Scent of a Scandal (Chronicles of Eorthe Book 3)

by Annie Nicholas

  He grinned. “Yes, and a present.”

  She raised her eyebrow. “Another one?”

  “I would give you a present everyday if I could.”

  She laughed. “But then I would bore of receiving presents. Don’t take away my joy. One a moon cycle is plenty.” She winked and nudged her hand against his.

  Grasping her fingertips, he lifted the basket and led her further from the trail. The spot he was looking for was west from the Ohneka den, but close enough for Isnay to return home safely. He paused by an outcrop of huge stones where they could sit and wait. The area didn’t appear well-traveled so he should be safe from one of Isnay’s pack mates stumbling upon them. “We can wait here.” This was the area the alphas had told him to search. He set the basket on the ground and shrugged his bag off his back. Shifting to civil form, he kept his gaze upon Isnay as she watched. Fur retreated into skin, joints popped and muscles realigned in a painless transformation. He pulled out a leather kilt from his bag, this one was newly made and a birthday gift from his alphas. He dressed quickly.

  Remaining in civil form on another pack’s territory was insanity, but Isnay had driven him mad.

  She drew closer, running her fingers through his long, black hair. The strands spilled from her hands like liquid.

  He closed his eyes, detailing her scent and the sound of the birds singing in the trees. This might be the only afternoon they ever spent together.

  “Is this what you wanted to show me?” She sounded amused.

  He chuckled and gazed down at her pretty face. “No, but if we find it, I’m told it will be a sight to tell our grandchildren.”

  She froze.

  So did he. His chest burned from lack of air. He hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud.

  She gave him a secretive smile. “Then what is this amazing apparition?”

  “That’s the surprise, but when you see it, you’ll know it.” He dug into his pack and gathered the necklace. “Turn around and close your eyes.” She released his hair and did as she was asked. Something about this omega stirred a calmness in his soul. No other had impacted his violent nature like Isnay. Awe had fought his way up pack hierarchy quickly when he came of age, earning him the position of fourth hunter in the Apisi. Dominance boiled in his blood until sometimes he wondered if he were going completely feral. Isnay soothed these urges, changed him from wanting control to wanting to protect. He couldn’t lose her. If he did, he might lose himself to his feral side.

  Fastening the necklace around her throat, he planted a tender kiss on the back of her neck.

  She clasped her hands around the turquoise pendant and examined the stone. “Oh, Awe, it’s so beautiful.”

  “Just like you.”

  “I can’t accept this. The others will question where I got it.” She reached to unknot the leather tie, but he stopped her.

  “The others know I court you. The hunters have seen me on the bank of the river and pretend not to. Tell them the truth. It’s a promise that you won’t forget me.” He gave her a weary smile. “I can’t mark you as a potential mate like I would want, but I hope you would wear it like one.” When a male was interested in a female, he offered to mark her with his scent produced by a gland behind his ears. If she wanted the courting to continue she didn’t wash it off. As they coupled, their scents would mingle and the pack would accept them as mates.

  He and Isnay were from different packs and she was also an omega. If he marked her with his scent, there was no telling how the hunters would react. She wouldn’t defend herself and he couldn’t be present to protect her. The necklace was less of an intrusion. The worst that could happen was her alpha refusing to let her wear his gift.

  Fingering the piece of jewelry, Isnay hesitated. “It’s very nice and my favorite color.”

  “The stone matches your eyes.” With a finger, he lifted her chin so their gazes met and he leaned towards her slowly until their lips almost touched.

  A blue light flashed into existence and Awe spotted it out of the corner of his eye.

  They both jumped. Isnay landed in a crouch, ready to run. Awe stood between her and the portal. “This is it!” He shielded his sensitive eyes from the bright light. The portal made no noise but the wind seemed to rush around it as if the light disturbed the air by existing.

  He held out his hand and helped her stand. “What did I tell you? Isn’t it amazing?”

  She clutched his arm, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. “What is it?”

  “A door to another world.” He reached inside his bag again and this time pulled out the message rock. “Wait here.”

  Cold claws of fear gripped Isnay by the spine. She clutched Awe’s arm and stopped him from approaching the blue light. “What are you doing?”

  He held up a rock covered in a fine skin. There seemed to be a message written on it in a script she’d never seen before. “I have to throw this message through the portal. Stay here, I’ll be fine.”

  Awe strode toward the strange illumination, muscled back straight and shoulders held back. He was a fine looking hunter. Everything a female would crave. Then why was he unmated? She stomped on her inner voice of doubt. Following him for a few steps, she stopped by a tree and hid behind the trunk.

  Awe continued until he stood in front and just below the portal floating in the air and tossed the rock into the light. Isnay gasped. Part of her expected the stone to fly right through instead of disappearing.

  Awe backpedaled to her without taking his eyes off the light. “I have to wait here to make sure no one accidentally walks into it.”

