"This is not the time for that," Asher cut in, looking at Nikolai intently. "You mean it?"
Nikolai returned the look, "I always mean what I say."
"This isn't because of Angelo, is it?" Asher frowned, noting that Davian stayed out of the conversation, Nikolai had clearly poked a sore spot.
But Davian choosing to step down from his seat as Mafia King hadn't been surprising. The Alpha had only done the bare necessities to keep things running smoothly, not like Nikolai.
Nikolai had bled for everything he built himself, multiple times.
"It's not," Nikolai glanced at Davian, "And I shouldn't have said that," He grumbled, the closest to an apology the other Alpha was ever going to get.
"Face it," Nikolai addressed them both, "I'm the weak link, and now that the High Council is no longer hiding behind pretenses, even if I reclaim my turf, they'll only keep trying."
