Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
“What do you smell?” I asked her, holding her gently even as I wanted to pin her down and tear those tight little exercise shorts off with my teeth.
“Umm, you? Gym mats. Sweat.”
“No, more specifically, what do I smell like to you?”
“Well, pine trees, mostly.” She leaned forward on her tiptoes, sniffing right behind my ear. “You’ve always got this manly musky thing going on, but is that…” She sniffed again, then pressed her nose to my skin and inhaled, dragging me in just as deeply as I’d been taking pulls of her scent. “Something’s sweet, which I’ve never noticed before. Like… ylang-ylang.”
I grinned stupidly, triumph surging through my veins like a tidal wave ready to suck me under.
“You smell like coffee and cream, with a hit of vanilla underneath.”
“Okay, yes, you smell nice, but Gael, why were you dragging those guys out of here, and why are you acting like a caveman?” Frustration leaked into her tone, but I hesitated to tell her. Not because I didn’t want to shout it from the rooftops, because I fucking did.
But because our past had been rocky, and a little part of me was scared she wouldn’t believe it if she heard it from me.
“Give me two minutes, and I promise I’ll tell you everything?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, but I don’t see why it’s a big secret if- Ah!” She threw her arms around my neck in surprise as I scooped her up. “Seriously, dude, I can walk.”
“Who said anything about walking?” I smirked and sprinted through the doors, past Karl and Sven being dressed down by a purple-faced Cristian in full butler fury. I sprinted up the stairs, not slowing until I reached the second floor. The first door on the left was a small office that Reed had commandeered to keep his restaurant empire running while we were abroad.
I practically skidded to a stop, and he adjusted the collar of his button-up at the sight of us, quickly pushing to his feet. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” His worried gaze passed over Leigh and then me in rapid succession.
“Everything’s fine. Tell me the mate signs again.”
He slowly sank back into his chair, probably because my eyes were glowing like a fiend and I was still clutching Leigh to my chest even though I’d stopped running.
“Should I be worried that you’ve got short-term memory loss? Brielle is a doctor, if you need an exam.”
“Reed,” I growled, his name a threat.
“Fine, you lunatic. For the third and final time, first is the physical pull, wolf connection, mate scent, mate marks, claiming, and finally the mental bond, in rare cases.”
“Describe the mate scent.”
“A ‘please’ wouldn’t kill you.”
“Please,” Leigh whispered, her fingers wound into a tight little ball against my bare chest. She was starting to get it.
Reed’s eyes softened at her request. “Every wolf has a unique scent, but for your mate, it’s different. Richer, deeper. There are notes that no other being can detect. It’s part of what draws you to them. They smell tantalizing in a way that no other person ever will. Like… pheromones, only personalized to your exact desires.”
Leigh looked up at me, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “It can’t be true, Gael. You’ve always smelled good to me, but… I don’t believe it.”
Frustration tried to creep up, but I smashed it down with force. She was mine, and I knew it. I just had to help her see it.
“Reed, smell me.”
“Oh dear Goddess, I need better friends,” he grumbled as he rose from the chair, but he did, in fact, walk over and sniff the back of my hand.
“You smell like trees.”
“What kind?”
“I guess pines.”
“Nothing else?”
“Soap.”
I nodded.
“What about me?” Leigh asked, watching the exchange wide-eyed. “What do I smell like to you?”
I growled low in my throat, not liking the idea even of my best friend getting that close to my mate, but if it would help her accept the truth… I nodded at Reed, shoving down the jealousy as he took her extended hand.
He took a deep whiff of the back of her hand, exactly as he had mine. “Something bitter. I’m not sure?” He sniffed again. “A cup of coffee.”
Leigh’s eyes turned up toward me, desperation and a hint of fear in their depths. “What do you smell?”
TWENTY-ONE
Leigh
Gael took the same hand Reed had just held, but instead of the platonic press of flesh I’d felt when Reed touched me, I felt a sizzle of excitement. The touch was gentle but branding nonetheless.
His nose skated along the back of my hand, his lips barely brushing the tender skin there as he spoke.
“Coffee, yes. But there’s thick cream and a floral hint of vanilla-so delicious I want to lick you from head to toe.”
I shivered at the suggestion of him licking me, my needy pussy clenching with the memory of the last time-the only time-we’d been that close.
Reed made a distressed sound in the back of his throat, but I’d already forgotten he was there. If what Reed had just said was true-and I had no reason to believe he’d lie-we were experiencing the beginning stages of the mate signs.