Chapter 9 Scenting
Scenting
There was no alarm, no one walking in and demanding blood. I slept deeply, and Luca was still wrapped around me when I woke in the morning.
He smiled sleepily and nestled back into his pillow. I had the impulse to kiss him, but I held back, knowing I wasn’t ready to enter a romantic relationship with him.
Being his mate-approved side piece was unappealing, even if the man himself was downright irresistible. I didn’t know what direction was up, who I could trust, or what the hell I was going to do. It was definitely not the time to get myself a boyfriend.
Shame heated my cheeks. What was I thinking?
After having his hands all over me, his chest against my back and breath on my neck, I had lost my damn mind.
If I was returning to Evrin, I needed to scrub this werewolf from my skin and forget all about him. The idea felt sour in my stomach when his lashes fluttered open and he ran his fingers through my hair affectionately.
Slowly, we disentangled ourselves, my leg sliding from between his. The bed smelled like him, and I sucked in a deep breath of that pine scent before sitting up. Hopefully, he didn’t notice.
I did my best to ignore the hard-on he had on display as he rolled out of bed.
He seemed unbothered, raising his arms to stretch and revealing a swath of toned stomach with the edges of tattoos peeking out.
He wasn’t completely covered, and I was aching to examine all of his artwork and see what stretches of skin were bare.
That fantasy would have to go into the back of my mind and be forgotten.
Swallowing, I peeled my eyes away from his body.
“I’m going to go take a quick shower and change. Will you be okay on your own?” He paused at the doorway.
“I promise I won’t fall down or accidentally burn myself while you’re gone,” I teased. “I know you prefer to be there when I’m disastrous.”
Luca’s brows furrowed. “I’m serious. No risks and no leaving this room or the bathroom until I return. Promise me.”
“I promise,” I said, unbothered by his demand. The concern was evident in every line of his beautiful face, and his request seemed reasonable.
After he disappeared, I quickly pulled on clean clothes and visited the bathroom. It only took a moment to brush my teeth and hair, leaving me feeling fresh and ready for whatever the day would bring.
It needed to be escaping from this house, but that somehow seemed wrong. Scowling, I gave a shake of my head and my hair fell over my cheeks. My fingers smoothed the strands down and tucked them behind my ears.
When he returned, Luca brought two bowls of fruit and toast slathered with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
We sat cross-legged on the bed, knees touching. I wasn’t ready to face the strangers outside of this room, nor a particular Alpha. Luca was far more pleasant. I appreciated him choosing another food item that I could eat without the intense flavors overwhelming me or upsetting my stomach.
Smiling, I scooped a berry into my mouth and crushed it with my tongue, savoring the tart flavor exploding on my tastebuds. Delicious. My hunger roared to life and I shoveled in two more pieces of fruit, nearly groaning with the taste.
After finishing my toast, I glanced up to see Luca staring at me. He wet his lip, his tongue running over his piercing.
“What?”
Dark lashes fluttered as he blinked. “Nothing, I’m just happy you’re eating. You had me worried about how thin you are. Here, have my toast too.”
He shoved his second piece of toast into my hand and watched with his lips slightly parted as I took a bite.
“You’re being weird.” I licked crumbs off my lips.
Luca shook his head, raking his fingers through his curls. “I’m sorry, it’s a werewolf thing. My wolf wants me to feed you. I know it’s a little strange. Don’t worry about it.”
“Why?” I asked, drawing out the word and raising an eyebrow.
“I’ve felt protective of you the moment we found you. It’s only grown stronger. We instinctively provide for those we care about. Especially food.”
“Werewolves are weird. But I can’t complain about the food.”
“Want me to go get more?” he asked.
Shaking my head, I gathered up my courage. “Actually, we need to talk about me leaving.”
Luca set his bowl down and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “Where do you want to go?” he asked, trying to look casual, but his intense focus betrayed him. Ice prickled in that stare, tightening my muscles and sending adrenaline through my bloodstream.
“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on going back to the vampires. But I can’t stay here. I’m not one of you - Cade made that very clear. I don’t belong in a werewolf pack, even if it’s pretty nice.”
“But you could belong here,” he said, eyes the color of a winter sky imploring me.
Frowning, I studied his expression. His mouth tightened, jaw ticking, causing a dimple to appear. He was hiding something.
I’d already figured out that Luca was honest to a fault, and holding this truth back was bothering him.
“Luca?” I asked sweetly.
