Broken Bond: Between Vices and Virtues (BL)
Chapter 134: Azrael’s declaration

Chapter 134: Azrael’s declaration

Aresh was stunned. He didn’t expect Knoa to throw himself at him. He dared to hug back the kid, but his open arms froze midway after glimpsing at the darkened face of his alpha father. Aresh was confused and a bit saddened. It did seem that the man disliked him.

He quickly averted his gaze and just waited until Knoa let him go. A minute later, the kid pushed himself away and looked at Aresh admirably, "Brother! How did you do it? Teach me! Teach me! So, every time my toys get ripped, I can fix them."

"I can do that too, Knoa," a deep voice came from behind the kid. Knoa looked back and he was greeted by sulking grey eyes and arms claiming him up. "I can even sew talkative mouths and—ugh, I mean mufflers..."

Rian stifled a laugh seeing Knox stomped on Azrael’s foot.

Ragel just shook his head and looked away. He was glad that Knoa wasn’t like him whose other parent was missing, yet his chest felt heavy, for an unknown reason.

He sighed and crouched before Aresh, ruffling his head. The kid was isolated from the other kids, so every time Ragel would visit, he’d make sure to play with him, branding him as unfair and having a favorite.

"Are you alright?" Ragel asked.

Aresh nodded, "It’s just some bruises. It’s not painful at all."

Ragel’s heart ached. How could the child say it like that? He could see bruises on his arms caused by nails and reddened marks from slaps. Pol was a kid but a lot bigger than Aresh, so it’s understandable that the smaller one would obtain more wounds. But because abusive parents raised the child before he came into possession of the orphanage, those bruises must have felt like just an ant bite to him.

Moreover, he was isolated from other kids, but despite suffering at the hands of adults, he preferred talking with them to playing with the kids. Maybe he was too mature for his age that he could already use a needle and thread skillfully.

Ragel gently took Aresh’s arm and carefully examined them as he spoke, "How could it not be painful? They must sting a lot. Did someone put an ointment on them already?"

Aresh timidly nodded his head. Even after more than a year of living there, he still wasn’t used to receiving care and affection from strangers. He was eager to fix the toy because he didn’t want to upset Knoa’s father. He simply stole a glance at the kind-looking guy and when his amber eyes met those green eyes, Aresh blushed and averted his gaze right away.

Seeing this, Knox was baffled. He wondered, ’Does the kid dislike me?’ However, when Rian giggled and caught his attention, the guy mouthed to him, ’I think he has a crush on you.’

Knox raised his brows and glanced at Aresh again, noticing his flustered face. ’Is it because I caught him when he almost fell and gave him a gift?’

Ragel checked the kid’s other arm, "Pol is bigger than you, you shouldn’t have pushed him, and just called an adult to take care of the matters—

"But brother Aresh didn’t push Pol..." Knoa mumbled, cutting off Ragel. He looked up at his sulking father and fluttered his eyelids, as though telling Azrael that Aresh isn’t a bad kid. "I don’t want to give Mini Loki to Pol, and brother Aresh stopped him from taking it. Pol didn’t want to let go, so brother Aresh did because he didn’t want my Loki to rip. I saw it."

"Ah, so he just fell on his own when little Aresh let go without warning. So, that’s how it was. The other kids said that Aresh pushed them though," Rian remarked, nodding his head in understanding. He didn’t mean anything by that so when Aresh blurted out proving his point, he was a bit surprised.

Aresh, "That’s because they don’t like me! I don’t like them either. All they did was giggle foolishly while making their toys talk with each other, and they would fight over petty things that didn’t even matter! They also cry when they are at fault, like they are the victims!"

The four adults were speechless. A minute later, the silence was broken by a peal of humorous laughter coming from Rian. His head was whipped back and his arm was on his stomach. He wiped his eyes and in a shaky voice, he commented, "You’re exactly like Azrael when he was a kid! Ahahahahaha. That mature attitude yet childish perspective! Hold up, maybe—

"Don’t fu—plan to ever continue that, I’m warning you," Azrael widened his eyes at Rian, baring his fangs at him. Rian covered his mouth and awkwardly looked away from him and Knox.

Azrael nervously glanced at Knox who went silent since earlier. His face was blank, making Azrael gulp in nervousness. At that moment, he cursed himself for living promiscuously before meeting the omega.

