Scent of the Alpha

Chapter 7: The Bride of Darkness

"Eros... heat... my whole body is on fire..."

I groaned in pain while clutching my chest, which felt suffocatingly tight. Cold sweat soaked my skin, and the mark on my neck throbbed wildly, radiating a heat that seeped into my very bones. My human body seemed to be rejecting the massive power that had entered me during our union last night.

Eros, who was at the doorway, immediately ran toward me, his face turning deathly pale.

"Aira! Hang on, I’ll help you stabilize this energy right now!" Eros shouted, trying to pull me into his arms.

However, just as Eros's fingers touched my skin, a small shriek echoed from the corridor.

"Eros! Help... my head... I can't breathe!"

Sera suddenly collapsed on the floor, her face turning blue as if the oxygen around her had vanished. Eros froze, his eyes darting between me—groaning in pain—and Sera, who looked like she was dying.

"Sera! Dammit, why now?" Eros cursed, sounding incredibly frustrated.

"Eros... don't leave me... this heat is killing me..." I pleaded, my voice nearly gone.

Eros looked at me with a gaze full of guilt, but then he actually let go of my shoulders.

"Kaelen! Kaelen, get here right now!" Eros roared with his Alpha voice, making the entire castle shake.

Within seconds, a man appeared from the shadows of the corridor with a calm yet authoritative stride. He had a face almost identical to Eros’s, but his jawline was sharper, and his gaze was much deeper and more lethal. He looked powerful in a fitted black shirt that accentuated his built frame; his aura was so dominant that he felt like the true Alpha here.

"Take Aira to her room and take care of her, Kaelen! I have to help Sera—her energy is critical!" Eros ordered without waiting for a reply.

Eros immediately scooped up Sera and carried her away, leaving me lying on the floor with ragged breath. I felt the world growing darker, until a pair of incredibly strong yet gentle arms lifted me from the floor.

Kaelen carried me so softly, as if I were the most precious piece of porcelain in the world. He didn't run; he walked with steady steps toward my room without saying a single word. A fresh scent of sandalwood and forest wafted from him, and for some reason, this scent was far more soothing than Eros’s.

In the room, he laid me on the bed with extreme care, then sat on the edge. Kaelen’s large hand touched my forehead, and instantly, the heat in my body began to fade, replaced by a comfortable coolness.

"Who... who are you really?" I asked, my eyes half-closed, trying to focus on his face. "Why does it feel like... I knew you long before I came to this castle?" I whispered, feeling a strange vibration in my heart.

Kaelen didn't answer. He only stared at me with a very sorrowful look—a look that held thousands of years of longing.

"Don't talk yet, Aira. You need to rest your tired soul," he said in a soothing baritone.

He took a small bottle of clear liquid and rubbed it on my temples with very gentle movements. "Close your eyes... let this medicine work. When you wake up, the pain will be gone," Kaelen ordered softly.

He placed his palm over my eyes, forcing me to close them and drift into a dark dream world. However, as I began to lose consciousness, I felt a drop of warm liquid fall onto my cheek. Kaelen was silent, his shoulders shaking slightly, and I could hear a soft, muffled sob from his throat.

***

[Kaelen’s POV]

I stared at the face of the woman sleeping soundly in front of me, my heart shattering into pieces. This face, these lips, even the way she breathed when she was in pain... everything was identical to *her*.

"Elena..." I whispered in my heart, calling the name that had been locked in the darkest corner of my soul for hundreds of years.

My memories spun back to the time when I still held the title of the highest Alpha in this pack. The time I met a brave human girl who was the daughter of my arch-enemy. I saw the image of Elena laughing in the middle of a meadow before that bloody separation tore everything away. I could still feel the sensation of the cold silver blade she plunged into my chest—at my own request—for her safety.

"You came back, Elena... you really came back to me as Aira," I muttered, wiping away a tear that fell without permission.

The pain of seeing her belong to my own brother was far more agonizing than the silver wound that once killed me. I had to restrain myself. I had to stay in the shadows so that fate wouldn't destroy her a second time. But seeing her suffer because of Eros’s stupidity made my protective instincts scream to destroy everything in this castle.

I clenched my fists, trying to dampen my Sigma aura that was beginning to flare with anger and suppressed love.

"Sleep, my love. This time, I won't let anyone hurt you again, even if it’s my own brother," I whispered into her ear. I kissed her forehead for a long time—a silent vow bound by blood and a past that time could never erase.

The world might know you as Aira, Eros’s mate, but to me, you are the missing half of my soul that has finally come home.

Aira woke up in the middle of the night and found an ancient silver rose necklace next to her pillow. It was the exact same necklace from her past-life dreams—the one belonging to a man who had begged to be killed.