Chapter 138: Stealing From His Mate

Reign:

I was supposed to head straight for the academy gates. My car and driver were already waiting somewhere beyond the grounds, and every sensible thought in my mind told me that going home was the only thing I should be doing.

Instead, somehow, my feet carried me toward the first-year dormitories before my brain had even processed what I was doing. I stopped beneath Elara’s balcony and stared upward, standing there for several minutes while I argued with myself.

This was stupid. Reckless. Completely unnecessary. I had just left the private basement zone after discovering something that had sent my wolf into a frenzy, and the last thing I needed was to make another impulsive decision involving my mate. Yet my control had been slipping badly these past few days.

The Black Season, as my friends liked to call it, was already putting enough strain on my body, and Kairo’s scent on Elara had pushed my wolf into a state I could barely contain. I told myself to turn around. I told myself to walk away. I even took half a step backward. Then my wolf won.

Before I could reconsider, my body moved. I grabbed the nearest tree trunk and climbed with the effortless strength and agility my wolf had given me, moving through the snow-covered branches until I reached the one closest to Elara’s balcony. From there, I jumped the remaining distance and landed silently on the balcony.

Thick snow covered nearly everything, but I made certain not to leave a single trace behind. A simple spell erased the few marks my boots had made, leaving the untouched snow looking exactly as it had before my arrival.

I approached the glass door leading into her bedroom, already expecting what I found. It was unlocked. A smile tugged at my lips despite myself.

My mate was unbelievably foolish. Somehow, it had never occurred to her that securing the main entrance with a lock spell wasn’t enough when her balcony remained completely accessible to anyone capable of reaching it.

I had discovered that particular weakness during the last full moon, when I’d ended up running all the way from the Valemont estate to her dorm in the middle of the night after spending hours trying to stay away from her. That night, my wolf had stood on this very balcony and stared through the glass at her sleeping form for what felt like an eternity.

Even with the door unlocked, it hadn’t dared cross the threshold. It had simply remained outside, watching her sleep until the moon began descending. Tonight, however, there was no such restraint left.

I slipped inside and immediately felt the difference. Her scent surrounded me, subtle at first but unmistakable, woven into the warmth of the room and lingering in every corner. My wolf practically surged beneath my skin.

I glanced toward the bed and found it empty, exactly as I had expected. It was almost six in the morning, which meant Elara was probably already deep within the woods completing her usual morning run. She had developed that routine quickly, and apparently nothing - not snow, cold, exhaustion, or the academy’s endless problems - could convince her to abandon it.

I was relieved to find no sign of Crazy either. The last thing I needed was her ridiculous cat familiar discovering me inside his master’s bedroom. With both of them absent, I finally allowed myself to breathe.

The effect was immediate. The tension that had been coiling through my body for hours began to loosen as I inhaled her scent. The anger I’d carried from the basement faded first, followed by the anxiety that had been gnawing at me since Kairo’s confession... or rather, his pathetic excuse. Even the dull ache that had settled through my muscles because of the Black Season seemed to recede.

My wolf quieted, finally recognizing the presence of the person it had been desperately searching for without her actually being here. It was almost absurd how much power her scent held over me.

I had spent years learning to control my wolf, years mastering every instinct that came with being the only werewolf born in centuries, and yet a single room that smelled like Elara could undo years of discipline.

My gaze eventually returned to her bed. The thought of lying down there was dangerously tempting. She had slept there only an hour ago, which meant her scent would be strongest against the sheets and pillows.

For one shameful moment, I imagined stretching out across the mattress and letting my wolf finally relax in the place where my mate had slept.

I immediately rejected the thought. That would be taking things too far. There had to be a limit, even for me. I couldn’t simply start treating every place Elara touched as something I had a right to claim. I had already made enough mistakes with her. I wasn’t about to add another one.

Unfortunately, my next idea was somehow worse.

I wanted something that carried her scent with me.

The realization made me stare in space in disbelief. What exactly was wrong with me? I had never been the type of man who needed sentimental reminders of another person, and yet here I was standing inside my mate’s bedroom before sunrise, considering stealing something simply because it smelled like her.

Still, the desire refused to disappear. I looked around for something harmless, eventually noticing the laundry basket. Hope sparked briefly before dying almost immediately when I realized it was empty.

Then I noticed the soft hum of the washing machine coming from laundry room and understood. She had apparently put her clothes in for washing before heading out for her run. Of course she had. There wasn’t a single dirty piece of clothing left for me to steal.

I should have taken that as a sign to leave. Instead, my gaze drifted back toward the bed and stopped on the pillows. I stared at them for several seconds, noticing there were five of them.

Apparently, my mate had an unreasonable love for pillows. Each one carried traces of her scent, but one in particular held it more strongly than the others. My wolf immediately identified it, and before I could stop myself, I reached for it. My fingers closed around the soft fabric, and the moment I lifted it, Elara’s scent surrounded me again.

I didn’t give myself enough time to think.

I tucked the pillow under my arm, turned toward the balcony, and left the room before another sensible thought could convince me to put it back.