Chapter 78: Alexander ii

Hazel remained silent for a moment, trying to process everything she had just heard. She hadn’t even realized that Azula was no longer around until Janet mentioned it, and now she was learning that Alexander had forbidden his own mate from returning because he thought Hazel was upset with her.

But there was one thing she still couldn’t understand. "Wait a minute," Hazel said, raising a hand to stop them. "How did Alexander become the person who can stop Azula from coming here? Who is he to her? Azula doesn’t look like someone who would listen to anyone just because they told her to do something."

Janet burst into laughter at Hazel’s question, clearly enjoying the fact that she was still unaware of something so important.

"Hazel, Azula is Alexander’s mate! Why wouldn’t he take it personally if he thinks you’ve been offended by her?"

Hazel froze. For several seconds, she simply stared at Janet, wondering whether she had heard correctly. Alexander was Azula’s mate? The same Alexander who was always smiling, teasing people, and making jokes even when everyone else was busy discussing serious matters?

She never imagined that the playful man could be fated to someone as cold and tough as Azula. "Oh, wow..." Hazel finally whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. "I never expected that."

Janet laughed again. "Neither did I when I first found out, but now that I think about it, they actually make sense together."

Hazel raised an eyebrow. "How? Azula looks like she could kill someone for breathing too loudly, while Alexander smiles as if the whole world is his playground."

"Exactly!" Janet replied, pointing at her. "That’s why it’s so interesting. Sometimes, I wonder how Azula manages to control Alexander because he’s always so strict whenever he’s dealing with his duties."

Hazel blinked, then tilted her head as another thought crossed her mind."Or maybe Azula is the strict one, and Alexander is only pretending to be playful?"

Lady Mira suddenly laughed, making Hazel turn toward her in confusion.

"My dear, don’t be deceived by his playful behavior. Alexander isn’t as harmless as he looks, and his smile doesn’t mean he’s a good person. Sometimes, he’s even more frightening than Ethan."

Hazel’s eyes widened again. "More frightening than Ethan?" she repeated, almost unable to believe it. "But Ethan barely smiles, and he looks like he could send someone to the dungeon just for asking him a stupid question!"

Janet covered her mouth, trying to control her laughter, while Lady Mira shook her head with amusement.

"That’s exactly why you shouldn’t judge people by their expressions," the High Priest explained. "Ethan looks dangerous because he rarely hides his feelings, but Alexander knows how to make people comfortable around him. He can joke with someone one moment and make them regret crossing him the next. When he becomes serious, even people who have known him for years know better than to challenge him."

Hazel slowly nodded, remembering the times Alexander had teased Caius and made jokes about things that would have gotten another person thrown out of the meeting hall. She had always thought he was simply a cheerful man who enjoyed annoying everyone around him, but now she was beginning to wonder whether that playful side was only one part of his personality.

"Then Azula must be very special to him," Hazel murmured.

Janet’s smile softened slightly. "She is. Alexander might not show it the way other men do, but he cares about her more than he lets people see. That’s why I want you to speak to him. If you tell him that you aren’t angry with Azula, he might finally allow her to return."

Hazel sighed and leaned back in her chair.

She couldn’t believe that her name had somehow become the reason an entire army was struggling without one of its strongest warriors. She had never asked Alexander to keep Azula away, and she certainly didn’t want to become the reason the soldiers suffered or the upcoming Alpha nominations were delayed.

"Fine, I’ll talk to him," she agreed. "But if he thinks I’m going to spend the whole day convincing him that I don’t hate his mate, then he has another thing coming. I have enough problems of my own without becoming the person responsible for other people’s relationships."

Janet smiled in relief and immediately stood up.

"Thank you! I knew you would help."

Hazel pointed at her before she could leave. "Don’t thank me yet. If Alexander starts making jokes or tries to blame me for something else, I’m sending him straight to you."

Janet laughed and hurried away, leaving Hazel sitting beside Lady Mira with a deeply troubled expression.

After a moment, Hazel turned toward the High Priest again. "Lady Mira, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, my dear."

Hazel hesitated, then lowered her voice. "If Alexander is that frightening when he’s angry, why does Caius allow him to behave so freely around him? They seem very close, and Alexander talks to him as if they’re ordinary friends."

Lady Mira smiled, looking as though Hazel had asked a very interesting question.

"They are more than friends, and Caius knows exactly who Alexander is, and he trusts him. Alexander can joke with the Werewolf King because he’s one of the few people who understands him well enough to know when to stop. Their relationship wasn’t built in a day, Hazel, and there’s a reason Caius keeps him close."

Hazel nodded slowly, thinking about the strange friendships and relationships surrounding her. The immortal world was full of powerful people who seemed impossible to understand, and the more she learned about them, the more she realized that appearances could be very misleading.

Still, one thing bothered her more than everything else.

If Alexander could be that frightening despite his playful personality, what exactly did that say about Caius, who rarely smiled at all? Hazel swallowed as the thought crossed her mind, suddenly wondering whether she had been too comfortable teasing the Werewolf King.

Then she remembered the way Caius had been avoiding her, and her expression fell again.

’Never mind Alexander and Azula. I still have one impossible man to deal with, and I don’t even know how to make him look at me properly anymore.’

She sighed, already regretting the number of problems she had somehow collected simply by becoming Caius’s mate.