Chapter 4 SCENT AND SPIKE

ETHAN’S POV

The locker room was empty by the time I finished showering and getting changed.

I slung my gym bag over one shoulder, looking around the bench for my left glove. It wasn't there.

"Great," I muttered under my breath, my jaw clenching.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose, focusing my Alpha senses to trace the heavy cedarwood scent of my gear. Some obsessed fan had probably snatched it off the bench while I was in the penalty box during the second period. It happened more often than it should, and it was fucking annoying.

I followed the faint trail out of the locker room, taking the back stairs toward the student dorms.

Suddenly, a wave of blinding, raw agony slammed straight into my chest.

It felt like someone had shoved a silver blade into my sternum and ripped my heart straight out of my body. I stopped dead in my tracks, my knees almost buckling as I gasped for air, grabbing the stone wall to steady myself.

The pain lasted for three agonizing seconds, then vanished as fast as it had come, leaving a cold, dull ache behind.

What the hell was that? I asked my wolf internally, my pulse racing.

I don't know, my wolf growled, sounding just as confused and shaken as I was. It didn't come from the pack bond. It was... something else.

"Whatever," I grunted, shaking my head to clear the haze.

I focused back on tracing the scent of my leather glove. But as I took a few steps further down the dorm hallway, I noticed something strange. Attached right alongside the cedarwood scent of my gear was another scent, a light, ridiculously sweet smell that hit my nose like vanilla and fresh honey.

The moment the sweet scent hit my lungs, my wolf let out a soft, contented purr deep in my throat.

I froze. Is that... our mate?

I frowned instantly. No. That was impossible. Silverwood wolves couldn't recognize or scent their fated mates until their nineteenth birthday, which was still a few months away for me.

I can't place my hands on what it is, my wolf muttered, sniffing the air eagerly through our shared senses. But I like it. I really like it.

I pressed forward, my eyes briefly flashing gold in the dim light as I locked onto the combined trail. The sweet smell got heavier and heavier with every step until I was standing right in front of door 304.

I didn't hesitate. I raised my hand and knocked hard.

The door unlocked, opening just a crack. A girl with dark hair looked out at me, but the second her eyes registered who was standing there, her face went completely pale. She slammed the door right back in my face.

Rude, I thought, staring at the painted wood.

The vanilla scent was coming directly from inside that room, but it definitely wasn't coming from the girl who had just slammed the door.

My sharp wolf hearing picked up a panicked voice from inside the room. "What happened?! Sienna, did we get caught by the faculty?!"

A dry scoff almost escaped my mouth. Yeah, you've been caught, I thought. Maybe not by the faculty, but you're caught anyway.

A second later, the door swung wide open again. The dark-haired girl stood there staring at me, letting out a sharp squeal. "Oh my god... Chloe..."

I winced slightly, instantly regretting my sharp hearing as her squeal echoed in my ears.

From inside the room, a sharp, annoyed voice called out. "What the fuck is it, Si?!"

Light, delicate footsteps padded against the floor. They were barely audible, but I heard them anyway. And as those footsteps got closer to the threshold, that sweet vanilla scent flooded my nostrils, so thick it almost made my head spin.

A gorgeous girl with blonde hair pulled over one shoulder pushed past the dark-haired girl, looking over her shoulder. Her blue eyes locked onto mine, and her lips parted.

"What the fuck...?" she whispered.

I kept my face completely stone-cold, looking down at her. "I think you have something of mine."

The blonde girl raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "Hell no, I don't."

She stared at me for another second, then her blue eyes went wide. She gasped, slapping a hand against her forehead.

"Oh my god, I'm so stupid," she muttered.

The girl who opened the door, Sienna looked between us, her brows pulled together in confusion. "What is it, Chloe? What something of his do you have?"

Before Chloe could answer, Sienna quickly remembered her manners, waving a hand nervously. "I'm Sienna, by the way. And this is Chloe."

I gave a single, tight nod, not taking my eyes off Chloe.

Chloe let out a heavy groan, turning on her heel and walking back into her room. "I have his stupid glove!"

Sienna’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. "How the fuck do you have Ethan Silver's glove?!"

"He bumped into me in the hall earlier! It must have stuck to my coat then!" Chloe yelled back from inside.

A few seconds later, Chloe walked back to the doorway holding my black-and-silver hockey glove. Sienna was staring at her with an intensely suspicious, questioning look on her face.

Chloe glared at her friend. "It's not whatever the fuck you're thinking, Si!"

She held the glove out toward me, looking completely unbothered. I reached out, snatched the leather glove from her hand, turned on my heel, and walked away without saying another word.

I headed down the stairs, taking the covered walkway toward the small, roofed personal ice rink near the pack quarters. I just wanted to throw my gear in my locker and figure out why my wolf was acting so restless.

Then it hit me again.

A heart-wrenching, agonizing surge of pure pain exploded in the center of my chest.

It was ten times worse than the first time. My breath was cut off instantly, and I doubled over near the edge of the glass rink, slamming my shoulder against the wall to keep from falling.

What the hell is going on?! I screamed at my wolf, my vision going spotty from the sheer agony.

I don't know! It hurts! my wolf roared back, thrashing inside my mind.

The pain was so agonizing I felt like screaming, but I couldn't let anyone in the pack house hear me weak. In sheer desperation, I raised the hand holding the stolen glove, shoved the thick leather against my mouth, and bit down hard to muffle the sound ripping from my throat.

As I bit down, the tiny, sweet vanilla scent attached to the leather flooded straight into my mouth and nose.

Instantly, the searing pain in my chest subsided just by a tiny fraction.

My eyes snapped open. I frowned, pulling the glove away from my face to catch my breath.

The moment the glove left my face, the excruciating pain doubled, ripping through my ribs like fire.

"Fuck!" I choked out.

I slammed the glove back against my face, inhaling deeply through my nose until that sweet, vanilla-and-honey scent filled my lungs once again. The agonizing pressure in my chest eased up just enough for me to stand upright.

I stood there alone in the dark rink, breathing heavily into a borrowed scent on a hockey glove, my mind reeling in absolute shock.

What the fuck has this witch done to me?