It was underestimated to say Jace was livid. He was angry and burning. And underneath, he was worried and scared. He was worried about what was happening. About his mate and son. And he was blaming himself that he couldn't be there to protect his mate. He shouldn't have let him go that stupidly. No matter what it looked like, he should have canceled it.
But he wasn't, and now he was facing the consequences.
When Yoongi mind linked him, saying there was an attack on the gala, he was angry.
When Noah's mind linked him asking help, he was scared.
And when he felt Noah's pain through their mating bond, he was terrified.
He knew Noah was a good fighter and could defend himself. Hell, he personally had been spared with his mate and knew how much Noah was capable. But it didn't decrease the worry he had felt.
On the other hand, he knew how ruthless these attackers could be. Especially when they had a hint, they could be hunters, he didn't want his mate to be near them anyway.
Star was howling when Jace ran to the venue of the gala.
It didn't look like a place that held a grand function anymore. There were screams and cries everywhere, mixing with sirens, and shouts. Guards and warriors tried to organize the situation, leading wounded people to medics who arrived with ambulances. The guards were already blocking the place, preventing anyone, especially hysterical alphas, who wanted to know if their mates were safe, from entering the place. Well, the last thing they wanted was to get more people involved.
And the worst thing was the smell of blood. The smell of blood was prominent in the air, overpowering any other aromas making Jace want to throw up.
All the guards cleared the path as Jace appeared.
Well, most people backed away, sensing the murderous aura coming from Jace.
"My King!"
The warriors who stood guarding the door bowed to their king.
"Where is my mate?"
Jace didn't have any patience for anyone else.
"The Queen is still inside." One of the guards answered with a low voice afraid to face the wrath of the king. "But Prince Owen is here."
Then he added quickly, pointing in the direction of the medical bay where Alex, Noah's personal guard, stood trying to console the crying pup.
Jace became a little calmer, seeing that at least his pup was fine.
'Pup is fine. We need to find a mate.' Star said through the mind link. And Jace agreed to it.
"What is going on inside?"
Ryan asked quickly, trying to figure out the situation before going in.
"They are still fighting." The warrior answered, leading them to the guarded double door of the gala hall. "We are trying to get out the remaining trapped people."
Jace was ready to transfer to his wolf form as they entered the hall. But before he could, something had happened.
A sudden, pure energy wave came out of the gala hall, startling everyone. Jace felt it was spreading around the hall, and he didn't need to think twice to recognize the owner of it.
So, he didn't waste any second answering the shocked warriors and ran to the inside gala hall.
As they entered the hall, the scene came into his view was able to freeze him on the spot.
Inside was worse than outside.
The once-celebratory atmosphere transformed into one of chaos and destruction.
Tables, chairs, and decorations fell onto the floor. Once spotless, shiny floors and walls were now covered with red strains. The once pristine tablecloths were trampled underfoot, stained by mud and blood. The crystal chandeliers, once symbols of illumination and beauty, were shattered by the chaos of conflict while the exquisite decorations were trampled underfoot in the heat of attack. The flowers that had once adorned the hall were ruthlessly crushed, their petals scattered like tears across the battlefield.
People were hiding under a fallen table, crying and asking for help. Wounded warriors were lying on the floor with injuries. Among them, there were hooded figures that had fallen to the floor, by hitting divine energy, starting to disappear away like every other dead attackers did.
And in the middle of the room stood a few warriors in wolf form who were still able to fight even with injuries. He could recognize Kara and Yoongi's forms between them.
But Jace's mind didn't focus on any of them. His eyes only focused on the figure who was kneeling at the front of the collapsed wall. His neatly styled silver hair is now stained blood red. His nearly-pressed white suit was also hadn't better.
As Jace took a step forward to reach the figure on the floor, a sudden light beam landed on the room, blinding everyone in the room minutely. Jace wrapped his arm around his own sword, ready to attack any intruder. Then he felt a powerful aura in the room.
As the light and smoke cleared, Jace noticed who that was.
