The first thing Ash noticed was a light weight on his side and he could hear a calm heartbeat right beneath his ear. Ash mentally frowned to himself as he was trying to assess the situation. Clearly, he lived in the apartment all alone. And Rose or Simon didn't sleep in his home last night, there couldn't be anyone else in his apartment right now.
Wait, last night . . .
Suddenly, the flashback from last night came crashing on his mind. How they commenced their raid on club, how they injured Alexander . . .
Alexander.
The one he brought to his apartment with him.
He remembered he tended his wound. And after that, they made out.
He still remembered how Alexander had attacked his lips and devoured him like a beast he was. He was gasping for air but Alexander greedily sucked the air out from him. And then he-
Ash suddenly came into the realisation and opened his eyes as
"Well, well, well, what a lovely show we had in here!" Ash immediately froze and tilted his head as he fined the source of the voice. He stared in horror as he saw the smirk looks of Team and Rose while Seth and Simon just smiled shyly on them. He tried to push Alexander off from him and kept a distance between them but Alexander just tightened his grip around his waist even more."Indeed Team. The first hot scene we got to see early in the morning was our dear brother making out with his hot, drop-dead gorgeous boyfriend." Rose said as she continued smirking and they walked towards the chairs opposite to Ash sofa. Alexander just replied in a knowing smirk on them."So?" Team began as he started wiggling his eyebrows as he stared on them. They were still close with each other since Alexander refused to let him go."So what?" Ash whined as he was trying to compose himself from the embarrassment he just got in."Did y
Then Seth suddenly spoke while Simon was rummaging through his bag."Look at these photographs, Ash. It was really disturbing." Seth said as Simon handed him a copy of the photograph and also lent Rose a copy of it while sitting beside his girlfriend."It was. . . ""Yes, Ash. They've imprinted the same symbol. Two pair of wings. The same photograph we saw on the LA headquarter bombardment, as well as last night. It was marked on the warrior dead and burned bodies." Seth replied as he studied the photograph carefully."And, this one is the more disturbing evidence the High authority sent to us. This time they left a message to them, using the blood of our men." Rose said as she handed another photograph to Ash. The four of them had stood and encircled around Ash as they mind read what was written on the photograph. It was a picture of the underground jail where the message was written with blood.To
"Warriors, I love to have the privilege of seeing you hot, all bothered and switching into detective mode while you are indulge in your work. But, you may have forgotten I am a civilian, you're supposed to discuss this in private, right?" All of their jaws had dropped as they finally realized they had another person present in the room.But Team was the one who recovered first and smirked at him."Oh please, you won't dare to betray us." Alexander just raised his eyebrow in return."What made you say so, goldilocks? What if I was delivered here to become a spy on you guys?" Alexander replied as he tried to challenge the golden boy in front of him."One, you were totally hook with your warrior boyfriend, you wouldn't do anything to betray his feelings. You're head over heels crazy on him. Second, I don't think as sassy as you would like to involve yourself in our fighting activity." Team argued back proudly while Ale
"Ash. Team. Rose. Seth. Simon . And-" Jones stared at Alexander as he was waiting for him to say his name. Alexander nodded in response understanding the man's silent question."Alexander.""Alexander. Sit on the front and face the Hall of authority." Everyone gulped as they nodded nervously and walked towards the interrogation table. They faced the thousand warrior who were present on the Halls of authority. Jones step out of his throne and walked near them."Rose made an incident report of your operation at club last night. In which, the captives you claimed were imprisoned in the city." Rose nodded in affirmation of what her father said."Now are you aware that the captives you imprisoned were being saved by their obnoxious filthy friends and made a mess on the City? Not only your captive escaped but it made another disaster for the Clan, inside our damn territory!" Jones raised his voice in an
"That's one of the photographs from the Black Clan Empire!" One authority member shouted as he took in the image."Exactly. And that was the symbol we saw on the little group. We didn't know anything about it, but when we showed it to Ash he told us it belongs to the Black Clan Empire. You see, we can never lie to the authority. We have all the evidence on hand." Seth said with dignity as everyone got silent."Bullshit. You may managed to have that sketch with you Seth but it didn't tell us anything." Braze Bamree suddenly spat back as his eyes was filled with rage as he stared to the boy he once loved. The boy who blatantly rejected him without a second thought and chose that arrogant group over him."Are you really blind, Braze? We already have everything on hand! We wouldn't be able to get this sketch if it weren't for those guys in the club who definitely have a connection in the Black Clan Empire!" Clary fumed with irritation b
