Stole My Scent And My Mate

Clara's pov

"Where have you been, you useless shadow? My ears are practically naked and the gala starts in an hour."

Mira’s voice cut through the evening air, sharp enough to bleed. 

She was perched on the edge of a stone fountain, surrounded by a cluster of high-ranking pack sons who hung on her every word like she was reciting scripture. 

Damien stood a few paces behind her, his arms crossed over his chest, looking like a statue carved from midnight and arrogance.

I stopped in my tracks, my fingers still stained with the damp earth from the riverbank. "I was just... walking," I whispered.

"Walking? Or you mean doing more daydreaming," Mira mocked, throwing her head back to laugh so the boys could see the line of her throat. 

"Go to my room and get my silver teardrop earrings, they’re on the vanity." I swallowed and turned to leave.

“And Clara?” She called out and my gaze immediately snapped to hers, waiting for the next command. "Don't try to touch anything else with those filthy hands."

I nodded once, keeping my gaze fixed on the gravel at my feet.

Without thinking twice, I turned and hurried inside, the coolness of the hallway did nothing to settle the frantic thrumming in my chest. 

Today was my eighteenth birthday and yet the moon goddess seemed to forget that.

I had spent the morning staring at the ceiling, waiting for the Whisper, the legendary moment the Moon Goddess is supposed to breathe your mate's name into your soul. But there had been nothing. Just emptiness.

All that kept drifting in was the hum of the air conditioner and the distant sound of Mira screaming at a housekeeper because her juice was too pulp-heavy.

I sighed for the umpteenth time.

I reached for Mira’s suite and pushed the door open, and I froze instantly.

The room was a chaotic shrine to herself. 

Dresses were flung over velvet chairs, and the air was thick with enough perfume to choke a wolf. 

I pinched the brim of my nose, trying so hard not to suffocate as I moved toward the vanity to find the earrings.

I could stay here for a long time, or suddenly I might get accused of stealing something or Mira might get angry that I didn't get back in time and I wouldn't dare make trouble for myself on this day.

I turned to the left and suddenly, my foot caught on a box left open on the silk duvet of her bed.

I froze.

Tucked inside the box was a pale blue fabric, the color of a winter sky. 

I swallowed hard.

I knew that dress. I had only worn it once, years ago, on the last night my mother had been strong enough to brush my hair. It still carried the faint, ghostly scent of my mother’s lavender oils.

I reached out, my fingers trembling as I touched the lace. My heart hammered against my ribs—then stopped. 

There were claw marks shredded into the bodice, jagged and deliberate. It looked like someone had been trying to scrape the very essence out of the fibers and gently folded beneath it, was a piece of paper.

Before I could stop myself, I slowly picked up the paper, slowly unfolding it. My eyes skimmed through the words.

The heading read, STEALING SCENT, my eyes skimmed lower to read the words beneath it.

I read once, twice, thrice but I still couldn't understand.

They weren't written in English, rather in weird codes, like some kind of spell.

My mind was a chaotic mess trying to understand why Clara had my dress tucked in here with a spell of stealing my scent.

What would she need my scent for? A scent of a servant?

Ever since my mother died, my scent had slowly dissipated but I didn't even waste my time on bothering with that. It wasn't a new discussion of how pathetic I was, because my scent had probably gotten tired and decided to leave too. That's all I'd always have inscribed in my thoughts… but I didn't believe Mira was the mastermind.

But…why?!

"Clara! Are you growing the silver yourself? Move it!" Mira’s voice shrieked from the gardens below, snapping me back to the present.

Immediately I folded the letter and stuffed it back, making sure everything looked normal.

I snatched the earrings from the vanity and immediately dashed out of the room, my head spinning. 

I stumbled back downstairs and pressed the earrings into Mira’s open palm. She didn't even thank me; she just turned back to Damien with a winning smile. 

I disappeared into the house before the tears I tried holding back could burn my tracks.

Even though the content on that paper and the dress kept flickering in my mind, I'd push it down and keep my smell high-pitched, waiting to get the scent of my mate. But still nothing, not even during nightfall.

I could only toss and turn, my skin feeling too tight for my bones. I kept thinking about the dress, about the stolen scent, about the silence of the Goddess. 

But no matter how much I reached my brain, I still didn't get what she needed my scent for.

I didn't know how long I pondered, until I woke up to the blinding sun bleeding through the curtain the next morning. I'd probably dozed off from dozens of thoughts and expectations.

I took my bath and soon, I was at the kitchen sink, the hot water scalding my hands as I scrubbed the breakfast plates. I'd already lost hope of finding my mate, I guess I wasn't destined for that too.

I dumbed the last plate into the sink and suddenly, I felt immense pain engulf me, almost like a bolt of lightning struck my chest.

I gasped, dropping a ceramic plate. It shattered against the basin, but I didn't feel the shards nick at my skin. 

Suddenly, I felt an immense pull, pulling me out of the kitchen. 

My hands were shaking so badly but before I could stop myself, I ran. I didn't even dry my hands.

My feet moved on instinct, carrying me out of the kitchen, through the back mudroom, and toward the training fields where the morning mist was still burning off the grass.

Before I reached the fence, I could already see a group of warriors training from afar. They stood in a semi-circle, their breaths fogging in the cold air. 

In the center stood Damien. He was shirtless, his skin glistening with sweat, his dark hair damp against his forehead.

The moment I stepped onto the grass, he froze. 

He turned his head slowly, his nostrils flaring as he caught the air.

I could feel my heart racing beyond normal as I stared at him, the world narrowing down until there was only him. The pull was so violent I almost fell forward. 

“Mate" 

Those words resounded in my head.

He was my mate. Now, it finally explained why I was always drawn to him but it was too late. 

This was almost like a cruel joke, because Damien was one of those that detested me!

Suddenly, Damien’s gaze landed on mine and I stiffened. His pupils were so dilated as his eyes were almost entirely black.

"Clara?" he breathed, the word barely a sound.

I stood frozen not daring to move an inch as he dragged his feet toward me.

But then, his scent evaporated and that racing of my heart suddenly slowed down, the feeling of the bond extinguished.

Almost immediately, Mira walked past me, heading straight for Damien, her hand sliding firmly onto Damien’s bicep. 

She looked at me, then at him, and a small, triumphant smirk played on her lips.

I watched the warmth leave Damien’s face. The recognition died, replaced by a wall of sheer, frigid ice. 

He looked at Mira’s hand on his arm, then back at me. His lip curled in that familiar, devastating sneer.

“Wow, I told you, you'd be my mate!” She beamed snuggling closer.

"Hmmm…guess my little princess was right," Damien brushed her nose, his eyes filled with affection.

I just stood frozen trying to understand what was going on.

Damien was my mate a few minutes ago. I actually felt the bond…I felt it.

“Stealing scent," Suddenly those words rang in my head.

A wolf can only recognize his mate by her scent.

My gaze snapped to Mira who was snuggling into Damien's touch as the pack warriors cheered and it all clicked.

She already knew about my crush but how did she know who my mate was before I did?

I can't feel the mate bond anymore too!

My fist balled at my sides and even though I tried to stop it, my vision began to go blurry, as tears stung my eyes.

She stole my scent to steal my mate!

The one anchor I had left in my life, she still took it away!

And the moon goddess let her. 

Why?! Why?!