🌖~ Moonlit Obsidian ~ 🌔 [with M-jow]

[mik3la]

The other didn't had to tell what he was thinking as he could see the look in his eyes when he realized what had happened exactly. He had been the target all along. He was supposed to be attacked in the library and most likely he was supposed to die tonight instead of Noah. His friend was dead because of him. 

Guild and grief was building in his chest again, feeling his heart squeeze like hell, like thorns where pinned in it. It was all his fault. He was the cursed one.

He was about to break apart when the other asked where he lived and that he shouldn't go alone given the circumstances. That made him rethink everything and trying to understand why would someone want him dead. 

His line of thoughts was interrupted when he the other mentioned that he was not safe and that he should know how magic works. 

"Yeah I know ... they leave a scent that can be found by hounds ..." he said unconsciously, responding out of reflex. Of course he knew about magic. He was a magic being, but the only person that knew that was Noah. And now Asher. 

He took a deep breath and turned his eyes towards the guy, locking his eyes with the honey colour that shined now in the dark of the room. 

[M-jow]

Asher stiffened.

The answer had slipped out so fast the other hadn't noticed. And Asher hadn’t missed the way Kaito caught himself, that sharp little intake of air when the man realizing he’d just stepped off the edge of no return.

 

He didn’t need to ask futher to understand. Kaito had already outed himself. Magic-born. No matter how he’d tried to keep quiet about it, the scent clung to him.

But that wasn’t what was weighing the most on the other's mind. It didn't take much for Kaito to put the puzzle pieces together in the same way Asher suspected Noah’s death to have happened. The way he held himself and the change in his expression. He recognise the clues.

Asher’s jaw flexed. He turned away slightly, letting his eyes scan the sterile lines of the hospital room instead of lingering.

Magic.

Of course it had to be magic.

His pulse thudded in his ears, and for a second he had to breathe deliberately to keep his voice level. There was a long, bitter history between wolves and magic users. Centuries-old blood feuds, broken treaties, and a hundred reasons not to trust someone like Kaito.

Both Asher and Logan had been taught this while growing up. Their father had described magic as an sickening feeling, that smelled like roses and rotten meat.. and it was true. Magic did smell like that normally. But.. well Kaito didn’t really smell like that to him. Which was why he was unsure. His nose did tickle so that was his only give away.

 

He folded his arms, eyes turnimg back to Kaito, who was being quiet now. The IV line still in his arm, the bandage near his temple made him look more human, and less like the threat Asher’s mind wanted him to be. But instincts didn’t care. Magic was magic.

"Well that is that," Asher said, voice low, not accusing him, cause pick their own birth, “Whatever this is… whoever you are, it got nothing to do with our situation.”

He ran a hand through his hair, restless, scanning the hallway just beyond the door. Two uniformed officers were still stationed outside. Not their people. Just humans. Useless if the attackers came back with spellwork or scent-blockers.

“You’re can't go anywhere, yet” he said, mostly to himself. “Not until a doctor signs you off. And I can’t just let you walk out of here alone even then. If anyone is after you it would be too easy to just put a bullet in you”

He stepped closer to the window, arms still crossed. The city outside was coated in the night. Streetlights glowing and headlights flashing along the roads like a river of fireflies. There was a faint sound of sirens in the distance outsidethe window. Somewhere out there, someone was cleaning up the mess. Or waiting to finish what they started. But what for what?? 

Asher didn’t look at Kaito when he spoke again.

“You’ve got magic in you. I can smell it. But it’s a driffrent kind of scent coming off from you. So I wasn’t sure.”

 

“I don’t know how well you’ve hidden it before. But you need to hid yourself much better for now one.” His voice dropped, sharp as a blade. “Because someone is properly hunting you.”

He finally turned, locking eyes with Kaito. The fluorescent lights cast shadows under his eyes, making them look darker than they were.

“I can offer you a safe place to stay temporarily, while I try to find the people behind this. Of course it’s your choice to take the offer or not. I'm not forcing you... however it would be foolish to reject a werewolves protection” he added.

[mik3la]

"What do you mean it has nothing to do with the situation?" he said standing up facing him. "It has everything to do with it. Because of me Noah is …" he caught his cry in his throat biting his lip and brush his hand through his hair in frustration.

 

Because of his magic. Was then the accident in the library not an accident then? was it because of him as well? But why would they want him out of the picture? He didn't do anything.

 

Unless …, he thought of the book in the library that he found and that when he was trying to escape he had took the book and put it in his bag.

 

My bag … my bag... where the fuck is my bag... , he started to say in his mind looking around the room trying to find his things and clothes as he was in a hospital garment.

 

Kaito was looking for his bag in the room when the other turned and said he could offer him a safe place temporarily and it would be foolish to reject the protection of a werewolf.

 

his protection? …. no one is safe around me … so why would I want to put others in danger … he seems good in what he's doing an all, but I already have blood of my hands with Noahs death being my fault, I don't need the death of a werewolf.

 

"Thanks for the offer but ...uhm... fuck! Have you seen my bag?" he asked frustrated that he couldn't find his bag. "A grey with green stripes rucksack. I had it at Noahs place. Have you seen it? Do you know where they put my stuff?" he asked turning to look at him feeling a little dizzy from the agitation that he looked around but he managed to keep himself steady on his legs.

[M-jow]

Asher watched him unravel, the calm mask Kaito had been wearing now cracked at the edges. His movements were too sharp, too desperate, and Asher didn’t need a healer’s training to see the way the strain tugged at his limbs or the way his knees wavered under the thin fabric of the hospital gown.

He held his arm out catching the man by the waist to help from falling.

“I didn’t see any bag,” he said, voice level. “Not when the medics loaded you into the van. If it was at Noah’s place, it probably didn’t make it far.”

He didn’t need to ask what was in the bag. The panic told him it was sometime to be considered important enough. Maybe even something that could be dangerous. But was that something anyone would kill over?.

Asher exhaled slowly through his nose, jaw tightening. The scent radiating off Kaito made the back of his throat itch. He wanted to snap at him to sit the hell down before he almost fell over again, but of course the other was on edge. He couldn’t act like that.

