The Scent
1263 Words
Chapter 2: The Scent
The sharp smell of bleach hit Rosie Miller the moment she stepped through the doors of Ocala Community Hospital.
She adjusted the strap of her tote bag and looked around.
This was nothing like the hospitals she had trained in back in New York.
Instead of digital check-in screens and modern equipment, the nurses' station was crowded with paper charts, handwritten notes, and an ancient computer that looked like it had survived several generations of medical technology.
Rosie stared at it for a moment.
Well. This is going to be interesting.
"Rosie!"
She looked up.
Elena was standing behind the reception desk, waving her over with obvious relief.
"Thank goodness you're here. Welcome to your first official shift."
"Good morning."
Elena handed her a clipboard.
"I hope you're ready, because we're desperately short-staffed. You'll be working in maternal and family health on the third floor. You'll be paired with Emily. She's young, but she's been here long enough to know every corner of this place."
Rosie glanced at the outdated equipment.
"And I'm guessing I'll have to forget everything I knew about fancy hospital technology."
Elena laughed.
"Pretty much."
Rosie smiled.
"A patient is still a patient. I'll manage."
Elena's expression softened.
"I knew I liked you."
---
By midmorning, Rosie had already learned two things about Ocala Community Hospital.
The first was that the hospital was severely understaffed.
The second was that she could handle it.
She moved from patient to patient with Emily beside her, checking vitals, recording information, and doing everything she could with the limited equipment available.
Emily watched her work for a while before grinning.
"You really are as good as everyone said."
Rosie looked up from her chart.
"Everyone?"
"Elena told me about your academic record."
Rosie groaned.
"Please don't tell people that. They'll start expecting things."
Emily laughed.
"Too late."
By two o'clock, their shift was finally over.
Rosie stretched her shoulders as they walked toward the parking lot.
"I think my legs have officially resigned."
Emily laughed.
"You'll get used to it."
They reached Emily's silver car.
"Have you at least bought food for your apartment?"
Rosie stopped.
"Food?"
"Yes, Rosie. Things humans eat."
Rosie sighed.
"Don't judge me. I haven't had time."
Emily stared at her.
"You've been living next to a hospital with an empty kitchen?"
"Technically, yes."
"You're coming with me."
Rosie laughed.
"I wasn't aware I had a choice."
"You don't."
---
The drive through Ocala was calmer than Rosie expected.
Massive live oaks stretched over the roads, their branches twisting above them like natural tunnels. The farther they drove, the more Rosie felt herself relaxing.
Maybe this place wasn't so bad.
The wholesale grocery center was crowded when they arrived.
Emily grabbed a cart, and the two of them disappeared into the busy aisles.
Rosie filled the cart with pasta, fruit, cereal, coffee, and enough snacks to survive several long hospital shifts.
Then Emily suddenly lowered her voice.
"You know, there's something you should know about Ocala."
Rosie glanced at her.
"That sounds ominous."
"It is."
Rosie smiled.
Emily looked around before continuing.
"People here don't talk much about the woods."
"The woods?"
"Yes. Especially at night."
Rosie raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Emily leaned closer.
"Because strange things happen out there."
Rosie laughed softly.
"Such as?"
"Wolves."
Rosie's smile faded slightly.
"Wolves?"
"Big ones."
Emily glanced toward the windows at the far end of the building.
"Sometimes people hear howling late at night. Not normal howling either. These deep, terrifying sounds coming from somewhere beyond the trees."
Rosie shook her head.
"Maybe there are just a lot of wolves around here."
"Maybe."
Emily didn't sound convinced.
"And sometimes..."
She lowered her voice even further.
"Men come out of those woods."
Rosie stared at her.
"Men?"
"Nobody knows where they live. Nobody knows where they come from. They just appear."
"What do they look like?"
Emily gave her a strange look.
"That's the problem."
Rosie waited.
"They're huge. Tall. Broad. The kind of men who make you wonder whether the human body is actually supposed to be built like that."
Rosie laughed.
"So basically, you're telling me Ocala has mysterious men living in the woods."
"I'm telling you that if you see one, don't stare."
"Why?"
Emily's eyes widened.
"Because apparently they notice everything."
Rosie smiled.
"You've been waiting all day to tell me this story, haven't you?"
"Maybe."
Rosie shook her head, laughing as they continued down the aisle.
She was so distracted by Emily's story that she didn't notice the woman approaching from the opposite direction.
Neither did she notice the display rack directly beside her.
She stepped sideways.
And collided with someone.
"Whoa!"
Rosie stumbled.
Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed the sleeve of the woman's dark jacket to steady herself.
"I'm so sorry!"
The woman turned.
She was in her forties, with warm eyes and a calm expression.
"It's alright, dear."
Rosie released her immediately.
"I wasn't watching where I was going."
"No harm done."
The woman smiled and adjusted her jacket.
Rosie returned the smile.
"Still, I'm sorry."
The woman nodded and continued toward the rear exit, where two large men were waiting beside several boxes.
Emily suddenly grabbed Rosie's arm.
"Rosie."
"What?"
"Look."
Rosie turned.
The two men were enormous.
Not just tall.
Not just muscular.
There was something about the way they carried themselves that made the busy grocery center seem strangely smaller around them.
They lifted the heavy boxes as though they weighed nothing.
Rosie blinked.
Emily slowly turned toward her.
"Those are them."
"Those are who?"
"The men I was just telling you about."
Rosie looked back.
The men were already disappearing through the exit with the woman.
"You're serious."
"I told you."
Rosie stared after them for another second.
A strange warmth lingered across her skin.
She frowned.
Maybe it was nothing.
She turned back toward the cart.
"Come on. We still have half the store to buy."
Neither woman noticed what had just happened.
Neither of them noticed the faint scent clinging to the woman's jacket.
A scent unlike anything she had ever encountered.
Sun-dried peaches.
White blossoms.
And something warm beneath it that seemed to breathe with life.
---
Maria Smith stepped into the Blackwood Pack's private compound several hours later.
She carried the last box toward the pack house before handing it to one of the waiting warriors.
"Put that in the kitchen."
"Yes, Maria."
She walked inside, still wearing the same dark jacket.
She had no idea that a tiny trace of scent had followed her all the way home.
No idea that someone was about to notice it.
And certainly no idea what that scent would awaken.
Inside his private study, Adrian Blackwood was reviewing documents when Silver suddenly went still.
His pen stopped.
His breathing changed.
For a moment, he couldn't understand what had happened.
Then the scent reached him.
Faint.
Almost impossible to detect.
But unmistakable.
Sun-dried peaches.
White blossoms.
Silver slammed against the surface of his mind.
Mate.
Adrian shot to his feet.
The chair crashed backward.
For twenty-five years, he had searched for her.
Twenty-five years of waiting.
Twenty-five years of silence.
And now, somehow...
She was here.
His wolf knew it.
Adrian's silver eyes darkened.
"Where?"
The word left his mouth like a command.
But Silver didn't answer with words.
He only followed the scent.
Straight toward the woman who had unknowingly carried it into his home.
And somewhere in the same building, Maria was completely unaware that her jacket had just changed Adrian Blackwood's entire life.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD