving Jael in a way that would worsen his wounds, he arranged for a stretcher to wait for them.
He watched as they carefully moved a sleeping Jael, spacing out as they disappeared into the doors of the mansion.
"Was that Jael?" A familiar voice broke into his thought.
Asher pulled Caspian to him without providing a response, needing a moment.
The mere thought that he could lose him made him almost hyperventilate, grounding himself with Caspian’s scent.
Caspian was however not having it, pulling away, fear spilling out his glassy blue eyes.
It was then that Asher realized the picture that was painted. Jael genuinely looked wrecked, and he was here acting sappy.
Of course, Caspian would think the Beta was dead.
"Yeah but he’ll be fine," He quickly informed him.
Caspian looked doubtful, taking a step forward like he wanted to check for himself. "Are you sure? He looked really bad."
"Yeah but we should let him rest so he can recover," Asher said gently, leading the way in.
He needed to tell Caspian about what happened to Lucy, and he didn’t think the driveway was the best place to have that conversation.
Caspian didn’t protest, letting himself be taken to the receiving room where they had been doing a lot of congregating recently.
He sat stiffly, biting his bottom lip like the gesture was the only thing stopping him from saying what he wanted to say.
Asher reached out and tugged his bottom lip free, his tongue heavy in his mouth.
The unspoken words hanging stale between them were reflected in Caspian eyes.
"Is Lucy okay?" He asked in a whisper, the hope in his eyes crushing.
Asher had almost bluntly said it but he reigned himself in, Caspian was too delicate for that approach.
"She’s not," He said instead.
Caspian threw himself at him, his head buried in his neck. Asher held him tight, noting after several minutes of silence that Caspian hadn’t shed a single tear.
"Are you hungry?" Caspian pulled away to ask suddenly, his eyes red-rimmed.
"What..." Asher mumbled in shock but Caspian had already shot to his feet before he could stop him.
Asher followed after him, "Caspian? Where are you going?"
"To make you something to eat," He said, the words coming out choked.
Asher was stunned for a few precious seconds, walking dumbly behind Caspian.
There couldn’t be a worse time for food than this, but Caspian was acting so strangely that he didn’t stop him.
"You don’t have to do that, there’s hired staff for that," He said gingerly.
Caspian just kept strutting forward confidently, "But I want to."
His counter was simple but effective, and after a few minutes of seeing the Omega take turns at random, Asher came to a realization.
"Do you even know where the kitchen is?"
Caspian stopped abruptly at that and whipped around, his eyes glass cages for the multitude of tears behind them.
The simple request was delivered in a choked voice, his tears barely held back.
"Sure," Asher agreed immediately, still completely lost on what was going on.
He took his wrist and led the way to the kitchen, signaling the horrified kitchen staff to leave.
They did so without protest, leaving just the two of them in the large space, the scent of food filling the room.
The kitchen was blindingly bright, all of the overhead lights were switched on because it was dark outside.
Dinner was already prepared but Asher said nothing about that, hopping on a stool as he watched Caspian move around the kitchen in a daze.
He was prepared to make a move if he was about to hurt himself but for now, he gave Caspian space to move around and do whatever he needed to cope.