Sit,” he said, tone brooking with no room for argument. “Before you fall over.”

Once Kaito was stady on his own, Asher moved to the door, cracked it open, and signaled to one of the officers.

“I need you to find out where the patient's belongings were taken. He had a rucksack on him. Grey, green stripes. Find it.”

The officer hesitated a second, but Asher’s look was enough to send him moving. Human or not, authority still held weight if you wore it like you meant it.

He shut the door again and turned back to the room.

"What is in the bag?" He asked with his arms crossed as he stood better Kaito's bed and the door.

[mik3la]

When the other caught him by the waist he calmed for a second but his skin was tingling with sparks where his hand was touching him. He looked up at him and the closeness they were in and took a deep breath, sensing a sweet smell of leafs, leather and cinnamon. An odd combination and he found it strange that he hadn't noticed it before. 

He sat when asked and tried to remember where he had placed his bag when he got to Noahs place. Was it on the couch up in the studio, or on the counter. Where the fuck did i put it?! 

Quote

"What is in the bag?" 

At first he didn't want to answer as he wasn't sure if he could trust the other but he remembered what Noah was saying about him. That he was one of the great men that he knew in his life and loyal and fighting for what was right. 

"It was a book ... " he paused as he looked at the ground and then liftend his eyes to the other. "A bood that i've found by accident or maybe i was supposed to find at the library and thats why the attack this morning" he continued brushing his hair in frustration. 

"A book called 'Moonlit Obsidian" 

[M-jow]

Asher stood still, his gaze lingering on Kaito as the words “Moonlit Obsidian” echoed in his mind. He hadn’t heard of the book before. And that alone made it dangerous. He’d worked enough cases, seen enough shadows, to know when something had all the hallmarks of a cover-up or a bad omen. This felt like it could be both.

His lips tightened, jaw clenched. He watched Kaito for a moment longer, still trying to figure out the man’s state of mind—tired, but holding on. Still, that gnawing doubt gnawed at him. A book. If Kaito had been telling the truth, someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to get their hands on it.

“Moonlit Obsidian,” Asher repeated, rolling the name around in his mind like a foreign object, trying to find its place. Nothing. "Never heard of it. But if it's a reason for someone to try and kill you, then it’s not just some random collection of pages.”

He crossed the room, moving with a slow, deliberate pace. His voice softened, just a little, as he spoke again. “You said you found it. Did you have a change to read it?”

There was a weight in the room, an almost tangible pressure that hung between them. Whoever or whatever had come after Kaito properly wasn’t done, and Asher guested the danger wasn’t over yet. 

 

 

After a while they heard a knock at the door. Asher went to open it, finding the officer standing there with the grey and green-striped rucksack in hand. The officer’s face was tight, expression strained, as he handed the bag over with barely a word.

Asher took it without a second glance, inspecting the rucksack with a practiced eye.

It gave nothing away not even a scent. Properly magic blocking his abilities.

He set it down on the table beside Kaito’s bed.

“Here,” Asher said, his voice flat, emotionless. “Let’s see what you were carrying.”

He unzipped the bag, careful, slow, every movement deliberate. Inside, he found a stack of loss papers and an old bound book, its edges yellowed with age, though the cover was pristine, unmarred by time.

Asher’s eyes narrowed.

'Moonlit Obsidian.'

It was exactly what Kaito had said. A book. But it felt didn’t feel lile anything special. Asher picked it up and turned his attention to the symbols on the cover. He recognised a few but not all of them. Something about it all felt like it was being pieced together, like a puzzle of things long forgotten.

His mind raced, piecing together the few fragments of information he had. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a coincidence. It was a trigger, pulling strings that were likely connected to a much bigger web.

The word Obsidian itself was an old word for werewolf born. This involved wolves.

Asher took a deep breath, the weight of it settling on him. "So, this is what they were willing to kill for. Now we just need to figure out why."

He turned to Kaito, his voice low but firm. "Why was you looking for thus to begin with?"

[mik3la]

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“You said you found it. Did you have a change to read it?”

 

"Only a few things before the explosion happened" he said sitting on the edge of the bed thinking about the text inside the book.

 

As they sat in silence for a few minutes now his mind was swirling around all the information that he got until now. His body was exhausted but he still managed to stay awake, waiting for the guard to get back with his rucksack.

 

The knock woke him from his dreaming faze with his eyes open and looked up at Asher as he took his rucksack and pored everything inside on the bed.

Kaito sighed in relief seeing that the book was still there and looked at the other as he took it and started reading.

 

"I wasn't looking for it specifically..." he took a deep breath feeling tired as hell. "I was looking for books about Moonlits, and the title caught my attention. It was just … there" he said shrugging.

 

"From what I managed to read further and you can look a few pages further, is like the history of Obsidians and Moonlits, but there is also like a prophecy" he said keeping his eyes on Asher, noticing his tense of muscles.

 

"I found out, not long ago that ... i'm a moonlit but hadn't found anything about it until now" he said pointing to the book. "Don't know yet what that means but ... whoever is after me, I think they know I have the book and they want it not carrying for the cost" he concluded.

His eyes were feeling heavy and he felt sleepy  but he was trying very hard to keep himself awake and sane. He was too worried to sleep. Even with the guards outside. Nothing felt safe anymore. 

[M-jow]

His eyes remained locked on the book, the name Moonlit Obsidian. Something about it tugged at the back of his mind. Maybe from old stories he once had heard, things he hadn’t thought about in years... Moonlits and Obsidians — two words that rarely had been spoken together in the same breath for decades, or maybe longer.

But his attention shifted quickly when he glanced back at Kaito.

The younger man was struggling to stay awake. Shoulders slumped and eyes glassy. He was worn down to the wire and barely holding it together. Asher stepped away from the table, tapping the small call button on the wall near the bed. A nurse would come — then a doctor.

It wasn’t a goid idea to stsy here, ans Asher wasn’t gonna take anh chances, not with this kind of weight hanging around them.

He wouldn't let another young man die tonight even if he had gotten himself involved in som big mess.

