Capítulo 24: Knoa Arden

"Papa…"

Little kisses showered Knox's face as his eyelids fluttered open. He wasn't completely awake yet, but the tiny hands that caressed his face were so cold and wet that his eyes immediately opened wide. Knox hastily sat up and looked beside him.

The little kid lying on his stomach above his pillow was giggling. His hands were dripping with white liquid, and he started to flap like some sea lion having a blast from pranking his father. Knox rubbed his still drowsy eyes and squinted them after, finding out why the little sea lion was rejoicing.

"Knoa!" Knox exclaimed after sizing up the situation. He picked his three-year-old boy whose grin almost reached his ears. His curly, black hair swayed softly from the movement, and his bright green eyes curved like a half-moon. Knox frowned, feigning anger, "What is it this time? Why are you watering my face with milk, hm?"

The innocent boy leaned his head to the back from giggling. Knox shifted his hand to support the boy's nape. Then, while still laughing, cheerful Knoa answered, "Papa, it's not milk! Hehe!"

"What?" Knox sniffed Knoa's hands, they smelled like milk, but his child was trying to prank him so he pretended he didn't know, "What?! What is it then?"

Knoa grinned wickedly and threw his hands up like he was celebrating. Then, he yelled energetically, "Pee!"

Knox gasped dramatically which made Knoa laugh even harder. Where did his child even learn to pull jokes like this?

"Oh, boy! You can't fool Papa. Pee is not white! Come here," Knox brought the kid to his arms and caught his flapping hands. Some drops hit his face and trickled down his lips before he could even wipe them.

He grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and started wiping Knoa's milk-stained face. "What happened? Did you make your milk bottle explode?"

Knoa replied firmly, "I want a bath!"

Knox giggled, "You can't use your milk to bathe. That's for drinking."

The boy frowned, "But Uncle Franz said, Knoa wants to have skin like Papa, Knoa needs to bathe with milk!"

"What?" Knox asked, genuinely surprised. What the hell did Franz teach his child? He wondered. He pinched Knoa's pouting lips lightly and gently answered, "Knoa, don't you like your skin?"

Knoa answered immediately, "But I want to be like Papa!"

Knox sighed. The alpha genes were strong, so Knoa inherited almost everything in Azrael's appearance. Knox has a pale complexion but Azrael is a bit tanned, and Knoa is similar to him. The child's gender hasn't been manifested yet, but he was already certain he was an alpha.

The only feature Knoa got from Knox was the color of his eyes, but even the shape and eyebrows were like that man. Perhaps Knoa kept hearing from people who met them that he didn't resemble his father, and that made the child anxious and confused.

Knox lifted Knoa and kissed him on the tip of his nose. He smiled, "Aw, I'm honored, your little highness, but you have to learn to be grateful for what you have, okay? And you're just as handsome as Papa, so we're alike, right?"

"Are we, Papa?"

Knox bumped his forehead into the child's and widened his eyes, "Of course! Look, we have the same eyes!"

Knoa cackled and shouted, "Yeah!"

"Anyway, why are you pranking Papa so early in the morning, hm? Saying it's pee but it's not! Who taught you that?"

Knoa tilted his head. He looked around, then pointed at the window and replied, "Not morning!"

Knox froze. Not morning? He turned his head to the windows half-covered by the curtains. From the light peeking through the gaps, he thought it was still early in the morning, but upon closer look, the light didn't reach his bed like it usually does. Is the sun already high up in the sky? Knox wondered.

It must have been past eleven in the morning. He gathered Knoa in his arms and stood. "It's still morning, baby, just not early," he corrected. He walked to the bathroom, "Now, let's wash you up. You're sticky all over!"

The boy obediently sat still and let his father wash him. On the other hand, Knox worried that the child was already hungry, but he seemed to be forgetting something. After a while, his eyes widened and he shouted which startled Knoa, "Who made you milk?! Oh! I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to startle you…"

Knoa replied while looking confused, "Uncle Athan!"

Knox sighed in relief. He thought the child had drunk the leftover milk from last night. As soon as he arrived yesterday, Knoa didn't let him go again. Even going to the bathroom became difficult for him.

After Athan took them home, the both of them just played at home until night. He remembered making a formula for Knoa before they went to bed, but due to his exhaustion, he fell asleep even before Knoa finished his milk.

'Oh, Athan…huh, how could that guy enter here?' Knox wondered. He wiped and clothed Knoa, then they went out of the room. Knox smelled the pungent scent of roasted garlic as soon as he stepped out.

