Chapter 2: No Thanks

Luci’s POV:

I looked around trying to find the source of the smell. In all the years I’d been at this campus, I never smelled vanilla or almond in the garden.

I’d only ever picked up floral scents and the scents of other wolves or humans in this area, but never vanilla or almond.

Nothing was out of the ordinary. There weren’t even any other people walking around.

It didn’t make sense that this smell was so overpowering. If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone had placed a row of scented candles behind me and lit them all.

Why was this scent so overwhelming?”

“Mija?! Are you listening to me?” my father shouted through the phone.

I shook my head trying to clear my mind and focus on the call, but the scent wasn’t going away. Even as the breeze died down, it still lingered around me like a ghost.

“I’m sorry, Papa, something came up. I gotta go.”

“Mija, wait! I’m not done talking to you!” I heard from the receiver as I hung up the phone.

I knew he was pissed. Father would chew me out for hours over that hung-up call, but it didn’t matter.

I just needed to figure out what was causing that smell.

The phone immediately started to buzz in my hand, but I didn’t care. I shoved it back in my bag and got up from the bench.

I felt like an idiot as I spun around again slowly hoping to see the source and calm my thumping heart.

Why was I reacting like this?

My body felt like mush. The scent was sickly sweet and made me dizzy with every breath I took in.

I looked down at my hands and noticed them shaking.

What was going on?

I waited a few minutes for the breeze to pick up and bring the scent back to me, but nothing changed. If anything, the smell was starting to fade away.

My hand instinctively reached for my phone and ignored the third incoming call from my father.

I scrolled and tapped until I got to my messages and quickly typed out something for Carlos.

‘Hey, sorry about texting during class, but did you notice a strange smell on campus?’

I hit send and felt myself start to fidget as I waited for a response.

My feet moved for me as I wandered around the garden, hoping the source of the strange scent would slap me across the face and bring me back to reality.

I wandered the paths phone in hand, but nothing stood out to me. None of the flowers, benches, or fountains held the scent that was practically driving me crazy.

Was my nose playing tricks on me? It’d never happened before, but there was a first time for everything.

Maybe I should call Abuela and ask her. This seemed like something she might know more about.

Just as I started to mull over my options the phone buzzed in my hand. I was ready to ignore the call again but noticed it was a reply.

‘Smell? No. Strange how?’

My fingers moved shakily across the letters as I typed.

‘Strange like sweet. Overly sweet. I caught it from the breeze, but I can’t put my finger on it.’

I didn’t have to wait as long this time as I noticed the dots telling me my bestie was already typing.

‘Maybe you’re picking up the food trucks in the courtyard. I heard there were a ton out for the first day of school.’

There was still an hour or so before my first class. I figured it was better to check and find out instead of waiting and wondering what that smell was.

As I made my way out of the garden I could still pick up hints of the scent, but still had trouble figuring out the direction it was coming from.

The campus was full of people now, and it was a struggle to get to the food trucks.

I caught myself sniffing here and there, hoping the scent source would reveal itself as I passed the humans headed toward their classes.

Various perfumes and body sprays drifted in and out as I passed by the other students, but nothing stood out.

It was as if I was locked in on the scent from before. Every other odor felt muted and dull in comparison to the fragrance.

The food trucks were poppin’ when I got to the courtyard. There were about ten or so different vendors.

Whiffs of sweet and savory foods drifted past as I walked around the perimeter.

For a moment I thought the crepe truck was the likely culprit, but the smells of vanilla and various toppings were so muted against everything else I felt even more confused than when I first arrived.

“What the h*ll?” I muttered to myself as I typed back a message to my bestie. ‘I think my nose is broken.’

I noticed another few missed calls from my father. He was going to be so agitated when I talked to him next.

A pang of guilt ran through me knowing he’d be a handful for his Beta and the rest of the pack that came across him back home.

The time noted I had successfully wasted a half hour chasing the mystery scent all over campus.

There was no point in looking for it now. Whatever the source was, it was long gone.

I tossed the phone back in my bag and headed for my first class.

I had been so excited for today. I loved pushing myself and learning about the world that had been hidden from me as I grew up.

Now I was just irritated and tired. The call with my father had exhausted me. Especially with the fact that I knew the conversation wasn’t over.

No matter how long I delayed it, it would only push my father to be more insistent. I didn’t even put it past him showing up at my apartment.

I’d just have to call back after class and get it out of the way. He could wait until then.

My class wasn’t that much further from the courtyard, but with the late summer sun blaring down on me, I was ready to be in air conditioning.

Maybe sitting in a cold room beforehand would help me snap out of it. Between my father and the weird scent, I felt frazzled.

Just as I rounded the corner to my building, another breeze kicked up and shoved the sweet scent back into my face.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I tried to sniff out the direction it came from. If anything, it was coming from the building I was about to enter.

Even at this distance across the field, it was easy for me to scan over the clashing scents of students and faculty milling around the entrance.

Just as I was starting to get frustrated, my nose paused as I traced the smell back to the front door of the building.

I ignored the cement walkways and started walking across the grass.

I didn’t want to lose the smell again.

There was only one person at the entrance. From the back, it looked like a guy with shoulder-length dark hair.

He was lean but pulled the heavy doors open with ease that seemed to give others so much trouble.

He didn’t seem to be a wolf, but the vanilla and almond concoction was only getting stronger as I walked in his direction.

Who was this guy? Can a human even smell so strong?

I’d never had that happen before, and I’d been around humans now for the last seven years.

He walked into the building, and as soon as the door closed behind him the smell began to drift away again.

Why did he smell like that?

It didn’t make sense that his smell overpowered everything around me.

My heart was practically beating in my throat and I felt dizzy again just like before.

I picked up my pace and headed for the door when a flurry of buzzing filled my bag in quick succession.

The amount my phone went off was the only thing that stopped me. Something didn’t feel right about it, so I reached into the bag and pulled it back out.

I saw a string of messages from my father when I opened the screen.

Of all the messages he sent only two really caught my attention, and those were the most recent ones to come in.

The first was a block of text.

‘Luciana, the minute your class lets out you need to call me. I’ve already started the discussions in regard to suitors that will be the future Alphas of their packs. There is one in particular that I want you to go on a date with.’

The next message was a picture and I practically gagged at the thought of having to be his Luna.

The photo was of a man just a year older than me. Alex Espinoza had a rep for having a string of girlfriends and a bad attitude.

He was destined to take over for his father, the current Alpha of the Sombra pack.

There was no way I would become his Luna. Not in a million years.

I’d do a lot for my father, but I needed to draw a line somewhere. Alex was the last wolf on earth I’d ever consider being with.

Before I could shut the phone off another message came in.

‘I’m serious Luciana. This is non-negotiable. Even if I have to drag you back home, you will see your obligations through. Call me after class.’

I could hear my father’s voice in my head as I read his messages.

Of all the people father wanted me to meet, why did it have to be Alex? I kept away from him at every gathering between the packs as much as possible so I wouldn’t have to deal with this.

I shook my head trying to get the picture of Alex out of my mind.

I couldn’t deal with this for now. My class needed to be my top priority. It’d be no use if I failed because of distractions.

No strange smelling guys, my father, or the worst potential husband out of all the shifters in the world could distract me from my true purpose.

I’d figure out a way out of this. I just needed time to think about what the best plan would be.

When I opened the door, I found myself hoping to be hit with that smell again.

Why did I want that to happen so badly?

Once inside though I was disappointed to realize that whoever that guy was, he was nowhere close to the entrance.

The sensation that I lost something important filled my brain, but I couldn’t figure out why.

Would I ever see him again?