The Scent I Couldn't Escape.
877 Words
By the time I reached the gates of Ironfang…
I knew something was wrong.
Not around me.
Inside me.
“Where have you been?”
The guard’s voice was sharp, his eyes scanning me with suspicion as I approached.
I forced my breathing to steady.
“The outer fields,” I replied calmly. “I lost track of time.”
A lie.
But a believable one.
He hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside.
“Your father has been asking for you.”
Of course he had.
He always did.
I nodded and walked past him, keeping my pace even.
Controlled.
Measured.
Like nothing had changed.
But everything had.
The moment I crossed into the walls of Ironfang, it hit me again.
That scent.
Faint now.
Barely there.
But still enough to make my chest tighten.
Him.
I swallowed hard, pressing my lips together as I moved quickly through the courtyard.
This didn’t make sense.
He was gone.
Far from here.
And yet…
It felt like he wasn’t.
Like something of him had followed me back.
Mine.
The whisper came again.
Stronger this time.
Clearer.
“No,” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head slightly.
I needed to get control of myself.
This was nothing.
Just… confusion.
Just the result of being too close to someone unfamiliar.
Dangerous.
That was all.
“Selene.”
I froze.
I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
The air itself shifted when he was near.
Heavy.
Commanding.
Unavoidable.
Alpha Ronan.
I turned slowly, schooling my expression into calm neutrality.
He stood a few steps away, dressed in dark training leathers, his presence as imposing as ever.
Power rolled off him effortlessly.
The kind that demanded attention.
The kind that demanded submission.
“You were not in your quarters,” he said.
Not a question.
An observation.
“I needed air,” I replied.
His gaze lingered on me, sharp and assessing.
Too sharp.
Too observant.
“And you found it… beyond the gates?” he asked.
My heart skipped.
Just once.
But that was enough.
“I walked further than I intended.”
Still calm.
Still controlled.
Still lying.
Silence stretched between us.
Uncomfortable.
Heavy.
Then,
He stepped closer.
My body reacted instantly.
Not the way it should have.
Not with fear.
Not with awareness of him.
But with resistance.
My wolf stirred again.
Restless.
Uneasy.
And for the first time since I had known him…
It did not respond to Alpha Ronan.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
“You smell different,” he said quietly.
My breath caught.
“I—”
“Not like Ironfang,” he continued, his voice dropping slightly. “Not like anything I recognize.”
Panic flickered in my chest.
Sharp.
Sudden.
That was impossible.
There was no way,
Unless…
The forest.
Him.
I forced a small frown, tilting my head slightly.
“I’ve been outside the walls. Maybe that’s why.”
A weak explanation.
Too weak.
He didn’t look convinced.
His hand lifted suddenly.
And before I could react,
His fingers brushed against my jaw, tilting my face slightly toward him.
The contact should have grounded me.
Should have felt familiar.
Expected.
Instead,
Nothing.
No spark.
No pull.
No reaction.
Just… emptiness.
My chest tightened.
Because I knew what I had felt earlier.
I knew the difference.
And that difference was dangerous.
Ronan’s gaze darkened slightly as he studied me.
Searching.
Calculating.
“Be careful where you wander,” he said finally, his tone calm but edged with something sharper.
“Not everything beyond these walls is meant to be found.”
A warning.
Not just for the forest.
But for whatever he was beginning to suspect.
“I understand,” I replied softly.
His hand lingered for a second longer before dropping.
Then he stepped back.
But his eyes never left mine.
“Preparations for the union begin tomorrow,” he added.
“The Blood Moon is closer than you think.”
My stomach twisted.
“Yes, Alpha.”
The words tasted like something bitter.
Something final.
He gave a single nod before turning and walking away.
And only when he disappeared from sight did I allow myself to breathe again.
But even then,
It didn’t feel like relief.
Because the moment I was alone…
The silence returned.
And with it,
That pull.
Stronger than before.
I staggered slightly, gripping the nearest pillar as a wave of heat rushed through me.
My senses sharpened all at once.
The world around me fading into the background.
All I could feel…
All I could think about,
Was him.
The way his voice sounded.
The way his presence filled the space.
The way my body had responded without permission.
This wasn’t normal.
This wasn’t right.
This was something else.
Something I had never been taught about.
Never warned about.
But somehow,
Deep down,
I knew exactly what it was.
And that terrified me more than anything.
Because if I was right…
Then fate had made a mistake.
A cruel one.
I wasn’t supposed to feel this.
Not for him.
Not for anyone.
Because my life had already been decided.
And the man I was meant to marry…
Was not the one my soul had just chosen.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD