Daddy kicked off his shoes, came up behind her on the bed, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. He kissed her cheek. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Baby girl. Nothing.”
“I keep trying to make sense of what I smelled, but I can’t,” she wailed. Molly wasn’t that far away. She knew her friend could hear her every word, but she didn’t care. She didn’t mean for her concerns to be a secret, but she had no way to explain them.
“Shh.” Daddy stroked her hair. “You don’t need to worry about it, Little one. Thorn and Surge know that Drow is not a good person. They will watch their backs. No matter what you scented, it’s not your responsibility to make sense of it.”
“What if he hurts someone?” she cried out, feeling helpless.
“Rylee, even if you could specifically explain what the scent meant, you wouldn’t be able to stop anything from happening.You’re one small wolf shifter. You’re not responsible for the actions of a bear, especially not an evil bear. You already knew he smelled like evil before he arrived. I bet someone like him smells like danger and anger and sickness all the time. It’s not surprising he would also smell like death. He could have easily killed three small animals this morning for sport, Baby girl. I bet if he murdered a squirrel, he would smell like death.”
“Daddy…”
He chuckled at her back. “I know I’m being silly, but I’m also serious. Am I wrong?”
“No,” she muttered. “I guess not.” She focused on the memory of the scent. It wasn’t hard. It would never leave her. She’d remember that gross stench for the rest of her life. She shuddered at the recollection.
“Do you want to talk it through some more? I’m here if you want me to listen. Or you could take a nap. How about a bottle and a nap?”
“That sounds good, Daddy,” she murmured. “Will you lie with me?”
“Yes, Little one. I’d be happy to.” He kissed her temple. “Don’t move. I’ll get a bottle.”
She watched as her Daddy left the room and counted the seconds until he came back. It was easier than letting her mind wander to that icky bear. She hadn’t even seen him in either human or bear form, and yet she was still grossed out.
Daddy came back with a bottle in his hand. He set it on the nightstand, tugged the blanket off her, and helped her sit upright.
She said nothing while he removed her dress, leaned her onto her back, and slid her panties off. She watched as he diapered her without a word. This would be one of those times when he intended for her to obey his decision without argument. Shecouldn’t blame him. She needed a good hard nap. There was a solid possibility she would wet herself in her sleep.
“How about if I close the windows all the way, Little one?”
She shook her head. “No, Daddy. Leave them.” Something inside her told her she needed to remain alert even while she was sleeping.
“Okay, Baby girl.” After settling against the headboard, her Daddy cradled her in his arms and tapped her lips with the nipple.
She closed her eyes and suckled, but she couldn’t keep the restless feelings from continuing to upset her. It seemed like every inhale filled her nostrils with that stupid scent of death. It was gone now. It left with Drow, but it niggled in her head, taunting her as if it were a riddle she was supposed to solve.
Daddy was right. It could have been something simple like an animal Drow killed earlier in the day, but she didn’t think that was it. If so, she would have scented the blood of the animal. If Rylee was hedging her bets, she would guess that there was one of three possibilities: either Drow was planning to kill, he was dying, or he was in danger of dying at someone else’s hand or from an accident.
She couldn’t stop any of that. And why should she care? He wasn’t a good person.
When the bottle was empty, Rylee accepted a pacifier from Daddy and curled up in his arms. Sleep took a long time coming, and even then, she was restless.
Daddy rubbed her back and stroked her hair, never leaving her. He didn’t get up and close the windows either. He simply held her close and tried to soothe her.
At some point, she finally dozed off, though she didn’t know for how long. Suddenly she bolted awake, sat upright, and dropped her pacifier from her mouth. She inhaled deeply, shuddering as her nostrils filled with the distinct stench ofdeath. It was much stronger than earlier as if the earlier smell had been a precursor or a warning.
The previous scent a few hours ago had been difficult to understand. Confusing. Hard to put into words. What she smelled now was actual death. On top of that she could scent anguish and frustration. The former was coming from Drow. The latter was coming from Surge and Thorn and two other bears she didn’t know.
The phone rang, and Daddy reached across her to answer it while she continued to draw in deep disgusting breaths.
He must have put it on speaker because she heard Felix speaking. “Khloe had a vision.”
This didn’t surprise Rylee. At the same time, she could scent Molly. Her friend was in wolf form and heading this direction. Gavin was with her of course.
The sound of Felix’s voice grew muffled as he continued to speak. “Drow killed Firat. Several of the bears are at the scene. They’ve taken him into custody.”
Daddy mumbled excuses to Felix and set the phone down. It wasn’t until he lifted Rylee into his arms and stood, rocking her, that she realized she was hyperventilating.
“Take a deep breath, Baby girl. Breathe with Daddy.” He inhaled long and slow over and over until she managed to join him.
