Smelling Like Him

“Who am I even becoming?” she whispered aloud, her voice soft but laced with self-reproach.

But as she said the words, something inside her clicked.

Her gaze sharpened, and she straightened her shoulders, her fingers loosening their grip on the towel. I’m Seraphina Hunters.

I come from a family of hunters, and I’m not some timid little girl who hides in bathrooms.

She took a deep breath, her lips pressing into a firm line.

She could feel her heart still hammering in her chest, but she forced herself to ignore it. She was brave. She had to be.

With that thought, she reached for the door handle, hesitating only for a second before pulling it open.

The cool air from the bedroom greeted her, raising goosebumps on her damp skin as she stepped out.

The towel felt smaller now, more precarious, but she held her chin high, refusing to let herself shrink under the weight of her own nerves.

She rushed out of the room and into the passage.

The living room was quiet, but she knew he was there. She could feel his presence even before she saw him, a tension in the air that made her every step feel heavier.

As she rounded the corner, there he was, lounging on the couch as if he owned the world. His posture was relaxed, but his dark eyes flicked up to meet hers the second she appeared.

She felt the weight of his gaze immediately, the way it roved over her for a brief, fleeting moment before settling on her face.

His expression was unreadable, though there was the faintest hint of amusement in the curve of his lips.

Seraphina’s resolve wavered for a split second, but she squared her shoulders, refusing to let him see just how flustered she was. “Do you always sit around while someone’s trying to pull themselves together?” she said, her voice steadier than she expected.

Adolphus raised an eyebrow, the ghost of a smirk dancing on his lips. “I didn’t realize you needed so much time to ‘pull yourself together,’” he said, his tone casual but laced with that teasing edge she both loathed and couldn’t ignore.

She clenched her jaw, her cheeks heating again. “Well, maybe if someone hadn’t barged in on me earlier, I wouldn’t have needed the time,” she shot back, trying to sound confident, though her voice betrayed the flicker of nervousness still lingering.

He chuckled softly, the sound low and infuriatingly smooth. “Fair point.” He leaned back, resting his arm along the back of the couch as if this was all a game to him. “But if you’re going to use my shower, Seraphina, you might want to prepare for unexpected visits. It is my house, after all.”

She bristled at his tone, hating how easily he got under her skin. “I didn’t have much of a choice, Adolphus” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, though the movement only made her more acutely aware of the towel she was wearing.

Adolphus’s gaze flickered, but he said nothing, his smirk fading into something more thoughtful.

‘Oh dear,’

For a moment, the air between them grew heavier, charged with an unspoken tension that neither seemed willing to break.

Seraphina cleared her throat, tearing her eyes away from his. “I need clothes,” she said, more to herself than to him, before turning toward the wardrobe in his room.

As she walked away, she could feel his gaze lingering on her, and she hated the way it made her pulse quicken.

But she kept her head high, reminding herself of the girl she was—the girl she had to be.

A Hunters girl. Brave. Resolute. Unshakable.

Even if her heart was still racing.

Seraphina found herself rummaging through the wardrobe in his dimly lit room, fingers brushing against the soft cotton of his clothes once again.

Another tee shirt.

Another pair of shorts. His scent clung to them—woodsy, musky, undeniably him.

Her chest tightened as she realized how easy this had become, slipping into his things as though they belonged to her, as though she belonged here.

Her frown deepened, a storm of emotions swirling within her.

Discomfort. Irritation. Fear. She hated this… hated how the routine was creeping in like an uninvited guest.

She hated the familiarity.

It felt like a betrayal—of herself, her family, everything she’d fought to remember through her pain.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered under her breath, the sound breaking the thick silence.

Yet despite her frustration, she tugged on the oversized shirt, her body swallowing its warmth.

The shorts hung loosely around her hips, but she didn’t care.

The alternatives were his sharper-edged taunts or being exposed, and right now, she didn’t have the energy to endure either.

Steeling herself, she stepped out of the room, her bare feet silent on the wooden floor. Her pulse quickened as she reached the doorway.

And there he was.

Adolphus leaned casually against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

The sharp lines of his face were cast in shadow, but his smirk was visible enough, curling with a dangerous kind of amusement.

His dark eyes glinted like embers in the dim light, studying her in that predatory way he always did.

Seraphina’s heart skipped a beat, though she refused to let it show.

She clenched her jaw and tilted her chin up, her defiance crackling like electricity in the air between them.

“Move,” she said sharply, her voice slicing through the tension.

Adolphus didn’t budge.

His smirk widened, his eyes roaming over her as if she’d amused him just by standing there. “What’s wrong, my little hunter?” His voice was smooth, taunting, yet somehow it sent a shiver down her spine.

“Don’t call me that.” Her tone was clipped, but her body betrayed her, the flutter of her pulse quickening in her neck.

His gaze flickered there—he saw it. Of course, he did. He always did.

She tried to push past him, but he shifted, blocking her way entirely.

“You’re in my way,” she snapped, her frustration bubbling over.