Alpha Nox - Forever His

CHAPTER THREE

It had been an hour, but the child still wouldn’t leave Nox’s side. He refused to let Dianne near him unless Nox told him to.

“I’m going to bring the kid home, Dianne,” Nox said and glanced at the boy.

“Are you sure, Alpha?” Dianne asked. “If you’re decided, then I’ll give his prescription to you. He needs to take them for him to get better,” she added.

“Alright,” he said.

“I’ll prepare it, Alpha. You can wait here for a few minutes,” Dianne said.

Nox went to the boy and picked up a toy truck.

“Hey kid, do you want this?” he asked. The boy looked at him and slowly nodded. “I’ll give this to you, but on one condition. Can you tell me your name and how old you are?” he added, as gently as he could. The child paused, thinking carefully about whether to answer Nox or not.

“A-Alexander... I’m s-six years old,” he said.

“Good job, Alexander. Here’s your toy truck,” Nox praised and gave it to him, which Alexander clutched tightly to his chest. “Now, can you tell me the name of your pack?” he added with a smile.

“H-Hound,” he whispered.

“Alright, thank you for telling me, Alexander,” Nox said and ruffled his hair. “Do you think you can tell me what happened to your pack?” he added.

Alexander dropped the truck, and tears began to stream down his face. He looked at Nox, fear written all over him. Without warning, Alexander ran and hid in the corner of the room.

Nox cursed and immediately went after him, trying to calm the child. Dianne entered the room with a plastic bag in her hand.

“Alpha, what happened?” Dianne asked worriedly. Nox carried Alexander in his arms and gently shushed him.

“I’m sorry, I won’t ask again,” Nox whispered. “You’re safe here,” he added. Alexander let out a soft sob, which went on for ten minutes before he finally drifted off to sleep.

“It was my fault,” Nox said with a sigh. “I asked him about his pack and didn’t expect his reaction. I touched a sensitive part of his memory,” he added, walking toward Dianne.

“Let’s avoid pushing him for details, Alpha. It’s still fresh for him. We should let him open up at his own pace,” Dianne said and handed him the bag. “I put all his medicine in there and a detailed schedule for when to take them,” she added.

“Thank you, Dianne,” Nox said.

“No problem, Alpha,” she replied.

Nox left Dianne’s office carrying Alexander, who was sleeping soundly in his arms.

Nox arrived at the packhouse and opened the door. He immediately saw his husband smiling at him, but that smile quickly vanished, replaced by worry when he saw the child in Nox’s arms.

Noah stood up and walked toward Nox.

“Babe…”

“Let me put him in the guest room, baby, and we’ll talk,” Nox said, kissing Noah’s forehead. He immediately walked toward the empty room and carefully laid Alexander down. Nox turned on the AC and covered him with a blanket. Before going out, he took one last glance and closed the door.

“Whose child is that, Nox? And what happened?” Noah asked. Nox sat on the couch and pulled Noah into his lap.

“He’s the one Alex rescued earlier. Two of the children were already dead by the time Alex caught the rogues. They tried to smuggle them, but we don’t know yet where,” he said. “I visited him at the hospital. Dianne has been trying to care for him, but he would only listen to me—and that led to this, baby,” he added.

“Did you kill the rogues?” Noah asked.

“Yes, but I left one alive to find out their motives,” Nox replied.

“Good! They deserved what was coming to them. How could they involve children?!” he exclaimed angrily. “Poor kid,” he whispered. Noah knew what it felt like to be taken away—it was a traumatic experience. And for a little kid to go through all of it? It was horrible.

“His name’s Alexander. I already asked Croxx to find out what happened to the Hound Pack,” Nox said. “Is it okay if he stays here for now, babe?” he added, intertwining their fingers.

“What kind of question is that? Of course Alexander is free to stay here until we find his parents,” Noah said.

“Thank you, baby,” Nox whispered, kissing Noah’s neck.

“I’m sorry, Nox,” Noah said, making Nox pause.

“What are you sorry for?” Nox asked, his forehead creasing.

“I had a nightmare again, right?” Noah whispered. “I’m sorry for being a nuisance to you every single day,” he added, wrapping his arms around Nox.

“Baby, you don’t need to say sorry. I understand what you went through. I should be the one apologizing,” Nox said softly. “It’s because of my incompetence that you ended up in that situation,” he added.

“I love you,” Noah whispered, closing his eyes. In Nox’s arms, he felt safest.

“I love you most,” Nox said. He looked into his husband’s eyes and gently cupped his face. Slowly, he leaned in and captured Noah’s lips in a soft, lingering kiss—one filled with comfort, love, and quiet reassurance.

A few minutes later, Croxx arrived at the packhouse.

“What did you find out?” Nox asked as they sat on the couch in his office, while Noah stayed beside Alexander, who was still sleeping from exhaustion.

“Wiped out,” Croxx said. “They wiped out the pack clean. Nothing remains there now but a pile of ashes. It was a small pack, that’s why,” he added, handing over the photographs of the place.

“So, we have no lead then?” Nox asked, clasping his hands together.

“We have one,” Croxx said. “Unfortunately, dead children were also found in two other packs taken by rogues,” he added, handing Nox another batch of photographs.

“They chose a path they thought was safe to transport the kids, but they were unlucky with ours,” Croxx said.

“What about the rogue we caught?” Nox asked.

“That’s our lead, Alpha,” Croxx replied. “Alex really had a way of making the bastard talk. He said they were planning to take werewolf children to the vampires,” he said, shaking his head.

“Goddamn bloodsuckers,” Nox muttered.

“Call Walter of Black Stone. Tell him we need to talk to Luna Dolly’s vampire friend, Darryl,” he said.

“Okay, Alpha. What else?” Croxx asked.

“Send someone to buy clothes for kids—something that’ll fit Alexander’s size,” he ordered. Croxx nodded and stood up.

“I’ll tell Mara to come,” he said and left Nox’s office.

Nox stared at the photographs on the table.

“What are you planning?” he whispered, holding them.