Ascension - Book Eight - Man x Man

Chapter 143

( ok I had some fun with the AI apps, this what it came back with for Nic! Not bad 🫣🤪)

Opting to let me drive, I follow his directions back down the interstate, finding our way to a large building with a small side entrance. It was nearing midday; traffic was bustling from the lunch rush. Verando slid out quickly and wordlessly to open my door, offering me his arm as we entered the building. How disappointing that the underground was the only place we felt safe, amongst the nightclubs, pubs, and brothels.

I suppose there was comfort in that there was nobody to trust within these walls, so our guards were never lured to lower.

Shouldering his backpack, he carries the book with us as he requests a private room from our suspicious host, showing the man a card from his wallet. This surprised the host, who quickly changed his expression and gestured for us to follow.

To the left of the entrance was the direction for the club, though I could see by the main entrance that was only half of the purpose of the building. The narrow hall leaves little to the imagination, though the doors are inset deep into the walls, it causes the hair on the back of my neck to rise. My wolf rattles its mental cage, on guard, making my ears hyper-sensitive though I struggle to make out the words coming from the rooms.

The man indicates it's for privacy, reminding us that business here would be conducted discreetly without tolerance for loud or adverse behavior. An interesting warning, though I suppose our reputation for attracting mischief was infamous.

Wasn't that always the intention? To come and do no harm?

The room is quiet with no windows holding a couch, a long table with some chairs, and a television. It looked almost like an office space, save for the modern comforts.

Handing Verando the key, the man seemed reluctant to touch him, almost bypassing him to hand it off to me, but my husband snatched the card from his hand with a look of irritation.

"Enjoy your stay, gentlemen; I'll have the meal you requested brought up promptly."

Verando runs a hand through his hair, tossing the card onto the chilled marble counter and the bag onto the long, oak table.

"Interesting choice, Tucci. I like this better than the pubs, at least," he murmurs, tracking along the walls as if he were looking for any indication we were being spied on. I can recognize the distance in his eyes, listening for the inner workings of electronics hidden amongst the drywall.

The exhaustion hits me as I collapse into a chair, enjoying the silence as I close my eyes and fight off the nausea.

"You would like it here. I find the pubs more inviting." I comment, cringing at my stomach threatening to vacate itself. "Remember when you warned me never to get pregnant? I think I'm understanding why."

I feel the movement before I can acknowledge it, when I open my eyes he's before me, knelt at my feet with a look of concern. Lycans were fast, not as much as vampires, but quick enough. This was inhuman, near teleportation.

"That was fast," I commented, testing to see how much he was aware of. He didn't bowl me over, so that would mean his intentions could control certain aspects of this magic.

"I wanted to come to you." Verando reasoned, concerned himself but holding it together for my benefit. Extending his hand, I capture the gloved palm, pressing my cheek into the cool of it. "Trust me, if I thought this was at all possible- if I had just believed you... I wouldn't have been so cavalier-"

This was a moot point, there was nothing to be done for it now and I wouldn't have chosen any other path. I gesture to his backpack and with a great deal of hesitation, he dumps it out onto the table. The almost soundless thrum of the book slipping out onto the table sounds much like the closing of a crypt, hollow, heavy, and lacking the reverberation of something that was once alive.