Chapter 4: The Scent

Wyatt's POV

"Wyatt, did you hear about what happened?" On the training grounds, my future Beta Logan Pierce lowered his voice.

"What happened?"

"The Moonshadow Pack has completely fallen. It was that old schemer Alexander who did it." Logan said with certainty. My eyes sharpened slightly. I held his gaze and let him continue.

"Alexander planted spies. By the time Alpha James realized what was happening, it was already too late. Our informants sent word that he's dead. His daughter is said to have gone missing. Alexander had the entire Moonshadow Pack's borders sealed off. The fires burned for three days and three nights — the whole territory has been gutted."

"We need the Moonshadow territory." I cut in quietly.

Perhaps because of my sudden interruption, Logan paused for a moment, then asked: "Wyatt, don't you want to know anything more about that war?"

I looked straight into Logan's slightly bewildered eyes and raised an eyebrow. "What should I want to know?"

Logan bit the inside of his cheek and sighed. "It's just — it was a massacre of an entire Pack."

He seemed to feel sympathy for the Moonshadow Pack. His sympathy struck me as pointless.

"War among wolf Packs has always been brutal, Logan. That's just how it is." I let out a breath and kept going, patient enough: "The way I see it, we should be talking about that territory. Alpha Alexander and the Crimson Howl Pack have thrown the entire wolf continent into panic and disorder. No one wants to be the next Moonshadow. And we should be the ones to take over their old lands."

"If the Darkridge Pack moves into the former Moonshadow territory early, you'll have a stronger advantage when the time comes to contend for the Alpha King's throne." Logan picked up the thread.

I curved my lips slightly and gave a slow, satisfied nod.

I turned my gaze in the direction of the Moonshadow Pack. As far as my eyes could reach, the sun burned like a ball of fire, rolling down behind the mountains across the river.

A truly magnificent stretch of land.

Logan looked like he still had something to say — but if he was going to keep carrying on like some Omega mourning over past tragedies, I'd rather he just sat with it alone in silence.

We trained on the grounds until eleven at night. The blood and fighting had left me a little worn out. Just then, my mother's Mind Link came through: "Come home, Wyatt. Tonight is the full moon banquet." There was a certain warmth and anticipation in her tone. The tension in my nerves finally eased a little.

"Alright, Mom. I'll be right back."

"That's enough for tonight. Dismissed." I pulled on my shirt and gave the order to the Gamma wolves.

"Oh! Thank the Luna!" The Gammas made an exaggerated show of saluting the moon, then bolted toward the trees to change.

Logan shook his head with a laugh, then walked over to the car and asked: "So — shall I drop you at the Alpha's villa? Or the gathering?"

"I'll get back on my own."

Logan drove off. The Gamma wolves sprinted off in high spirits toward the full moon gathering. The training grounds went quiet all at once. "They sure cleared out fast." I muttered under my breath, then walked over to a hay bale and sat down. The moonlight was clear and bright, making the night sky dazzling. The warmth of the day had long given way to a cool, refreshing chill. The wind rushed past my ears. From the forest in the distance came the soft rustle of leaves.

I sat there in silence for forty minutes. In the moonlight, my shadow stretched out beside me — and within it, the faint shadow of my wolf.

"You're really something, you know. You could at least find a patch of woods." The voice of my wolf, Kael, drifted through my mind, quiet and unhurried. He rarely spoke. Even when I felt lonely, even though we were two halves of the same whole, he'd keep his silence.

"You want to go to the woods?" I asked the wolf in my mind.

Kael didn't answer, but he made it clear he wanted to go somewhere else. Where, exactly, he didn't say. Still, I let him take control. My bones cracked and twisted backward, and I shifted into a massive wolf with black fur.

I lifted my head and sniffed left and right. Kael seemed to be searching for something. Tonight was the full moon banquet. I had a pretty good idea what he was after. "Stop chasing after this Fate Mate nonsense, Kael. I'm already twenty-one. Serena is the most fitting choice for Luna."

I tried to reason with Kael, but a low growl rumbled in my throat. I turned and broke into a run, tearing through a dense stretch of forest until Kael brought us to the edge of the full moon gathering.