  She blinked. “You really are here to protect my pack.” That didn’t match Apisi reputation and only confirmed her instinctual need to trust him.

  He nodded. “My alphas sent me. They feared for your people.”

  “Your alphas? How do they know about this thing?” She spun to face him. “Should I warn my pack?” How dangerous was this light and how could they fight something they couldn’t even touch?

  He shook his head and tucked a loose hair behind her ear. The gesture was familiar and comforting. “No, I asked. They told me the portal won’t open on these lands again.” The portal vanished as quickly as it had popped into existence.

  She rubbed her chin as she stared at the empty spot. “So it’s gone forever? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, a once in a lifetime experience.” He rested his arm on her shoulders. “The portal will open again but it will get farther and farther away from pack lands.”

  “And you chose to share it with me?” Warmth spread inside her, stretching from her chest and extending to her limbs, to the tips of her fingers and toes. He’d gone out of his way to share something spectacular with her. It was a better gift than the necklace.

  He rested his cheek on the top of her head and she hugged him close.

  “Have you ever given us any serious thought, Isnay?” His voice had gone rough as if he found it difficult to speak.

  Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She thought about it all the time and truly wondered how much Awe was committed to her. They were strangers, yet she felt safe in his presence. “Every day.” She took a deep breath and released her hold. “I wonder why you come to the river when there must be more accessible females in your pack.”

  He nodded. “My alphas have voiced the same concern, but I can’t account for how my heart beats or why, and I don’t care. I like how I feel around you. Isn’t that enough?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you think of running away with me?”

  The butterflies died and she took a step away. “Away from my pack and family?”

  He frowned. “You have family.”

  “Two half-sisters and my parents.” The way he asked peaked her curiosity. “You?”

  He shook his head. “No one. My mother died of an illness not long ago. She was my only family.”

  Someone shouted Isnay’s name in the distance. She startled and spun to face the direction of
the caller. The hunters were looking for her. She gave Awe a small push. “You have to go before they find you.” Invading hunters were not treated well by her pack. She couldn’t bear watching them question Awe.

  Grabbing her hand, he pressed it over his heart. “Promise to meet me by the river tomorrow morning.”

  “Awe!” She tried to pull her hand free. The hunters could be approaching at any moment.

  “Promise me.”

  “Yes, yes. I promise.”

  Awe pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was swift and possessive.

  She stumbled as he released her shoulders and caught her breath. Spinning slowly, she searched the woods but he and his bag were already gone. She sniffed and couldn’t find a trace of his scent. The wolfsbane worked very well. With a heavy sigh, she picked up her basket and made her way toward the voices. She had some difficult decisions to make.

  Chapter Three

  The wolfsbane worked better than Awe could imagine. The Ohneka hunters went straight for Isnay and didn’t even seem to sense his presence.

  No wonder it was coveted and guarded by alphas. After leaving Isnay, he hid in the dense undergrowth and shifted to feral form. Quietly, he packed his kilt away and watched. Most hunters would consider him foolish to stay, but those with mates would understand his need to make sure of Isnay’s safety. Awe knew little of the Ohneka and how they would treat a lone female omega in the wilderness. He tensed as the two males gathered around her. Crouching, muscles ready to sprint if either of them laid an unfriendly hand on her. The old Apisi alpha had been cruel and Awe was no stranger to abuses. He shuddered. A lone female in those days would have been…

  One of the hunters took Isnay’s basket and the other laughed at something she said. They left the area herding Isnay in front of them. No scent of distressed tainted the air and she’s seemed content to go with them.

  Awe took a deep breath and retracted his claws. Rolling his shoulders, he relaxed the tense muscles. Instinct drove him. She didn’t cry for help but he would have felt better if one of the hunters had been female. He should have thought of this before luring Isnay away from the other omegas. Glancing over his shoulder toward home, he took a tentative step in the opposite direction. If he kept away from the trail and tracked her scent, he could safely follow in case she needed a rescue.

  Stalking the Ohneka would be like hunting.

  The forest grew thicker the farther he went from the river. Tree trunks, a massive size only found on temple lands, dotted the area. Sunlight pierced the thick canopy, but not enough for ground vegetation to grow, like along the river. Awe was losing places to hide and had to fall back or be seen. He followed Isnay’s scent until it mingled with many others shifters. A lot of shifters. Crouched on his belly, he folded his ears back. With this many smells, he should be in the middle of the den. He backed the way he came while searching the empty forest. Where had she gone?

  Her scent faded and mingled with others right in this spot. He didn’t see a cave, den, or mountain. Where did the Ohneka live?

  Something butted against his back side.

  Spine rigid, Awe glanced over his shoulder. Three hunters in feral shape loomed over his crouched form.

  Before any of them moved, Awe sprung forward and sprinted with all his speed. They had to trap him before he was considered caught. The wolfsbane would help him lose the Ohneka hunters in the forest. He ran around a trunk big enough that five shifters would have to hold hands to make a ring. Pain exploded across his head and muzzle. Flashing stars blinded his vision. His limbs became liquid and he puddled to the forest floor. Had he run into the stupid tree?

