Chapter 7
794 Words
Chapter 7
Damien's POV
Running had always been my favorite thing.
Even before my first shift, I had preferred being outside rather than trapped indoors. There was something calming about the woods—the scent of pine, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, the feeling of freedom that came with endless open space.
As James and I ran through the forest, I felt the stress of the Alpha meeting slowly begin to fade.
"So how long do we have before we're expected back?" James asked.
"I honestly don't know."
I leaped over a fallen log.
"And to be honest, I don't care."
James chuckled.
For the first time all day, things felt normal.
Then it happened.
A scent hit me so suddenly that I nearly stumbled.
I froze.
My wolf froze.
The world seemed to stop.
"What..." I whispered.
The smell was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
Sweet.
Warm.
Comforting.
Dangerously addictive.
I inhaled again.
Vanilla.
No... not just vanilla.
Whipped vanilla.
The kind females often used in their soaps and body scrubs.
There was something else mixed with it too.
Honey.
Fresh wild honey.
The scent wrapped around me like a warm blanket, making every instinct I possessed come alive.
"What is that?" I asked.
James had already gone completely still.
For several seconds he didn't answer.
Then his head snapped up.
"I don't know."
His voice was rough.
"But we're finding out."
Before I could respond, he surged forward inside my mind.
I nearly lost control.
"James!"
The i***t was practically clawing his way to the surface.
It took everything I had to shove him back.
"You don't even know what it is!"
"Don't care."
His answer came immediately.
"Find it."
I frowned.
Something was seriously wrong with him.
Normally James was calm and collected.
Right now he was acting like a lunatic.
We followed the scent deeper into the woods.
Every step made it stronger.
More intoxicating.
More impossible to ignore.
Within minutes we had traveled nearly five miles beyond the outer edges of Alpha Samuel's territory.
Then another scent reached me.
I immediately wrinkled my nose.
Rogues.
Several of them.
The foul odor of unwashed wolves and old blood hung heavily in the air.
The beautiful scent remained underneath it all, but now it was mixed with the unmistakable smell of danger.
"Why would rogues be this close to Samuel's territory?" I asked.
James let out a low growl.
"I don't know."
Another growl.
"But if they get between me and that scent, I'll kill every single one of them."
I blinked.
That was... concerning.
Very concerning.
Still, I couldn't deny my own curiosity.
Whatever—or whoever—was creating that scent had become impossible to ignore.
We slowed from a run to a cautious walk.
Every sense was on high alert.
The forest eventually opened into a small clearing.
At first I thought the structure in front of us was abandoned.
Then I looked closer.
The place was barely standing.
Broken windows covered with rusted bars.
Rotting wood.
A front door hanging crookedly from its hinges.
The entire building looked like a strong breeze could knock it over.
Yet somehow the scent was strongest here.
James immediately became restless.
"Inside."
I nodded.
Carefully, we approached the building.
No guards.
No movement.
No sounds.
Nothing.
Pushing the damaged door open, I stepped inside.
The room was empty.
Completely empty.
I frowned.
"This can't be right."
James paced inside my head.
"Keep looking."
I slowly searched the room.
Every corner.
Every wall.
Every shadow.
Then I heard it.
A creak beneath my feet.
I froze.
The floor sounded hollow.
My eyes immediately moved toward the center of the room.
A battered wooden table sat directly in the middle.
Underneath it was an old filthy rug.
I stared.
Then laughed.
"Seriously?"
"What?" James snapped.
I pointed.
"There's literally a rug covering the most suspicious spot in the entire room."
James didn't respond.
He was too busy growling.
I dragged the table aside and pulled back the rug.
Sure enough, a trapdoor sat hidden beneath it.
I shook my head.
"Well, that's subtle."
The scent exploded the moment I touched the handle.
Vanilla.
Honey.
And something else.
Something that made every instinct inside me roar to life.
James slammed against the walls of my mind.
"Open it."
I lifted the trapdoor.
A dark staircase descended into the darkness below.
Cold air drifted upward.
The scent was overwhelming now.
Every hair on my body stood on end.
I swallowed hard.
"You ready, buddy?"
For a split second there was silence.
Then James roared so loudly that my head rang.
"LET'S GO. NOW."
And for the first time in my life, I realized my wolf wasn't simply interested.
He was desperate.
- Writer
