Chapter 27 #2
“But you got stabbed because of me,” Ottis said, hunching his shoulders. “If I’d just kept my mouth shut, you would’ve been fine.”
A few tears leaked down his face; he swiped them away.
“You didn’t know.” Doc curled his warm hand against Ottis’ nape, squeezing him. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay!”
Doc leaned in, his hand moving up to cup Ottis’ jaw. He tipped Ottis’ face up and brushed away his tears. When Ottis chanced a look up at him, he found Doc much closer than he thought.
Doc closed the distance between them, pressing a soft kiss to Ottis’ lips.
“It’s really okay,” Doc murmured. “You didn’t do that intentionally. I should’ve discussed it with you beforehand, but it wasn’t something that occurred to me. If anything, it was my fault.”
Ottis frowned. Doc kissed him again, light and chaste.
“Sit tight,” Doc said. “Hijinks will help me, and I should heal without much issue.”
“Okay,” Ottis said uncertainly.
He followed Doc and Hijinks to the living room couch, watching closely as Hijinks cleaned and stitched up Doc’s wounds.
“Just how bad were your brothers’ injuries?” Doc huffed. “You haven’t batted an eyelid at this. Have you stitched them up as well?”
“Yeah. They let me practice on them, and when the wounds didn’t heal perfectly, they were especially proud.” Ottis rolled his eyes. “Alphas.”
“Alphas,” Doc agreed, his mouth curving.
“How can you say that, when you’re an alpha too?”
“It’s precisely because I’m an alpha, that I can mock my own gender, sweetheart.” Doc grinned.
Ottis finally cracked a smile. Then it faded. “Well, I guess my skills might come in handy if you’re at work, and the pups get into scrapes.”
“I could teach you first aid,” Doc said. “Things you don’t already know.”
Ottis didn’t like to think about his pups hurting themselves. But it was inevitable; he had gotten into plenty of scrapes himself, as a pup. “Hopefully they won’t get too hurt.”
“We’ll teach them to be careful,” Doc said.
This was them planning for the future, Ottis realized. For when the pups were old enough to get into scrapes. That was... a lot of time they would be spending together. His heart skipped.
Doc glanced at Ottis’ chest, then his face. “Good thoughts?”
“Maybe.” Warmth flooded Ottis’ cheeks.
Doc smiled and reached over, tangling their fingers together.
Before they could say anything else, a car engine rumbled just beyond the iron gate.
“That’ll be Zenith and Yaeger,” Hijinks said. “Bruiser too.” He pulled out his phone and used an app to unlock the gate.
“What the hell happened here?” Bruiser’s voice rang out as the car headed up the driveway. “Is that cum?”
“If it is, then that’s a lot of cum,” said Zenith’s voice. “How the hell did Doc manage it? His balls aren’t that big.”
Ottis choked on his laugh. Doc frowned, but his lips were curled up at the corners too.
“Do you want your mask back on?” Ottis asked suddenly. Doc always wore a mask around everyone.
Doc chewed on his lower lip. “I... I suppose I don’t need it. You’re the one I was afraid of chasing off.”
Ottis squeezed Doc’s hand, his chest tight. “I’m not running away.”
“Yeah?” Doc’s smile spread through his entire face. He looked younger like this, hopeful and perfect.
“Yeah,” Ottis said.
Doc drew Ottis close and kissed his knuckles. It felt... different, watching Doc’s scars against his own skin. It made everything more real.
They looked up when car doors slammed. Footsteps headed up the front steps.
“I’ll get the door,” Ottis offered.
“Thanks,” Doc said. He took his time releasing Ottis’ fingers, though.
At the front door, Doc’s alpha friends towered over Ottis, taking up the entire doorway. Ottis recognized Zenith and Bruiser, but the third alpha was new to him. That had to be Yaeger.
“Thanks for coming to help,” Ottis blurted. “That was my ex causing all the problems.”
“Yeah, we’ve been dealing with those lately,” Bruiser said. “Whatever my jerk friends might say, this love thing sounds like a pain in the ass.”
Zenith shot Bruiser a pointed look. Bruiser elbowed him. Yaeger snickered.
“Just wait ‘til you have your very own omega,” Yaeger said. “You’ll move Heaven and Earth for him.”
“Yeah, right,” Bruiser muttered.
“I kidnapped mine,” Yaeger said, puffing out his chest. “Consensually.”
Ottis choked on his spit.
“It appears that this consensual kidnapping thing has been going around,” Doc said from the living room.
“Well, I started it. Y’all copied me,” Yaeger said.
The three alphas followed Ottis into the mansion, to where Doc was still being patched up. They froze when they saw Doc.
“So that’s what’s under the mask,” Yaeger said. “That’s some badge of honor.”
Had they never seen his face, either? Suddenly, it felt very important that Doc had shown Ottis his face first.
“Thanks,” Doc said with a crooked smile. He caught Ottis’ hand and drew him closer, slipping his fingers under Ottis’ shirt to rub his belly. “I haven’t asked. Are you and the pup okay?”
Ottis nodded. “We didn’t get hit or anything.”
“Pup?” Bruiser said, shocked. “You knocked him up?”
Doc’s smile widened. “So what if I did?”
“Congrats,” Yaeger said. “More dragonets for everyone!”
“I’m envious,” Zenith murmured.
“Ugh,” Bruiser said. “Why do you guys keep knocking up omegas? It’s as though there’s something in the water.”
Ottis sighed. “Why does everyone blame the water? Or is that a new word for cum?”
Doc snorted.
“Speaking of, what’s with the lakes of cum out there?” Zenith asked, plucking out his notebook and pen.
Doc sighed. “Cock cannon. Hijinks and I invented it. It proved to be useful today.”
“Cock cannon?” Yaeger perked up.
Bruiser wrinkled his nose. “Was that your cum or...?”
“No. It’s a synthetic mixture for blasting away and securing threats,” Doc said. “I’ll show you the setup later. Feel free to build it in your own lairs too.”
“Sweet,” Yaeger said. “I live in a penthouse, so I’ll probably need a different consistency of cum. The one you have looks really thick.”
“Definitely not for firing in town,” Doc agreed. “Come to think of it, I should show the cannon to Uriel too.”
Bruiser stiffened and glanced around. “He’s here?”
Doc shot him a flat look. “He’ll be here soon. I don’t want to hear a word about Uriel from you, unless you can repair hedges and magical boundaries.”
Bruiser narrowed his eyes. “Fine.”
When Ottis peeked, he found Zenith scribbling in his notebook again. He exchanged a look with Doc; they shared a secret grin.
“How about this,” Doc said. “I’ll have Cook whip up a quick meal as thanks for showing up. I’ll show you all the cock cannon too, and then y’all can leave.”
Zenith raised his eyebrows. “In a hurry to get rid of us?”
“Well, yeah. I need to remind Ottis who he belongs to.”
Ottis scowled. “You have a hole in your side!”
But Doc only grinned. “There are ways to solve our problems, you know.”
“Like what?”
“I’ll let you keep guessing.”