  “Did you kill him?” Someone toed his side without retracting their claws.

  “No, just knocked some sense into his young head.” A hunter stood over him with a club.

  “I can’t smell him,” a third voice added.

  “He’s wearing wolfsbane,” said the one who had smacked Awe down. “Don’t touch it. The alpha will want to see him wearing it.” They grabbed his arms and dragged him on his back.

  Awe’s struggles were ignored as if he were a pup. Eyes crossing, he tried to see where they were taking him. Blurred structures in the trees caught his attention. He blinked his vision clear. A wooden village was above him in the thick branches. Or they had hit him too hard and he was dreaming?

  A wooden platform on ropes descended to the ground where the hunters loaded him and a couple of guards. It swung a little in the breeze as it rose to the village.

  “You live in the trees like squirrels?” He tried to sit.

  “Shut up.” The closest hunter pushed him to the floor none to gently.

  “This is all a big misunderstanding.” He wouldn’t tell them about Isnay, she would get in trouble, but he had trespassed on their land to protect them from the portal. He shook his head clear. He couldn’t tell them about that either. His alphas wanted to keep Susan’s origins a secret so other vampires wouldn’t come looking for her. Bad enough that rat bastard Benic knew. Showing Isnay was a risk, but he trusted her to keep his secret.

  He stared at the sky and drank in its beauty. This could be the last time he ever saw freedom. If the alpha kept him as a prisoner, his pack couldn’t afford to pay a ransom yet or mount a rescue. He was on his own.

  When the platform stopped moving, he rose to his feet. Large structures made of wood created homes within the safety of the thick branches. Bridges spanned the empty spaces to link them like roads. He had walked right under the den. No wonder the scents had been strange. Isnay’s smell faded because she’d ridden a platform to her den. At least, she was safely home.

  Three hunters waited for his arrival and with the two that traveled with him, they formed a ring of teeth and claws around him. He didn’t fight. Not yet. Even if he got loose, where would he go? If he jumped, he’d surely die and he didn’t know how the platforms worked.

  Patience was something Sorin taught his hunters. After the old alpha’s abuse and the illness that assaulted the Apisi, they didn’t have many hunters left. They couldn’t waste time and energy on hunts, so each endeavor was a planned and orchestrated maneuver.

  His escape would be no different.

  Over two bridges and past a group of gawking females, they led him to the largest building in the trees.

  Inside loomed the alpha with arms crossed and a scowl darkening his face. Sorin had called him Braek. He stood a couple hands taller than all the hunters. Thick of muscle and with some gray touching his sides, he stood with the same confidence as Sorin. Those in the room left without needing to be told.

  The hunter guards shoved Awe onto his knees before their leader.

  “You trespass on my lands in feral form.” Braek fingered the leaves around Awe’s neck. “Wearing these?” He tore them off and tossed them to the ground. “It won’t mask your scent forever. Eventually, I’ll know which alpha sent you.”

  Awe choked down a laugh. He hadn’t considered that the wolfsbane would buy him some time.

  “We don’t have to wait. I recognize this Apisi dog from river duty. He comes each laundry day to flirt with Isnay.” One of the hunters spoke up.

  The alpha’s eyes flashed wide, showing the whites around his irises. His nostrils flared and he fisted his hands. “My daughter?”

  Isnay had delivered the last of her clean laundry to their owners when she noticed a group of shifters lingering outside the pack house. Her father must be causing drama again. The male lived off strife. No wonder her mother refused to become his permanent mate. Isnay was a result of one night together, but her father still claimed her publicly, sometimes to her horror.

  Sowas, her half-sister and one of the pack’s hunters, broke off from the group and hurried to Isnay’s side. “You won’t believe who they caught sneaking into the den.”

  Isnay’s stomach suddenly felt full of rocks. “Who?” She whispered. It couldn’t be. She clutched her stomach. It better not be.

  “Your Apisi hunter.” Sowas clu
tched her shoulders. “Do you think you came looking for you? Or maybe your father found out and sent hunters after him?”

  “No.” She couldn’t breathe. If her father found out, he might kill Awe. When it came to her and other males, the alpha had a sore tooth.

  Pushing her way through the crowd, Isnay made it to the pack house entrance where hunters blocked the door. Her heart pounded. What now? She held no dominance over them even as the alpha’s daughter. If she gave them an order, they would pat her on the head and turn her back to her fellow omegas. She never had the urge to fight until now. Crossing her arms over her chest, she met their combined heavy glares. “Let me in.” Her voice sounded like a belonged to a mouse even to her own ears. The oldest hunter, Duwom, who had bounced her on his knee when she was a pup, raised his eyebrow. “You don’t want to go in there. They’re interrogating a trespasser.”