“You can’t leave. Not yet.” He ran his tongue over his lip piercing again nervously.
“Why the hell not?” My hands fisted on my hips. “First, it was the venom thing, which I get, I really do. But now it feels like an excuse.”
His answer came out in a rush. “Because you’re a werewolf and you’re going to shift for the first time in about a week!”
Impossible.
I stared blankly, unable to process what he claimed.
I wasn’t a werewolf like him. I’d been painfully human for nineteen years.
“The venom suppressed your wolf. Now that you’re clean, you should shift on this full moon. Or the next one at the latest.”
“Uh,” I mumbled, “What? How?”
“It was how you survived for so long when the other donors were dying,” Luca continued, oblivious to the world tilting on its axis around us. He hesitated. “And werewolf blood is especially rich for vampires, so that would explain Evrin wanting to keep you for himself.”
My breathing quickened into sharp little gasps. The room swam as I continued to hyperventilate. The sensation reminded me of venom withdrawals, which only heightened my panic. My pulse pounded in my ears.
“Summer,” Luca murmured. “It’s okay. Breathe.”
He placed his hands on my upper arms and took a deep breath, trying to guide me, but I couldn’t get a hold of my quick, shallow pants.
Swaying, I felt my panic rising like water filling a room. I was drowning in it. Luca’s grip tightened on my arms, and then he was pulling me forward.
He fell back, resting against the headboard with my body draped over him. My arms snaked around his shoulders. My cheek rested against the crook of his neck, and I found myself nuzzling into him. He smelled so good, and my panic started to fade.
His hands smoothed down my back, calming me further. I was lost in a haze of comfort, and my hands moved to his neck, my wrist rubbing over the other side, right below his ear. I wanted to snuggle into him, crawl into his skin.
“Summer,” Luca said again, startling me. His hand gently gripped my wrist as he extracted me from him. “I think that proves it.”
“What?” My stomach flipped, unsure of what he was referencing.
Luca’s head tipped back, giving me his signature smirk. “You were scent-marking me.”
“I was what?” Clutching my wrists against my chest, I sat up, scooting away from him.
“Don’t freak out again,” he said. “It’s a normal instinct thing. You see me as your pack, maybe as more, and you wanted to mix our scents. You rubbed your face and wrists over my neck.”
My lips parted, and I blinked at him for a moment. “Instinct?”
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s fine, feel free to continue.”
“That’s okay, I’d rather not,” I said, recoiling further.
“Summer,” he drawled. I was becoming obsessed with how he said my name, and he seemed to love saying it.
He leaned forward, hand resting on the mattress beside my thigh. “I’ll happily scent-mark you. I’ll do far more than that if you’d let me.”
I was tempted to let him.
Instead, I rubbed my knuckles across my eyes, trying to clear the haze of desire and lingering panic. It was hard to believe what he had told me.
There was no way. But why would he make something like that up? To get me to stick around for one more week? It would be easily disproved at the next full moon when I stayed on two legs.
“So I’m a fucking werewolf. Fantastic.”
Luca rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish.
“I’m sorry you found out this way. The whole situation is weird.
We weren’t sure until you detoxed and your scent changed.
But I thought you smelled a bit like a wolf back when I first saw you.
It’s why we brought you here instead of sending you to the rehab facility with the other victims.”
My hand shot to my mouth. I hadn’t even thought to ask about the other donors. We weren’t close, but I was a horrible person for hardly thinking of them.
“Are they all okay?” I asked, assuaging my guilt.
“Oh yeah. Those places have all those drugs to help with detoxing. They were clean before you were done with it, and they’re all home with their families now.” He hesitated. “You’re the only one they didn’t have any parent information about. Do you remember them? I mean, you were eleven.”
Swallowing, I shifted my weight where I sat. “I didn’t have parents, not that I remember. I was in a group home before I was brought to the den. For a while, I was living on the streets.”
I hated the pity filling his eyes. Scowling, I amended, “It was a long time ago.”
“I can’t imagine what must have happened for you to be on your own. Werewolves are extremely protective of their children. They wouldn’t have abandoned you willingly.”
His words soothed a long-ago scarred-over injury. I had come to terms with never knowing my parents. No one had ever seemed to care, until Luca.
“Thanks,” I whispered. “But don’t tell anyone, please. I don’t want them knowing.”
Luca’s brows furrowed.
“Especially not Cade,” I added.