 

While he waited for the nurseto arrive, he pulled his phone from his coat and scrolled through his contacts until he found the one he needed.

He hit call.

“Hey. It’s me,” Asher said, voice quiet but clipped. “Yeah. Bring the car around to the front. I'll need it soon.”

He didn’t wait for a reply rromnthe other end before he ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Turning back toward the bed, Asher stood silent for a moment a looked at Kaito in those hospitale scrubs. The hospital room felt like a glass box, and the entire floor felt too exposed. The wards on the windows weren’t enough. The guards outside weren’t enough. Whoever wanted that book wasn’t going to let a locked door stop them.

The door opened behind him a few minutes later and the doctor came in. Asher stepped aside but stayed close. 

The examination didn’t take long. A few questions. Some checks. Then a quiet nod and a form left on the tray by the bed to be filled out. Kaito had been cleared, technically. Not because he was fully healed. But because Asher had made it clear he wasn’t gonna be staying here if it wasn’t necessary. 

 

 

Once the room was clear again and the nurseleft with the form, Asher spoke.

“You’ve got five minutes, get changed” he said, not unkindly, but with a tone that brooked no argument.

Then he turned toward the table, eyes scanning the bag again, then the book, still lying where he left it. He picked it up with a kind of careful reverence, thumbing through a few pages. Symbols and words swirled together. Some of the text were written in a language he hadn’t seen in years.

He didn’t have time to dig in. Not here.

Asher closed the book and slipped it carefully back into the rucksack. Then he looked up as Kaito emerged, dressed, moving quiet slow but it was as expected.

Asher nodded once and slung the rucksack over one shoulder.

“There’s a place,” he said, stepping toward the other voice low. “Magic can’t trace your its location and you’ll be safe there. Long enough for us to figure out something else.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. He just opened the door and signaled gor the other to step out. He walking beside Kaito and lead him outside.

 

 

As they stepped out into the crisp night air, the pavement cool beneath Asher,s boots as the city lights cast long shadows across the parking lot.

His gaze drifted ahead, locking onto the sleek silhouette parked just meters away.

There she is.

The car stood like a predator at rest. A sexy black Aston Martin DB11, low and powerful, its curves sharp enough to draw blood. Streetlights slid across the hood like oil, catching on the fine lines and carbon fiber detailing. The tinted windows reflected the city like obsidian glass, giving nothing away. It was the kind of car that didn’t just scream money, it wa power, control, danger all wrapped up in elegance. Everything about it whispered that the man behind the wheel wasn’t afraid of speed, risk, or consequences.

Asher took pride in the machine. Not just for its performance, which was viciously good, but for what it symbolized. This car, was like his tailored coat and the low hum of the engine what's dominating when he turned it on. Untouchable.

He pressed a button on his key fob. The doors unlocked with a soft click, the interior lights blooming like eyes opening in the dark.

“Get in,” he said, glancing sideways, his voice low and calm, but with that unmistakable undercurrent of command. “We’re sitting ducks by staying here.”

And with that, he moved with such fluided confidents toward the passenger side of the car to help the other in. 

[mik3la]

Kaito was a little confused when Asher called someone , not understanding what was all that about. But he didn't thought much about it as he was in a hospital and he wasn't going anywhere too soon. Plus he had to give a declaration to the police and only that thought was making him even more tired.

 

His eyes jumped up at the other and the doctor that came into the room and was surprised when Asher ask the doctor to discharge him in that very instant.

 

~ just how much authority does he have? ~ he thought frowning at how the doctor executed the order and when out to finish up the papers.

 

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“You’ve got five minutes, get changed”

 

Kaito blinked a few times before he got up, still wobbling on his legs as he started to get dressed but it was not that fast. He was just closing his shirt when Asher stepped closer and spoke to him in a low voice, making him lift his eyes, understanding what the other was saying.

 

Nodding he followed the other outside the hospital where a car was waiting for them. It was a really nice car making his eyes widen at the model. He never sat in one of those.

 

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“Get in,” “We’re sitting ducks by staying here.”

 

Snapped out of his thoughts he got in the car, buckling up and hopping that he was doing the right choice to trust him right now. But if he wanted him dead he would have been long ago. Plus, he had no one who he could trust or talk to. So basically Asher was his only hope.

 

Since the drive was long and the chair was very cosy and warm, Kaito fell asleep in an instance as he was tired from everything that he had been through.

[M-jow]

Asher slid behind the wheel and started the engine. The motor gave a gentle, purring roar, like a puma prowling through the night. Inside the cabin, though, the sound was barely noticeable. Quiet and calm. Sealed off from the world.

He pulled out, steering the car away from the hospital and heading through the central district. The ride was mostly silent, broken only by the soft hum of the engine and the occasional sigh of tires against the road.

What surprised Asher most was that the man beside him hadn’t asked where they were going. No fear, no suspicion. Just trust—trust that Asher wouldn’t drive him into some forest and bury his body so no one would evergind him.

...

Asher wasn’t a gangster. He had killed, yes—but only to defend and protect his people. He'd taken on other werewolves, shifters, warlocks, and witches. He had fought enemies that had pushed him to the edge. His claws and fangs had torn through flesh more than once, and some days he still saw the faces the people who hadn’t made it.

Magic was especially dangerous. It didn’t have to be close to kill you. One spell from the distance and it could be over.

All Asher had were his claws, his teeth... and his training. A few years back, he’d taken up firearms. Not all-out assault rifles, but practical guns.

He’d made sure every patrol had at least one guard who knew how to handle one. Bullets rarely killed werewolves unless they were laced with magic, but against spellcasters, bullets worked just fine. They were still human, after all.

 

He glanced over at the passenger seat. Kaito was fast asleep, leaned back peacefully against the leather seat, lips slightly parted. Asher’s gaze lingered just a moment before he turned his attention back to the road.

The drive was about forty minutes from the hospital, and traffic around midtown was heavy at this hour. But the farther he drove from the city center, the quieter it became. Fewer cars. Fewer people. Just the road stretching ahead of them, winding into the outskirts.

