Fractured Alpha (BxB)

{Thirty Two}

Marble vases of fresh bouquets of lavender were centered on the acacia-wood, picnic tables lining Octavius and Khali's backyard that basked in the faint scent of morning dew. Above the spectrum of tables was a pristine, ivory material that was propped up as a tent, shielding them from the blooming rays of sunlight.

Although the sunlight didn't affect Alessio and Messiah, along with some other werewolves on the guest list, the sunlight drove the vampires into pain.

To prevent them from wearing protective sunglasses the entire time that lessened their vision, Octavius had draped a stretched-out tent over them.

"Alessio, you've made it!" Octavius embraced the Alpha into a haste hug, avoiding him any sort of discomfort.

"Yes, I made it. Uh, where should I set the brownies down?" Slowly, he scanned the wooden surfaces, searching for the perfect spot.

Octavius threw him a grin. "You made brownies?"

Alessio forced a scoff down his throat. "Actually, Messiah made brownies. I'm banished from using the kitchen. All I can make is sandwiches, though."

"Well, thank you, Messiah," he replies smoothly, as he sets the plate of brownies down on an empty table, opposite from the parallel stucture of the picnic tables.

Messiah offers him a soft smile. "You pulled off the structure well," he compliments in a breezy voice. One of his hands was tucked into the pocket of his faded, demin jacket, while the other hand was woven through Alessio's.

"Yes. Khali is a bit of a perfectionist when he has to host. Whenever he planned my birthday, he was exceedingly particular." He playfully rolls his eyes. "It's a talent to put up with him."

Khali slings an arm around Octavius, whilst he ruffles his dark locks with his free hand. "Well, then you can add that to the list of talents on your resume, baby." Octavius floats his wide eyed gaze and smile up to peer at Khali, who had recently dyed his hair a vivid indigo.

His crown, along with the golden ring, covered in diamonds, on Alessio's finger glimmered underneath the lights dangling above them.

"You're thinking about getting a job?" Alessio forces a faux smile onto his face. "In a world of
vampires?"

"Uh, yes," he reveals, "I was thinking about helping out at the daycare. I was good with the pups in our pack. It couldn't be that much of a difference."

Alessio squeezed tightly onto Messiah's hand to prevent himself from firing off a witty remark.

That's it, baby doll, Messiah softly says. Avoid a scene.

"Would you like a drink?" Khali quickly diverts the subject to another topic, hoping to reduce the awkward silence.

"Yes, sir," Messiah responds politely, even though he wasn't sure if Khali was an elder. The mere fact that Khali invited him to his house welcomed politeness in Messiah's opinion. He skimmed over the drinks that paneled the acacia-covered surface before saying, "I'll have a Pepsi."

He hands Messiah a cold can of Pepsi from the cooler. "Okay, what about you, Alessio?"

"Iced, pink lemonade," Messiah and Alessio say in unsion. The soft-spoken tone of Alessio is a blatant contrast to the husky drawl of Messiah.
Khali arches an eyebrow, while he watches the startling coincidence of the pair's voices merge. Alessio's skin washes a rosy pink as a reaction, and Messiah simply smirks.

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The cheery chatters and clink of wine glasses give Alessio a headache, as he nurses his third pink lemonade of the day that gave his lips a glossed appearance. Messiah refused to unlock their fingers, as he speaks softly to a duo of pups: one was perched on his lap and the other was sitting beside him. The color of their skin tones beautifully contrasted the other. With caramel curls and bronze skin, the small pup, whose name was Xeres, resembled his mate, whereas Aijay reflected the sun with sunkissed skin and unruly, golden curls.

"Aijay," Messiah says, "you can't push him down simply because you're able. That's a prime example of toxic masculinity. That achieves little, you know. You should help others up whenever they fall, not hold them into the dirt."

Aijay lowers his gaze to the untied, beat-up sneakers he was wearing. "I'm sorry, Luna Messiah."

"Please, call me Messiah. You don't have to use my title. Do you want me to tie your shoe for you, Aijay?"

Biting down on his pouty, bottom lip, he nods.

Forced to loosen his hand from Alessio's grip, he smiles whenever Alessio loops his tanned arms across his mate's waist instead and leans in to breathe in the sandalwood and cinnamon draping his skin.

Aijay grins up at him as soon as he finishes tying his shoe. "Thank you," he murmurs. "I always confuse over and under."

A half hour later, after Messiah drapes his demin jacket over Aijay, whose curls were sprawled across Messiah's shoulder while he slept, Alessio asks, "How are you so good with children? They really seem to love you."

Messiah, whom was clad in a tight-fitted, black tshirt on the upper half of his body, shrugs. "I assume it's because I'm patient. And I'm not afraid of showing affection, like some Betas are, because my dad was always affectionate towards me as a child and sometimes, he still is. My dad didn't believe that showing that you care about someone made him less of a man. He never failed to be the father I had always aspired to be. You know, my history of patience inspired my dream of being a therapist. Well, that and falling in love with you, baby." Alessio gapes at him, his eyebrows creased. "Hearing about how much you endured, I knew I wanted to major in the field of psychology, so no one else feels like they're alone, especially our own children. I want to rely on more than my title as their parent as a qualification to comfort them."

Awestruck, Alessio flutters his honeyed lashes at him repeatedly, as he lies his head on his free shoulder.

"Did I mention that you are amazing?" Afraid to awake the boy, he prompts the question in a whisper.

"No, actually, I don't believe you have," he replies, in an attempt to persuade Alessio to inflate his ego even more. Alessio pierces him with a glare. "You think I'm amazing? I'm glad to hear that." He emits a loose laugh. "But in all seriousness, you're my inspiration."

"You're so fucking cheesy," he growls out.

He pokes his tongue on the inside of his cheek and offers Alessio a lopsided smile. "Yes, but you love me, anyway."

"I'm not sure about that. You'll have to give me some time to deal with you," he teases. Alessio waltzes his fingers into the obsidian curls of his pouting mate. I love you, his voice of coconut milk trickles into their mind link, and curling Messiah's lips into a face-splitting smile.

They're so damn cute! 🥺🙈 Wasn't Aijay so cute? Xeres wasn't really that active during the scenes (or active at all,) so his personality wasn't shown. Anyway, I can't wait for Alessio and Messiah to have pups of their own, although they won't biologically be theirs (at least pups they would have together.) I'm trying to think of ideas for their names.

I have Maahir and Brahim in mind, but now, I'm thinking about the two of them adopting Xeres or Aijay. But then again, that's a bit of a cliche trope that I have seen in a lot of werewolf books lately.

What do y'all think?