Chapter 296: Scent Blocker I
"So, he’s finally gone," Darach said, his demeanor a lot more cheerful once he saw the last of Damon’s vehicle driving into the sunset. He leaned back on his office chair and heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Harper, for not abandoning us in our hour of need."
"I promised that I would stay. Did you doubt me that much?" I asked Darach, even as I felt Damon’s absence as keenly as a fresh wound. It would scab over soon enough, and with it, I would also lose whatever improvements to my senses that our lovemaking brought me.
"I trust you. I just don’t trust Damon," Darach said frankly, and it was such an echo of Damon’s own words that I had to snort, while Kyle fought the urge not to bristle and snap at another pack’s Alpha for the perceived slight towards Damon. "What’s so funny?"
I held out a hand to calm Kyle down. "Nothing really. Just the fact that you and Damon are strangely more alike than you think. He said the exact same thing when he came over."
"Urgh." Darach pulled a face. "You would have insulted me less if you called me a vampire."
"He was only here for a few hours," Milo pointed out, an indulgent smile on his face as he watched us bicker. But then he paused and wrinkled his nose as he gazed at me. "You should take another shower, Harper. I can still smell him on you."
I laughed, self-consciously taking a careful sniff. I had scrubbed hard in the shower, but it was near impossible to completely remove all traces of Damon after such intense lovemaking unless I was willing to douse myself in acid. There was no place that Damon had not touched, for he had even marked my insides so thoroughly that no one could think that I belonged to anyone else.
But hopefully, no one else would notice. Even if I liked having his scent on me, it would only lead to trouble if another pack member connected the dots to form a damning picture.
Darach merely reached into his drawers to hand me two tiny bottles. "Put these on instead." He gestured to the first bottle. "This contains a scent blocker, and it’ll hopefully be enough to drown out his smell. The second bottle is just a precaution― it’ll make you smell more like a werewolf, and less like a human. You might not need to use the second one now, but I’d like you to have it anyway, just in case of emergencies."
I opened the first bottle and took a cautious sniff. The scent of peppermint nearly burned through my sinuses and I choked.
"Are you sure this is safe?" I asked after my eyes stopped watering. I cast a dubious look at the bottles. "How did you even get your hands on this?" Did Darach cook this up by himself?
"It should be safe enough. I’ve been using the second one on myself," Darach said with a wry, bitter smile. "And don’t look so alarmed― I’ve consulted with Nicole about this. I was looking for ways to disguise my own... failings in the very beginning, and this is what we’ve come up with in the end."
"But everyone knows you don’t have a wolf," Kyle chimed in, and I shot him a warning glance to get him to shut up. Even if it was true, he didn’t have to say it!
"Well yes. That’s the flaw. It would work a lot better on and for strangers." Darach shook his own head sadly, "I know it hardly makes a difference in the grand scheme of things since everyone and their mother already knows what happened to me, but it makes me feel more... secure. Especially when I first took up this position. I thought that if I smelled less like a human, perhaps they would be more inclined to accept me."
"Well, you don’t need it now," I said, trying to comfort Darach after that sad reveal while Kyle stared shamefacedly at the floor for misspeaking out of turn."You have more supporters than you think. I believe that with enough time, they’ll come around."
Of course, if someone were to get rid of his sister and father, they’d come around much quicker.
"I hope so. And while you were busy with Damon, Milo and I interrogated the guards responsible for skipping their duties. You can review their testimonials here," Darach gestured to the pile of paper in front of him.
"Long story short, they’re claiming that they were working — or in this case, not working — due to their own free will. They especially emphasized how Dahlia Elrod had nothing to do with their decision."
"That is a very specific denial," I said with a raised eyebrow. "How suspicious."
"Exactly. It’s almost as though you rattled my sister with your words," Darach said proudly. "Unfortunately, I’ll have to ask for more from you."
"You want me to go argue with your sister again?" I asked, making an educated guess.
"If you’re feeling up to it today," Darach said, now pulling out another device, smaller than my phone. "Keep this on you at all times. It will record the conversations you have with her. Rattle her, spook her, if possible, get her to say something incriminating. Outside of my family, you have a talent for bringing out the worst in her. Not even Milo could manage such a feat."
Milo nodded. "She’s now very guarded against me, and she cares nothing for those she deems unimportant. The plight of poor Atlas and his family did not move her in the slightest, and she accused me of maligning her. Be warned, she will try to provoke you instead. "
I laughed, a glint in my eye as I pocketed the tiny recording device into my pocket, along with the two bottles. "Thanks for the warning, but don’t worry, I can take anything she throws at me. If she attacks me, you can arrest her immediately."
"Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that," Darach said. "Damon just left our driveway, I would hate for him to make a u-turn."
"Better get a bed prepared in the infirmary then," I said, getting up from my chair, the cogs in my head turning as a wicked plan began to form. "She’ll need it by the time I’m done with her!"
