+Chapter 21+

Caspian shut his eyes just as fast, pretending to be asleep, his ears strained to hear Asher's footsteps, his heartbeat unforgivably loud.

"I'm more hurt by your souring scent," Asher's amused voice came from right beside him.

Caspian opened his eyes with a gasp, staring plaintively at Asher.

"Get some sleep," The Alpha tossed at him for the second night in a row, heading for the door.

Caspian couldn't believe his ears, sitting up to be certain he wasn't hallucinating. He supposed he had Mafia King Nikolai to thank for this break.

He laid back down, a furrow in his brow. It had gone in his favor but why did he feel a little bad?

Caspian didn't give himself too long to worry about that, Asher leaving for the second night meant that he didn't have to deal with the Alpha until the end of the day.

He had the entire day to come up with a plan that would keep him in one piece for the third night.

Caspian even got up early the next day, making full use of the bathtub again. He came out to find the curtains thrown open, the artificial scent of cleaning agents slowly dissipating.

He eyed the windows longingly as he walked across the room, he hadn't made another attempt to run away so thankfully the handcuffs had been put away.

He wasn't even going to ask why Asher had them in the first place.

He went to get dressed, the sight of the clothes available to him making his mood darken.

Who was responsible for picking out the outfits? Were they aware that women also wore pants?

Everything was skimpy, even the flowy dresses managed to show more skin than necessary. He was going to catch a cold at this rate.

It was also terribly insufficient to keep him safe from the Alpha that had bought him.

He settled on a pale pink sweater that looked great until he put it on, the deliberately wide-necked sweater falling off his shoulders.

He kept it on regardless, it was loose enough and it wasn't see-through, which meant that it was already far better than ninety percent of the clothes he had.

For bottoms, he settled on a skirt, and for a lack of proper socks, he wore the lacy thigh-highs provided.

It was far from a comfortable outfit, the short skirt a little too snug, if it were any longer, he would have to bunny hop to get around.

Caspian paused to stare at himself in the mirror, and although he recognized himself less and less the more he wore unfamiliar clothes, he passed for a woman and that was all that mattered.

He just had to eat breakfast and then he would get to planning and scheming.

He made the call, a maid quickly answering and letting him know that his meal would be brought to him in a few minutes.

True to her word, there was a knock on the door shortly after, and although Caspian was used to the maids coming in without waiting for a response, he had to get to his feet when the knock came again.

He wondered if the maid's hands were full with the tray she held and that was why she couldn't open the door. It wasn't until he went over to open the door himself did he realize how redundant that was.

Because if she had a free hand to knock, she could definitely open the door without his help.

He opened the door to the sight of Asher patiently waiting, and he realized that he had never seen the Alpha in casual clothes.

His hair was tied back in a low ponytail, his piercings in, and he was wearing a really comfy-looking sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Caspian was suddenly struck with the urge to rub his eyes, maybe it would get rid of the image in front of him. But he remembered that he had put a bit of makeup on - that was a bad idea.

"Asher?" He blurted out, the single word ringing with betrayal and disbelief.

"I take it you're happy to see me," Asher quipped, looking him over appreciatively.

"W-What?" Caspian stuttered in confusion. Why was Asher here? Shouldn't he be out doing whatever it was that Mafia Kings did?

"I took the day off for you," Asher said bluntly, leaning against the door jamb. "We'll be having breakfast together."

That seemingly harmless piece of information was followed by the Alpha's gold gaze dropping from his eyes to his lips and lower, and Caspian could swear he just lost some years off his life.

He had let his lie drag out for too long, the Mafia King had even kissed him. Didn't that just serve to worsen his already delicate position?

"Not going to invite me in?" Asher prompted when all he did was stand and stare.

Caspian nearly tripped over his own feet trying to step out of the way so Asher could come in.

A Mafia King had taken the day off for him - his life was so over.

He stood awkwardly to the side even after Asher walked in, fiddling with his hands, his eyes bouncing around the room.

It didn't help that he was the only one infected with awkwardness, Asher just strode over to the seating area by the electric fireplace. He sat so they were directly across from each other, staring at him openly.

Caspian squirmed under his gaze, it was awkward to just stand there but he was also wary of getting close to the Alpha.

The impasse was thankfully broken by a maid showing up, she pushed in their breakfast on a mobile tray, a nervous but polite smile on her face.

Even Silvia who had been a literal force of nature was careful around Asher, Caspian was not at all overreacting.

He had no option but to close the distance between them when the food was brought, sitting on the opposite couch although the couch Asher was on was big enough for them both.