Chapter 14

14 –Her Scent

Madeline:

After coming back inside and after the alphas left, I waited for Bodhi to wake up. When he finally did and I asked him questions, he acted like he didn’t remember his freakout. I didn’t bother him anymore.

“Mommy, why didn’t Bodhi and Gina join us?” Elara wondered, holding my finger in her little fist as we walked toward the woods.

I noticed Elgin stayed close to us and had told the warriors not to follow. I was taking her to the same spot where I had found Gina. I didn’t know why.

Once we stopped under the big tree, I knelt in front of her, holding her arms.

“ We decided to have a little picnic here and as for Bodhi and Gina, you remember Bodhi was freaking out yesterday, right? So we left him behind with Gina to relax. But Mommy needed one of her best friends with her, so I took you instead. I hope that’s fine.” I spoke softly, gently caressing her cheek, and noticed Elgin staring at me the whole time.

“Yeah, I would love to be with you, Mommy,” Elara purred happily. My children always wanted to stay with me. If the two had to go somewhere, one of them would insist on staying behind so I wouldn’t feel lonely. So the excuse fits perfectly.

“Anyway, I needed to ask you a few questions as well,” I told her, but my daughter’s attention shifted to Elgin behind me.

“Mommy, why is this uncle with us?” she asked.

Elgin stretched his neck and smiled.

“Because I was thinking about taking a little interview of yours,” he said as he knelt down, holding a basket of sandwiches and juice.

I didn’t carry anything. I didn’t want to. It was his idea to begin with. In fact, I didn’t even want him here when I was questioning my daughter, but because it was something related to the sickness, the alphas had to be involved.

“What questions?” Elara focused on his words. She watched us both and then looked at me. She relied on me.

“So, you remember how we used to play the dream game? You would tell me your dream, and I would tell you mine, and then we would decide whose dream was the best,” I reminded her.

She started to nod her head almost too excitedly.

“So, we’re just playing that game,” I explained.

“Oh, do you want to know what I dreamed of last night?” she asked, and I instantly nodded.

“Can you?” I asked.

“Yeah, I had… ” She suddenly paused and started staring into the distance. That’s what scared me.

After finding out that even Gina was having nightmares, I began to wonder if Elara had started her nightmares too.

“Mommy?” She suddenly called out for me. Her tone changed when she faced me.

“What, tell me, do you remember anything?” I asked.

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“Why were you asking me to follow you to the woods last night?” As soon as she asked me that, I felt the world shake beneath my feet.

“Honey, I didn’t come to your room last night.” I panicked, and in panic I cupped her face and instantly refused, which made her eyes widen.

“If- if you didn’t come, then who was it, Mommy? She looked like you,” Elara cried, jumping up and down in anxiety.

That’s when I began to freak out too. I didn’t know what to say. Thankfully, Elgin, for the first time, intervened at the right moment.

“Actually, it was just a dream,” he said.

As soon as he said that, I turned to look at him.

“Listen, these are just dreams. Sometimes you see bad people turn into your loved ones in your dreams and try to make you follow them. But you don’t follow them because you’re brave, you’re strong, and you’re intelligent, right?” he asked my daughter as he squatted down in front of her, gently pinching her nose.

Every time they interacted, I felt pressured.

“So, it was just a dream?” my daughter asked. And he nodded.

She then looked at me, and Elgin eyed me to break out of my panic and respond to her.

“Yes, it was just a dream,” I said, confirming it to her.

“But why would a bad guy want to become Mommy in my dreams?” she wondered.

“That’s because it’s happening a lot. It’s happening to your brother, it’s happening to your sister. It’s a little bit of an emergency state. But don’t worry, we’re taking care of it. But promise me you will not follow anyone who asks you to follow them to the woods,” Elgin told her, holding out his hand to make her promise.

I gulped.

“But I did follow you here,” she muttered, hands on her waist.

“You’re one smart fella, huh?” Elgin said, looking impressed.

However, I had to break the attention, so I gently pulled Elara away from Elgin.

“Now, just remember, you’re not supposed to follow anyone. If it’s more than two people, then it’s fine, then I should be among them, okay?” I advised her. Though it would be hard for a child to determine what is real and what is a nightmare.

After the awkward questioning of my daughter, which made me feel so uncomfortable the whole time because no mother is happy investigating her child and finding out she might be slowly getting cursed or sick, Elgin gave her a sandwich to eat. I refused to take one from him.

However, Elara happily grabbed one and began to play with the ball. As much as I wanted to snatch her away from him, I couldn’t. She kept asking me a bundle of questions.

I stepped aside to call the nanny and ask about Bodhi and Gina.

“Hi, how is Bodhi?” I asked the nanny, stepping away from the two who were playing with the ball.

“He’s doing much better. He’s a little tired though and has been asking about you quite a lot. But he’s fine. When

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are you returning home?” she asked.

I sighed, glancing back at the two. That’s when I noticed Elara trying to climb the tree while Elgin was busy on his phone.

The vine suddenly snapped and Elara fell. It wasn’t a big fall, she was only a few inches up the tree, but it was enough to scare her.

As soon as she fell, Elgin dropped his phone and rushed over, placing his hand under her head to prevent any injury. But it scared my daughter, and she started crying.

I instantly cut the call and rushed to my daughter’s aid. She was in his arms at that moment.

Before I could ask a question, my eyes shifted to the tree and I noticed something dangling from the broken branch. It was my daughter’s scent–hiding pendant.

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Sara Lili

Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.