Painting the Sky (M×M)

Chapter 12: Who?

Noah cracked his eyes open only to wince and hiss out in pain. what happened? It felt like he had run over a truck. He groaned, reaching for his head, hoping to ease some of pain.

"Oh, baby."

A voice called as warm fingers reached out to massage his scalp.

He let out a relieved breath, leaning against the hand and closing his eyes tighter. The scent of rich sandalwood washed over him. It enveloped him drowning in it. He didn't know how long he had laid there while whether those fingers continued to massage his scalp. But slowly, his headache started to fade away.

"Petal, are you okay?"

The most soothing voice in the world reached him.

"Mmm.."

Noah risked opening his eyes again. His vision was blurred, and he blinked several times to clear it. He was in his bedroom. Jasmine, apple, sandalwood, cinnamon, ginger, mint, eucalyptus, rain, and milky vanilla washed over him, relaxing him further. Wow, this must be heaven. His omega purred happily.

"You seemed okay." A laugh echoed beside him.

Then his eyes turned to the handsome figure who sat by his side. Jace's hair was still wet, indicating he had just come out of the shower. Even though there were dark circles under his eyes, there was a bright smile on alpha's face. And he was wearing denim and a black shirt with the first three buttons undone, leaving his perfect chest open. Noah gulped. How can his mate always be so handsome?

Jace smirked, knowing exactly what caught omega's eyes. He learned to press his lips on those soft ones gently.

"There are still pups on the bed, dear."

His smirking widened as Noah's eyes widened. Noah turned to the side to find six pups sleeping on the other side of the bed snuggling together. How could he have missed them before?

Esmin was curled around his neck, attaching to his scent gland, while Owen was curled around his hip. Twins wasn't far behind, pressing him to get more contact. Behind them was Kayden, reaching up with his hand to clench part of Noah's shirt so he could ensure his mother was not going anywhere. And lastly, there was Levi hiding his face in Kayden's fluffy hair while throwing limbs around all of his siblings in a protective manner. It was a good thing they have a big bed that could fit all the pups.

Noah released calming pheromones, increasing his scent in the room, so he could ease the pup's distress. Then the last-night event came to his mind.

"What happened?"

Noah turned his eyes back to alpha beside him.

"You were wounded and had lost blood." Jace explained, slowly stroking his hair. "So, you need some time to get back your strength. And Lena said that you were drugged."

When he mentioned the last thing, Jace's scent spiked. He wasn't going to let this go. Whoever tried to hurt his mate was going to pay.

"Shh... I'm okay."

Noah rubbed his wrist along with Jace's, trying to get his alpha to calm down because he knew exactly where Jace's thoughts were.

"You gave me a scare last night."

Jace's eyes softened as he watched his mate lay on the bed. His hair was a mess around the pillow and dark underneath those alluring cerulean orbs. But still, he was the most beautiful sigh Jace had ever glanced upon.

"I'm sorry."

Noah didn't know what to say after that. He was careful not to get hurt because he hated to see Jace worried about him. But that daman drug caught him off guard.