There was a man in the middle of the air with long black hair and golden piercing eyes, with another few people behind him. But that wasn't what caught everyone's attention. The massive pair of midnight black wings spread on the back of the man.
The wings were the deepest shade of black looking like they could be able to absorb all the light around them. However, there was a delicate network of silver trimmings adorned the edges, with silver patterns that resembled celestial constellations reflecting the soft moonlight coming from outside, giving the wings an ethereal glow.
"Oh, it seems we are late." The man spoke. "Or are we coming at a bad time?"
Ryan was the first one to recognize the stranger with wings, even in his dazed state.
"Prince Percival, welcome to earth."
He immediately showed respect by bowing, following by the other warriors.
"Well, it seems like a really bad time." Percival landed on the floor as his huge wings folded behind his back. "Good to finally meet you, King Howarthhorn; I heard a lot about you."
"Well, I am also glad to meet you, Prince Percival, but it is a really bad time. Sorry for my lack of hospitality."
Jace was surprised by the sudden appearance of the Leader of Warriors Angels, but he really didn't have time for that. He had more important things to attend. Without delaying anymore, he reached his mate, now lying on the ground unconscious.
Jace kneeled beside his mate, not minding newcomers. Noah was pale and lifeless. His ivory hair fell around like a halo, enhancing his beauty even in this state. It made Jace's heart ache more.
"Petal, wake up."
Jace took his mate's limp and formed it in his arms, not caring about blood. He felt Star howling as the smell of his mate's blood hit his nose. He could feel eyes on them, but he didn't care about anything at that moment other than his mate.
"Shit!"
He cursed seeing the bleeding wound on his mate's waist.
He didn't waste time and placed one arm under Noah's knees and the other at back, carrying him bridle-style as his head rolled on Jace's chest. He hurried off to the medics leaving stunned guests behind while instructing Rayan to handle the situation and Nathen to show hospitality to their guests.
"My Queen!"
Lena came running when she saw who was in Jace's arms. Jace quickly placed Noah on the stretcher as Lena instructed, allowing them to work on his mate. The fairy girl started to clean Noah's wound, trying to stop bleeding without delay.
Jace stood there clasping his fingers to fist not being able to do anything for his mate. His heart was aching with pain for his mate. He wanted nothing more than to take away all the pain from his mate.
"Daddy!" A shout was able to take Jace's eyes away from the limp body of his mate.
Owen ran towards his father the moment he saw him.
"Daddy."
Owen jumped into Jace's arms, blowing his eyes out. He was scared so much, and he wanted his mommy. He still had his mother's jacket. But it wasn't enough. He wanted fresh jasmine, lilac, lily, and other floral scents.
"Mommy, mommy, where is mommy?"
Owen cried, screaming.
"Shh, your mommy is okay." Jace assured the crying pup, rubbing his hand along his back, and walking away from the medics so Owen didn't catch a glimpse of his unconscious mother. "It's okay. Everything is okay. Daddy is here."
It took lots of assurance and calming pheromones to calm down the crying pup. After a long day of exhaustion, Owen finally fell asleep in Jace's arms. Jace adjusted Noah's jacket around the pup shielding him from the cold wind as he took a few deep breaths of floral mixed with honey vanilla.
"Jace!" A voice called again, catching Jace's attention.
This time, he saw Kara limping in his direction. Her arm was bandaged, and her dress was torn. But other than that, she seemed to be okay. She had Rayan's coat around her, so she wasn't affected much by the cold.
"How is Noah?"
Kara asked as she stood by Jace's side.
"They are still working on him."
Jace replied in a controlled voice. He didn't want to lose himself yet.
"Don't worry, he would be okay." Kara assured him that she knew what was really on his mind. "He is stronger than he shows."
Jace knew his sister was right. But it didn't stop him from worrying.
"How is the situation?"
Jace asked, adjusting Noah's jacket around Owen so the pup wouldn't catch a cold.
"All the attackers disappeared when they realized they couldn't win," Kara replied. "Well, most of them died, and their bodies also disappeared like in previous cases."
