The Devil, the Beauty, and the Beast (short story)

Chapter 8

The call comes in during breakfast.

Prapai glances at his phone for a second, then at Phayu. It's in their everyday rules that phones are banned from the table during mealtime, but there's exceptions. Phayu reaches over to check the caller ID, then he hands Prapai his phone and nods.

"Take it, it's Porsche."

Prapai does, not before shovelling another spoonful of food into his mouth.

"Yeah?" he asks, still chewing, earning himself an exasperated glance from across the table. With a roll of his eyes, Prapai leans back and away from his plate. He swallows before responding properly. "Mm, no, we're still eating breakfast."

Rain watches attentively. Sometimes when Porsche calls at ungodly hours, it's because Plerng's in heat and has asked for his older brother to come keep him company for comfort, or because there's something wrong with one of the businesses Prapai oversees for his parents. Today, it seems to be the latter, because Prapai sighs and knocks his head back, gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"Yeah, I get that, but that's why I sent- Mama, I can't just throw our whole plans away because you- Now?!"

He straightens up, incredulous, and Rain winces at his sudden yell. Phayu's brows have furrowed and he's staring holes into Prapai as if to figure out via telekinesis what's going on. Prapai runs one hand through his hair with a furious scowl on his face.

"That's a whole six-hour trip, even by car! Mama, I really can't leave today, Phayu's got his on-site inspection!" he complains.

Rain's heart starts to sink. That... doesn't sound good at all. Beside him, Phayu has started frowning and gives a sharp shake of his head at Prapai's volume of voice, but the younger Alpha doesn't even pay him any mind as he starts tapping his fingertips impatiently onto the tabletop. He tries to get some protest in, but even from the other side of the table, Rain can hear that Porsche has adapted that strict tone only he dares to use on Prapai - the only tone that makes Prapai drop the spoiled attitude and act responsibly, sometimes.

The tone that allows no talking back and no more compromises.

When Prapai hangs up, his face and mood and scent have all soured for good, and Rain ducks against Phayu's arm to hide away. Usually, that kind of gesture would have the Alpha's hand in his hair to soothingly stroke it, but Phayu is busy pressing his hands together with quiet anger.

"You know I don't like you yelling at home."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Prapai snaps and shoves his chair back. It scrapes across the floor as he gets up and struts over to the couch behind them where he's left his laptop last night after finishing work. "Mama wants me to go to Khon Kaen to personally deal with the most recent branch of our stupid business there because the supervisor we installed there got sick and now apparently I'm the only fucking person who-"

"Prapai!"

Phayu gets up with one finger raised threateningly. On instinct, Rain clings to his arm and tries to pull him down, but the Alpha disregards the frantic little tug on his sleeve and instead nails Prapai to the spot with a fiery glare.

"I get that you're upset, and I don't like letting you go there either, but that's no reason to speak like that."

Prapai stares back, teeth bared in a silent challenge, an unspoken 'Try me, Alpha' that Rain knows all too well from their little playfights, from their competitions of who can make the other come faster, harder, or who can do the same to their Omega. Now, though, it feels way more serious and he whines softly, eyes wide and flickering back and forth between his boyfriends. That kind of thing has yet to fail in getting both their attention on him, but the air is oppressive now with the heavy smell of anger that appears to seep from every inch of bare skin between the two Alphas, and it seems to stifle his desperate little noise like a layer of cotton.