Everything was a blur after that. He almost did not register the kiss Wade gave him at the ceremony. He looked at him shocked after, but Wade only caressed the apple of his cheeks gently before averting his gaze. His expression doesn’t give away anything he felt. His scent too, it remains neutral. He wonders how the man can remain calm.
They posed for the cameras, accepted tons of congratulatory messages from different businessmen present before they finally managed to get in the car that would take them to the reception.
His scent remained anxious the entire ride, the driver giving them curious looks nonstop that Wade even lowly growled at him in irritation.
The reception is a noisy affair. Different businessmen and family friends approached them, giving their congratulations once again. Klyde lost track of time as he quietly downed glasses after glasses of wine continuously. Wade was talking to a business partner, he introduced him earlier, before he noticed the drunk state of his husband.
Wade’s arms circled his waist making him tense up. Even in his drunken state, he feels his hot breath fanning on his left cheek. His scent smells amazing to Klyde right now. The combination of rain water and coffee lulling him into a sleepier state.
“You should control yourself. You don’t want your face to appear wasted on tabloids tomorrow. Right Mr. Taylor? Or do you prefer Mr. Curtis now, huh?”
He wonders how they look to the media right now. With how close Wade is holding him, he’s sure they look like the perfect couple they all think they are.
Klyde shook his head in attempt to wake himself up but he is really too drunk. He heard Wade’s displeased hum under his breath, his hold on his waist tightening for a fraction before he slowly let go. He took the glass of champagne from Klyde’s hand, carefully placed it on their table.
“That’s enough.”
Wade signaled for a waiter and asked for a glass of water. When it arrived, he placed it in front of Klyde who carefully sipped on it for the rest of the night.
Wade faced him again after a while.
“Let’s go.”
He looked at him, startled. Go where?
“Where?” he asked.
“To my house, obviously,” Wade replied, his signature passive expression present on his face.
“Why?”
“You want them to see us leave separately?”
Right. They should leave together if they want this to be believable. He thinks they would be living together too. He hopes all this effort would pay off.
Klyde slowly stood up, unsteady on his feet because of how drunk he is. Wade placed a gentle but firm hand on the small of his back, steadying him.
“Careful.”
They slowly walked out of the reception after Wade gave instructions to his subordinates. They arrived at the parking lot where a luxurious car was waiting for them. There are no other people there but them so he assumes Wade will drive them home. Home, such a big word. He wonders if he could really call it that.
Wade opened the passenger seat for him, assisting him to carefully seat and fasten his seatbelt before closing the door and rounding in front to get to the driver’s seat. The whole ride was quiet. Wade did not bother to start a conversation too which Klyde is thankful for. He doesn’t think he can handle even a small conversation for now. His head is already throbbing, a beginning of a headache already brewing at the back of his head. He quietly looked out the window, watching cars and traffic lights outside.
The car slowed down to a complete halt after a while. They’re inside a dark parking lot. He did not even notice that they arrived already.
Wade’s house is more of a penthouse. He owns the whole building, and there is no one else living there but him. They rode the elevator taking them to the highest floor where his apartment is. The elevator chimed, signaling that they already reached the floor. It opened to a long hallway with a large door at the end. Wade entered the passcode before they both entered. It’s spacious as a lot of penthouses are. Wade’s scent, a mixture of rainwater and coffee permeating in the air but the place does not look very much lived in. It even looks like the apartments seen in magazines. There is no hint of him except for his scent.
“You don’t have your things here yet,” Wade started, he’s standing at the bottom of the stairs of what he assumes will take them to the rooms upstairs. “There are unused toiletries available in the guest room upstairs. I’ll just give you a pair of my pajamas to sleep on for now. I have some unused underwear too. You can get your things from your place tomorrow.”
Klyde doesn’t like the idea of wearing an alpha’s clothes. He doesn’t like the idea of an alpha’s scent clinging onto him, but he doesn’t really have a choice now. He is the one who needs help after all.