"I send warriors to follow the trails left by attackers." Yoongi said coming to where brother and sister stood. Yoongi also had several injuries, but none of them seemed to be serious. "Angels came with Prince Percival also helping."
"Hmm." Jace hummed, glancing around.
There was still crying and screaming among mothers and pups. Rayan instructed warriors to send Lunas and pups to their families safely while medics transported severely injured ones to the hospital.
"What did attackers want?" Jace questioned, looking at the two leaders of warriors at his side. "To kidnap omegas or just simply kill everyone?"
"I think both." Yoongi answered after thinking for a while. "They tried to drag away omegas who couldn't fight or weaken from drugs. But when others tried to stop them, they went for killing."
"Yeah." Kara also agreed. "They didn't seem to expect there would be warriors. Otherwise, they would be successful."
Well, then Jace was grateful they had put in security. But still, what happened was really tragic.
"My King." Jace turned to face Lena, who came out from the medic's hut.
"How is Noah?" Jace's voice filled with worry.
"The queen's condition is stable now." Lina replied. "He had lost some blood, but we stopped bleeding. He is still unconscious, but he will wake up soon. But we found traces of the drug in his blood."
"Drug?" Jace asked with a bad feeling. "Is that the same drug affecting others?"
"Yes, my King." Lena replied. "Queen must have tried to suspend effect with his mana, but still it had weakened him. So he might need some time to gain his full strength."
With that, Lena left with a bow, leaving a very furious king under his two commanders' care.
"But Noah and I didn't drink any wine or champagne." Kara said this with surprise. "How he also drugged."
"Someone must have targeted Noah especially." Colin said as he came from nowhere. He had a tired look on his face with a frown.
"What do you mean?" Jace asked with a dark voice.
"I checked all the left-over food." Colin replied. "We still couldn't identify what the drug was, but it was in wine and champagne. Not in any other food. So, the only way for Noah to get poisoned was if someone deliberately added it to his food. Someone presented in the venue."
Jace clenched his fist, hearing someone had deliberately tried to harm his mate. Owen whimpered, sensing his angry pheromones, so Jace tried to control himself by rubbing Owen's back.
"Do you have any suspects?"
"Not, yet." Colin said. "But I'm going to investigate everyone on the guest list."
"Start with Diana." Kara spatted. "She is the one who organized this. And she had several fights with Noah."
"What?" Jace's eyes narrated. He knew Diana liked to pick fights with Noah, but she went overboard organizing this ball not caring about all warnings.
"Yeah, something happened," Kara said. "You can ask more from Noah later."
"You should take Noah and Owen home." Yoongi said after discussing a few more things about what to do next. "They both need rest."
Jace knew he was right. Now the scene started to calm down as everyone sent messages to their families and transported injured ones to hospital. So Jace agreed with his friend.
"Let me help with Owen so you can take Noah." Coin offered.
Jace handed Owen to Colin. Pup whimpered as he lost contact with his father. But Jace rubbed his hand, assuring Owen he was still there, so Owen calmed down quickly.
Then he went to the medical hut to get his mate. It wasn't hard because Lena pointed in the direction where Noah was as soon as she saw him.
"He might sleep for the whole night." Lena said, removing his saline cannula. "Give him this medicine and make him eat something when he wakes up."
"Thank you." Jace thanked him for putting medicine in his pocket.
"Don't need to thank me, my king." Lena said with a bow. "Queen also did the same for us."
Jace nodded and picked up his sleeping mate gently. Noah wasn't pale like before, but he still seemed weak. Jace hated to see his mate like this. He carefully walked out with Noah in his arms.
"I heard Taehyun at yours." Colin asked, handing Owen to Jace after Jace settled into the backseat of his car with Noah's head on his lap. "Can you let him stay there for the night?"
"Of course." Jace agreed. He was actually glad when Taehyun offered to stay with the kids when he got the news about the attack. "You also should get some rest and don't overwork."
"Yes, my King." Colin said with a smile. "Now go home and put your babies to bed."