He quickly approached the kitchen and there he saw Athan cooking. He noticed them standing by the entrance, so he put down the pan and lowered the heat, "You're awake, thankfully. If you hadn't woke up, I'm really going to throw you in the bathtub."

"What time is it?"

Athan reached for the salt while he answered, "It's noon already. See, I'm cooking lunch."

Knox just rolled his eyes at his sarcastic reply. He pulled a chair and sat, "You should have woken me up."

"I did once as soon as I came. But the little guy slapped my hand and glared at me, saying I shouldn't disturb your rest," he shook his head and looked at Knoa with amusement, "Knoa called me using your phone, demanding me to give him milk. I was speechless."

Knox chuckled. His son was smart and already bossy, "But how did you get in?"

"Hm? Knoa told me the passcode."

"What?!" Knox looked down at the kid on his lap with astonishment. He knew his son was quick to learn, but he could already memorize a mix of six numbers accurately, just from seeing him press them before…? "Knoa, how did you…"

Knoa lifted his head and grinned, "I just told Uncle what Papa always pressed on the door! I remember it! It's my birthday, Papa's birthday, and…other two. Papa, who's birthday is the other two?"

Knox averted his gaze and faked a smile, he answered, "It's just the number of months, baby. Do you remember how many months there are in a year?"

"Yes! Twelve!" Knoa enthusiastically recited all the month's names and Knox clapped after, genuinely surprised and proud of his son. He hugged him tightly and rocked the chair. He looked up and met Athan's suspicious gaze, but he just frowned and pointed at his cooking with his lips, mouthing to finish it quickly because he was already hungry.

Athan just shook his head and continued cooking.

"By the way, will you start working again on Monday?"

Knox swallowed his food before he answered, "Yeah. But I'm still nervous. My work environment changed, as well as my colleagues. I have to start from the beginning again. Plus, I'm not sure if I can handle the work of an executive secretary, Athan. Are you really sure about me?"

The last meeting he attended abroad was his first trip after working under Athan. It has only been two weeks after he and Knoa arrived in that country and Athan sent him away already, much to his dismay and disbelief that rather than attending the meeting himself, he sent his secretary as proxy.

But even after that, he was still skeptical working as his secretary.

"You make it sound like I personally picked you for that position. That sounds unfair to the other employees. You graduated from a prestigious university abroad and worked in a managerial position in one of the companies there.

"You're hardworking, efficient, and yield results from whatever tasks given to you. Honestly, Knox, I would have offered you a higher position in HZ, if only the old man hadn't stopped me. So, don't think you got that position because of me or anyone. You did it yourself. They saw your skills and efforts, so they offered you a promotion."

Athan reassured him, and Knox felt grateful for that. Athan was the one who always stayed at his side after he left the country. He endured his hostile attitude and guarded personality, then he proved that he was someone who could be trusted.

He was there when he was having difficulties during his pregnancies. He helped him juggle being a father and a student, between his work and personal life.

If it wasn't for Athan, Knox couldn't imagine what would have happened to him and his son. After deciding to come back to the country after so long, Athan lent a hand and helped him settle, even though he was against the idea.

Athan knew how hard it was for him during those times when he had to endure his heat alone because his body repels another alpha's scent. At first, he was horrified, thinking that he might have bonded with Azrael that night.

But the doctor confirmed wrong. It wasn't a bond, but a failed attempt that left a broken mark of bonding. Due to that, he was temporarily refusing other alpha's pheromones. Knox felt relief when he heard that, given it has its own advantage, as his pheromones can no longer be smelled by other alphas, meaning he won't be put in danger, and it allows him to work with alphas without worrying about their instincts.

Until he suffered his first heat after pregnancy. It was much more painful than before, much more mentally exhausting, and he felt extremely lonely, as though he was abandoned and neglected. It even came to the point that he considered going back to Azrael, just to fill that intense emptiness he felt inside.

"Knox."

"Papa."

Knox blinked. He lost himself in his thoughts that he didn't notice Athan was leaving already. Knoa stood from his lap and cupped his cheeks. Maybe he noticed the change in his mood, so he planted small kisses on his face.

Knox smiled softly and rubbed their nose against each other. He looked at Athan, "Leave the dishes. I'll wash them later."

Athan nodded. He pushed Knox by the shoulders to the seat after seeing him standing, "Alright. You don't have to walk me out."

"Okay."

Athan smiled. He bent down and rained kisses over Knoa's face which earned squeals from the child. Then, he planted a soft kiss on Knox's forehead and whispered, "Welcome back."