Julian's POV
She was here.
For the briefest, most excruciating second, I caught her scent—vanilla, bergamot, rose, and sweet strawberries. It was faint, barely clinging to the cold air, but I knew it anywhere. Emily.
Then, it was gone.
I took a sharp breath, my entire body locking up as I tried to hold on to the fading traces of her presence. My heart pounded like a war drum, my wolf thrashing violently inside me, clawing at my consciousness, furious that we had just missed her.
I could still smell my mother's perfume too—that deep, rich Arabian fragrance she favored. She had been here with Emily. That realization alone sent a wave of raw fury through me, hot and blistering like wildfire. She had my mate.
We had stormed into the warehouse like a tidal wave, but it wasn't fast enough