With a final wave to Colin Jace's driver, Mike started to smoothly ride back. The whole car was silent except for the soothing sound of breathing of his two sleeping companions. Jace felt for the first time after hearing the news of the attack he could just relax. The attack was really bad. But he was really glad two of the most important people in his life were safe and sound with him now. He absent-mindedly ran his fingers through the soft ivory locks on his lap staring at the silent night they were passing by.
The ride home didn't take much time because there weren't many vehicles at night. So before he knew Mike was pulling the car to the familiar driveway.
"How is he?"
Taehyun ran following Levi and Kayden as the car stopped in front of the door. Jace mind linked and already had informed them what had happened.
"Mama, is he okay?"
Both Kayden and Levi asked, not allowing Jace to take a breath as he opened the door.
"He is okay." Jace assured. "Levi, can you help with Owen, please?"
"Sure dad." Levi took his sleeping brother from his father's arms so Jace could carry his mate.
Jace carried Noah to their bedroom so he could put him to bed. There he saw the sight of three sleeping pups curling around each other on Noah's side of the bed in omega's nest.
"They are only able to sleep there." Taehyun slided out blankets from the other side of the bed so Jace could put Noah on the bed.
"It's okay; they're all going to end up here today anyway." Jace adjusted Noah into a comfortable position without disturbing the nest. "Can you prepare some warm water? I need to change Noah's clothes."
After a few minutes, Taehyun bought some warm water and towels so Jace could change Noah's clothes and leave them alone, giving them privacy.
Jace quickly whipped away all the bloodstains on Noah's skin and hair. Then he changed him into comfortable pajamas and covered him with omega's favorite blanket. It didn't take much time for the three pups to attach themselves to his side, sensing their mother's presence. It was a good thing it wasn't the side he got hurt on. With a slight smile, he went out of the room.
"Do you need some coffee?" Taehyun offered as Jace walked to the living room.
"Thanks." Jace grabbed coffee and sat on a stool at the counter beside the other. Kayden and Levi didn't seem to be there, so he assumed they were in bed.
"Kayden and Levi went to sleep." Taehyun provided knowing what was on alpha's mind. "I also put Owen to bed."
"Thanks." Jace gulped the bitter liquid in his mug. "You should also go to bed. Colin asked you to stay here."
"He told me." Taehyun washed his mug after finishing coffee. "Okay, I'm also going to bed. You also should sleep, don't stay awake."
"Hmm..." Jace hummed while taking another sip.
He sat there alone, finishing his own coffee. Even before he went to bed, he knew he couldn't sleep now. The hurt image of his mate wasn't going away. So, he washed the mug and went to the ground floor, where their private gym was located.
He needed to lose some energy.
So, for the next few hours, Jace spent punching the sandbag. Well, it took five good sandbags to get destroyed, so finally Star was able to calm down somehow, and he got completely exhausted.
He sprawled on the floor, throwing away his gloves and panting hard.
He stared at the ceiling, trying to get his breathing under control.
As he stared at the patterns on the ceiling, he couldn't help but think about the time he spent with his mate. His thoughts started to wonder the evening he spoke with his angel for the first time.
***
As the golden rays of the setting sun cast a warm and ethereal glow upon the garden, shining on beautiful colored petals, The scent of blooming flowers hung in the air, and the gentle murmur of a nearby fountain provided a soothing background melody. But none of those scents reached the alpha.
How was he ever able to find something more alluring or sweet than the flower beside him? He would never. He could feel Star running around cycles in his mind with delight, like a small pup. He wasn't any different. His hands itched to grab and feel the skin to know if it was as soft as seemed.
"Hello."
Jace was finally able to find out his words, putting his hands into his pockets before doing something stupid.
A head that had been taking in the beauty of the world around them snapped him instantly with wide eyes. Their eyes caught each other for a moment, and Jace once again felt like the whole world had stopped on those two orbs that were shining with different shades of blue.
"Hi."
Omega's voice was like velvet and honey and made Jace's heart tingle with a strange feeling. A beautiful pink blush crept on the smaller boy's cheeks, making him more allure as he instantly ducked his head with shyness.
