CHAPTER 558: +CHAPTER 558+

Lake was antsy the entire day, he had gone back to bed after his mate left the house but he couldn’t sleep. Rosie soon came looking for him and that was more than enough to get him out of bed completely.

Rosie had made breakfast but neither of them had much of an appetite. So they just sat in the living room, it was warm and Rosie had thrown a blanket over him but a chill clung stubbornly to him regardless.

Although Lake had encouraged Davian to call as often as he could, he knew that if things got tense, his mate wouldn’t have the chance to do that. So when his phone finally rang, it nearly slipped through his hands in his haste to pick up.

The ball of anxiety that had stubbornly sat in his middle unraveled as Davian briefly gave him a summary of what had happened. It was sometime past noon when the call came, and although the morning had stretched out forever, it really wasn’t that long.

Yet, Davian had so much to tell him, a lot of things had happened in that short amount of time.

Lake was just relieved that it ended on a good note, Nikolai’s casino getting blown up was horrifying and there was bound to be casualties but everyone directly involved were mostly in one piece.

When Davian told him about Nikolai’s decision to back away from his title, he had thought that the Mafia King would certainly need somewhere safe to recuperate and immediately suggested that they offer accommodation for the time being.

That was right before Davian told him that he had already made that offer, and Nikolai and Angelo would be coming over. Silvia would most likely also tag along.

Lake didn’t mind at all, the mansion was empty anyway, there were endless rooms that had most likely never been lived in since the mansion was built.

When the call dropped, he shot to his feet, his complexion better now that he had a purpose. He glanced at Rosie to see her hopeful and expectant expression.

"Nobody died," He briefly gave her the news he knew she wanted to hear the most. "And we have guests coming over."

Rosie’s furrowed brows relaxed, a small smile on her face. "Do you want to get rooms ready for them?"

Lake shrugged, "They’re welcome to choose for themselves, let’s go prepare an early lunch, Davian says they’ll be here soon."

Rosie rose to her feet, "I don’t think the boss is going to be happy about that."

Lake waved away her words, starting for the kitchen. He planned to tell Rosie what had happened in detail while they were cooking. "He’ll get dinner all to himself, and I won’t be cooking alone."

Rosie followed after Lake, she was curious about the specifics of what had happened, because Lake had spoken to Davian for a considerable amount of time. She knew she would get the details eventually so she didn’t prod, heading right for the fridge.

-+-

The rain had cleared up, the dark clouds brightening, a gentle afternoon sun slowly evaporating the puddles that had gathered.

Nikolai led the way out of the room that Angelo had cleaned up in. Davian was in the main part of the club, looking ready and a tad impatient to leave.

Asher and Jael also made their way out of the club as they got to the parking lot, there was no reason to stay behind. Nikolai’s turf was a mess but that was now the High Council’s problem.

"Don’t forget, dinner is at mine." Asher tossed to them as they got to their cars.

"Tell Caspian to hide the blueberries," Davian reminded.

Asher’s smile was a little strained but he had one regardless, although he knew his mate was perfectly safe, he needed to return home and hold him in his arms to calm his emotions.

He waited until Davian and Nikolai drove off before leaving with Jael. Jael got in the driver’s seat and he got in the back, the car driving through the wet parking lot as they started for home.

Nikolai was in a different car from Davian, doing a terrible job of keeping his hands out of his assassin’s hair.

Angelo’s attention was outside the window and Nikolai didn’t interrupt him, sensing that the Omega needed some time to himself.

He glanced down at his bloody hands; he wanted to say that things had changed abruptly in a single day but truly, things had been slowly changing ever since he bumped into Angelo.

Nikolai sighed quietly, sinking into the leather upholstery; the change was what he didn’t know he needed, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

A comfortable weight rested on his arm, Angelo’s worried face leaning into his vision. "Are you hurt?"

Nikolai was only reminded then of the gash in his arm that Angelo had given him. It was no longer bleeding and it didn’t hurt to begin with but Angelo’s concern was something he would never get enough of.

"My arm stings," He lied with a straight face.

The expression on Angelo’s face made him quickly backtrack, "Only a little," Nikolai hastily corrected.

"I should have properly stabbed you with the dagger," Angelo sighed instead, checking his arm despite his words.

"If I let you do that, will you forgive me?" Nikolai offered sheepishly.

Angelo’s dark look made him clamp his lips shut, "Where else are you hurt?" The Omega insisted, aware that Nikolai couldn’t feel pain and that the Alpha had a bad habit of ignoring his injuries.

He planned to help dress his injuries as soon as they got to their destination because he knew that they would be ignored otherwise.

"Nowhere else," Nikolai said with confidence.

It was clear that Angelo didn’t believe him, but the Omega didn’t push, he would have other chances to find out for himself if Nikolai was telling the truth.

Their stop was unfamiliar to Angelo, the mansion even more impressive and impenetrable than Mafia King Asher’s home had been, it was comforting.

Angelo had really wanted to die once, but in his narrowmindedness, he had ignored the people who cared for him and vice versa. The thought of Silvia dying was harrowing, so he could only imagine how she felt in his case.

And Nikolai... he glanced towards the Alpha who got out of the car and waited for him. Even the mere thought of Nikolai getting hurt was a little too much, which was hilarious considering the Alpha’s complete lack of self-preservation.