Wade climbed the stairs first, leaving him alone in the living room. He sat down on the plush couch. He wonders how the apartment smells of the alpha but the couch doesn’t. He guesses he is like the typical businessmen he’s met before. The kind who sleeps at work and barely goes home.
He threw his head back at the headrest and exhaled. He is really doing this. A whole day has already passed, he already had a literal wedding but everything still feels surreal to him. He stared at the ceiling for God knows how long, vision swimming, before he decided to check out the guest room he’ll be staying in from now on.
He slowly stood up, groaning. He slowly made his way to the stairs. He almost laughed when he reached it. Filthy rich bastards, even the stairs have a carpet. He shook his head and made his way up.
There are only two rooms available upstairs, he finds out. The other obviously the master’s bedroom occupied by Wade, and the other at the far end of the hall, the guest room. He walked straight to it. He opened the door and entered. The room is nothing special, really. It is spacious like the rest of the place, with a queens-sized bed in the middle. A nightstand with a lamp. There’s a big cabinet on the left, the kind with big mirror doors, and a door to the right which he assumes is the bathroom en suite.
He made his way to the bathroom and true to Wade’s words, there is an available set of toiletries, even a towel prepared. He slowly shed his clothing and stood under the warm pour of water in the shower. He took his time, eager to clean the grime and dirt of today. If possible, he hopes even the reality would be washed away with every drop of water grazing his skin too. But he knows he is hoping for the impossible. He worked mechanically. Cleaning his body on muscle memory. He doesn’t know how long he took inside the shower but when he finally went out, his skin is red from scrubbing and a pair of night clothes and underwear are already laid out on the bed. Wade must have left it for him while he was in the shower.
He picked it up and swallowed the bile rising in his throat at the potent smell of alpha coming from it. He let out a shuddering exhale as he worked to dress. He did not bother drying his hair, he just laid on the bed and curled up under the covers. Tears started pouring from his eyes. He closed them, desperately hoping that everything that happened today was just a dream and he will wake up in his own apartment tomorrow like nothing happened.
He knew he was wishing for the impossible but he still felt disappointment tug at him when he woke up in the same room. He sighed before slowly getting up.He expected Wade to be already gone, probably already signing documents after documents in his office. It surprised him to see him sitting on one of the sofas in the living room, sipping coffee. His brows are furrowed while reading a newspaper. He gently placed the cup of coffee on the coffee table, beside a small brown envelope.Wade must have smelled him or sensed his presence, but his eyes drifted to him and he slowly folded the newspaper and placed it beside him on the sofa.“Good. You’re awake,” his voice sounds extra rough in the morning. “Take a seat.”He gestured to the single sofa in front of him. Klyde quietly sat down. He suddenly feels conscious under the man’s gaze. Wade is already dressed in his sm
The board room was quiet when he entered, but he heard some of them audibly gasp when they saw who was walking behind him. He felt a small tug of disappointment, he hates how they are so open about how they don’t really respect him, especially now that his company is in the brink of danger. They were at least trying to be subtle before. But now that they know they all have power over him, they are all showing him outright disrespect. They were all standing up by the time they made their way to the front of the room. Mr. Wong was standing far back, and he has a suspecting look on his face. Klyde roamed his eyes around the room, making sure to meet everyone’s eyes. He wants them to know that he’s not affected by what’s happening. He hopes his front is convincing, because he feels so fucking terrified right now. He has to physically stop himself from fiddling with his fingers because of how nervous he is. His head turned sharply to his left
Wade did not let go of his wrist until they were in the safety of his office once again. The ghost of his touch leaving a warm sensation on his wrist.“That was embarrassing,” Wade started before he turned to look at him; eyes void of emotion. The door of his office clicked shut behind them.“They won’t take you seriously if you continue to act like that. Was that how you built this company? You look weak and afraid all the time.”That, that hit a nerve.Klyde straightened his posture and bravely met his eyes, blood boiling.“You don’t know anything. You don’t know a thing I did to build this company, so don’t talk to me like that,” he spat out; venom in his voice.“Exactly. I don’t know anything. But with how you acted today, how do you think that looked to me?” h
