Chapter 2 Scent of Something Wild

The mornings in Ivory Hollow always smelled like espresso and cold ambition. Aurora Vale stood at the corner café just outside the university gates, clutching her reusable cup with both hands like it might warm more than just her fingers. Her internship wouldn't start until noon, and her next class wasn't for another hour.

This was the first morning she hadn't woken up gasping.

Small victories.

Maya spotted her from across the café and bounced over with her usual grin. Her braids were threaded with thin silver beads today, catching the sunlight like sparks.

"Girl, you look like you got no sleep and too much coffee. I'm so proud of you."

Aurora snorted. "I stayed up re-reading the notes from yesterday's class."

"Let me guess..." Maya leaned in dramatically, voice low. "Because Professor Dusk's voice is still echoing in your soul?"

Aurora blushed.

Maya's grin widened like a wicked crescent moon.

"Don't even fight it. We all want him. That man could talk about ancient funeral rituals and I'd still sit in the front row fanning myself like a Victorian widow."

Aurora looked down into her coffee, smiling despite herself. There was something magnetic about him. Something dangerous in the way he never smiled but looked like he could, and if he did-it would ruin you.

She hadn't spoken a word to him yet.

But that didn't stop the daydreams.

Kade Enterprises – Hours Later

Damien Kade adjusted the cufflinks on his charcoal suit as he stepped into the elevator.

Celeste had left his penthouse in a huff that morning, annoyed at his silence. Again.

"You're distracted," she'd said, pulling her stockings up with practiced irritation. "Lately, you're always distracted."

He didn't deny it.

The scent still lingered-faint but haunting.

Every day since that first whiff, he caught it again. In the halls. On the elevator. Passing through the lobby.

Always too late to track it. Always fading just as he tried.

"Mate," Ares rumbled deep within him. "You're ignoring her."

"I haven't even seen her," Damien muttered under his breath, ignoring the startled glance from his assistant beside him.

He wasn't one to be haunted by things he couldn't name. But this scent had cracked something open inside him-something feral, something hungry. It wasn't perfume. It wasn't cologne.

It was nature. Moonlight. Skin. Lust.

But it vanished every time.

Ivory Hollow University – Late Afternoon

The campus library was quiet, golden light pouring in from the tall arched windows as Aurora set up her laptop at the far corner table.

She liked the silence here. She liked being alone.

Her fingers danced across the keyboard, answering an email from her internship supervisor-standard schedule confirmation, nothing interesting. No mention of Damien Kade.

She wasn't even sure he knew she existed.

As she hit "send," a shadow passed over the table.

She looked up.

Lucien Dusk stood beside her, a few books in one hand, his glasses in the other.

Up close, his presence was even more disarming. Sharp jaw. Impossibly long lashes. A scent like worn leather and black tea.

"Miss Vale," he said calmly, voice low and measured. "May I?"

Aurora blinked. "Yes-I mean, yes, of course. Sorry."

He sat across from her, setting his books down with care.

"Your essay topic proposal intrigued me," he continued, adjusting his glasses. "You're not afraid to argue myth as emotional history. Most students play it safe."

Aurora swallowed, heart hammering. "I... I didn't know if it was too off-topic."

"Off-topic," he repeated slowly, one corner of his mouth twitching-almost a smile. "Sometimes, the best truths are."

Their eyes met for a moment.

Her chest tightened.

"You wrote something personal," he added, softer now. "Even if you didn't mean to. That's rare."

Her cheeks flushed. "I guess I just... relate to people who lose everything."

Lucien tilted his head, watching her like he could see beneath her skin.

"Loss makes myth real," he said quietly. "It gives it teeth."

She nodded.

He stood a moment later, but not before leaving a folded slip of paper on the table beside her laptop.

"For reference," he said. "A few articles that might help. I'll expect a stronger draft next week."

Then he was gone, leaving her staring after him with trembling hands and a stomach full of flutters.

Kade Enterprises – Rooftop Parking Lot

Damien stood beneath the open sky, sleeves rolled to his elbows, cigarette unlit between his fingers.

He didn't smoke. But sometimes he liked the idea of it.

He closed his eyes.

The scent was there again. Lingering on the wind. Soft and maddening.

Ares snarled low in his chest.

"She was here. Right here."

"Then why the fuck can't I find her?" Damien growled, jaw clenched.

"Because fate doesn't rush, Alpha."

Damien opened his eyes, dark and burning.

Somewhere in this building, or the one beside it, or maybe the damn café across the street-his mate was walking around without him.

He'd find her.

And when he did...

He didn't know if he'd be able to let her go.