He didn’t turn on the radio, even though he usually did. Music used to be his way of pushing thoughts aside, of creating noise to drown out the chaos in his head. But tonight, he needed clarity. He had to stay ahead—focused. Besides, he figured Kaito deserved some peace too.

 

Eventually, the car slowed as they reached a private gate. It slid open silently, revealing an underground parking lot beneath an impressive, high-end apartment complex. They were just outside the city center—far enough to be quiet, close enough to remain connected. The neighborhood was lined with trees and overlooked a massive park. The kind of place that oozed wealth and quiet privilege.

And why not? Asher could afford it.

In fact, he owned the entire building. The penthouse on the top floor was his. While he rented out the rest of the lower floors to those who could afford it, human and paranormal alike. The place had been built years ago with Asher’s own money. Not inherited but earned throughhis own efforts. It served as a steady source of income outside the pack. Most of what he made went directly into pack funds, helping improve facilities, expand their territory, and support the community.

It was common for werewolves with means to contribute back to the pack. A kind of self-imposed tax. It helped cover everything—from children's education to medical bills. Everyone took care of everyone. That was the way of it.

Asher and his brother Ian had always lived within the pack’s territory. But sometimes, Asher just needed space. A place to decompress. A place to crash between jobs. Or occasionally, a place for... more private company. Say if he needed sex with someone outside the pack, no strings attached.

The apartment building was heavily warded. Anti-magic runes were etched into the stones, invisible to the untrained eye. No spell could be cast on the structure or within its walls. It was a fortress against the magic-born.

 

Asher parked in his usual space and shut off the engine. The lights in the underground garage were dim, built into the concrete beams, casting a soft glow that left most of the space in gentle shadow. Still, it was safe. Secure.

He turned to look at Kaito again. The man hadn’t stirred. His chest rose and fell in an even rhythm, face soft in sleep.

Asher hesitated. He would have to wake him. But something in him didn’t want to. Not just yet.

He leaned back slightly, taking in a slow breath. Kaito's scent was strange and unexpected. He didn’t reek of death and rot like most magic-users. No, Kaito smelled sweet—like honey and pine, with the faintest undertone of rich, damp earth. Asher’s nose still tingled from the faint magical trace in the scent, but it wasn’t overpowering anymore. Not like before.

The silence lingered another moment before Asher finally reached out, placing a hand gently on Kaito’s shoulder. He gave it a light shake.

“Hey,” he said softly, his voice low in the dark. “We’re here. Time to wake up. You can sleep more upstairs.”

 

Kaito stirred and Asher stepped out of the car, letting the chill of the underground parking garage wash over him, then circled around to open the passenger side door for Kaito. He waited for the other to get out before locking the car and walked toward the elevator door.

It opened once it registered movements and Asta signaler for Kaito to get on, and walked in after him.

The elevator didn’t have floor buttons, just a single keycard scanner. Asher pulled a black card from his jacket and tapped it. A muted chime followed, and the interior panel, prompting a smooth ascent with no fanfare. The elevator was silent aside from the faint hum of motion.

When the doors opened, they revealed the foyer of Asher’s penthouse was dimly lit, polished, and quiet. Natural stone floors and wood-paneled walls stretched into a wide hallway. Asher led the way, his boots quiet against the stone.

The main living space unfolded in front of them: tall ceilings, exposed beams, and glass walls that opened up to the city skyline beyond. Warm, ambient light spilled from recessed fixtures overhead, and a low fire burned in the hearth along the far wall. The smell of cedar smoke lingered in the air, mingling with the faint trace of old leather and steel.

Asher shrugged off his jacket and dropped it over the back of a chair. 

 

"You can use the room, down that hallway first door to the left. It has a conecting bathroom too." Asher point toward the guests room.

[mik3la]

The warmness of the car and the comfort the leather chair was giving his tired body, carried him in soft gentle sleep that he not had in a very long time. For once in his life he felt safe. He felt protected. 

Kaito dreamed of light , soft, endless light, like dawn seen through water.
He was standing in a meadow bathed in silver mist, the air cool and fragrant with night-blooming flowers. The sky above shimmered between shades of deep blue and violet, scattered with two moons , one pale and luminous, the other dark and glassy like obsidian.

Yet, instead of clashing, they danced. Their lights weaved together across the clouds, forming ripples of silver and shadow that touched the earth in perfect harmony.

He looked around and the meadow was alive. Wolves ran through the tall grass, silent and graceful, their coats reflecting moonlight. Among them walked figures of glowing light ; the Moonlit ,moving as though they were part of the same rhythm, the same breath.

There was no fear between them. Only recognition.

A wolf approached him , massive, eyes gold as dawn. But when Kaito met its gaze, he saw gentleness there, not hunger. It bowed its head slightly, as if in greeting, and when he reached out, its fur felt warm, almost human.

The air shimmered and suddenly, where the wolf stood, there was a tall dark-hair man with his face blurred, but somehow familiar. 

“You see it too,” he said softly. “How it once was.”

Kaito nodded, though he didn’t understand how he knew. Somewhere in his chest, a deep calm settled , the same kind he felt as a child watching the rain, before the world grew heavy.

In the distance, music began , not with instruments, but with the world itself. The grass hummed. The air trembled like a heartbeat. The two moons drew closer until their light became one , a single, radiant sphere that painted everything in silver-gold.

The guy turned to him, the light washing over both their faces.

“This is what they forgot,” he whispered. “The world was never meant to be divided.”

The flowers began to glow ,thousands of them , releasing motes of light that drifted upward like stars being born. They filled the sky until it looked like an ocean of silver rain.

Kaito felt warmth spread through him, reaching deep , deeper than fear, deeper than memory. For the first time, he didn’t feel lost. He felt found.

The voice of the book rose faintly from somewhere unseen, not as warning this time, but as a lullaby:

“When the two moons breathe as one, the world will heal.
Until then, let those who dream remember.”

The world dissolved into gentle brightness, and Kaito felt himself weightless ,held, safe, belonging.

And when he woke in the car, the night outside was calm.
The moon hung whole and steady in the sky, and for the briefest moment, he could still hear that music in the distance , soft, patient, waiting for the world to remember.

