Chapter 5: The Scent Of Fate

Davian's POV 

"You're going to be late." Natalia said.

"I know that," my voice came out flat.

"You could at least look like you want to be there," her fingers straightened the collar of my jacket.

"I don't want to be there, Natalia." I said sharply. "I'm going anyways, isn't that enough."

I stepped back from the mirror. She let her hands fall from my collar,but she didn't step back. Instead she moved closer, sliding her arms around me from behind, and pressed herself against my back,her cheek resting on my shoulder blades.

"I know this isn't easy for you," she murmured. "I understand how you feel. You're about to walk into a room and acknowledge a child that isn't mine. A child I couldn't give you, no matter how many times I tried to."

"Natalia this has-"

"I know what it cost you to watch it happen, Davian." She stepped around to face me, and I saw the raw grief she never let show in front of anyone, even me sometimes. "I also know what it cost me, So I understand what it means for you to walk in there today."

"None of that was your fault." My voice softened. "I never once blamed you for any of it."

"That almost makes it worse," her hand rose up to rest flat against my chest. "You never blaming me somehow only made me feel the failure even more, because you deserved someone who could give you what a King needs, and I couldn't."

"Natalia, this has nothing to do with what you failed to give me," I said quietly.

"Ohh it does," her hand slid to my jaw, her thumb brushing my cheek. "A stranger was able to it in one single attempt what I couldn't manage to do in years."

"It just what the Council finally needs," u said. "Besides, just because she's pregnant doesn't guarantee she'll carry the child to birth."

"Doesn't it scare you? Even a little?" She asked. "If she gives birth to the heir, the both of you will be tied together permanently."

"Natalia, she's just a surrogate," I pulled away from her. "Let's just get this done, We talk about the rest later."

"Of course," she said quietly, smoothing her skirt. "Let's go then, it's only five minutes."

The medical wing was already full by the time we arrived. Dr Alyssa was waiting near the center of the room with a ledger tucked under one arm and facing the window,was a woman with dark wavy auburn-red hair that reaches past her shoulder.

"My King," Dr Alyssa stepped forward. *Maybe I present to you, Kyra Sinclair of Westwood Pack. She's Candidate Twenty-seven, and the one confirmed to be the one carrying your heir."

She turned then, folded her hands in front of her, and bowed her head. "My King," she said quietly.

I barely looked at first, I was still rehearing the signature, the ledger, the walk back, when her scent reached me. It wasn't the clean soap from the medical wing, it was something warmer and deeper, like the rain on the sand, crushed with green leaves and a heat I couldn't explain.It hit the back of my throat and sank straight into my lungs. Every other sound in the room zone out at once, the doctors, Natalia breathing beside me, all gone, replaced by a single roaring silence in my skull, and my wolf moved forward so fast I nearly staggered.

The room, Natalia, the guards all of it vanished. There was only that scent, Only her.

Mate

The word tore through my skull, it made my breathing uneven, too loud in my ears. I went stiff, whatever I was about to say died in my throat. My hands stayed pressed against my side.

Mate. Mate. MATE.

"Davian?" Natalia said quietly beside me. "What is it?"

I couldn't answer her. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to close the distance between me and the woman across the room, and it took everything I had left just to keep my feet exactly where they were. My heart was slamming so hard against my ribs it scared me.

Kyra looked up. Her green eyes met mine, and confusion moved across her face at whatever she saw in mine.

"Davian?" Alyssa said, stepping closer. "Are you sick?"

"Davian," Natalia voice was lower. "You're scaring us. Say something."

"Have I don't something wrong?" Kyra asked, voice low. The sound of her voice alone nearly undid the little control I had left.

"Everyone, Leave." I said finally, my voice came out low and surprisingly calm.

"My King?" Alyssa said, confused.

"All of you," I couldn't look away from Kyra. "Natalia."

She stiffened beside me. "Davian, you cannot possibly mean-"

"Now." My voice rose this time.

For long moment, nobody in the room moved, everyone stayed frozen in shock. Then Alyssa quickly recovered and began directing the other doctors toward the door in low, hurried time. The guards followed without a word. Natalia stayed after everyone left, searching my face for an explanation I couldn't even give.

"Okay," she said quietly. "We'll talk about this later."

She turned and walked out, leaving the scent of her perfume trailing behind her, which was faint now, already fading, replaced by the scent that had already swallowed every other senses I had. 

The doors closed with a heavy, final sound and silence swallowed the room whole. Kyra stood exactly where she'd been standing, her eyes were wide, glancing once towards the closed door before returning to me, clearly working out now she'd ended up alone with the Alpha.

"Please," her voice was shaking slightly now. "Tell me what's happening."

I took slowly took a step toward her. She didn't go back or move, though I watched her spine go stiff and her hands curled into small tight fists at her sides.

My wolf growled again, the sound vibrating

through my chest, downing out every rational thought I had left in my head.

Mine.