Chapter 76: Avoiding her

Her fingers moved toward the chain around her neck, and she held it gently for a moment. She loved that chain more than she could explain, and it had become a part of her life. It had protected her countless times, and the thought of giving it away made her heart ache, especially because she didn’t know whether she would ever find something like it again.

However, when she looked at the little boy, she remembered the pain he must have gone through after being bitten. She couldn’t stand the thought of other children suffering the same way simply because their kingdom lacked the power to protect them.

Hazel took a deep breath before carefully removing the chain from her neck.

Everyone turned toward her when she held it out to the Dragon Queen, who stared at the silver chain in complete surprise. She heard how much Hazel loved it, and she had never imagined that the young woman would be willing to give up something so precious for the sake of another race.

"Lady Hazel, are you sure?" the Dragon Queen asked softly, looking at the chain before raising her eyes to Hazel’s face. "I know how important this is to you, and I don’t want you to feel that you have to give it to us."

Hazel smiled and placed the chain in her hands. "I’m sure. Please take it, and use it to protect your people. I don’t want another child to suffer because we couldn’t do anything to help."

The Dragon Queen’s eyes softened, and she bowed respectfully as she accepted the gift. "Thank you, Lady Hazel. We will take good care of it, and we will never forget what you’ve done for us."

Lincoln stepped forward, his earlier sadness disappearing as a grateful smile spread across his face. He looked at Hazel with deep respect, knowing that she had just given his people something that could change their future.

"Thank you, my lady," he said sincerely. "You have just saved the entire Dragon Kingdom."

Hazel blinked in surprise before looking at him. "I thought you wanted to use it to protect the palace."

Lincoln shook his head. "No, we want to use it to protect our entire race. The palace is only one place, but our people live across this kingdom, and we cannot leave them exposed to danger. Rita will help us understand how to use the chain properly, because unlike some of the other races, we don’t have enough magic to protect ourselves from these creatures."

He paused before glancing toward Caius, who had remained unusually quiet throughout the conversation. "Actually, I think your mate has something similar to your chain. It might be made of gold, or perhaps it’s another half of the moon."

Hazel’s eyes widened as she turned toward Caius. She had never heard about a golden chain belonging to him, and the moment she looked at him, she noticed that his expression had changed. He looked bothered by Lincoln’s words, as though the conversation had touched something he would rather keep hidden.

Before she could ask any questions, Caius spoke in his usual calm voice. "Rita will come here to help you with it."

Lincoln nodded, accepting the answer without asking anything further, but Hazel continued watching Caius for a moment. There was something strange about his reaction, and she couldn’t help wondering why he seemed uncomfortable whenever the golden chain was mentioned.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to ask him because everyone was already preparing to leave.

...

After they returned to Basileia, Hazel began noticing something that bothered her more than she wanted to admit.

Caius was avoiding her.

At first, she thought he was simply busy with his duties as the Werewolf King. He had many responsibilities, and she knew that the problems with the demon wolves required his attention. However, as the days passed, she began to realize that his behavior was not normal, especially when she saw him making sure they were never alone in the same place.

He would leave a room whenever she entered, send someone else to deliver messages that he could easily have given her himself, and find reasons to end conversations whenever she tried to approach him. The worst part was that he seemed perfectly comfortable around everyone else, which made it impossible for Hazel to convince herself that she was imagining things.

Then he delivered the golden chain.

It was similar to her silver moon chain, but the moment she saw it, she felt a strange connection between the two objects. The golden chain looked as though it belonged to Caius, and it carried his scent so strongly that Hazel could recognize it without even touching it.

She wanted to ask him about it, but she barely had the chance to speak to him before he disappeared again.

Hazel sighed as she watched him from a distance, finally understanding the difference between being ignored and being avoided. Ignoring someone could happen without much thought, but avoiding someone required effort, and Caius was clearly making an effort to stay away from her.

Perhaps it was because of what had happened between them in the Dragon Kingdom.

Whenever she remembered that night, her cheeks grew warm, and she couldn’t help wondering whether Caius regretted what he had done. She didn’t know how to face him either, but she had hoped they could at least talk about it instead of pretending that nothing had happened.

Still, the thing that bothered her most was his health. Caius needed her blood to recover from his curse, yet he had been refusing to take it, even when he had the chance that night. Instead of getting better, he seemed to be growing weaker. He had started avoiding difficult battles, and Ethan had even complained that Caius had been coughing blood.

Hazel swallowed hard as worry filled her chest. "I’m willing to give him my damn blood! Why is he avoiding me?

She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice someone approaching until a familiar voice called her name. "Lady Hazel?"