2. CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO
Asher
A sher’s hands were balled in his hair, muttering under his breath as he paced along the roof’s edge. Seeing Liam again, a thousand miles away from where he’d last seen him, a decade later... fuck. Hell, even if Asher had it in him to forgive Liam, the opportunity had been stolen from him.
Sure, Asher felt the murderous rage of the Blood God pounding inside of him whenever he looked at Liam, but he was used to that flavor of rage. That wasn’t the problem.
The problem was that Asher felt like the same helpless little teenager he had been over a decade prior. He could paint the walls with the insides of the peers who’d once tormented him if he wanted to with the strength of the Blood God, but that hadn’t been the case back then.
As Asher paced, he felt every blow as if it were happening all over again. The initial shove, the cackling taunts and howls, unique to groups of males with a target within sight, the taste of blood pooling in Asher’s mouth well before the taste meant life and sustenance.
And Liam had been there, kicking the hardest, his voice ringing above the rest. The same voice that’d given the basketball team the idea to hurt Asher when they’d accused Liam of being one of them faggots .
Asher let out a feral scream over the side of the Chicago roof. The chaotic patterns of it bouncing off the skyscraper windows, mingling with the sirens of metropolis traffic, were a soothing balm to the decade-old scar weeping fresh from inside his soul.
Movement shuffled behind him. He spun around, ready with his claws out to stop anyone or anything from hurting him ever again.
Nikola caught his wrists before Asher could fillet him like a fish. “My apologies for startling you,” Nikola said evenly. Asher forced himself to take a breath, not realizing how haggardly he had been breathing. “But I must say, we are no longer in Grander. Chicagoans may be alarmed by screams in the night.”
Asher tried to muster a snarky retort about gun violence or some shit, but he didn’t trust his voice. When he met Nikola’s heterochromatic eyes, he instantly hated what he saw in them. Sympathy. Pity. Nikola knows. Somehow the old dog had figured out the embarrassing existence that had been Asher’s high school life.
He shoved away with a half-hearted hiss, turning back to the lively streets, humans weaving about like consumerist ants. Sheesh, night life could get this busy? “The shithead blabbered, didn’t he?” Asher mumbled.
Nikola hesitated for half of a beat. “I might’ve coerced it out of him.” Another beat. “Do you wish to talk about it?”
“Nope,” came Asher’s immediate reply before Nikola had even finished the sentence.
Nikola accepted the dismissive response with a sigh. Asher wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to put it into words, but he genuinely appreciated how quickly Nikola had learned that to push Asher was to push him away .
Instead, Nikola gently laced his arms around Asher’s waist from behind, kissing the back of his neck .
“I love you,” Nikola murmured.
Asher tried and failed to stifle a goofy grin. “Tch. Love you, old man.”
“Hm, good,” Nikola rumbled, trailing heavier kisses beneath the ridge of Asher’s jawline. Asher swore beneath his breath. Nikola pressed Asher tighter against him, his erection slotting along the curve of Asher’s ass. The heat of their bodies felt molten in contrast to the cold Chicago night.
“Dammit,” Asher said, halfway a moan. “Too many bastards in that apartment.”
Nikola nicked the lobe of Asher’s ear, breathing into it, “We are alone right now.”
Asher gave permission in the form of whimpering noises tumbling from his lips. Nikola swiftly unclipped Asher’s belt, the zipper and buttons of his pants soon to follow. Asher’s overeager cock sprung free from his boxers, awaiting Nikola’s grip.
Asher’s hand shot up, reaching over his shoulder to clasp the back of Nikola’s neck. He thrust in time with Nikola’s strokes, his breath sawing between clenched teeth. Sure, they were pretty high up, but could a human spot them from the streets? Shit, anyone could probably peek through the neighboring windows.
The possibility sent a shot of thrill down Asher’s shaft, causing him to arch back against Nikola’s form. Nikola vibrated with growls, tips of pointed teeth grazing the skin of Asher’s throat. Electricity sparked through Asher’s veins.
“Tell me, my love,” Nikola said in a low growl. A thread of vicious possessiveness strung the words together, sending Asher’s heart galloping. “What exactly is stopping me from fucking you right on this ledge?”
He pumped faster, his voice deepening. “What is stopping me from showing the world that you are mine and mine alone?”
Asher panted, coherent speech lost to unintelligent noises. Well, fuck. Nikola was about to make him shoot a rope of cum right over the roof’s edge if he didn’t let up. Asher parted his lips to gasp out the warning because he was already so close, but—
The scraping of shoe leather against the wall and the heaving breath of someone else pulling themselves atop the roof interrupted Nikola and Asher. Asher hissed in alarm, fumbling to stuff his rock-hard package back into his pants, pinching himself in the process.
Nikola leaped away, clearing his throat and adjusting his clothes as if he were the one almost caught with his dick out.
The intruder, however, was too busy catching their breath to notice anything amiss. It was that human, Moss. Asher reined in the snarl threatening to spill free, not wanting to explain it to Nikki, barely understanding his own reactions himself. It wasn’t jealousy, per se, it was... well, fuck. It was complicated.
He didn’t feel a single thing toward Liam except resentment.
Maybe Asher was bitter toward Moss because they got to escape Liam’s ugliness, as far as Asher knew.
“Explain,” Nikola said bluntly.
Moss smiled sheepishly, all dimples, as if they weren’t alone on a strange city rooftop facing two vampires. Then again, they were a human mated with a Blood Follower. “Trish gave me a boost is all. Used to do rock climbing and all that.” Another shrug. “Just don’t look down.”
“And why are you up here?” Good to hear that Nikola was equally annoyed by the interruption.
“Oh, right. Uh.” Moss cringed. “I had some questions. About... about Liam. ”
This time, Asher couldn’t contain the growl. “The guy was a slimy backstabbing self-hating homo who took it out on yours truly. What else is there to know? Or are you up here risking your neck to tell me all about how he’s grown up and changed and regrets his past? Because I don’t care. I’ve lived entire lifetimes since high school— my human past stays dead .”
With a hiss, Asher turned his back on the human’s stunned silence. He was half-tempted to donkey kick them over the edge, but even he could admit his frustration was misdirected. Moss was just some bystander, nothing more. Besides, the Goddess probably wouldn’t like that.
“I mean, no. That’s not—” Moss inhaled the rest of the sentence, starting over. "Liam is a Blood Follower. I know what that entails. But he was Changed by a Moon Child. Like, did the Horned One pick Liam because of his old self or because Trish did it without his explicit consent?”
Old self? Consent? The human had no idea what the hell they were talking about. Asher gave an angry snort. Nikola landed a hand on his shoulder to blockade the next outburst.
“Mortal, you approach a great question that our kind has debated for as long as I can recall in my seven centuries.” Asher registered Moss’s shock. Okay, yeah, his old man did look good for his age. “Does the vampire choose their patron, or does the patron choose the vampire? Does the heart Change, or does the heart influence the Change, showing its truest colors in the afterlife? I have not the answers, less so these days as I look upon the world behind both red and silver. But please understand, considering the history between Asher and Liam, this may not be the question for my Asher. You must face these trials with the one you call your partner.”
“Oh... I’m sorry. Yeah, you’re right. You’ve given me a lot to think about regarding my own possible Change.” Moss cleared their throat. Asher glanced back to see them rocking on their heels. Their laugh cracked with awkwardness. “Also. Uh. Sorry again. But could I maybe... get a lift down?”