The peaceful silence spread between them as both of them didn't know what to say.
Jace wanted to open his mouth and ask lots of questions. He wanted to know everything about this angelic omega. But he couldn't. Jace wasn't usually shy around omegas. Hell, he had been the one omegas chased always. But this wasn't any other omega. His fiancé. His destined mate. The other part of his soul.
He didn't want to ever give a bad impression or mess this around.
He tried to search for something to say, but he didn't come up with anything. But then his fingers touched something in his pocket. A square-shaped box. Oh, Jace then remembered what it was.
He slowly took out the small box and cleared his throat nervously. Really, the great alpha king was nervous. If his friends saw him like that, they were going to roll over the floor.
"Mmm. I have something for you."
The ivory-haired boy's eyes widened in surprise. He first stared at Jace's face before his eyes moved to the box on his palm.
"Me?"
His voice filled with absolute surprise.
"It's a courting gift." Jace said. "It is a family heirloom. Our family has a tradition of giving this to every queen as a first courting gift."
That was why this box was in his pocket in the first place. His mother intended for him to give it to his fiancé. Well, he didn't like that idea at first. But now it had completely changed. Jace noticed how the other boy's floral aroma spiked with nerves as his eyes winged more. But Jace gave him a reassuring smile, extending the box towards the angel.
"Here, it's just an old style. But I will give you my own courting gift soon."
That was the first thing Jace was going to do tonight. He desired this beautiful omega with his own coating gift that he personally selected. Star agreed with him and was already starting to prepare the whole list of coating gifts.
Noah reached up his hands to accept the box, still shy. When he took the box from Jace, suddenly his fingers brushed lightly against each other. Jace suddenly felt a jolt of electricity course through their veins, sending thousands of sparks coursing through their bodies. It was as if the universe itself conspired to bring them together. The sensation was both thrilling and comforting, confirmation of the deep, unspoken bond that had drawn them together.
It was like the whole world had stopped, and new stars sparkled around them so suddenly.
Jace couldn't move an inch. Neither seemed omega. Their eyes met once again as they stared at each other. He could see the pool of liquid amber swirling in the deep ocean. The world around them seemed to blur, leaving only the two of them standing there, locked in a timeless embrace.
It was so eutrophic. He never wanted to let go of the hand he was holding.
Their fingers lingered, reluctant to break the spell they had woven. But eventually, Noah took his hand back, carefully opening the box. When he saw what was inside, his eyes widened more, sparkling with joy.
It was an elegant brooch pin. Crafted from polished silver, the brooch was adorned with intricate filigree work that resembled delicate lace. Nestled in the heart of the brooch were three amber stones, each capturing the essence of a warm and golden sunset. The amber stones were a rich, honeyed hue, and they seemed to glow from within, casting a gentle, golden radiance around them. Each stone was unique, with its own pattern of inclusions, like ancient secrets trapped within the translucent resin. They were as if drops of sunlight had been captured and frozen in time. It twinkled in the fading light, its beauty mirroring the twinkle in the angel's eyes.
"Do you like it?"
Jace asked in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the tranquility around them. He didn't know why, but this moment felt magical.
"Yes. It's beautiful."
Omega looked up at Jace, his eyes glistening with emotions as the corner of his lips curled to a beautiful smile, his eyes turning into beautiful crescents.
Jace's breath hitched in his throat as he stared at the gorgeous creature in front of him. At that moment, he swore he would do anything to keep that smile on that angelic face. There was no need for words. He didn't care; it had only been a few minutes since he met this boy. But one thing was sure. He was deeply, madly falling in love with this angel.
"Thank you."
The sweet voice wafted around the air with a fragrance of white flowers blooming around him, filling with the air of their blooming love.
"Anytime, Petal."
The name slipped from him automatically, like he had been calling him like that thousands of times. It all feels natural. Soft sandalwood and the warmth of fire mixed on the floral symphony, igniting the sparks of love between the star-crossed mates. The evening continued to burn brightly, illuminating their path as they embarked on a journey of shared dreams and endless devotion.