Too Close

Confusion filled Jae as he followed the sweet scent toward the armory. The prince restrained the many questions that engulfed his mind as he entered the armory and began searching for the owner of the alluring scent. The warriors who were present in the armory bowed to the prince in respect as the true blood made his way through the weapon-filled rooms. Jae's brows scrunched as he came up empty and headed for the exit. The warriors looked after the prince with perplexed expressions when the true blood left as silently as he came.

Jae stopped in his tracks just outside the armory when he detected a strong, woody scent now tangled with the sweet scent of vanilla and roses. The true blood cocked his head to one side. He recognized the woody scent. 'Max?'

Upon determining the owner of the masculine scent, Jae quickened his pace and continued to pursue the two, entangled scents. The true blood found himself following the two scents to the opposing side of the palace, his confusion only growing when he saw the owner of the woody scent approaching him. Jae's brows furrowed when he realized the alpha was alone.

"Lieutenant," the prince voiced as the alpha neared him.

"Prince," Max answered and came to a stop just before the prince and bowed.

"Where are you coming from?" Jae inquired before looking toward the direction from which the alpha had come.

"The sigma's hall, Prince," Max answered as he resumed his upright stance.

'The sigma's hall? Why would he go there?' More questions filled the true blood's mind as he heard the alpha's response. "Thank you. Continue on, Lieutenant," the prince addressed the alpha as he proceeded toward the sigma's hall. Max bowed once more as Jae walked past him before continuing on his way.

Jae's pace quickened as he neared the corridor that housed the sigma's hall. The scent grew stronger the closer Jae got, making the true blood's heart skip in his chest. Was it really Syri? Was he really in the palace? Would Jae get to see the one he so longed for?

The prince did not stop as he reached the oaken doors and opened them in great anticipation only to be met by a distraught and frantic beta. Jae immediately halted when he saw the male standing before him. His green eyes were swelled with tears that began to stream down his face. His face was red; he had been crying.

The true blood's eyes narrowed as he recognized the man to be the beta he had nearly run into at the stables when he had caught the sweet scent. Perplexity filled Jae, and he thought over the two events and realized the common factor was the beta. 'Why would a beta smell as sweet as a zeta? Surely it is not this beta I have been smelling.'

The beta choked on his tears as he stopped himself from running into the prince. It was apparent that he was in a hurry. "I'm sorry," the beta apologized as he bowed before adding, "Please excuse me," and rushed past the prince. Jae stood in shock for a second before turning and watching the beta hurry down the corridor.

'There's no way I was smelling Syri.' The prince came to the conclusion that he must have been mixing up the beta's unusually sweet scent with the zeta's. 'I must be crazy.' Jae shook his head as he turned back to the oaken door that had swung closed when the beta rushed past him. 'Or...maybe I'm not...' Jae's eyes slanted as he peered into the dimly-lit hall. The scent of strong incense bombarded the true blood's senses when he stepped foot into the long room.

Jae's gaze trailed from the bed of pillows on the ground up to the chair before landing on the large stone altar. Jae stopped just before the pillows on the floor when he realized all he could smell was the overwhelmingly strong spice of the incense. The true blood turned his head, scanning the room carefully in search of even the tiniest trace of the one he longed to find.

'Get ahold of yourself, Jae.' The true blood berated himself. He realized he had been obsessed with finding the zeta when he knew all too well that Syri had left with his cousin. 'There is no way he is anywhere near the palace. You have got to stop looking for him when you turn every corner.'

Giving up on his impossible search, the true blood ran his fingers through his dark hair and released a breath before turning to exit the flower-infested hall. The prince slowly made his way out of the hall as a certain werewolf kept his hands over his mouth to stifle his panting breaths. Syri had dashed behind the altar the moment the door opened before Jae even had time to register the beta standing in front of him and had kept his hand over his mouth all the while the prince scanned the hall.

Only after the door had been closed for several seconds did Syri release his pent-up breath and allow himself to breathe. The zeta was cautious in peering around the altar and let out a sigh when he confirmed the prince had indeed exited the hall. Syri leaned against the cool stone of the altar as he caught his breath and waited for his heart to slow to its normal pace.

'That was wayyy too close.' The zeta eased out from behind the altar once his breathing had calmed and descended the few steps that led up to the raised chair. 'Why did he even come here? I thought the sigma dealt mostly with the Alpha.' Syri pondered the reasoning for the prince's quick trip to the sigma's hall as he slowly made his way to the heavy oaken doors.

After waiting a few more moments to ensure the prince had vacated the premises, Syri carefully opened the door and peered out into the corridor before slowly exiting and making his way toward the exit of the sigma's wing. The zeta slowly let out a long breath as he advanced down the corridor outside the hall and began making his way back toward the gamma's clinic.