Everything was like a déjà vu. He woke up to the sound of his secretary’s voice calling his name. He didn’t even know he fell asleep. He is hunched on his table, arms on both sides of his head, right hand still holding his pen. His right cheek is squished on his table and he had to hold the papers down as he straightened to sit up. He groaned, eyes squinted as he looked blearily at her, standing in front of his desk. “Yeah?” he yawned. His body feels so heavy. The breath coming out of his nose is warm, too warm. His eyes stings in a way that it does when you have a fever. Fuck, does he have a fever? He stretched his arms above his head, getting rid of the kinks. “It’s past 10 in the evening, Sir. You might want to go home.” He turned his head sharply at that, a bad move. His vision is swimming, the world feels unsteady on his feet even as he sat. He feels like shit. “I’
tw// panic attack, mentions of panic attackHe stared at the note in his hand, contemplating whether he should really go down to eat. Frankly, he doesn’t think he has the stomach to eat as he still feels like shit, refreshed but still shit, even after that shower. But he figures if he wants to recover faster, then he really needs to eat. He sighed. He walked to hang his towel back to its rack, before walking out of his room.Now when the note said there was food downstairs, he kind of expected a take out placed at the kitchen table or counter. Food he can just bring to his room so he can eat peacefully. He definitely did not expect for it to come in the form of Wade Ashton, wearing a black sweater and a pair of grey sweatpants, topped with a baby blue apron.Klyde stopped on his tracks, shocked at the sight that greeted him. This is the first time, ever since they got married, that he saw the alpha in a casual fit,
What he expected to be a one-time thing happened again the next morning, and then the next again, and then the next until waking up to the sight of Wade cooking in the kitchen didn’t look unusual anymore. It’s the fourth day, and now he just automatically slips and perches himself on a stool by the kitchen counter to silently watch him cook. It’s the fourth day of him being absent in the company too, and he’s in constant worry. He wonders how everyone is doing there, what’s happening and their current state. He tried to tell Wade multiple times that he’ll be fine to go to work but the alpha only just looks at him dead in the eye, and it effectively makes him quiet. He huffs every time it happens. He’s also worried for the alpha’s work. He, too, hasn’t been going to his company to work for days now. Isn’t he worried? But then again, he had established his company for years. Wade surely has confidence in his workers, something Klyde lacks, especially now that th
Klyde’s heart is hammering in his chest as he sees the familiar sight of Wade’s building. It’s quite far from his so he had to drive to go there. His hands are sweating on the steering wheel, he took his feet off the pedals of his car as he can’t stop them from fidgeting. He’s been taking deep breathes too, but he can’t seem to calm down.But how is he supposed to calm down, his mind supplies. His husband, contract husband, just called him to inform him that his pack wanted to meet him! How is he supposed to calm down?!Packs aren’t really that common nowadays, but not rare either. Wolves evolved from living in packs to carrying on their own. Packs are not necessarily supposed to be family related; it’s usually just made up of wolves who find deep connections with each other. Klyde never had a pack, his family doesn’t count. So, he’s freaking out with the thought of meeting one toda
The waiter poured them wine as soon as they sat on the table. The chattering of Wade’s packmates is a nice comfort to Klyde. They’re in a nearby restaurant for lunch. The pack insisted on taking them to lunch as a “compensation”—their words, for not telling them about their marriage sooner. Wade tried to escape but his attempts were futile as they quite practically dragged the two of them outside. So now there they are. “Do they have pasta?” Aien asked out loud to no one in particular, he’s scanning the menu. “Of course, they do,” came Kez’s quick reply. He said it with a roll of his eyes.“What kind of restaurant doesn’t serve pasta?” Aien scrunched his nose. “It’s my first time here.” “That’s because you don’t go out of your apartment. Explore the world, pup.” Klyde chuckled at the brothers’ bickering, the rest of the p