For a moment, he didn’t move. His eyes stayed half-closed, his mind still floating in that silver meadow , the scent of flowers, the glow of twin moons. It lingered in him like the echo of a song, too soft to remember, too beautiful to forget.

He drew a slow breath. The air in the car was cool and smelled faintly of pine and wet earth. The world outside was dark again, but somehow, it didn’t feel as heavy as before. Something inside him had eased , a tension he hadn’t realized he was carrying.

His heart wasn’t pounding this time. It was steady. Calm. But the moment he tried to hold on to that feeling and remember what he just dreamt, it slipped away, like water through his fingers.

Nodding he got out the car and followed the other through the silence of the garrage and up the elevator to his penthouse. 

Kaito hesitated by the doorway, taking in the room’s quiet luxury , the faint glow of the fire, the way the city lights pressed against the glass like stars trying to get in. It was… calm. Too calm, after everything. It was the kind of place that didn’t just look safe, it felt safe, though he couldn’t explain why.

“You live here?” he asked softly, more out of wonder than conversation.

“I mean ... Thank you,” he said softly, his voice still rough from sleep. “I… appreciate it.”

He glanced toward the hallway Asher had indicated, then back at him.
There was something reassuring about the werewolf’s presence , solid, wordless, like the weight of the earth itself — and for a second, that warmth from the dream flickered through him again.

Kaito’s fingers brushed the strap of his bag. The day—no, the entire week—had hollowed him out. But standing there, he realized how heavy his limbs really were, how desperately his body wanted rest.

“I didn’t think I’d… be anywhere safe,” he admitted, his tone quieter now, almost embarrassed by the honesty.

His gaze shifted toward the window, the skyline stretching endlessly into the night.

“It’s strange,” he murmured after a pause. “Everything’s quiet, but it doesn’t feel empty.”He wasn’t sure if he was talking to Asher or himself.

Then, catching himself, he gave a small, awkward smile — a flicker of normalcy amid the chaos.

“I’ll try not to make a mess or disturb you,” he added lightly, stepping past him toward the hallway.

As he walked away, the warmth of the fire followed him, and for a brief, unguarded moment, he felt something familiar in the scent of cedar and smoke — something that reminded him of that golden-eyed wolf from his dream.

 

Edited October 21 by mik3la

[M-jow]

["You live here?” (...) I mean ... Thank you, (...) I… appreciate it.”]

Asher shrugged his shoulders. "It more a place between home. I live in the pack house to stay close to everyone. But.. this place is always quiet when I need to focus on something or just relaxe for a few days." He explained to Kaito. You are free to use everything here, well except for the stuff in my room and I have a cleaner stopping when I stay over. I'll just give them a call tomorrow. So don’t worry about making a mess."

"The building is secure and I should properly tell you that you can't cast any magic while inside. I made sure no magic could effect or enter the building when it was built.. just a safety measure."

After saying his peace Kaito went to properly go rest.

He watched Kaito disappear down the hallway, the quiet sound of his footsteps fading into the guest room. When the door clicked softly shut, silence folded back over the living-room again.

He exhaled, slow and rolled his shoulders as if to shake off the tension that clung there. The scent of cedar and smoke was calming, but now there was the smell of the other in the apartment with him, and it lingered where Kaito had just stood.

 

Asher moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows, gaze sweeping over the sprawl of the city below. From this height, the world looked distant, almost harmless. The hum of traffic and neon lights didn’t reach this far up.

Asher’s reflection in the glass looked back at him tired with a faint edge of a shadow beneath his eyes. The wolf beneath his skin stirred, restless but calm, its instincts was satisfied for now. It semed curious of Kaito, something about the human intrigued the wolf, and for reasons Asher couldn’t help but also be curious himself.

He drew a long breath and crossed over to the bar by the window. The glassware gleamed faintly in the low light as he reached for the bottle, pouring a measure of whiskey that caught the glow of the flams like molten amber. He didn’t bother with ice. He wanted the burn.

The first swallow went down hard. The second steadied his breathing.

Noah’s face came to him. In fact it had been there since earlier. He remembered Noah'fs face vividly, even back from school, the way his hands always smelled faintly of turpentine and oil paint. Noah had been a bright soul and his art had always been his dream. But tonight, that dream had shattered and a innocent, good person had lost his life.

 

He could still smell it, the iron sting beneath the sharp tang of paint thinner, the metallic undercurrent of death clinging to the air between broken canvases and overturned brushes. Noah had always joked about how he’d die surrounded by his art someday. The memory twisted cruelly now.

He took another drink, slower this time, his throat tight. The whiskey didn’t dull the image: Noah sprawled on the floor surrounded by his painting in a pool of his own blood, eyes open and glassy, cold and emty like a death fish.

A muscle in Asher’s jaw flexed.

Whoever had done it had been smart, clean. No obvious motive, nothing left behind except for a faint trace of. That was where Kaito came in.

Asher was sure Kaito was somehow connected to the truth. He was the last link, the only thread that hadn’t been cut.

Asher turned toward the window, the city stretching out beneath him like a field of cold fire. It looked peaceful from here. Deceptively so.

He lifted the glass again, staring into the whiskey’s golden shimmer.

“For what they did to you,” he said softly, the words barely audible, “I’ll find them. I promise.”

The wolf beneath his skin stirred properly sensing Asher emotions and became a bit restless, Asher was grieving in the only way he knew how. Inside.

The fire crackled behind him, the only sound in the vast, immaculate space. He let it fill the silence for a long while, then set the empty glass down and looked once more toward the hallway where Kaito had left to.

He still didn’t know about that human, but he wanted to keep him safe. He convince himself it was for Noah, but Asher had never gone out of his way fir an outsider like this.

[mik3la]

Kaito hadn’t meant to fall asleep so quickly, but exhaustion had a way of claiming him when the world finally stopped moving. The guest room was quiet, too quiet compared to what he was used to  no hum of street traffic, no flicker of neon bleeding through half-drawn curtains. Just stillness, heavy and clean.

