Claimed By The Lycan King
I contributed where necessary, diverted when prudent, and silently cursed my brother for leaving me to manage the political aftermath of his wedding night departure.
Halfway through Minister Chen's detailed analysis of grain tariffs, it happened.
The scent cut through the heavy mixture of perfumes, flowers, and wine like a blade of pure sensation - sharp and sweet and somehow ancient. I froze mid-sentence, my glass halfway to my lips as my nostrils flared, drawing in deeper breaths of that intoxicating fragrance. S'mores by a campfire - the rich chocolate, the sweetness of toasted marshmallow, the earthy graham cracker - layered over something wilder, like forest after rainfall, pine needles