Chapter 372: Skies To The South, A Person Called Home

[FROLO]

Katya knew he wouldn’t get out of work. Not yet.

And four o’clock was way too far, not to mention the fact that he wasn’t sure if Sergei was busy or not.

He’d never tried to reach out to Sergei really, because up until Saturday, it had just been them sharing breakfast and going about the rest of their day. Communication on phones was almost nonexistent, really.

Yet for the first time. Hours after the near meltdown from Greg, Katya excused himself. He’d just finished the project data and was taking an expected ten-minute break.

That was enough.

Ten minutes.

The omega went to the washroom for a breather. He needed to make that call because Katya had seen the video everyone had seen.

And while Frolo was swooning over the lovesick alpha who was so whipped and didn’t seem to care about the murders, Katya noticed something else.

Sergei had been hurt.

Not once.

Not twice.

He’d watched those blows an unhealthy amount of times. And he hadn’t felt any of it. Not even the cut that people were talking about.

And Katya stared at his reflection in the mirror, the reality of the true mate bond, something that he, along with every child in Frolo, had been taught in schools right beside the syllabus of the devil of Frolo.

He should have felt the pain. Should have shared the agony.

Yet he’d felt nothing.

And Katya felt his tears pooling.

Wiping them angrily, the omega dialed the one person who could offer him an explanation.

Katya didn’t do a voice call.

He made a video call.

He needed to see. Needed to understand. Needed some clarity because this was just not okay.

The phone rang once, twice... Thrice.

Sergei didn’t pick.

Of course, Katya had suspected that. Maybe he was busy. Maybe he was sleeping off the injuries and the effects of that fight. But Katya needed to see his alpha.

Then again, he still had half an hour left for work, and he didn’t know what to do. How to go about this. So, he stepped out of the washroom and went to the one office in the building that could at least give him a solution.

The security office.

Svet and Andrew had just returned for the Hercules camp. They’d barely settled in when Katya walked in, eyes almost red, worry written all over his face as he looked around frantically for them.

"Over here, Romanov," Svet shouted, bringing their friend’s attention to them.

And of course, Katya hurried to where they were. Then they went into the private office on the floor. He had far more important things to do.

"You’re worried about him, aren’t you?" Andre pointed out before Katya could even say a word.

And Katya... Too overwhelmed to even express himself, nodded. He didn’t trust himself to stay composed. Because everything else was too much.

He was feeling a lot of things.

Anger for Sergei getting attacked. Jealousy for the way the city was discussing his boyfriend. Possessiveness for the way everyone thought they knew their relationship. And an unexplained rage for the way people were dissecting Sergei’s intentions with him.

He was losing his mind, and he was terrified at the same time. Katya didn’t even know why, and fuck if he did want to know.

He needed to be sane.

There was only so much he could pretend to be okay at work before he snapped at someone who didn’t deserve his anger or anything.

"He’s a warrior, Romanov. That is what happens in war," Svet explained softly as she gave him a glass of water.

"They had katanas, Svet. All of them. They... They wanted to kill him, and he just..." Katya rambled, his words coming out in bits that broke his own heart.

"He’s fine," Svet tried, and Andre dialed a number, putting it on loudspeaker for Katya to hear.

"Wassup, Stepanov?" Yaroslav asked on the other end of the call.

"Could you tell your fossil of a father to actually put to use his smartphone?" Andre said flatly, and Yaroslav snorted at the idea.

"He went back to the damn flip phone again. Your fault for torturing him with social media," Yaros teased as he walked, like he was heading somewhere.

"Well, social media will be the least of his torture if he doesn’t turn that shit back on. Tell him to call Romanov ASAP or we—" Andre said, but Yaros paused.

"Oh shit... Okay, give me a moment," Yaroslav said before he was heard pushing open a door.

"Father, where’s the smartphone I gave you?" Yaroslav spoke.

"I hate that thing. I’m never using it again," Sergei huffed stubbornly, and Yaroslav let out a groan.

"Your boyfriend is trying to video call you. He’s worried," Yaroslav said.

"Solnyshka? Alright, alright, get out. I’ll make the call," Sergei said, and true to his word, he made the call five seconds later.

It was indeed a video call.

"Lyubim..." Sergei began when Katya received it.

Svet and Andre stepped out, ending the call with Yaroslav while whispering reassurances to Katya that his boyfriend was alright.

Katya didn’t believe them.

He had seen the videos.

He couldn’t believe that Sergei was okay.

"You... You were hurt. I didn’t know... I didn’t feel anything," Katya said as his tears finally let go.

He didn’t have to hold it in anymore.

"I’m fine, Solnyshka... Really fine," Sergei said, and Katya just stared at him, eyes still sad and lips trembling as he tried to keep his composure.

"No, you’re not. They had katanas and you..." Katya cried softly.

"Lyubim... look," Sergei said, making Katya wonder what he was up to. Then Sergei set his phone on the table against the wall and stepped back into the room as if to show Katya something.

Katya didn’t see shit.

Until Sergei began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Wh... What are you doing?!" Katya screeched, looking behind him nervously.

His boyfriend was mental; what the fuck?

"Vlad—" Katya trailed off as he watched the alpha unbutton his shirt bit by bit, taking his sweet time as if he was in a fucking audition.

Somewhere between unbuttoning his shirt and removing his cufflinks, Katya had even forgotten he was crying.

Instead, he just stared dreamily.

Watched like Sergei was putting on a show for him.

"I wasn’t hurt, Solnyshka... that cut only got me because I was thinking of your lips," Sergei said, and Katya choked on air, even as the alpha moved closer to the camera, his toned body looking unrealistically fine.

"The marks on me aren’t from the katanas, little wolf... You know where they’re from, right?" Sergei laughed as he turned around to show Katya his very, very scratched back.

It looked like he had been fighting a hundred animals.

"That... Th... That is not the point," Katya grumbled, ears and cheeks turning red as a shirtless Sergei took a seat in front of the camera, his phone still in the same position.

"No one will leave a mark on me unless it’s you, my beautiful. I don’t mind showing the city just how perfectly my omega claws at me," Sergei said.

Katya smiled at the thought before he realized Sergei had talked about the city.

"No," Katya snapped.

"Someone doesn’t want to share the art he drew himself? How sweet," Sergei teased.

"I’m going back to work," Katya said, straightening up.

"Alright, lyubim. See you in an hour, my precious artist," the alpha said before blowing kisses to a flustered Katya.

Katya hung up.

And Sergei... he didn’t turn the smartphone off; in fact, he plugged it in to charge.