He woke some time later, unsure what hour it was. The faint glow beneath the door told him Asher hadn’t gone to bed yet. He hesitated before getting up, bare feet soundless against the polished floor as he stepped out into the dim living room.

Asher stood by the window, still as a statue, one hand resting on the bar counter beside an empty glass. The city’s glow painted him in gold and shadow, his reflection a double , one human, one not quite.

Kaito spoke quietly, not wanting to startle him.
“You don’t sleep much, do you?”

Kaito crossed the room, the silence between them stretching like a held breath. He could feel something in the air ,  grief, maybe. Or guilt. 

"Mind if i ask you how you've meat him?" he asked even if it was a sensible subject but since both of them couldn't sleep anymore and the guy was still here with him, more like watching him then helping him, he decided that a conversation might help a little.

Kaito met his gaze, searching for something beneath the surface — sincerity, maybe.

[M-jow]

Asher heard Kaito approach but didn’t turn right away.
Then he asked Asher a question about him and Noah. His gaze stayed fixed on the city’s glow beyond the glass, a sprawl of light and motion that looked harmless from this height. Easier to keep his expression unreadable.
“How I met him…” His voice came low, roughened by something that wasn’t just fatigue. He traced a finger along the rim of his empty glass, the faint ring of it breaking the silence.

“Feels like a long time ago now. We meet at college, actually.”
He exhaled through his nose, almost in disbelief at his own words. “Back then, I was still trying to pretend I was just another student. Not an alpha heir. Not a werewolf. But there is only so much you can hide with a built like mine.
His reflection in the window caught the faintest flicker of his smile — a humorless one.
“Noah didn’t discriminate or put me on pedestal, he just accepted me as i was. He once said that I looked like someone who didn’t know how to breathe unless he was running from something.”
Asher reached for the bottle again. The glass caught the amber light from the fire, glowing like liquid heat. He poured himself one more and then, without looking back, pulled out a second glass poured another. The soft clink of glass against glass broke the silence.
He turned slightly, holding one out. “You drink?” The question casual, his tone carried no command, only a quiet offering. “It helps with the thinking. Sometimes.”
Whether Kaito accepted or not, Asher lifted his own glass, swirling the whiskey absently. “I met him in the art department,” he continued. “I wasn’t supposed to be there, I’d been avoiding… pack members. And ended up wandering into a studio by accident. He was there, covered in paint, humming off-key.”
A ghost of a smile touched his mouth.

“He looked up at me suprised at first but then smiled, like he already knew me.”
The wolf stirred faintly beneath his skin, drawn by the ache that came with remembering.
“He was the only one who ever said my eyes looked kind” Asher murmured. “Everyone else around my own age outside my family couldn’t hold eye contact with me for long. My aura had even back then alot of dominance. But Noah ignored it. Said I didn’t have to be what they made me up to be.”
He took a slow sip, the whiskey burning a path down his throat, grounding him. “I enjoyed hanging around him after that, and often just meet up to make sure he actually ate lunch, he was so stubborn. He could go for hours without breaks.” His jaw flexed. “He never treated me driffrent. Maybe that’s why.”
He turned slightly toward the window again, the city’s light catching in his eyes. “He painted me once in my wolf form too,” he said quietly. “Said he wanted to capture the wild in a controlled form.”
The glass tightened in his grip.

“When I saw him…” He stopped, swallowing hard. “It was like the world forgot how to breathe. He’d always joked about dying surrounded by his art. But not like that.”
The wolf inside him growled faintly, mourning and restless, the sound like a heartbeat against his ribs.
“I was supposed to protect him,” Asher said quietly.
He set the glass down gently, as though afraid it might shatter with the weight of his restraint. 

“For Noah’s sake,” he murmured, “I’ll find whoever did this. I don’t care how deep it goes. Shifter, human or not -  they’ll get what is coming to them.”
The fire crackled behind him, throwing warmth against his back, but Asher felt none of it. Inside, the wolf had gone still again.

 

(Two days later)

Asher sat at the dinning table with the book Kaito had taken from the library. He had read it more than a 100 times but still didn’t have much to go by. His 
Phone range just as he closed the book. It was Logan.
He picked it up.
"Yes"
"I thought I should let you know Noah’s parents demands we had over the body for the funeral. Legally there within their rights and we can't do much more with it either" Logan went strange to the chase.
Asher leaned back in the chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Didn’t expect them to show up,” he muttered. “But whatever. Yeah, it’s their right. If everything is in order, release him. Just make sure someone notifies me when the funeral is planed.”
“Understood,” Logan replied. A pause lingered on the line — one of those silences that carried more than words could. “When are you coming home?”

Asher’s gaze drifted over the table — notes, photos, scraps of paper marked in his sharp handwriting. The investigation spread before him like a map of ghosts.
“Not for a while,” he said finally. "But I'll come by if you really need me. I wouldn't slack off on my duties, you can tell father that. But we both know you don’t really need me right now. And Stefan has my training schedule for everyone."

"Asher,” Logan’s voice softened, though the authority never quite left it, “don’t sell yourself short. We’ve talked about this. I can’t do what you do, but I can give you the space you need. Just… call home once in a while, alright?”
The line clicked dead before Asher could respond. Typical Logan.

Asher put his phone back into his pocket and then remembered something he had thought about earlier.

Asher stood, gathering a few of the scattered notes into a loose pile before pushing the chair back. He found Kaito a few minutes later.
Asher rubbed the back of his neck. A rare, almost awkward gesture.
“So…” he began, clearing his throat. “We need to get you more stuff. Clothes, I mean. The ones you have need washing.” He glanced aside, a faint hint of embarrassment flickering across his otherwise composed expression. “I should’ve thought of that sooner… but I didn’t, so.. I'll take you shopping."

[mik3la]

Hearing him talk about Noah was making a knot in his stomach that hasn't been there moments ago. He should have thought about this stingy feeling that he would have when asking Asher about Noah. It was painful but the good memories sometimes helped with the grief. Or so he heard.

Kaito lingered in the doorway for a moment, watching the way the firelight caught along the edges of Asher’s shoulders all tension and control barely holding together.

