CHAPTER 574: +CHAPTER 574+

The guests didn’t linger long after dinner, Caspian and Asher standing in the doorway to send them off.

"I’d be happy to have you all for dinner tomorrow!" Caspian said with a bright smile, waving them all off.

Asher wasn’t as excited about the idea, looking forward to when their cars would all leave so that he could have his mate all to himself.

Jael was behind them in the foyer with Patty when his phone rang, he walked off to the side to answer, his expression changing.

Patty didn’t notice, texting Rosie on her phone as she started up the stairs. She planned to drop by her study before retiring to her room for the night.

Jael slipped his phone back into his pocket, dark eyes distracted. "Asher, I need to talk to you about something."

Asher had just been about to lead his mate up the stairs so they could play games or watch a movie until it was time for bed but the look in Jael’s eyes was concerning.

He would have stopped to listen to what the Beta had to say, regardless, but now he was agitated about what it could be.

Caspian didn’t notice the underlying tension crackling in the foyer, figuring out that it most likely had something to do with work. "I’ll go ahead then." He waved at the both of them, yawning as he started up the stairs.

"What’s wrong?" Asher stepped forward.

"The men found someone wandering around while we had dinner." Jael briefed him. "He tried to make a run for it when he was discovered so he was shot down."

Asher’s expression turned grim, "The High Council," It was more of a statement than a question.

"More than likely," Jael muttered, his gaze drifting to the closed doors. "The men are currently scouting the perimeter. I’ll personally check out the trespasser."

"Do a sweep of the men," Asher tagged on, "It’s been quiet for two days, the High Council is no doubt starting to get antsy."

They had simply had dinner but the spy sent by the High Council couldn’t possibly know that. The only report they could have gotten was that all three Mafia Kings were meeting up.

"Sure," Jael muttered, heading out. There was nothing he despised more than traitors. The High Council only needed one weak link to access important information.

Asher watched him walk off, remaining in the foyer even after the front doors were closed. It would take some time before he could join his mate, he had to make some calls.

-+-

Jael ground mints between sharp teeth as he crouched to study the bloody corpse on the ground.

They were face down, on the run when they had been riddled with bullets.

He expressionlessly rifled through the body, uncovering a bulletproof vest that had been useless because the men had been aiming for the head.

Frankly, bullets had gotten everywhere, his arms and legs, and even the point where he was protected.

The spy had a few small weapons on him so as not to impede his movement and a couple of cellphones.

"Hand these to Keith," He directed to one of the men standing next to him, gun cocked like he expected more spies to pop out of thin air.

Caspian’s body guard was really good at getting into devices. Something they had learned just a short while ago. Keith was also trustworthy enough that Jael didn’t mind him being privy to sensitive information.

Caspian rarely left the mansion now so they had less and less to do as they days went by, simply hanging around the mansion, ready to help out whenever it was needed.

Jael rose to his feet after finding out all he could. There was blood on his hands, and he would need to shower before bed.

"Identify him." He gave out more orders. "And when you’re done with this, send it back to the High Council." He nudged the dead spy with his foot, turning around to leave after sorting everything out.

The spy’s identity was no doubt useless, there was no way the High Council wouldn’t have expected him to be caught. It reeked of anxiety.

All three Mafia Kings were all going against the norm, it wasn’t supposed to be this quiet after a blatant attack by the High Council. They could feel that something was terribly wrong, so they were trying to get a feel for things.

He found Asher still in the foyer when he returned, the Alpha seemed to have been waiting for him.

Jael cocked a brow, wondering what could have been so important.

"I’ve informed Davian and Nikolai, they’ll tighten security and be more cautious." Asher informed him, leading the way up the stairs.

Jael followed after him, knowing that that wasn’t important enough for Asher to linger around until he returned. "You didn’t have to wait for me."

"I don’t mind," Asher muttered, an awkward hand on his hair.

Jael said nothing more to that, expecting the Alpha to go his way when they got to the top of the stairs, so it took him a moment to notice that Asher was tailing him.

"Need something?" He paused to ask over his shoulder, his tone dry.

Asher stopped as well, moving his weight to the balls of his feet and back. "There’s blood on your hands, what did you find?"

Jael was tolerant of this odd behavior; he liked to give reports when he had something of worth to say but he answered anyway. "Some weapons and a couple of cellphones." He said shortly, "Caspian is waiting for you." He reminded him, walking off.

This time Asher didn’t stick to him. Jael continued to his room, knowing that he would find out whatever was bugging Asher in a few days. But then again, the Alpha was probably simply worried about him.

Jael smiled as he washed the flaky, dried blood off his hands. He couldn’t make out why Asher would be worried about him but he appreciated the sentiment regardless.

He took a long shower afterwards, heading to bed early. It was going to be a busy day tomorrow. It wasn’t just going to be him doing a sweep of the ranks, he also had to put in certain security measures. His phone was placed right on the pillow next to him as he got right under the covers.