Kaiden's eyes refused to leave the girl who was too busy talking with her friends that she did not even spare him a single glance ever since they walked down the stage.

He could feel his wolf complaining as they both watched her dancing with other men present at the party except for him.

"How long are you planning to stand here staring at those men? Your jealousy is making this entire hall stink!" Rylan commented in a whispered tone as he walked to stand next to his brother.

Kaiden turned his face to look at his brother while arching his eyebrows as a small twitch appeared on his lips. "My dear little brother, you should pay attention to your mate. I'll handle mine."

Rylan appeared to be taken aback but he hurriedly neutralized his expressions as he asked, "H-how do you know?" He could not stop his eyes from taking a glance at Leo who was sitting just beside Emily.

Kaiden let a small smile appear on his lips as he replied while returning his attention to his mate, "You are my brother, Ry. I don't need you to speak the words for me to understand. The way you kept looking at him ever since we entered the hall, it's obvious that he's the one for you."

Rylan stayed silent for a while but then finally asked, "What should I do? He's been ignoring me all the time and I've no idea about how should I handle this situation."

There was something in his tone that made Kaiden return his attention to his brother. The way Rylan was staring at him with hopeful eyes made him pat his brother's head with adoration.

"Things won't sort out on their own. You need to talk to him and if he's not giving you the chance then you need to create that chance. It's been over six years since the two of you have created this distance and tension. You need to first sort out the past to start your present with him."

Rylan once again looked at Leo and realized his brother was right. Nothing would be in his favor if he did not find a chance to fix the things that happened in the past between the two of them.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he turned to look at Kaiden while nodding his head in understanding.

He's going to find a chance to talk to Leo.

***

"Why are you guys doing this to him?" Emily could not help but ask when once again Crist stopped Kaiden from asking her for a dance.

It was already half-past eleven and the party was almost about to end. Throughout the party, Kaiden tried countless times to approach her either for talking or asking for a dance but her brothers were determined to torture the poor guy.

"Why? Are you feeling sorry for your boyfriend?" Leo asked in a teasing tone while giving her a playful look.

She was smart enough to know that siding with Kaiden won't lead to anything good in her favor. Therefore, she immediately shook her head in denial as she replied, "Why would I feel sorry for him? I'm just curious, that's all."

Daniel smiled softly after listening to her reply but thankfully did not comment and let Leo handle the situation.

"Good. You should know that he doesn't deserve your pity. We just want him to realize that by becoming your boyfriend, he's not getting a free reign of being close to you." Leo told her as he helped her to adjust the overcoat that she was now wearing over her dress.

Emily immediately nodded her head as she followed her brothers towards the center of the hall. They were about to leave in a few minutes.

"Let me go and call Shadow. I think he's on the terrace." She told Daniel who nodded his head in reply and watched her making her way towards the wooden door at the side of the hall which was left slightly ajar.

-

Shadow's eyes flew open as soon as he felt her presence beside him.

"Still not feeling good?" She asked while raising her hand to touch his forehead so that she could check his temperature.

However, before her palm could make contact with his skin, he caught her small slender hand in his large one and lowered it to his lap as he spoke, "I'm alright, Princess. No need to worry."

Emily stared at him in silence for a couple of seconds before she hurriedly placed her free hand against his forehead before he could react.

"Why are you so cold? You are almost freezing. Let's go. We are going to let Sam take a look at you," she said in a hurry as she tried to pull him down the railing where he had been sitting.

"It's nothing serious. There's no need for you to worry so much and let's not disturb Sam for such a small matter. I'm going to be fine," Shadow said as he stopped her from walking away and pulling him with her.

A sigh escaped Emily's lips as she turned to stare at the man. She hated the idea of forcing him to do something that he clearly did not want to do but at the same time, she just could not help but worry about him as this was the first time when his health was not in perfect condition.

Shadow could see the concern in her eyes which made him pull her a little closer as he rubbed her head softly before speaking, "My body is just in need of some blood. It's been over a year since I last consumed blood. I'll be fine as long as I can feed and I'll do that after returning to the apartment. Now stop worrying."

Emily felt herself relaxing at his words. Her head fell against his shoulder as she closed her eyes to take a few seconds to pull herself together.

Shadow was one of those people whom she was really afraid of losing and for some weird reasons, she had been feeling like he was slipping away from her.

She just hoped that it was just her illusion and nothing more.