We wandered without purpose — but then Kael stopped dead. I was puzzled at first, but then I caught it too. No — caught wasn't quite the right word. It was more like an instinct. I went on alert and began scenting the air in every direction. Maybe it was a smell. Maybe something else entirely. Either way, something had shifted.

"Kael! What did you do? What is that?"

"I... I don't know, Wyatt. I thought it was the Mate. But there's no pheromone here. I was just — drawn."

"Oh, no. You're doing it again. Imagining things. Either way, the wandering's over. Let's get out of here." I looked around and spotted the faint glow of flames in the distance. I lunged forward, front paws stretching out ahead of me — but right at that moment, Kael let out a low, trembling growl. I heard a drumbeat and realized it was my own heartbeat. I swept the area with sharp eyes, searching every corner, and found nothing. Kael pulled me off course toward a narrow path. In the dim light, I made out a figure.

And then I caught it — a scent unlike anything I had ever encountered in my life. The most exotic, the most intoxicating thing I had ever smelled. Every one of my senses sharpened at once, drawn toward it without any will of my own. It was layered with the clean freshness of the forest and the raw, earthy richness of damp soil.

The figure moved quickly along the dimly lit path ahead. My eyes went straight to that hurried, slender silhouette. As the light grew gradually brighter, what I saw first was the unmistakable curve of her back. God — that waist. She was tall, her slender frame shifting within the white fabric of her skirt. As her slim ankles moved in quick, alternating steps, the muscles in her legs pulled taut — like a ballet dancer. My gaze traveled over her and simply refused to leave.

I slowly lifted my head, shifted my body, and began to change back. By the time I was following close behind her on foot, the scent had vanished completely. And this woman was walking faster with every step. She had clearly sensed me — but she was pretending she hadn't, only quietly quickening her pace.

Something inside me went on high alert. A Crimson Howl Pack spy, maybe? But there was no Pack scent on her at all. A Rogue, then? There had been a sudden surge of Rogues appearing near the central territory's borders lately. Either way, whatever she was, she had no business being here.

I made up my mind and moved without hesitation, grabbing her by the back of the neck.

"Ahh —"

The girl screamed. Her eyes squeezed shut. She flailed her arms and legs in my grip, her whole body trembling. As she struggled, the loose collar of her dress slipped down off one shoulder. The pale skin that flashed in the moonlight made my breath catch. I finally got a clear look at the clean line of her jaw — her cheek was twisted with fear, flushed deep red.

I bent down and moved closer. She seemed to finally register something and went still. In the moment she slowly opened her eyes, a shudder ran through me — excitement and something else tangled together. I stared straight into her eyes. And in that instant, I knew.

"No fucking way..." Kael's voice was unsteady. "Mate."

I went rigid with shock.

The same shock was written all over her face as she stared back into my eyes. Her eyes — God. They were the green of the ocean, but edged with blue — some blended shade I couldn't begin to describe. As I looked at her, the color deepened. A low growl threatened to rise in my throat. I forced it back down before it could escape.

I leaned toward her neck and breathed in slowly, searching for her scent. But I still couldn't catch anything. Only Kael, making a low sound of approval, excited about something I couldn't fully grasp.

"You run faster than lightning, Miss." I said, a sardonic edge in my voice.

She looked shaken, staring up at me with those bright, wide eyes.

"Mine." Kael growled low. A rush of something shot through my entire body in an instant. My breathing went shallow. I couldn't focus on anything except the feeling of her so close. "That's enough, Kael. She's not our Mate. I can't pick up her scent at all. This could be a Rogue trick, or something the Crimson Howl Pack set up. Stop making trouble." I snapped inwardly at Kael, impatient.

"Let her go! You're hurting her!" Kael snarled.

I loosened my grip, eyes fixed on her face. Fine — I'll admit it. I could not look away. I'd met more she-wolves than I could count in my life. She was, without question, striking. Damn it. I was actually drawn to her.

"Why is there no Pack scent on you?" Anger burned in my eyes.

A flash of unease crossed her face. She let out a quiet scoff. "None of your business." That voice sent a ripple straight down my spine. An inexplicable surge of excitement rose in my chest.

She spun around fast and disappeared into the crowd. I stayed where I was, eyes locked on the direction she'd gone, for several long minutes.

I needed to think. A mate?