Chapter 18
Eating at a table like a civilized person wasn’t a new experience for them, since Elm had spent a week dining upstairs at the manor. But aside from that first morning when Levi had made them breakfast, the food had always been prepared and laid out for them already.
“You can cook?” he watched Levi move about the sprawling kitchen, seemingly with purpose.
This space was set back from the rest of the living area, with a high ceiling, rows of cabinets built into the wall, and a long white granite island. Elm was seated at it, perched on a stool. Snow continued to fall outside, which he could see clearly from the wall made of window to his left.
They must be in the mountains, possibly deep in the forest, since Elm had never heard of a place like this existing. Hiding a building this massive took effort.
“I’m allergic to a certain spice,” Levi answered. “One my father loved. He took it with everything. Every dish had to be made with it. Cooked into the sauce. Into the soup base. In the batter and baked goods. My nanny took care of my meals when she was alive. After she passed, he didn’t bother.”
“So you took cooking lessons?”
“I taught myself.”
“Of course you did.” Elm wasn’t even surprised. “It’s tempting to demand a five-course meal just to be a dick—because you’d deserve it—but I’m actually not a picky eater. Anything is fine.”
“Noodles on their own are a snack, not a meal.”
He frowned. “Who mentioned noodles?”
“Baal.”
“The underboss?” Elm twisted on his seat, looking around, but the rest of the main level was still quiet. “Where is he?”
“Not here.”
He sighed. “And where is here, while we’re on the topic?”
Levi tossed diced vegetables in a wok and then moved to another burner where he had thick slabs of meat searing. “Frost Lodge.”
The aroma of salt and fat had Elm’s mouth watering, and he struggled to remain focused.
“Where is that?” he asked.
“Wintersoll Peaks.”
All the way out there?!
“No one will find you,” Levi continued when Elm grew quiet.
“There’s only one road into the city, and the hovercar parked outside has biometric controls.
If you try to run, you’ll lose your way in the forest. If I can’t find you in time, you’ll die of hypothermia. That isn’t a very pleasant way to go.”
“Guards?” The implication there was only one vehicle sort of told him all he needed to know already, but he wanted confirmation.
“There aren’t any.”
“Because I could hurt them?”
“Because they could try to hurt you.”
That was…Elm knew he should be more cautious, shouldn’t buy into whatever the alpha told him, but…He did.
“Your pheromones make me want to trust you,” he stated.
“They do.” Levi didn’t even try to hide it.
“It isn’t real.”
“Our kind have survived following nothing but instinct for centuries. Who are you to decide that none of that matters?” He began plating the food, movements steady and unhurried.
The alpha obviously believed there truly was no escape from this location.
If Elm wasn’t mistaken, he might even say Levi looked happy.
He expected the alpha to direct them into the dining area, eyebrow lifting when Levi turned and slid a full plate across the island toward him instead.
The meat was sliced into thin strips, slightly pink and juicy looking. It was laid over a creamy white sauce, next to a mix of sauteed vegetables. A moment later, the alpha placed a flaky roll on the edge.
Levi spent a moment lingering before a full wine rack, made a selection, and then came back with two glasses. He uncorked it and filled them, setting one at the corner of Elm’s plate before finally pulling a stool out from under his side and taking a seat himself.
“You’re letting me drink?” Elm wrapped his fingers around the flute of the glass. He’d been given coffee, tea, juice, and water during his captivity, but even when Levi had taken wine with dinner, Elm had never been offered so much as a sip.
“Can you handle your alcohol?” Levi asked absently, swirling the contents of his glass.
“Yeah.” At least, he could before. Elm’s uncertainty must have been written on his face, because the alpha reassured him.
“It’s just the two of us for miles. Even if you lose control of your pheromones, you can’t hurt me. Enjoy the meal, omega. If you like the wine, feel free to finish the bottle.”
“Free is kind of a funny choice of words given this situation, don’t you think?”
Levi smirked but didn’t disagree.
Elm sighed, and since he was starving, picked up his fork and started in on the food. When the meat all but melted on his tongue, he couldn’t help but moan, eyes slipping shut. “Holy shit.”
“Better than instant noodles?”
“Yeah—” His earlier comment suddenly made sense. “Did you—”
“I read your file,” Levi confirmed before he could finish.
“There’s a file on me?”
“The underboss compiled it.”
Elm scowled. “Was it fun reading that I survived off of instant noodles in college, like most of my peers? Bet you were super glad to learn that incredibly useful and important information.”
“I was,” Levi said, but that was it, he didn’t explain further.
