My heart was pounding faster than the pace my paws thumped the grass.

The way she jumped into his arms. The way they looked at each other. The way he held her so tight it seemed like she would disappear and become one with him.

With every moment I stood in their presence, my vision tinged with crimson. I had to walk away.

I didn't like being jealous. It made me want to rip something apart– the something preferably being the source of my misery.

The animalistic part of me wanted to go up to Dario and break his perfect aristocratic nose that some of the maids were giggling about. The other part of me wanted to throttle him and interrogate him about what his relationship with Jaslynn was.

He called her his angel. What man would call a woman an angel if he didn't have any sort of feelings for her?

I let out a growl and turned around, sprinting back toward the Minister's house.

There was only one way to end this dilemma.

***

I opened the door to the bathroom, letting all the steam from my shower escape. My fingers tightened around my towel as I made my way to the bed to sort through the clothes Helene left me.

After I picked my outfit, I loosened my grip to drop the towel and start getting dressed when cold breath hit my neck, "Jaslynn."

I shrieked and spun around, nearly slapping Alrik in the face with my wet hair. His hands curled around my waist and held me upright as my feet slipped on the wood flooring, and I clung to his biceps, causing the towel to drop to the floor.

"Okay, the first time, it was an accident. But for this to happen a second time? I think you're just trying to catch me naked now," I joked, trying to ignore how wonderful it was to be held against his bare chest.

He was dressed in just a pair of basketball shorts, and his hair was damp and messy as if he had gotten out of the shower and had ran his fingers through it several times.

He grabbed my towel and wrapped it around me, making sure not to look down, "Perhaps you need to learn how to hold onto your towel and not get startled so easily."

"Well, I wasn't exactly expecting you to walk in," I stated, taking the cloth from his hands, "Is there a reason why you couldn't knock or wait until I was dressed?"

He silently studied my face as if contemplating whether or not to say something. It appeared as though something was bugging him, and I could see the tension in his posture.

"Alrik?" I asked softly.

No reply.

I stared at him worriedly, "Is something wrong? Did anything happen at your p–"

He leaned over and pulled me into a hug.

My eyes widened in surprise as he buried his face in my neck, his lips against my mark and his hair tickling my cheekbone. I heard him release a tired sigh which prompted me to put my arms around his neck and shoulders and hug him back.

The smell of his soap and his natural scent filled my nostrils, and I let out my own sigh, enjoying the warmth he emitted and how comfortable it was to be in his strong embrace.

"Did you know hugging releases oxytocins?" Alrik asked quietly, lifting his head so his mouth was brushing my ear, "It's the reason why we feel warm and cherished afterward. It promotes feelings of trust and nurture."

I closed my eyes and smiled against his shoulder, "Whatever it is, it feels wonderful."

We stood there for a few moments, each of us enjoying the comfort the other had to offer. I still wasn't sure what I was comforting him for, but I was glad he came to me and took whatever I had to give.

"Whenever my father was stressed, he would go up to my mother and pull her in. Her hugs were like his stress relievers," he broke the silence gently, "I thought I would test the theory out."

"Did it work?"

He inhaled deeply into my hair, "It did."

I raised my head and pulled away so my hands rested on his chest, and I could see his stormy eyes clearly, "As much as I am enjoying myself, what is bothering you?"

"You."

I blinked and furrowed my eyebrows, "Me?"

My mind started whirring with a flashback of everything I had done since we arrived at the Minister's house, and only one scene stood out to me.

"Are you sure it's me?" I asked, "Or me and Dario?"

His eye twitched as I said Dario's name, and I resisted the urge to smile as he gruffly admitted, "You and Dario."

"And what is it about me and Dario that bothered you?"

He took a few seconds to form a response, "I didn't exactly appreciate how he hugged you or how he called you his angel."

"Dario is the brother I never had, Alrik, and he calls me his angel because I saved his life a few years ago from a psycho vampire," I explained before loosening my towel, "It's how I got this scar."

I watched as his eyes traveled down the length of my neck to where I gestured to the underside of my right breast. It was a straight white scar from the knife the vampire had been wielding before I killed him.

Alrik's hand moved from waist to the scar and ran his thumb over it softly, causing shivers to go down my spine, "It looks like it was deep."

"It was. I think it's the reason why my right breast is a bit smaller than my left."

He cupped both of them in his hands and shrugged slightly, "They're still perfect. I like how soft...they are," he winced as he finished his statement awkwardly.

I couldn't stop the grin from forming on my face as I dropped the towel and threw my arms around his shoulders again, pulling him back down.

"You are just adorable sometimes, you know that?" I asked, squeezing him as tight as I could.

I saw blood rush up his neck and moved back to cup his cheeks so my thumbs stroked his cheekbones. When he saw me still grinning, he pursed his lips, "How many times do we have to go over this? I am not adorable."

The tips of his ears turned pink.

I made a weird farting noise with my mouth as I couldn't hold my laughter anymore and that finally made him crack. His lips curved into a broad smile, and he shook his head as he leaned forward and bumped his forehead against mine, wrapping himself around me again as we swayed side to side a little.

"Stop laughing and get dressed," he murmured against my temple, not bothering to conceal his own amusement any longer. He kissed the side of my head and let go of me, disappearing from sight before I could say anything else.

The smile on my face didn't fade once as I got dressed.

***

"The location of the book is in Vivacora Cave," the Minister concluded after I read out the coordinates from the diary, "Which makes it difficult because that's where the rogue dragons reside."

"How dangerous are rogue dragons?" I asked.

The Minister frowned, "The last I heard, anyone who sets foot in their land is burnt to ashes. I don't understand how the wizard who buried the book managed to get past them."

"I could get a hold of my Commander and ask her to put our prisoners on the line," Alrik stated, pulling his cellphone out, "Maybe they have more information on the dragons."

"Good idea," the Minister said, "Perhaps there's a tunnel of some sort that doesn't go through their territory."

As Alrik entered the hallway to make the call, I turned to the Minister with a grave expression, intending to spit out a thought that had been running through my head the whole meeting,

"Minister, once we iron this out, I'm planning on going alone for this trip."