Captive Mate BL
Chapter 238: - - 238-

Chapter 238: -Chapter 238-

Jael eyed his row of cards, he was running out of space to hold the cards, and with the devious smile Asher wore, he had a feeling the Alpha was about to double it.

When Caspian had outlawed shooting each other during the game, he had thought it would only apply to Asher.

But he was really, really close to knocking Asher on the upside of the head with the butt of his gun.

Jael had chosen to tag along because Asher said he would be here, and whenever his boss did something out of character, he had to be there to do damage control.

Getting to play cards and take the day off was just a plus that came with doing damage control.

Caspian and Lake’s friendship almost seemed fated because they kept bumping into each other in the most unlikely places.

Lake seemed to genuinely hold Caspian in high regard, so Jael had no problems with that.

There was honestly no reason for them to be here, Lake looked to have left Davian’s influence.

Jael was anything but nosy, so he couldn’t be less bothered about the Omega’s life choice.

"You can’t just play cards at random," Jael scowled.

"And if I don’t have the right card?"

"Pick from the fucking stack," He bit out, done with Asher playing dumb when they were already on their second game.

"I-" A loud crash from the kitchen interrupted Asher’s predictably annoying response.

The Alpha was already halfway out of his seat, as soon as he registered the sound, Jael right on his tail.

They burst into the kitchen to find Lake standing protectively in front a guilty-looking Caspian, with a pile of fallen pots and pans in front of them.

"We’re fine," Lake spoke calmly, "Just a little kitchen accident."

Jael had already started for the living room after receiving confirmation that no one was dead.

"Do you need our help?" Asher was offering as he took a step out of the kitchen door.

Jael looked over a shoulder with a flabbergasted expression - Asher had never cooked a day in his life.

"No, thank you," Both Omegas were quick to chorus, for different reasons.

"Don’t turn us down without giving it a chance," Asher doubled down.

"Who’s us?" Jael had to interject at that point.

If Asher wanted to cling to his mate, that was on him, Jael didn’t sign up for cooking.

"You’re right," Asher agreed, much to his surprise. "Jael’s the better cook, so you should let him help out."

"We can handle the cooking just fine," Caspian said dryly.

Lake picked up the fallen pots as he listened to them bicker, starting to think that he should have just ordered pizza.

Because, to begin with, he and Caspian couldn’t seem to decide on what they wanted to make.

Lake didn’t cook much, just quick simple meals that kept him alive.

And despite Caspian’s enthusiasm, the Omega knew next to nothing about cooking.

Jael stepped forward to offer him a hand while Caspian berated the Mafia King about his promise not to make any trouble.

"What do you say to pizza?" Jael asked as he helped him put the new pots onto a high shelf.

The reason for the accident was that both he and Caspian had been too short to reach for them.

"You read my mind," Lake muttered, reaching for his phone.

Jael had a faint smile on his face as he walked out of the kitchen, Lake following behind him.

"Hardly. I’ve seen Caspian try to cook before."

"Wait, where are you guys going?" Caspian noticed them leaving, immediately going after Lake.

"To order pizza." Lake said bluntly.

Caspian’s eyes turned glassy, "We’re not cooking anymore?"

"Pizza is back up," Jael was quick on damage control.

"Right, so why don’t you two go back to your card game while Caspian and I get back to cooking?" Lake concluded, getting desensitized to Asher and Jael’s presence the longer he spent around them.

It also helped that they acted like normal people did with their mates and friends.

"And if we need help, we’ll ask," He tagged on, taking Caspian’s wrist.

The Omega looked a little confused at the things happening in rapid succession, but he willingly followed.

Lake had actually planned to completely scrap cooking for the day, but Caspian had looked so broken that it made him change is mind.

"Since we’re no longer stressing about cooking something proper for lunch," Lake said as they got to the kitchen, putting an apron on.

"Is there anything you want to make? I even have ingredients to bake with..."

"Muffins," Caspian said without thinking, spacing out for a moment.

"Sure," Lake was quick to agree, "I should be able to find an easy recipe we can work with."

"Yeah," Caspian murmured, taking the apron Lake offered him.

He had unconsciously said muffins, but saying that brought back memories of Lucy. He could still taste her iced tea on his tongue.

"Are you good?" Lake had to ask, noticing a shift in Caspian’s attitude. "We don’t have to make muffins..."

"I’ve never been better," Caspian gave a smile that didn’t quite touch his eyes. "Could you please help me with this knot?" He turned around, frustration tinting his voice.

While they were speaking, Caspian had been fighting with the knot of his apron, too distracted by his thoughts to tie it up properly.

Lake laughed at that, the sound raspy from disuse. "Sure."

Caspian smiled gratefully after, the expression brightening up his entire face. "Thanks."

They settled on a simple recipe, it would only take a little over half an hour, so roughly by the time it was done, their pizza should already be here.

"Mix the dry ingredients while I handle the wet ingredients," Lake dolled out tasks.

Considering what Jael said about Caspian’s cooking abilities, the Omega picked up really quickly.

He also was genuinely having a good time cooking, it was almost contagious.

All that baking with Caspian taught Lake was that he wasn’t interested in the stress that came with baking.