Kiss Me, Love

The path from that intersection to the room wing that held the bedrooms was not a long one, but the speed that Nicholai took was quite slow. It was as if he was savoring all the time spent carrying Darius this way. With his powerful biceps and core muscles, he didn't have any problem holding onto the other for so long, despite the weight of his supposed mate.

What made Darius frown was that Nicholai walked past his room in the wing. The father rolled his eyes and knew where the delusional man was headed. When the door opened, Darius's nose was hit by a strong fragrance of flowers.

He took a look inside the room and saw that the open French window was filled with vines that had flowers on them. These flowers were the same ones that littered the gardens and the vases in the house. Moreover, the vines crawled around the window as if they were the window frame instead.

A huge tree was also reaching out a branch as if it was offering a path for Nicholai to descend from his room. It blocked most of the view with his huge body and numerous branches as if it was the view itself. It made Darius confused. After all, who would stare into a tree's canopy and think that it was more worth the attention than the perfect garden that could also be seen from this side of the house?

"Are you bothered by it?" Nicholai asked as he placed the father down on the bed. He even went with the motion and pulled his hands closer, so he could take off Darius's boots. "You must be weirded out by the things in my room."

"Knowing you, it's not that surprising." Darius would even lift his foot to make it easier for Nicholai. "I heard from my old man that some Alphas had the ability to connect with nature. Are you using the flora to monitor everyone? You don't even have to depend on people's scents because you have eyes."

"By old man, you mean Gilbert Gillard?"

Darius felt that even his socks would leave his feet, slightly relieved that at least he had already showered yesterday. Werewolves had a very sensitive nose; he didn't want Nicholai to secretly be disgusted with him. After all, Nicholai was born into a wealthy family like Audrey.

However, when a familiar name came to his ears, Darius just pulled on his lips for a momentary smile. "Of course. My mom said that her mate died shortly after getting her knocked up. I didn't have a father until the Gillards took me in. I didn't like Audrey all that much, but Master Gil was one of the best people that I had ever known. That was why even if neither of us wanted to get married, I just did it for him…"

For some reason, such a simple fond memory of his time with the old Alpha of his pack was enough to put a light in his eyes. It was even so subconsciously that Darius didn't notice it happen.

Only Nicholai did, but the look on his face was of disapproval. He wanted to open his mouth to say something, but he just closed it again. He should just let Darius keep his fond memories of Gilbert Gillard. That man was probably once a beacon in Darius's life.

When Darius snapped out of it, he then realized that Nicholai was massaging his feet. "Sir, what are you doing? Aren't you getting a little too—?"

"I like your feet. They are not soft and small, a true sign of a hardworking person."

"Or broke. I'm just broke." Darius took away his feet from Nicholai's hand. "If I could head to the spa to relax them and get my callouses peeled, I would, you know?"

When a smile broke out on Nicholai's lips, Darius knew that he had something troublesome. He then sighed. "N-Nah, don't spend money on me. Spend money on the kids, not on me!"

Nicholai slowly mounted on the edge of the bed and used the back of his hand to rub Darius's cheek. "Why? Are they my mate? Darius, don't forget that my ultimate goal is still you. Having them around is just convenience on my part. I am not pursuing you because you have their affection. I am doing it… because I want you."

As if it was a way to get away from the situation, Darius even slid his eyes to the side. "Are you not holding my face with your palm because you just held my foot?"

"I figured that you wouldn't like it, even if I don't mind touching my face with my hands right now."

"…wash your hands."

While Nicholai was inside his own private bathroom to clean his hands, Darius decided to wade on the bed. The mattress was nothing less than the luxurious hotel room that they once went to. Also, the sheets smelled more like a flowerbed than a man's body. Did Nicholai even sleep here?

Darius then sat down and crossed his legs in a frog seat. He looked around the room and saw how minimalist the place was if he discounted the flowers. Based on what Sancho had told him, Nicholai wasn't even home most of the time.

As soon as Nicholai walked out of the ensuite, Darius asked with his gaze stuck at the glassless French window. "Hey, Nicholai, were you watching me when I was in the port city? Why didn't you help me when we were chased down by those wolves?"

"All my most covert operatives were fighting another front when that happened. I couldn't send in more of my people, as you would have seen us. Was it wrong to think that you'd be scared to come close to me if you discovered that I was watching you for so long?"

"…still, Dylan wouldn't have met that accident if you did." Darius rubbed his neck in frustration. "I know I can't blame you either. I must have given you the impression. But seriously, at moments like that, can you prioritize the kids? I can survive on my own, but I'll die if one of them dies before me."

Nicholai would disagree, but he didn't say anything contradictory. "I will take that as gospel, then."

He patted the bed. "Darius, please indulge me for a moment and lie down. I promise you I will not do anything overboard."

Instead of lying down like asked, Darius only turned to him. "Sorry, I don't feel like getting cozy with you anymore. I just remembered that we have something to discuss.

"The Chief has taken the Gamma trainees on a hunt for a chance to graduate. The seamstresses need a list from him, but I don't want to travel beyond the mountains for this alone." Darius then shrugged as if suggesting a long shot. "Can you get the list from him through your mind link?"

"Even the greatest Alphas can't communicate with their people with that distance, darling." Nicholai only chuckled before reaching out and caressing Darius's face with the back of his index finger. "How about this? I will help you satiate the seamstresses if… you come with me to the mountains. I can get a messenger to generate the list, but I like to show you what a graduation hunt looks like."

"…we can go camping after Dylan gets better. Megan will sulk if I'll head to a place like that without them." Darius then groaned as if remembering something. "I'm also worried about Adrian's little initiation test. That Beta brat might start cheating…"

"Hehe, I can understand. I won't spare any expense taking care of your immediate problems about the full moon banquet, and I will wait until Dylan is better. However, there is one condition." Nicholai leaned closer toward Darius. "Kiss me, love."

Instead of a flustered look, Darius actually darted close to his face… and kissed him only at the corner of his mouth. When Darius pulled back to see the surprised look on Nicholai's face, he grinned victoriously. In a sarcastic tone, Darius spoke, "You didn't say where. Now work your magic… love."