“Why are we here, alpha?”
“So we can be alone.” He smeared a tender piece of meat from his own plate through sauce and then stood, leaning forward. “Open.”
“No way—” The food was popped into his mouth mid speech, Elm coughing around it. He glared at the alpha, who merely sat back and continued to eat like nothing had happened. When he scooped up some vegetables though, Elm held up a hand. “Don’t you dare.”
“You need to eat to stay healthy.” Levi’s eyes skimmed over him, brow furrowing. “You’ve lost muscle mass since coming into my care. We’ll remedy that. There’s a gym on the second level. I’ll show you after dinner.”
“I don’t want to work out, Levi. My body aches all over, and I—What are you doing now?”
The alpha had sprung up from his seat and gone to one of the cabinets. When he came back, there was a small white pill in his palm. “Take it.”
“What is it?”
“A painkiller.”
“I’m drinking,” Elm reminded.
“It’s safe, I promise.”
Seeing that the older man wouldn’t sit back down until he did as he was told, Elm took the pill.
“If you aren’t interested in working out,” Levi said, “then I’ll show you the studio.”
His ears perked up. “Studio?”
“My mother painted,” he replied. “I had the room cleaned and prepared for your arrival. Your things from your workshop on Glyph haven’t been collected yet, but—”
“Excuse me?” Elm set his fork down with a loud clack. “You aren’t allowed to send anyone to riffle through my stuff.”
“I don’t need your permission.”
“Leviathan.” He refused to cower when Levi’s expression darkened warningly. “What if somebody breaks something?” It was on the tip of his tongue to tell him to send Elm himself, but that would never work. Instead, he deflated. “Forget it. Don’t bother. I don’t need any of it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” One day, once he’d stabilized and managed to escape, he’d go back home. His things could wait for him until then. Having them brought all the way here would make it feel far too permanent, and Elm couldn’t handle that possibility at the moment. He was so emotionally exhausted.
“Omega.”
“What?” he snapped, unable to hold in his emotions. To keep himself from saying more, he downed the rest of his wine and reached for the bottle to refill it.
“The lodge is seven thousand square feet. There’s plenty of space and things to do. Most entertainment can be found on the second floor. You’ll be content here while you stabilize.”
“I’ll still be a prisoner.” Elm chugged half the new glass when Levi didn’t say anything to that. “And after?”
“After?”
“Once I’ve stabilized. What then?”
“What do you mean?”
“What happens after that? Where do I go? Will you—”
“The food is getting cold. Eat. We can talk more about this later.”
Knowing Levi only got chatty when he wanted to, Elm was forced to drop it.
He practically shoved the rest of dinner into his mouth, just to be difficult, and finished off the bottle of wine on his own for good measure.
* * *
“I want to build a snowman!” Elm launched himself out the front door, laughing as his boots crunched in the packed snow. He’d spotted them by the front door and had made a dash for them as soon as Levi had turned his back to do the dishes.
He hooted as the flurries tumbled down around him, getting a kick out of the way his voice echoed and the icy wind licked at his heated skin.
The front yard was nothing but white, the tree line far enough off he’d have plenty of room to play around.
He’d just bent to scoop up a handful to start his project when strong arms came around his waist, lifting him into the air.
Elm growled and sent a wave of aggressive pheromones directly into the alpha, laughing all over again when Levi dropped him. He darted away, spinning on his heels—almost face planting in the process—and stuck out his tongue.
“You’re drunk,” the alpha said tightly. The reason Elm had managed to make it as far as he had was clear.
Levi had shoved his feet into snow boots as well and thrown on a black fur coat.
He had another, this one white, draped over his left arm, and when he saw Elm eyeing it, held it out. “Come here.”
“No way.” He wasn’t falling for that. “You’ll just make me go inside.”
“You’ll make yourself sick.”
“It’s just a little snow. Relax.”
Levi stared pointedly at his shins, where the snow came up to. “A little?”
“Good Light, just let me have some fun. Then you can go back to locking me up.” Elm didn’t wait for a response, tipping his head back and opening his mouth wide to catch snowflakes on his tongue. He hollered again, grinning like an idiot.
“Is screaming into the ether really that enjoyable to you?” Levi was standing in front of him, and he shook out the coat and tossed it around his shoulders, helping Elm’s arms into the sleeves. Then he reached into the pocket and pulled out a set of gloves, slipping them onto Elm’s hands.
“You don’t get it,” Elm said. “You’re still, like ice. I’ve always been more like—”
“The currents rushing beneath it,” Levi stated.
