Eric's Scent

I didn't rest throughout the day. I wandered aimlessly, like a restless mother searching desperately for her child. I couldn't shake the words that young man had said to me. The scent of his blood still lingered in my mind, stirring something within me. I was lost in thought, unsure of what to do. I considered following his scent and tracing his blood wherever he had gone, but he was already far away.

My eyes remained wide open until dawn as I lay awake, lost in thought and calculating the hours in my head. When it was almost noon, I hurried into the woods—the very place where I had seen him pass before. I waited patiently for him to appear.

Other humans passed by, but they held no interest for me. I lingered in the woods for what felt like an eternity, pacing from one corner to another along the cliff that dropped sharply toward the road, never taking my eyes off the path.

Finally, I saw him approaching from afar.

My heart began to race again. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Quietly, I followed him wherever he went, making sure no one noticed me. Eventually, he passed through a huge gate crowded with different people.

"It's a school," I said to myself. Then another thought crossed my mind. "He comes here every day?"

I saw several girls wearing short skirts, their hair perfectly straightened, with colourful makeup painted across their faces. Some of them had a strange-looking substance smeared across their lips, almost as though it had dried there.

I stepped into the school compound, trying to keep up with the young man who was already far ahead of me. Before I could follow him any further, however, an older man with closely cropped hair stopped me.

“She reeks,” one of the girls whispered, covering her nose as she walked past me.

Do they even know who I am? I wondered. I snarled softly, baring my teeth at them without revealing my fangs or moving any closer.

“Who are you, young lady?” the man with the cropped hair asked.

“Young lady?” I repeated, almost offended. “How old do you think I am?”

“Girl, when was the last time you took a shower—”

“Shut up,” I commanded.

“Or what?” a girl asked coldly. She wasn't afraid of me. Not like my people were.

I suddenly remembered that this wasn't my territory. I had no authority here, and these people didn't know who I was.

“I may have to ask you to leave and come back with your parents,” the older man said sternly. Before I could respond, he pushed me back toward the entrance and forced me outside.

After being forced out of the school, I stood by the gate, watching the ladies dress in different styles and arrange their hair the way my mum used to when I was still a kid. I picked up a strand of hair from the side of my head and brought it to my nose.

“Urgh. It reeks.” I hadn't noticed the smell before.

I made my way to an abandoned cottage deep within the woods, where I waited for him to come out. Hours passed, and I had no idea when I eventually fell asleep. I was suddenly awakened by his distinct scent of blood drifting toward me from afar. I immediately shot to my feet and went to check.

I scoffed. “My nose ain't wrong.”

But he wasn't alone. I noticed a few people following behind him. From their conversation, which I could hear clearly even from a distance, I realized they were bullies planning to beat him up.

As they quickened their pace, I rushed toward him. The moment they raised their fists to strike him from behind, I leapt in front of him, taking several of the punches myself.

“Urgh,” one of the bullies grunted, pulling his hands away. “Who is she? She stinks.”

Just as one of them raised his hand to hit me again, the young man suddenly pulled me backward and stepped in front of me. Grabbing the bully’s arm, he drove a hard punch into his stomach. The bully groaned in pain and stumbled backward, clutching his stomach. His gang immediately rushed to his side, dragging him away from us.

What just happened? I wondered, completely stunned. Humans. Everywhere. And especially the one person I wanted to sink my teeth into—to suck dry.

I couldn’t believe I was standing right in front of him. For a moment, neither of us moved. We simply stared at each other.

“You again.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you stalking me?” he asked, his voice deep and strangely calm.

I instinctively took a step back. The thought of how badly I must have smelled, standing so close to him, made me uncomfortable. But as I retreated, he followed.

“You know,” he continued, “I noticed you earlier this morning. You were following me all the way to school. I saw you. You’ve been stalking me.”

My heart skipped. I turned, ready to disappear into the woods, but before I could take another step, his hand closed around mine.

“Don’t go,” he said, his tone slightly commanding.

I froze. My breathing grew heavier as I fought the urge burning inside me. His blood. I could smell it so clearly—warm, intoxicating, dangerously close. Every instinct in me screamed to pull him closer and sink my teeth into his skin.

“Don’t go,” he repeated, softer this time.

I kept my face turned away from him, afraid that if I looked into his eyes, he would see exactly what I was fighting.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“Do—do what?” I stammered.

“Take the hit for me.”

I finally looked at him.

“You’re just a girl. You’re too fragile to be throwing yourself in front of people like that.” His expression softened. “Next time, call my attention and let me handle those guys. I don’t want you getting hurt because of me. Okay?”

I said nothing. No one had ever said those words to me before. *I don't want you getting hurt because of me.*

Something inside my chest melted. My heart fluttered painfully, and my trembling legs almost gave out beneath me.

“My name is Eric,” he said after a moment. “What’s yours?”

I hesitated before gently pulling my hand from his grip. “Don’t come any closer,” I muttered. “I stink.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “That’s not a name.”

“It's Aliya,” I finally whispered.

“Aliya.” He repeated my name slowly, as though testing how it sounded. “That’s a beautiful name.” He took another slow step toward me. “Come with me. I’ll get you cleaned up.”

Before I could protest, he took my hand again.

We walked down the lonely street, the silence around us broken only by the faint sound of our footsteps. There was no one in sight. No witnesses. No one to stop me.

This was the perfect opportunity. I could take him down right there. But something inside me held me back. I glanced at him. He was smiling. And for reasons I couldn't understand, I found myself smiling too.

Eventually, we arrived at a small beauty salon tucked between two quiet buildings. Its glass doors opened into a warm, fragrant space filled with mirrors, colorful bottles, hair products, soft music, and the sweet scent of perfumes. Women moved from one station to another, chatting and laughing as hairdryers hummed in the background.

Eric walked me inside. He spoke briefly to one of the attendants before gently pushing me forward.

“Take care of her,” he said. “Give her a bath, fix her hair, and make her look good.”

I lowered my eyes, embarrassed. The attendant led me toward the back, where a small bathing area was separated by a curtain. But the moment I stepped inside, my senses sharpened.

Blood. I could smell it everywhere.

The attendants. The customers. Every living person in that salon carried the scent. Some of them smelled almost as bad as I did. But none of them compared to him. Eric's scent lingered in the air long after he had chosen to wait outside.

Even as warm water poured over my skin, even as the dirt and blood were washed from my body, I could still smell him. His blood. It was stronger than all the others. And somehow, more tempting. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists.

What had I gotten myself into?

Because the one person I was supposed to hunt… was becoming the one person I couldn't bring myself to hurt.