"What can you say as the brain of the group, Ash Brandon?" Jones finally asked him as he concluded Braze did have a point. A point where the rest of the group wasn't able to grasps. He saw Ash flinched and from the looks of it, he knew that he was thinking the same way of what Braze thought. That's why throughout the entire conversation he didn't dare to speak. He was busy trying to think of a way to counter attack Braze statement but no matter what they do, they were obviously at a disadvantage."Young warrior. I know that you are given with exceptional talents that made you stand out in this generation. But please think that the real situations and scenarios are far different than you got in training. You cannot engage in the battle head on. You need to see the other side, the whole picture, in an outside perspective. You need to go out of the box and assess everything before you make your moves." Celly finally spoke as she watched the wretched face written on the
"I planned the whole operation. And Ash was busy doing his role to lure out the group. We kept the operation private as his request.""Simon, what did you guys do?" Jones suddenly asked Simon, knowing full well he was the most honest in the group and will never lie to anyone."The man was interested with Ash. So Ash had to seduce the guy to make him confessed to us. That's why we gathered all those information we got." The room was filled with roars and disgusts once again."I knew it! That fucking gay is a manwhore!""So that's why he didn't plan up the whole operation. He was too busy fucking up someone's dick for him to abandon his duties and responsibilities. Gross.""He disgusts me. He's a fucking disgrace to the authority and the White Wolf's Clan!""Huh! Now I understand he didn't want their whole fucking operation to be recorded. He didn't want the whole world to know how mu
"Team. You pursue fighting even though you knew there is a hostage victim? Have you truly lost your mind? You do know your actions will be held liable! You guys are insane! You had committed multiple serious rule violation against the authority!" Jones finally yelled as his voice roared throughout the room that made everyone quiet."We can't do this. This is an insane interrogation. They had committed multiple rule violations, didn't documented and planned the whole operation carefully, and on top of that claiming our allies as enemy! They must be punished!" Another authority member had rose and voiced out his thoughts that was seconded by everyone."That's right! For all we know, that civilian is also part of the little group! His words are not reliable! He is just a fuck buddy of Ash and they paid him, obviously with Ash body to act as a dummy witness in their failed operation.""They should be suspended in their duties!"
The four of them stood frozen as their eyes shifted back and forth between Ash and Seth. The room was filled with silence as they digested the information about what was going on."The Queen of the Shadow Clan? What the hell is going on, Ash?" Ash released a heavy sigh as he shared a knowing look with Seth. Seth nodded as he went into his room and grabbed his laptop."Okay, before we begin this, shall we all take a seat while Seth is gathering up his things?"The four of them stared at Ash in confusion before they nodded reluctantly and went to find an available seat. After a few minutes a pair of small, quick steps rushed downstairs. Seth came in as he sat on the chair near the table and set up his laptop. After sorting out the information he gathered he turned his laptop to the audience. Four sets of eyes stared at his laptop and widened their eyes as they recognized the symbol.The f
Five hours have passed since Ash let Rose and the group roam around the city. He walked to the kitchen room of the apartment they rented and poured himself a cup of black coffee to make his system more alert. He just woke up from his sleep. The moment Alexander left, he immediately went to the nearest bedroom. The breeze of hot, humid air was making him weak. At first he thought he would enjoy the cold air around Wausau, since the city is covered with hemi boreal forests, not to mention their location is near the great Wausau River. But then he was wrong, he forgot to check that the temperature around the city during May is rising fast to higher temperatures. And because the heat was weakening his body, combined with the exhaustion he feels on his mental and emotional state, he allowed himself to finally have some sleep.But he didn't regret it at all. It was the best five hour sleep he had in his life, considering the tough situation they're in. And now
"Afraid I might change my mind?" Ash said before he heard the door slam shut. Ash was about to stand and turn around to head for the bed when the door slightly opened once again and there revealed the figure of Alexander."Are you sure you aren't coming, darling? It's boring to be here all alone, you know. I assure you, you will enjoy touring around Wausau.""Thank you for being thoughtful, Alexander. But really, I am fine. I seriously just want to sleep today. I am tired and exhausted. Maybe some other time, if we will have one. I promise then I won't be a killjoy anymore and join the fun. It's just that right now—"Ash statement was interrupted when he suddenly felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him."I know. I know you're too stressed today, Ash. But please don't push yourself. You can share this burden with us, you know. We're all in this together. And your sister is right, you need to loosen up. This case takes a to
