Chapter 12:The scent
1109 Words
The rain had thinned, but the storm inside Adam hadn't.
He stalked through the hospital corridor like a shadow, guided by the thread of a scent only he could detect. Raina’s scent. Faint. Real. Irreplaceable.
“She’s here,” his wolf repeated, not as a guess, but a truth.
He ignored the risk, the cameras, and the silent tension rising in the halls. None of it mattered now. Not when the woman who had haunted his every thought for days might be just a wall away.
Finally, he stood in front of the room where the scent was strongest. Room 104. His heart thudded. He knew she was in there. But there was another scent too, something that smelled like him... but new. Delicate. Fragile.
His wolf growled low in his chest.
“My scent.”
Then the memory hit him like a slap, a voice from a past conversation, echoing.
> “Is it the baby?”
Emily's voice, questioning.
His head was pressed against the door as he tried to make sense of it all.
That’s when a voice cut through the hallway, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Hi... How may I help you?”
He turned. Her voice was calm, but her presence shocked him. She looked so much like Raina, just a little older, slightly different in posture, but her scent, too, held faint traces of familiarity.
“She looks just like her,” Adam thought instantly. “Almost smells like her too.”
“Erm… I’m so sorry,” he said, quickly straightening. “Is Raina here?”
Emily’s eyes narrowed slightly, suspicion building.
“Do I know you?” she asked, stepping forward.
“Oh, I’m Adam,” he said quickly, extending his hand with a cautious smile to mask his nerves. “You don’t know me, but I’m sure your sister does.”
Her brows raised. “Ohh... Adam!” she exclaimed, surprise washing over her face. “How did...?”
She paused but didn’t finish the question.
“Erm... Of course, Raina is here. Come in,” she said, opening the door for him.
And there she was.
Curled on her side on the hospital bed, lips slightly parted. Her arm was wrapped protectively over her stomach, and a faint smile lingered on her face, peaceful, unaware.
His gaze dropped to her belly.
It was round. Obvious now. And then as if a switch flipped the tiny, soft heartbeat filled his ears.
His child.
She stirred, blinking as if waking from a dream. Her eyes found his and became wide, startled, then suddenly full of unshed tears.
“Adam…” she whispered weakly.
He didn’t speak, not at first. He walked toward her slowly, cautiously, afraid that if he moved too fast, she’d disappear again.
He knelt beside the bed. His eyes never left hers, then drifted down to the swollon belly beneath her blanket.
“When?” he asked, voice low and raw. His hand found hers, gently rubbing it in a silent offer of comfort.
“After that night...” she said softly. “I didn’t know until it was too late to find you. I was too scared to tell you over the phone. I’m sorry.”
She looked away for a moment, then added quickly, “I swear, it’s yours.”
“I know,” he said, lowering his head.
A thousand thoughts tore through him guilt, wonder… and joy.
Then, he did something he never expected of himself.
He reached out and gently placed his palm over her belly.
And there it was the tiny flutter.
A pulse of something that didn’t exist in his world days ago, but now… meant everything.
“I will burn the whole world to protect you,” he muttered under his breath.
“What?” she asked, barely hearing.
“Nothing,” he replied with a wide, broken smile.
“A girl?” he asked suddenly.
“I don’t know… You want a girl?” she chuckled softly.
“Yes. Daddy’s girl,” he said, joking but a little serious. “When will you check?”
“I don’t know. The doctor said the baby’s growing too fast, so I’m under intensive care. I hadn’t really thought about checking,” she said, her smile dimming.
“Oh,” he replied with a nod, understanding the fear behind her words and fully aware of what happening to her.
He sat beside her, one hand rubbing her back gently as the other rested on her belly. She leaned into him until her breathing slowed, and within minutes, she was fast asleep in his arms, a small smile tucked at the corner of her lips.
And then, all of a sudden…
The hospital lights flickered.
Just for half a second.
It was barely noticeable unless you were a wolf like Adam.
He stiffened instantly.
Emergency protocols coming online.
Then came the sound he had been dreading:
The alarm.
Short. Coded.
He quickly knew they found the body.
The politician. The reason he’d been inside this building in the first place.
Adam turned toward the hallway. Radio chatter crackled. Elevator systems froze. Boots began echoing down staircases. They were sealing off the hospital.
Raina stirred slightly as the tension spread across the floor, guards moving, nurses rushing, someone barking orders outside.
But she didn’t wake.
He glanced down. He was still wearing the hospital guard’s overcoat, damp at the collar. His boots were stained with blood. His fake badge read “Jerad,” and it wouldn’t hold under a second glance.
He couldn’t stay.
His jaw tightened.
She didn’t know what he had done. And he didn’t want her to. Not yet.
Not when he had just found her.
Not with his child growing inside her.
He tore a page from a hospital chart and scribbled quickly:
“I didn’t want to wake you. I’ll be right back.
Love you.”
He dropped the note gently on the desk beside the bed, then leaned down and kissed her forehead.
One last time.
Then he turned, heading straight for the stairwell.
---
He moved fast, down the maintenance stairs, out into the loading bay.
Security was sweeping floors.
But Adam was already gone.
---
In a parking garage across the street, he stripped out of the bloodied clothes and pulled on black cargo pants and a hoodie from his hidden duffel bag. He wiped his face clean with antiseptic and tied his hair back.
His wolf was quiet, now not calm, but alert.
“I’ll be back for you,” he thought, looking up at the hospital windows.
“Both of you.”
- Writer
