Chapter 6: Sniff

Damian's POV

We had just returned from a long run under the moon and the shift back to skin still tingled in my muscles as we gathered around the bonfire. Flames leapt high into the sky, sparks rising like fireflies and vanishing into the darkness.

But even as the fire burned hot and bright, something in the air felt off. There was a strange pull that I couldn’t explain, something I couldn’t shake no matter how many times I tried to focus.

Lidia, one of the alpha daughters from the academy, had attached herself to my side all night. She had been smiling, laughing, speaking to me as though no one else existed. Her perfume clung to the air—sweet but artificial. She leaned in closer now, her hand brushing an imaginary speck of ash from my chest. Her eyes were half-lidded, her mouth curved in a practiced, seductive smile.

“You’re the Alpha of the Silverclaw pack now, Damian,” she purred, her voice low and soft, as though she was trying to wrap herself around me. “You can have anything you want.”

The group around us snickered and teased. Someone made a joke about mates, about how soon I’d choose someone. Their laughter was loud and easy, but I barely heard it. Lidia’s touch, their voices, the fire—they all blurred together. My wolf, Logan, was restless under my skin, pacing, snarling softly in the back of my mind. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen that would change everything.

A servant approached and poured wine into my cup. The scent of it mixed with the smoke from the fire, warm and spiced. I lifted it to my lips—but then I felt it again.

The rush. The pull.

It slammed into me so hard it almost knocked the breath from my chest. Logan roared inside me, claws scraping at my insides like he wanted out.

“What’s wrong, Logan?” I asked him in my mind, trying to stay calm. But he didn’t answer. He only growled, and his focus shifted—not to the fire, not to the wine, but to the one sitting at my side.

A sudden wave of rejection rolled through me, sharp and undeniable. Before I even realized what I was doing, my hand shot out and pushed Lidia away from me. Her fingers fell from my chest, her eyes widening in shock. The movement startled her. It startled me, too.

“Damian?” she blinked up at me, confused. “Where are you going?”

I didn’t answer. Logan was moving, rising, taking over my senses. My heart hammered harder with every beat. The air changed again. A new scent drifted toward me, slipping past the smoke and perfume.

Honey.

Warm, soft, real honey.

It wrapped around me, crawling into my lungs, filling every breath. My vision sharpened and my hands trembled. Logan went mad.

The pull became stronger. Irresistible. I swept my gaze across the clearing, desperate to find the source of it. My eyes darted over the faces of wolves, servants, guests—but I couldn’t find her. Whoever she was, she was close. Too close.

My wolf lunged against my ribs, my pulse racing with his. The word formed in my head and exploded in my head like thunder.

Mate.

F*ck. After years of searching, of waiting, of wondering if she even existed—she finally showed up.

She’s here. She’s close. She’s ours.

The words echoed inside my skull like a sacred mantra, pulsing with every beat of my heart. I didn’t know who she was yet. I didn’t care what she looked like, where she was standing, or what she was doing. None of it mattered. All I knew was that I needed to find her. Now.

And Logan, my wolf wouldn’t rest until I did.

I shifted before I even made the decision to do it. One moment I was standing by the bonfire, the next my paws were hitting the earth, claws digging into the dirt as I lunged forward. The scent of honey—warm, sweet, real—flooded my senses, guiding me like a trail of light.

I bolted toward the house, following the invisible thread pulling me. Every step made the scent stronger, clearer. It wrapped around me, inside me, curling through my lungs and down into my bones until it was all I could taste.

“Logan! Damian! What’s going on?” my mother called, panic lacing her tone.

But I didn’t turn. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The world had narrowed to a single point—the scent, the reward at the end of it.

Logan had taken over, his instincts too strong to fight. My human mind was a passenger now, clinging to the edges while he surged forward. I could feel him, wild and fierce, pushing past every boundary of control.

“Damian? Where are you going?!” my mother’s voice came again, louder this time.

But her words were like distant thunder, swallowed by the rushing in my ears. The pounding of my paws and the racing of my heart filled every sound, every space inside me.

The connection between me and the scent was too strong, too undeniable. It overrode everything—custom, dignity, reason. Even the Alpha title I had just claimed minutes ago meant nothing in the face of this.

She was all that mattered.

We bounded up the rear staircase, paws hammering the steps two, three at a time. Wood blurred beneath us, railings a flash of brown and shadow as Logan drove us higher and higher. Three floors vanished in seconds, eaten up by instinct and a need so deep it vibrated through my bones.

Until we stopped.

The top floor. The attic. A place I’d barely even thought about. A place no one paid attention to. The air here was colder, thinner, quieter—like even the house itself forgot this space existed.

But she was here.

Logan froze at the door. His breath came out in hard, steaming puffs, each one louder than the silence.

And then—another wave of her scent hit us like a tidal wave.

Sweet. Pure. Undeniably hers.

Logan whimpered and nudged the door with his snout, whining low in his throat. His tail swayed slightly, anxious. His whole body quivered with restrained energy. Yearning.

“That’s her. She’s our mate, Damian. Go to her.”

I shifted back instantly, sweat slicking my skin as I panted against the door. My hands trembled as I reached for the doorknob. The brass was icy under my fingers, grounding me for one heartbeat before the next wave of her scent made my head spin.

And then it hit me. Like a punch to the gut.

There was only one person who lived up here. One person hidden away from the rest of the pack. One girl everyone ignored. One girl I’d barely let myself look at.

Skye.

My throat went dry. My grip on the doorknob tightened.

“Logan…” The words tore out of me, a hoarse whisper. “I think I f*cked up.”

My knees buckled, and I sank in front of the door. The world narrowed to that single slab of wood separating me from her. I pressed my forehead against it, the rough grain biting into my skin, grounding me in the sharp sting I deserved.

Her scent clung to everything here—soft and new, mixed with the wildness of her emerging wolf. She’d shifted tonight. I could feel it. Her scent still crackled in the air and her body had survived the break.

And I wasn't even here. I missed it.

Guilt curled in my stomach like acid, clawing at me from the inside out. I had failed her. Not just as a mate but as her protector and Alpha.

Logan’s growl rumbled deep in my chest, not directed at anyone else—only at me. It was the kind of fury that burned from the inside out.

“Fix this,” Logan ordered, the command like steel wrapping around my throat. “Now.”