Chapter 83: Caius weakness

Alexander returned to his mansion and went straight to his chamber without speaking to anyone. The fight with the two demons had been easy enough, but he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate his victory or make jokes about how badly he had beaten them. Instead, he closed the door behind him, removed the cloth wrapped around his wound, and examined his skin.

The wound had already healed. He stared at it for a moment before releasing a tired sigh. Caius was getting weaker, and Alexander hated every second of it.

He had watched his friend grow paler, and the thought of losing him had begun to trouble him more than he wanted to admit. Caius had always been the strongest person in their world, the one everyone feared and the one they believed could never be defeated. Seeing him struggle with something as simple as standing without coughing blood was almost unbearable.

That was why Alexander had returned to his mansion instead of staying in the palace.

He needed a moment to think without anyone asking him questions or expecting him to behave as if everything was fine. He didn’t understand what was going through Caius’s mind, and the fact that the king kept refusing Hazel’s blood was making the situation even more frustrating.

Alexander knew Caius needed his mate to recover, yet the stubborn man would rather suffer in silence than explain himself to the woman who could help him.

What the hell is wrong with him?

Alexander rubbed his forehead as he remembered the warning Caius had given them about Hazel. The king had made it clear that nobody should threaten her or make her feel unsafe, and Alexander knew exactly why. If Caius hadn’t been so determined to keep his distance from Hazel, he could probably have found a way to make her give him her blood already. Instead, he was allowing his condition to worsen while pretending that he didn’t need her.

While he was still lost in his thoughts, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind.

Alexander recognized the familiar scent immediately, and the tension in his shoulders eased when Azula rested her face against his back. Her hands moved across his chest before one of them travelled toward his neck, making him lift his chin slightly to give her more room. "Why are you naked?" he asked, glancing down at himself before turning his head to look at her.

Azula rolled her eyes. "I just finished bathing, you idiot."

Alexander chuckled at her answer, but before he could tease her further, she hesitated and tightened her arms around him. "Can..." She paused, clearly struggling to ask the question. "Can I come back to the palace now?"

Alexander’s smile faded slightly as he gently removed her hands from his chest and turned around to face her. Azula immediately folded her arms, trying to look as if she didn’t care about his answer, but he knew her well enough to notice the nervousness hidden behind her expression.

"On one condition. Don’t do anything silly to Hazel."

Her expression changed immediately "She’s annoying," she muttered, looking away as if simply mentioning Hazel’s name was enough to irritate her.

Alexander laughed softly before reaching out and holding her face between his hands, gently turning it back toward him. "She’s your future Luna Queen, Azula. Aren’t you afraid she’ll make things difficult for you when she becomes Luna? Because whether you like it or not, that’s going to happen sooner or later."

Azula pouted and scoffed, clearly unimpressed by his warning. "Like I care."

Alexander shook his head in amusement, but Azula continued speaking before he could interrupt her.

"If I hadn’t done what I did that day, she might never have shifted. I needed to test her strength and find out what she was capable of, because I wanted to know whether some random wolf could defeat her. What would happen if she couldn’t even defend herself against an ordinary opponent?"

Alexander stared at her for a moment before a smile spread across his face. "I believe you."

Azula froze. She slowly turned her head toward him, her eyes narrowing as she studied his expression. "Then why did you forbid me from going to the palace?"

Alexander burst into laughter at her reaction, pulling her closer when she tried to step away from him. "Because Hazel might not understand that you were trying to help her. You can be so difficult sometimes, and honestly, you sound exactly like Ethan when you start explaining your actions."

Azula rolled her eyes so hard that Alexander almost laughed again. "Don’t compare me to that man. He’s annoying enough without you bringing his name into our conversation."

"Really? I thought you two had a lot in common." He laughed and raised both hands in surrender, pretending to be afraid of her anger, but Azula only gave him another annoyed look before looking away.

"She’s a unique wolf," she said after a moment, her voice becoming more thoughtful. "I’ve never seen a wolf with three silver hairs on her forehead like her" A small smile appeared on her face as she remembered Hazel’s wolf form. "She’s the unique, crazy one."

Alexander watched her expression carefully before glancing down at her naked body. He couldn’t help smiling when he noticed the way her face had softened while talking about Hazel.

"You know, she’d probably find you more comfortable to be around if you smiled like that whenever she’s near you."

Azula’s cheeks turned red, and she quickly looked away. "She’s more annoying than Rita," she muttered, refusing to answer his comment.

Alexander chuckled, then pulled her into his arms before burying his face in the crook of her neck, close to the mark he had left on her skin. He breathed in her familiar scent, allowing the warmth of her body to calm the sadness he had been carrying since leaving the palace.

For a while, neither of them spoke. Azula wrapped her arms around him and gently ran her fingers through his hair, knowing that something was troubling him even though he had spent the entire day pretending to be fine.

Then Alexander finally broke the silence."Caius, my friend, is dying, and I can’t do anything to help him."

His voice was quieter than usual, without the playful tone he used whenever he wanted to make people laugh. Azula stopped moving her fingers for a moment before releasing a soft sigh and holding him a little tighter.

"He won’t let himself die," she said firmly. It wasn’t an empty promise. Caius was the strongest person she had ever known, and she couldn’t imagine him giving up so easily, no matter how bad his condition became.

Alexander remained silent, but she could feel the tension in his body. "I wonder what Ethan’s mood will be if things get worse," she added with a groan. "You and Ethan never joke when it comes to Caius, and Caius is exactly the same when it comes to both of you."