Chapter 135: Covered in Her Scent

Alaric:

Everything happened far too quickly for me to process. One moment, I was staring at Kairo descending the stairs with that ridiculously satisfied smile on his face, and the next, Reign released a growl so deep and vicious that every hair on my body seemed to stand on end.

Before I could even get off the couch, Reign had crossed the entire room. One second Kairo was standing at the bottom of the stairs, and the next his back slammed against the wall, Reign’s hand wrapped firmly around his throat.

My sleep vanished instantly. I shot to my feet, staring at the two of them in disbelief because I couldn’t understand what had possibly happened during those few seconds to turn Reign against one of his oldest friends.

Kairo wasn’t weak. Far from it. If anyone else had tried to grab him like that, they would have already regretted the decision, probably after receiving at least one broken nose and several bruises. But this was Reign, and that changed everything.

Kairo stared at him for several seconds before pushing against his chest hard enough to make Reign’s grip loosen. He could have fought back. He could have thrown Reign across the room. Instead, he merely created enough space to breathe.

I was already moving toward them when Kairo snapped, "What’s wrong with you, dude?"

Reign didn’t answer. His expression was so completely unlike the Reign I knew that a chill ran down my spine.

Before Kairo could take another step, Reign grabbed his collar again and slammed him against the wall with enough force to make the furniture nearby rattle.

I reached them immediately, trying to get between them, but something about Reign stopped me for half a second. He wasn’t looking at Kairo like he was looking at a friend who had pissed him off. There was no irritation, no ordinary anger, none of the familiar annoyance we had all experienced countless times. He was looking at Kairo as though he were staring at an enemy standing inside his territory. A threat that needed to be eliminated immediately.

Even more disturbing, I could see the faint shift in Reign’s eyes that told me his wolf was dangerously close to the surface.

"Reign, let him go," I ordered, grabbing his arm and attempting to pull him backward. He barely acknowledged me. Kairo’s eyes flicked toward me, and he demanded, "Alaric, what the hell is wrong with him?" I wished I had an answer. I didn’t.

Then Reign finally spoke, and his question made every thought in my head disappear. His voice was low, rough, and filled with a possessiveness I had never heard from him before as he demanded, "Why do you smell like Elara?"

My entire body went still. Beside me, Kairo seemed to freeze as well, and suddenly the entire room became unbearably quiet.

I couldn’t smell anything unusual. I didn’t have Reign’s wolf senses, so for all I knew, Kairo smelled exactly the same as he had yesterday. But Reign clearly smelled something, and judging by the way he was holding Kairo, whatever it was had driven his wolf dangerously close to the surface.

Kairo recovered from his momentary shock almost immediately, though instead of answering the question, he pushed himself away from both of us and demanded, "What’s wrong with you?" It was almost impressive how quickly he had decided to make the situation worse.

Reign charged at him again. This time I was ready. I caught him around the shoulders before he could reach Kairo and hauled him backward, planting myself between them as Kairo stumbled away.

Judging by the look on Reign’s face, I was fairly certain the next move would have involved his fist rather than his hand around Kairo’s throat.

"Enough!" I snapped, holding him back as he fought against my grip. "What the hell is going on with you?"

Reign’s jaw clenched, his eyes still fixed on Kairo over my shoulder. His wolf was practically visible in his expression now, and I could feel the sheer force of his anger radiating through him. But before I could force him to calm down, Kairo apparently decided that whatever remaining sanity existed in the room wasn’t worth preserving.

Instead of answering Reign’s question, Kairo straightened his clothes and asked with an infuriating calmness, "Did your wolf suddenly decide the Princess is his person?"

Reign went completely still.

Kairo’s gray eyes narrowed as he continued, "Because I’d really like to know why you care whether I smell like Elara or not." He tilted his head slightly, almost challenging Reign to answer. "Last time I checked, your only interest in the Princess was making her bend to you."

I wanted to strangle Kairo myself. Not because I disagreed with the question, but because I desperately wanted the answer too and there were considerably less dangerous ways to ask it.

For months, Reign’s behavior toward Elara had been impossible to understand. One moment, he acted as though his sole purpose was to break her stubbornness and force her to acknowledge his authority. The next, he was watching her from across a room like she was the most important person in it.

He had punished people who hurt her, worried when she got into trouble, sent me after her when she ran into the woods, and yet he could still turn around and provoke her until she wanted to freeze his feet to the ground. It was confusing enough to make my head hurt, and honestly, it was becoming irritating.

I tightened my hold on Reign, waiting for him to answer Kairo. I expected another threat, perhaps an insult, maybe even another attempt to attack him. What I didn’t expect was the expression that crossed Reign’s face.

Something changed in his eyes, something deeper than anger, and when he finally spoke, his voice carried a certainty that made the room feel suddenly smaller.

"I care because she’s mine."

My grip loosened for half a second. Kairo’s expression changed, and I could only stare at Reign as he continued, his voice dropping into a dangerous growl as his wolf surged beneath every word.

"Eleanora Argentis is mine. She belongs to me and me only."