Ragel noticed the tense air and explained, "Aresh’s parents are...still alive. One was behind bars, and the other ran away after abandoning him here." He picked the six-year-old kid from the ground and stood, carrying him in his arms.

Knox muttered, "Is it okay to say that..." he was worried, the kid was listening to them after all.

Aresh just smiled subtly, "It’s okay, sir Knox. I know it already anyway. Before my mother left me, the police took my father away. I know the police are working to put bad people behind bars. I saw it on TV. And Mama said she’d come back for me, but after counting more than a hundred fingers, she still didn’t come."

Azrael responded, "You’re an amazing kid, then. You know what’s wrong and right, you grew up well even without the guidance of your parents. For stopping that annoying kid from taking my son’s toy, and for fixing it, thank you." He pulled Knox to him and draped his arm on his shoulders, then he continued with a smug look on his face, erasing the sincerity he had earlier, he declared, "But these two are mine. Mine. Got it?"

Knox wondered if Azrael grew up just like how he mentioned Aresh. He spoke as if he experienced the same. He wanted to know more about him, Knox pondered. But then his thoughts were erased when he proudly claimed him and Knoa and showed off to a kid.

He raised his hand and pinched Azrael’s waist. The latter looked down at him and just impishly smiled.

Knox came to realize, that perhaps, behind those dangerous glares, devious smirks, and bloodied hands, there was still a child hiding from the harshness of the environment he grew up in, forced to mature quickly, yet still waiting to be discovered.

His arm wrapped around the alpha’s waist, and then he answered that impish smile with a loving one as he swore to embrace no matter what was hiding behind that devilish mask.

However, not everyone can easily accept a man whose roots are blackened and rotten. Anything that sprouts from a wicked root, won’t be as different from it, from other people’s perspective. So, Althea was immensely troubled about what to do after learning that hard truth.

’I’m not going to raise my child without his father, Althea. And I’m not doing this just for Knoa’s sake. It’s for me as well. I love him already. I don’t think I’d be the same if he’s gone. Please, sister, give us time.’

Knox’s words played in her head again and again. What conflicted her more was the fact that her younger brother did not ask her to keep this information from their father.

’He only asked me to give him time. He wants me to hold off telling Dad. Does he plan to announce it himself? Still, Knoa is...ah, I couldn’t believe it,’ Althea paused as she pondered. For someone who had loved and failed to keep that love, all she wanted was for her younger brothers to succeed, unlike her who was left shattered and unable to move on.

But Knox trod a difficult path to success. It’s like he was walking on a single plank that will only lead him to the edge of the ship, with the cold and deep waters underneath, bound to drown him entirely and lose himself if he ever made a slight slip.

"Thea, dear, is something the matter?" an elegant and soft-spoken voice reached Althea’s ears, pulling her back into reality.

She blinked and took a deep breath before looking up at the woman who called her. She was her mother, Geraldine Horace, a socialite active in the high society back in their home country. A dominant alpha like her father; she has a smooth forehead, full perky cheeks, a symmetric nose, wide and full lips, and deep and expressive yet scrutinizing amber eyes. Her waist-length chestnut-colored hair was styled in a crown braid, making her look way younger than her age.

She has a round face that pairs perfectly well with her features, giving off a gentler vibe if her eyes are closed because when those amber eyes gaze, it could make anyone quiver as though their deepest secrets were being discovered.

One of the reasons why Knox never felt comfortable around her. Aside from getting looked down upon for getting born from the womb of a recessive and home-wrecking omega, she deemed Knox exactly like his omega father. Moreso after learning about Knoa.

It made Knox wonder if the hatred and contempt would have been less intense if his other father was another dominant alpha.

Althea faked a smile, one that she mastered after her divorce. She said afterward, "Everything’s fine, Mother. I just remembered something insignificant."

Geraldine narrowed her eyes. Althea didn’t evade her gaze, which then made her mother convinced. She caught Anton looking at her, and she just threw him a quizzical look, who then raised his brows before looking away.

The four of them continued talking about business as usual. Althea furtively glanced at his unsuspecting father before focusing on her food. She decided to give Knox time. She only wished that Knox would tell them soon before their father learned it himself.