He stepped closer, slow and careful, until he was within reach. The second glass sat there between them, amber light rippling across it. After a beat, he took it. The whiskey bit sharp at first sip, burning its way down like truth.

 

“…He sounds like someone worth knowing,” Kaito said quietly. His voice didn’t try to soothe; it just was, a steady thing against the ache in the air. “The way you talk about him, it’s not just loyalty. It’s respect. That’s rarer than either of us would like to admit.”

He set the glass down beside Asher’s, fingers brushing the rim. “Noah had a way of seeing things people didn’t. Maybe that’s why he saw you clearly. Not the heir. Not the wolf. Just… you. As he did with me. Saw beyond the magic.” he said the last part in a whisper more to himself.

A faint exhale left him, half a laugh without the humor. “And for what it’s worth, he wasn’t wrong. You do look like a man who doesn’t know how to breathe unless he’s running from something. Which i'm pretty sure it doesn't happen too often.”

 

Kaito looked past Asher to the window, to the sprawling city below that pretended it wasn’t full of ghosts. His jaw tightened. “You’re right to want justice. But don’t lose what he saw in you chasing it. That’s what he changed, right? The way you looked at yourself.” His tone softened. “Don’t let whoever did this take that, too.”

For a long moment, he just stood there, watching the reflection of the two of them — one lost in memory, the other trying to anchor him to the present.

Then, quieter still: “When you go after them, I’m coming with you. Not because you need me,” he said, glancing sidelong at Asher, “but because Noah deserved at least two people who won’t let his story end like this.”

He lifted the glass again, tilting it toward Asher in a silent toast. “For him,” he murmured, then took another sip, the fire crackling softly in the pause that followed.

 

"Try at least to get some sleep. I know its hard but … It will not do you any good if you're tired" he said leaving the glass on the small table and return to his room to try and sleep again.

 

(Two days later)

 

Kaito blinked up from the couch where he’d been half-lost in his own notes, one leg folded under him, the faint hum of the refrigerator filling the pause between them.

Shopping? The word sounded almost foreign coming from Asher.

He set the papers aside, watching the alpha’s shoulders , all taut muscle and restraint wrapped in something that almost looked like uncertainty. That alone was enough to make Kaito’s mouth twitch.

 

“…You?” he said after a moment, tone dry but not unkind. “The same Asher who keeps three identical black shirts in rotation and calls it efficiency? You’re volunteering for a mall?”

The corner of his mouth lifted, more in surprise than mockery. “That I have to see.”

He stood, stretching until his spine popped, eyes still fixed on Asher. Beneath the teasing, there was a flicker of something warmer. The kind of quiet gratitude that didn’t need to be spoken too directly or it might vanish.

 

“Thanks,” he added finally, softer this time. “For thinking about it.”

 

He raked a hand through his hair, exhaling through his nose. Truth is, he didn’t have to. After everything, it still throws me that he notices small things like that. But then he caught the look in Asher’s eyes ; the kind that wasn’t really about clothes or errands, but about the need to do something normal for once, something human. Kaito’s tone eased. “Still… if it gets you out of this room for a bit, I’m in”, he said nodding. 

 

“Alright,” added Kaito , clapping his hands together and then slinging his jacket over his shoulder. “But just so we’re clear ... if we end up in some overpriced boutique and they try to sell me something with sequins, I’m blaming you.”

 

He brushed past Asher toward the door, glancing back once. “And maybe, while we’re out,” he said lightly, “you can grab something that isn’t black for once. You know, for the sake of variety. I promise not to tell your pack the alpha owns a gray shirt.”

The grin that followed was small but real, the kind that tugged briefly at the weight hanging in the air, if only for a moment.

Edited 21 hours ago by mik3la

[M-jow]

Asher’s brow arched, a flicker of dry amusement breaking through the usual calm of his expression.

“Efficient doesn’t mean unimaginative,” he said, tone mild but edged with that quiet sharpness that often passed for humor with him. “And for the record, it’s four shirts. One of them’s dark gray.”

It wasn’t much, but it earned the faintest shift in the air. Asher reached for his jacket from the back of a chair, shaking it out with precise, unhurried movements. He wasn’t sure why he’d even brought up the idea of shopping. Maybe it was the silence pressing too tightly on his chest, or maybe it was because doing something — anything — felt better than standing still and thinking.

He slipped his arms into the sleeves and glanced at the clock on the wall. The sun had already climbed high, spilling muted gold light across the floorboards. Noon. Good — the mall would be busy enough to disappear in, but not so crowded that he’d have to worry about losing Kaito somewhere.

“We’ll take the car,” he said, more to himself than to Kaito, though his voice carried easily through the space. “Safer that way.”

It wasn’t paranoia. Just caution, sharpened by too many years. A car was the best way to get away quickly.

Asher checked one more time and petted his pockets to make sure he had his keys, phone and wallet. Then paused long enough to glance back at the scattered papers on the table. The ghost of Noah lingered. For a moment, he thought about sitting back down, picking up where he left off. But the thought felt heavy, suffocating.

He exhaled through his nose and shook his head once. “Later.”

Asher crossed to the door, waiting just long enough for Kaito to follow. When the younger man stepped out beside him, jacket slung over his shoulder and that familiar hint of a grin at his mouth, Asher felt something tighten in his chest. Not grief, but just a little ache.

“Let’s go before I find a reason not take you” he muttered, locking the door behind them.

 

The car waited just as he had left it. He unlocked it with a soft click, glancing around the basement out of habit before sliding into the driver’s seat.

He rested his hands on the steering wheel for a moment.

The mall was only twenty minutes away, close enough to be convenient.

When Kaito climbed in beside him, Asher started the engine. The low hum filled the silence.

“Any even if we end up in some overpriced boutique,” Asher said, eyes on the road as they pulled into traffic, “I'll still be paying for it. But if you pick anything with sequins…” He paused, the faintest smirk tugging at his mouth. “I’m donating it to Goodwill. And getting you a Harry Potter T-shirt instead”

Asher was getting in quiet a good mood. Maybe Kaito goofiness was rubbing off on him.