The next morning, everyone was busy as bees as they unpacked their things, setting up the tools and the information they gathered for their investigation."Ah! God I am dead tired! You know, we all deserve to have some break. We will not start commencing an operation until tonight. Why don't we gift ourselves with roaming around the place and enjoy it during the mean time? It would be a waste if we don't get to enjoy the beauty of Wausau." Rose whined as she sat on the sofa and let out a heavy sigh."No can do, Rose. I am sorry that your first case is nothing but a shitty one like this. But as soon as possible we need to stop the Balck Clan. By tonight, I want us to be fully prepared in case something will happen.""Ash I know how serious and critical our mission is. But can't we have some breath of fresh air? I think anytime soon I'll combust from suffocating on everything that's hanging around my head right now." Rose h
Thankfully, their seats were not too far from each other, they only need to turn around or tap on their colleague in the front row. The seating arrangement inside the train is composed of two columns, with an aisle of the center. 3 people can occupy per row on the right column while two people can occupy per row on the left. Since majority of them are already in a relationship, they chose the 2 person per row."Well, I doubt you both are still single. But for technicality purposes, let's say we get a 3 seat row because obviously, we already have couples in the group. Either of you wouldn't want to become a third wheel for the lovebirds, right?" Rose teased as she threw them a wicked smile when they were reserving their seats on the internet.Ash couldn't help but groan when of course, he is paired with Alexander in the seating arrangement, seeing as they're the only ones who are still "single"."Hey, how lo
Ash couldn't help but groan at the thought. He dropped his head in defeat when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his forehead."Ouch!" Ash yelped as he massaged his forehead as it bumped into the front seat."Why so glum, plum?" Ash eyes widened as he heard the beautiful melody of Alexander silky voice. He lifted his head again and took in the exotic beauty of Alexander. He was wearing a white thin shirt with its three first buttons hanging open. It was so thin that Ash swore he could make out his lean torso. He wore black spiky pants that matched his spiky hair that was covered in silver glitter. All in all, Alexander was just as breathtaking as ever."Nothing. I guess I am just too stressed up nowadays." He said flustered as he could hear Alexander footsteps coming towards him. Not a minute later he was embraced with a warm pair of arms and a blush stained his cheeks when he felt a light damp around his forehead, signali
Ash certainly forgot about Alexander as well as their confrontation until he appeared on Thursday morning with five big suitcases with him. They were momentarily speechless because of the amount of baggage Alexander had to bring to go to Wisconsin. It's as if he's going for a trip around the world, not for an investigation."Ah, Alexander, just so you know, we are not going on a vacation trip. We are going for an investigation and mission. It's not that we will stay there for weeks, or months. We might even just stay there for a day or two, depending on the results of the mission. So I don't think you really need to bring so much stuff." Ash said as he raised his eyebrow nervously, he was a bit hesitant to voice out his concern to Alexander, afraid that he would be the object of his wrath. It happened to him once when he interrogated Rose about bringing way too many clothes on their 3-day field trip and Rose gave him a very col
He sighed in defeat and let his shoulders down as he apologized to his siblings."I—I am really sorry. You guys don't need to suffer from this kind of cruel situation. You don't have to do it, you know. I can handle it. Plus, technically you're not adult warrior yet so you don't need to feel obliged to join me. I—""Cut the shit, Ash!" Ash gulped as he took in the deathly glare he received from both Rose and Simon."We already told you, didn't we? We're all in this together, Ash. Don't let that bastard falter your perception of yourself and our group. And no matter what you do, you can't change our decision. We are friends, goddamn it, you are my brothers Ash, and I, no, we will not leave you no matter what!"Simon screeched as he gave his brother a murderous look. The last thing he wanted is to be angry with Ash. He knew about Ash inferiority complex an
The past week had been such a wreck that Ash even managed to let the confrontation slip from his mind. They've been looking through the internet for transportation and accommodation options to be able to travel and stay in Wausau, Wisconsin where they can save the most money. Aside from that, they also had to bring some gadgets, maps and other tools they needed for investigation. Not to mention they needed to prepare for their basic needs, like food, personal expenses and weapons for fighting, and some extra medical supplies in case they got injured during the middle of the mission.Fortunately, Seth managed to convince their parents to give them some money to support their mission. It was never a problem reaching out to their parents for support as they loved their children more than the authority. But the hardest part was to give some support to them, without the Authority knowing. It was hard when all of their personal savings, accounts, assets and pr