Erwan sucked in a sharp breath, his body tensing at Chance's words. A leader with someone else pulling the strings? What did Chance mean by saying something so alarming? The suspicion it caused left Erwan silent as he watched Chance stand, smearing blood on his face accidentally. Something about that image shocked Erwan to the core. He looked away. "I still stand by my words. Treat yourself better," he muttered. His words lacked the same strength though and after a sigh, he pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the hand that Chance offered.

"Merely political, yes. And perhaps a personal curiosity," Erwan admitted. He straightened his back, regaining the strong image he tried so hard to display despite his smaller body. And it worked more often than not, giving him the appearance of being inches taller than reality. "It's nothing particular about you though. I simply have no interest in romance or any kind of relations. I rather hate that the dragon mating manipulates us to this degree, so you should just forget. Nothing that happens in those moments is true."

He glanced away, weakness showing through for just a second. He believed his words but not always all the way down to the deepest part of his heart. Maybe he just hoped. "Hayden....thinks differently though. But even for him, this is difficult. You should talk to him. Make sure he knows that the mating is just a vapid fairytale."