Strange Scent

CHAPTER 3

RHAELEN’S POV

I slammed the wooden doors of my private study shut, the heavy echo reverberating through the stone walls. I pulled off my blood-stained leather gauntlets and threw them onto the wooden desk.

The blood on my sleeves was not mine. It belonged to the rogues I had killed at the southern border earlier that morning. 

I had not even bothered to wash before going into that ridiculous wedding ceremony, and now my skin burned with irritation.

The Veyrden pack had dared to send a replacement.

They had taken one look at my reputation, panicked, and hidden their true biological daughter away in her room. 

Instead of canceling the treaty like civilized people, they had thrown an unwanted adopted girl into a carriage and shipped her to my doorstep like common trash. 

They thought I would not notice. They thought I would simply take whatever leftover bride they offered.

It proved what I had known for years. To the neighboring packs, to the elders, and even to my own council, I was nothing more than a dangerous, feral beast. They feared me, but they also thought they could play me for a fool.

I had never wanted this marriage. I had no interest in taking a bride, setting up a soft life, or pretending to be a gentle ruler. 

The elders and the council had spent months nagging me about an alliance, claiming that a union with the Veyrdens would secure our trade routes and stabilize the border. I had only agreed to shut them up.

I walked over to the stone fireplace and stared into the dying embers. The quiet in the room was heavy, but inside my own head, it was always too loud.

I could not hear my wolf.

It had been years since I last heard his voice. Most wolves carried a constant, reassuring presence inside their minds, an inner companion that shared their instincts and helped them navigate the world. 

Mine was silent, locked behind a dark wall I could not break through.

The curse had started when I was just a child. It was a cold, creeping darkness that sat in my blood, completely severing the connection between my human mind and my beast. 

When I transformed or fought on the battlefield, the beast took over entirely. It did not recognize friend from foe. It saw every moving shadow as an enemy that needed to be ripped apart. 

On those terrible days, my wolf nature took over my judgment completely, making me a danger to the very men I commanded.

Maelora, the royal healer, had spent decades looking for a cure. She had searched through old records and ancient texts, only to come back with the same answer every single time. 

She believed that finding my fated mate was the only way to break the dark wall. She said a complete mate bond could reconnect me with my beast and balance the dark power inside my blood.

I had stopped believing her years ago.

How was I supposed to find a fated mate when I could not even feel my wolf's instincts? A normal Alpha could smell his mate from miles away, feeling the pull of the bond in his very bones. 

I felt nothing. Searching for a mate was a foolish dream, and I was not a man who chased dreams. A quiet knock at the door broke through my thoughts.

"Enter," I growled.

Orren, my Beta and oldest friend, walked into the study. He closed the door behind him and stood near the desk, his expression serious.

"The Veyrden delegation has completely fled the territory," Orren reported, his tone flat. "They left in such a hurry that they abandoned two supply wagons at the main gate."

"Let them run," I said coldly, pouring myself a cup of dark wine. "They are cowards. Send a messenger to their Alpha tomorrow. Tell him the treaty is dead, and if he sets foot on Blackthorn land again, I will take his head."

Orren rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "It is not that simple, Rhaelen. The political marriage has not been officially canceled by the council yet. The documents were already processed before you walked into the hall."

I took a slow sip of the wine, my eyes narrowing. "Then tell the elders to draft a cancellation notice. I am not keeping a replacement bride."

"And what about the girl?" Orren asked quietly. "She is still here. Her pack left her behind, Rhaelen. She had nowhere to go, and no one came back to fetch her. Where should the servants place her? Is she to be treated as the guest, a prisoner, or the future Luna?"

I realized then that I had not even looked at her face.

When I stood at the altar, my mind had been so clouded with rage and the painful hum of the curse that I had only seen a white dress standing in the shadows. I had not cared to know who she was. She was just another tool sent by a weak pack.

"Put her wherever you want," I said coldly, turning my back on him. "Give her a room in the far wing out of my sight. Feed her if you must. Once the council officially cancels the marriage, she can be sent away."

Orren sighed softly, but he knew better than to argue when I was in this mood. "Very well, My King. I will have the servants place her in the eastern tower."

He bowed slightly and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.

I stood alone in the study for a long time, watching the dark sky outside the window as night settled over the mountains. 

The quiet in the room usually brought me a small amount of peace, but tonight, my head felt heavy and hot, the familiar ache of the curse pulsing behind my eyes.

Finally, I left the study and walked down the long, cold corridor toward my private bedchambers. The palace was dead silent at this hour. 

The guards stood like stone statues at every doorway, lowering their heads as I passed. I reached my bedroom door, pushed it open, and stepped inside.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

A strange, soft scent hit my senses. It was faint, drifting through the open window from the eastern side of the fortress. 

It smelled like wild mountain rain and crushed sweet herbs, so fresh and clean that it cut right through the heavy smell of blood and iron clinging to my skin.

For the first time in weeks, the sharp, burning headache behind my eyes softened. The dark tension in my shoulders loosened just a fraction, and a strange sense of calm washed over my chest.

I stood frozen in the middle of the dark room, my hands clenching into fists as I took another deep breath.

It was impossible.

I shook my head, my jaw setting into a hard line as a bitter laugh nearly escaped my throat. It was just another mind game. 

The curse was getting worse, creating illusions to trick my senses before the next wave of madness took over.

I closed the window tightly, shutting out the cool night air, and walked into the dark, ignoring the calm that tried to settle inside me.