MUSIC REC (First day of my life by Bright Eyes. I loved it, but idk, it's a CHOICE!!)~~Asher fell back a step, and Zane watched his green eyes widen in apprehension. Instantly, every hackle in Zane's body rose, and he bared his teeth in warning. His chest thrummed with suspicion.How could Asher just stumble into this place?This wasn't just some random restaurant. This was his place. His and Jennifer's. The one corner of the city he hadn't touched since the day she passed, because coming back here felt like sawing open an old wound and drinking blood straight from it.If he hadn't been distracted by Asher's reckless driving, he would have remembered the road here and stopped it before they even got close. The thought that Asher had somehow uncovered and invaded it...it made Zane's chest ache. There was no way it was a coincidence. Asher knew somet---"Oh my fucking god, Zane!" Asher cut in and closed the distance between them again. His palms gripped Zane's biceps as if trying to r
The second the word 'fine' left his lips, Asher's megawatt smile returned, bright enough to light up the entire sky. That damned smile would be forever tattooed in Zane's brain. Asher had never smiled at him.He tore his gaze away, grinding his molars like the effort alone might save his sanity. Before he could rethink his life choices, Asher practically skipped to the intercom and picked it up. Zane let out a low sound of disapproval. "Now, what are you...""Just trust me," Asher cut in, raising a finger.Trust him. RIght. He watched Asher pun in a number, humming under his breath until his assistant's voice filtered through the receiver.He gave her an instruction to come up, and a few minutes later, the door opened and the petite woman stepped inside, eyes a little guarded as she bounced them between Zane and Asher."These bags on the table," Asher said smoothly, waving at them. "You can take them. I bought him lunch, but we've got someplace else to be. No point letting it go to wa
~~Asher's lips curved into a cheeky little grin at Zane's words. And the Alpha exhaled hard through his teeth. Fucking omega."Let's get this over with then," he muttered. "Hi, I'm--""No, let me go again."Zane's face twisted like huh. Asher's grin only deepened and his eyes twinkled with excitement. Who was this and what had he done to the Asher, Zane knew? He cleared his throat anyway. "Hi, I'm Asher. I always thought I was a West, but turns out I'm not. I suck at school stuff, but racing is my shit. Also, I messed up and now I'm an Omega, whose heat is dependent on....well, you."Zane nearly rolled his eyes into the back of his skull. "Hi, i'm---" he cut himself off with an incredulous scoff. Ridiculous didn't begin to cover this, but fine, he'd play. "I'm Zane. An illegitimate son of the West family. I am very good at 'school stuff' and I graduated top of my class, part of the most funded research of our time...""Show off," Asher interrupted with a smile.Zane ignored him. "I a
Zane didn’t glance up when his office door clicked open. His eyes were fixed on the spreadsheet on his PC, and assuming it was Linda, he started to speak.“It's a good thing you're here. I was about to call you up anyway." he paused, and opened a file on his desk, picking up a pen without looking. "Move the trial data for 14B to my desk. Tell the lab I want a comparative analysis done between it and 12C. And tell R&D I don’t give a damn if it costs triple, I want heat suppression without the liver damage risk. If they can’t crack it, I’ll find someone who can.” His pen scratched against the contract he was red-lining. “And make sure the patent draft for the new gene therapy gets to Legal before lunch. I don’t want another delay.”Only silence echoed across the room.Zane's brows knotted into a deep frown. His assistant usually chirped some acknowledgment by now. He lifted his head, irritation bristling inside him at the disrespect, only to feel it knocked clean out of him.Because it
HI, SO TRIGGER WARNING!! Reader's discretion advised! Y'all still wanna carry on? Alright then, see you on the other side! Lots of love!And Oh, SONG RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS CHAPTER! (Elastic Heart--Piano Version by Sia) It's gonna be a long one! Thought about splitting the chapter, but no. We are going through everything in this read!ASHERPocketing the locket, Asher's pulse thundered in his ears, and he began tearing through the reading table. Victoria had been hiding some secrets, and Asher needed answers. He pulled out drawer after drawer, but they only contained useless and dried-out writing materials.He'd fully ransacked the entire table, rechecking the drawers a second time, but he still couldn't find anything. He was close to giving up when his hand suddenly brushed an odd surface in the bottom drawer. Frowning, he pushed the wood around for a bit, and finally, it gave way! Another secret compartment.With a feeling of foreboding, he reached into the space and froze when hi
Asher's hands were clammy and his heart was pounding so hard against his ribcage as he stared at the narrow passage yawning open in his mother’s suite. Eight years of his life, he'd known Victoria....the next fifteen, he spent ten of it living in the West Villa and he had no idea there was a secret room hiding behind these walls.His throat felt so dry he had to gulp back his own saliva to wet it. Every instinct screamed at him to leave....let sleeping dogs lie... Maybe some things were never meant to be discovered. But instead, step by step, he inched forward until he was close enough to push the panel wider. Stale dusty air rolled out in a heavy draft and Asher choked, letting out a cough.It took a few minutes of him coughing to expell the dust in his lungs and his eyes had become watery by now.Drawing in a shaky breath, Asher stepped forward until he crossed the threshold into the room. And a gasp ripped out of his throat when he saw what was inside. There was only one word