Scent of a Soul Mate

BELLE

“Okay, so you’re a werewolf.”

Grayson raised an eyebrow. “Caught that, did you?”

I glared at him. “How?” I asked.

“How what?”

“How are you a werewolf?”

He leaned back, thinking about it for a second.

“Well, it’s complicated. We’re not sure. I was born like this. I got my wolf when I hit puberty. You don’t ~become~ a werewolf or anything,” he sighed. “We know that our ancestors must’ve had something to do with wolves, but we’re not sure exactly what that was, or how our kind came to be. We can only assume that it had something to do with magic.”

“Magic?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, some sort of ritual to strengthen our ancestors or something like that.” He shrugged.

“So are…~other~ things real?”

He gave me a questioning look. “~Other~ things?”

“Yeah, like witches and wizards, or fairies or vampires?”

His eyes darkened a bit.

“Yes, all real. But we all keep to ourselves. Our species don’t exactly…get along. Vampires and werewolves have been at war for centuries.”

I paused for a second. “What about the Easter Bunny?”

Grayson stared at me for a second. He tried to contain it, but he eventually broke out in laughter.

“I tell you about a war between werewolves and vampires, and you associate that with the Easter Bunny?”

I looked down at my hands. He was right. I probably sounded like I was five years old.

I felt fingers slide under my chin and lift my head up. My eyes connected with Grayson’s.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean it that way. That’s a very valid question after all you have gone through over the last couple of days. No, the Easter Bunny is not real. Nor are the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus.” He smiled. “I’m sorry if that ruins your childhood.”

I did feel a tad bit disappointed, but tried not to let it show. I grabbed his hand that was still under my chin and moved it away. I pointed to where he was sitting.

“Your side,” I reminded him.

He grumbled something quietly under his breath but followed my orders, not looking happy about it.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the next question I was about to ask.

“Why am I here? What do you want from me?”

He sighed. “Belle…” He leaned forward, and I could tell that he desperately wanted to touch me. He glared down at the pillows before looking at me once more. “You’re my mate.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that. But what does that mean?” I said stubbornly.

He looked hesitant to tell me as he fidgeted where he sat.

“It means that we’re meant to be together. We’re meant to be a couple and love each other. We’re soulmates.”

I stared at him for a few seconds. I didn’t think I comprehended what he’d said. “I’m sorry?”

Grayson stared deep into my eyes and I felt as if he could see straight into my soul. “We’re soulmates,” he repeated.

“What do you mean? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know, but let me try to explain. Wolves usually mate for life. Mating for life is especially true for werewolves. Every werewolf has what we like to call a ‘mate,’ someone they are destined to be with forever.”

“Like… Like you mean”—I hesitated with my next word—“romantically?”

He smiled. “You’re adorable.”

I blushed deeply, and he chuckled.

“Yes, I mean romantically. Like husbands and wives in human terms. Just more like husband and wife at first sight because we know we’re meant to be together right away.”

“I-I…” I didn’t know how to respond. “And you think I’m your mate?”

His expression intensified. “I don’t think you’re my mate, I know.”

I scooched away from him and his eyes narrowed. I was feeling extremely conflicted. It was like half of me wanted to jump into his arms and never leave, and the other half wanted to run for the hills.

Could it be that he was just making this all up?

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Well, it starts with a scent. You scent your mate when you first come near them. It’s supposed to be the most amazing thing you’ve ever smelled in your entire life.”

He leaned forward, breathing in deeply.

“I smelled you when I stepped onto that plane, and I knew you were mine.”

“~That’s~ how you knew?” I asked skeptically. “Because I smelled good?”

He nodded. “There are other things too. Like when we touch. There are sparks.”

I looked away. He was talking about the small fireworks that traveled throughout my body whenever he touched me. I’d felt them. And the feeling terrified me because that meant at least one thing he was saying had to be true.

“Belle,” Grayson said, “I know you know what I’m talking about. You’ve felt the sparks, haven’t you?”

I licked my lips. “Um…I don’t, I don’t know…”

He held up his hand. “Touch me.”

I looked at him skeptically. “I already told you, I’m not—”

“I will not do anything, Belle,” Grayson interrupted. “Just touch my hand.”