He’d been about to say something more obvious, like fire, but yeah, sure, that worked.
“I’m usually loud and messy,” he explained. “Couldn’t really do that these past couple of months.”
“You’ve made up for it the bedroom, trust me.”
“And strapped to your metal table?” He waggled his brows despite the serious topic and then sprung away as soon as the alpha finished with the final glove. “Let’s build a snowman.”
“No.” Levi turned his wrist and pulled up his sleeve to check his multi-slate. “You have ten minutes. Then you’re coming back inside even if I have to toss you over my shoulder and carry you in.”
“Fifteen.”
“This isn’t a negotiation.” He frowned. “For someone who’s allergic to the cold, you sure seem to love snow.”
Who was allergic to the cold? Him? Elm opened his mouth to correct him, but then remembered he was on a time crunch and got to work instead. The snow was the perfect kind for sculpting, and he crouched and began gathering and forming it, lost in his own little world for a brief moment.
A moment that didn’t last, since the alpha was still standing there, hovering.
“Stay over there and don’t look.” Elm turned so his back was to him, trying to shield as much of his project as possible.
“I thought you said you had a high tolerance,” Levi drawled. “One bottle of wine and you’re this drunk?”
“I’m only kind of drunk,” he corrected. “If you can remember it after, it’s only kind of.”
“Oh? Did you get black out drunk often at university?”
Elm chuckled. “Sometimes, I woke up in a stranger’s bed and was super confused. That’s actually what I thought happened when I first woke up in your basement. But then I remembered all the horrible things that’d been done to me, and saw you creeping from the other side of the bars.”
“I wasn’t…” Levi growled, but seemed to drop it, more interested in a different part of that statement. “From now on, you aren’t allowed to drink in front of other people.”
He snorted. “There’s literally no one else here.”
“We’ll be keeping it that way.”
“Sure.” It’s not like Elm had a say in the matter. His hands were starting to sting, even through the gloves, and he brought them to his mouth and blew on them.
“Enough—”
“No, I’m almost finished!” He hurriedly got back to his snow creation.
“Did your brother use to play with you like this?” the alpha questioned.
“Kian?” He grinned. “He’d pretty much do what you’re doing. Watch over me and wait it out. Grumble about the cold.”
“I’m not bothered by the cold,” Levi argued. “You’re the one who’s going to regret being out here.”
“Almost…Done!” Elm stood, shaking out his legs to get feeling back into them, and then stepped aside, dramatically holding his arms out toward the snow statue. “Ta da! What do you think? Totally worth it, right?”
“That is not a snowman.” Levi stared at it.
“This is better.”
“Is it?”
“You like rabbits.” Elm took in his handywork, then pursed his lips. “It’s a rough sketch. When I recreate it with clay, it’ll be better. More detailed. But you get the gist. It’s cute, right?”
He’d made the bunny a little higher than the snowline currently was, so that his head could peer up over it. His long ears were carved over his back, and he had four distinct legs and paws. The tail was just a clump of snow attached to his backside, but it did the trick.
Between its front paws, Elm had made a moon cake.
“What does it matter if I like rabbits?” Levi asked.
“I don’t know. You cooked me dinner. It felt right to return the gesture.” Why was he making a big deal out of this?
Stupid alpha.
Levi stepped forward, inspecting it as though it really was some great work of art, and Elm felt pride swell through him despite knowing how ridiculous that was.
He was still drunk enough not to care though, so he swept those negative emotions aside and opted to bask in this rare moment of contentment.
When was the last time he’d breathed fresh air?
Stood outside?
Hell. Worn shoes?
He stomped his feet and smiled.
Levi knelt in front of the rabbit and reached down to touch the moon cake.
“In case he gets hungry,” Elm said, laughing afterward.
“Did you copy this?”
“Copy what?”
“This design,” Levi said. “After only seeing it once?”
He scrunched up his nose and then held out his hand to catch snowflakes. “Ew. I’d never copy someone else’s work. I mean…Well, I guess I sort of did. My mom always puts that pattern on the ones she makes. It’s a family thing my great grandma started.”
Now he was hungry again.
“Got any snacks in that massive kitchen?” He glanced over and then stilled. “What?”
The alpha was still crouched by the statue, but his expression was…different.
Elm shivered, partially because of the chill, and partially because of how the odd attention made him feel, but it was enough to have the alpha standing and stalking toward him.
“Hold on—Hey!” He was lifted over Levi’s shoulder and carried away without another word.