The city rolled by outside the toned car windows. The blur of people moving about, having their own lives to take care off.

 

The drive to the mall was uneventful. The city stretched around them in muted color, the hum of traffic a low undercurrent to his thoughts. By the time they pulled into the mall's parking lot, the midday light had softened to a pale gold, glancing off the car’s hood.

He parked on the upper level, where it was easier to see the exits. He cut the engine, pocketed the keys, and glanced briefly toward Kaito before stepping out. The air smelled faintly of exhaust and sun-warmed concrete, heavy but not unpleasant.

Inside, the mall was a burst of cool air and lots sounds, chatter, music and the occasional squeal of a child. So many people, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The he remembered why they were here, for essentials and clothes to Kaito.

A few things that might make the younger man look less like he’d been living out of a duffel bag.

 

He led the way through the crowded corridors escalators. His eyes scanning the signs overhead until he spotted a store that looked practical enough. “Here,” he said quietly, more to himself than to Kaito, and stepped inside.

The department store smelled faintly of new fabric and detergent. Neat rows of shirts, denim stacked like bricks, the sterile order of retail that Asher found oddly calming. He slowed his pace just enough to let Kaito drift along beside him, but his eyes tracked the surroundings automatically — mirrors, exits, the reflection of movement behind them. Always watching like a guard dog.

“We can start with what you need,” he said, voice low, as they reached the men’s section. “Jeans, shirts, maybe a decent jacket. Nothing that’ll fall apart in a week.”

He stayed a step or two back as Kaito moved through the aisles, hands in his pockets, watching the way the younger man hesitated over colors, weighed one thing against another. Asher didn’t offer opinions unless asked; he’d never liked hovering.

[mik3la]

Kaito sank into the passenger seat, the door shutting with a muted thunk that seemed to echo through the car. The engine’s low hum filled the silence between them. Steady, grounding, almost too calm for what Asher’s jaw suggested was still working behind his eyes.

He leaned back, stretching one leg out and glancing sideways at the alpha behind the wheel. “Four shirts, huh?” he said after a beat, his voice dry with amusement. “You really know how to live dangerously, Asher. Next thing I know, you’ll tell me one of them has stripes.”

That earned him a sidelong look. Subtle, but worth it. Kaito smirked and turned his gaze to the window, watching the city roll by in fractured reflections. Glass, steel, motion. Everything blurred together the way it always did when you didn’t quite belong anywhere.

The sequins comment made him snort, a genuine laugh escaping before he could stop it. “You? In a store with sequins within a ten-foot radius? I think the last thing you need is another reason for people to stare.” He gave him a mock-serious nod. “But sure. If I find one that sparkles enough, I’ll get it just to watch you actually follow through on that donation threat.”

The teasing faded after a moment, replaced by something softer as Kaito studied Asher’s profile — the line of his jaw, the faint crease between his brows, the quiet weight in his shoulders that no smirk could fully hide.

He looked forward again, fingers drumming absently against his knee. “Sometimes it’s easier to breathe when you’re moving. Even if it’s just toward a mall full of bad lighting and worse fashion choices.”

Kaito let the corner of his mouth lift again, a shadow of his earlier grin. “Besides, someone’s gotta keep you from buying the same shirt in four shades of boredom. Consider this community service.”

 

Kaito stepped out of the car and stretched, the sunlight catching on the edges of his hair before the garage’s shadow swallowed it again. The air outside felt thick, humming with distant conversation and the rhythmic thrum of passing cars. He glanced toward Asher, who was scanning the lot like a man expecting trouble instead of a trip to buy socks.

“Relax,” Kaito said lightly, slinging his jacket over his shoulder. “We’re shopping, not storming a compound.”

 

He glanced at Asher again, taking in how the alpha moved, measured, alert, every line of his body controlled. Even here, surrounded by harmless noise, he looked like someone who didn’t quite belong among the living.

He really cannot relax outside of the house even though he tried to act that way. But at least he tries. God knows we both need a little normality right now.

 

 

Kaito trailed a hand along one of the clothing racks as he walked, feeling the fabric slide between his fingers. Cotton, denim, something vaguely synthetic that smelled faintly like factory dye and plastic hangers. The store was too bright, all glass and polished floor, the kind of light that made everyone look a little unreal.

He glanced back at Asher, who was pretending not to be watching but whose eyes flicked from mirror to exit to passing stranger with soldier precision. Always calculating. Always on. Kaito huffed softly, amused.

“You know,” he said over his shoulder, holding up two nearly identical shirts, “I think you just picked this place because it’s quiet enough for you to keep your instincts from clawing through your ribs.”

 Kaito only smiled. Yeah, I see you, Alpha.

He turned back to the clothes, debating between navy and charcoal. Does it even matter? he thought. It’s just fabric. It’s not like color makes you less haunted. Still, he picked the navy. Noah would’ve said it made his eyes look less tired.

“I’m starting to think you have a secret talent for domestic errands,” he said, letting the fabric drape over his arm. “Next thing I know, you’ll be teaching me the correct way to fold towels by scent or something.”

“Relax. I’m kidding. Mostly.”

They wove deeper into the aisles. Kaito could feel the rhythm of Asher’s breathing behind him, steady, even, controlled, the kind that came from someone always ready for a fight that hadn’t started yet. It tugged at something in him he didn’t name.

He ran a thumb over a sleeve, thoughtful. “Sometimes doing something ordinary is the only way to remind yourself you’re still part of the world.”

For a moment, silence settled, the kind that didn’t bite, just lingered. Kaito broke it by tossing a pair of jeans toward Asher with a crooked smirk. “Here. Tell me if these scream tragic wanderer or just needs a nap.”

He tilted his head, watching the man who never quite stopped scanning the room even when pretending to shop. Underneath the teasing, something warm flickered in Kaito’s chest, quiet gratitude, maybe, or the slow realization that Asher’s way of caring wasn’t loud. It was in the small things: the drive, the joke, the space he gave without ever really leaving.

And somehow, that meant more than words ever could.