His voice brooked no argument, so I slowly lifted my hand and placed it gently against his.

Tingles immediately appeared in my hand, traveling up my arm and down to my toes. I gasped.

“You feel them?” he asked as he threaded our fingers together.

I nodded, amazed at how good the sparks felt. As crazy as it sounded, there was something definitely magical about his touch, and what he was telling me kind of made sense.

He smiled widely as he looked at our intertwined fingers. His smile took my breath away.

“It’s our bond traveling between us. You can tell that our bond is strong based on how intense the sparks are. And by your reaction to when I touch you.”

His smile turned into a smirk.

I immediately dropped my hand from his. “My reaction to your touch? I have no reaction to your touch!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t it you who said only minutes ago that you couldn’t think when I touched you?”

My cheeks turned bright red. ~I did say that, didn’t I?~

Grayson laughed. “It’s okay, gorgeous. I feel the same way about your touch.”

My eyes snapped up to meet his. “You do?”

His eyes softened.

“Of course I do. In fact, I know that my feelings are even stronger toward you than yours are toward me. I’m an alpha, so my instinct is to protect you, love you, and provide for you.”

I blinked at him. “An alpha?”

“You know how wolves travel in packs?” he said.

I nodded.

“Well, there is also a leader of the pack. It’s always the strongest wolf that takes over the pack, the ‘alpha.’ I am the alpha of my pack.”

I shifted my weight. “You’re the strongest wolf of your pack?” I asked.

“Yes. And my pack is probably the strongest in the world. I took over as alpha when I was sixteen years old, after fighting the original alpha and winning.

“But I and the people around me knew that I would probably become alpha at an early age based on the size of my wolf and my fighting and leadership skills.”

I was a little intimidated by his power and strength. I’d already felt like he could squash me like a bug, but now that I knew he was superhumanly powerful, I felt even more scared of him.

Grayson sighed. “You have nothing to worry about, beautiful. I would never hurt you. My wolf would never allow it.”

I still wasn’t sure if I trusted him. “So that’s why Kyle kept calling you ~Alpha~?”

Grayson nodded. “Yes. It is a term of respect.”

“And why was he calling me ‘Luna’?”

“That’s because you are the mate to the alpha, and the name for that is ~luna~. He wouldn’t ever call you anything else.”

“So it’s like calling someone ‘king’ or ‘queen?’ It’s to show someone’s hierarchy?” I asked.

He smiled and nodded, “Yes, that’s exactly what it’s like. You are my queen.”

I tried to ignore the intense look in his eyes and how badly my instincts were telling me to touch him, but it was getting harder and harder. The bite mark on my neck was hurting.

It reminded me of another question I had: “Why did you bite me?”

He ran his hand through his hair. “Yes, I knew that would come up.” He sighed. “A male wolf will bite his female to show all other wolves that she belongs to him. The bigger the mark, the higher the ranking of the female’s mate. Your mark is large,” he said proudly, eyeing the mark on my neck.

I rolled my eyes. “Cocky much?” I whispered under my breath.

When I looked back up, Grayson’s face was directly in front of mine. I could feel his breath on my cheeks. I gasped.

“What was that, mate?”

I shook my head. “N-nothing,” I stuttered.

“Hmm… Another thing you should know about werewolves, love…” Grayson’s eyes searched mine. “We have amazing hearing.”

His lips were so close to mine. If I moved forward, my lips would meet his.

I leaned toward him, seeking out the warmth of his mouth on mine as if by instinct. But right before we could kiss, Grayson moved away.

He looked at me smugly.

“Sorry, I forgot to stay on my side of the bed.” He leaned back on his arms. “Plus, I’m not kissing you until you ask me to, remember?”

I glared at him. I didn’t like this game he was forcing me to play.

He laughed at my attempt to look angry. “Ask me to kiss you, and your problem will be solved.”

I scoffed. ~As if I would ever do that.~ “Absolutely not!”

He shrugged. “Your loss, sweetheart.”

I shifted uncomfortably and hardened my gaze. “So you bit me as a way to claim your property?”

His gaze roamed up and down my body slowly, and he smirked.

“Yes. You were already mine, but the mark just solidified that fact and let others around us know of it as well.”

I swallowed hard. I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for my next question.

“Are you ever going to let me go?”