Page 48 of Hayes

She was aware of him grabbing a blanket off the bed and wrapping it around her. The next thing she knew, he was opening the front door.

Rylee cried out and plugged her nose, grateful that the door was only opened for a few seconds before he shut it and then moved around the house closing all the windows.

He never released her.

She sobbed into his neck, grateful that the stench was significantly lessened once the house was sealed off. There wasno way to block it entirely, but it was better. She continued to plug her nose and breathe through her mouth, but she couldn’t stop crying.

She knew Molly and Gavin were in the house, and she sniffled and blinked at her friend when Molly set a hand on her back.

Molly’s brow was furrowed, but she nodded toward the kitchen. “I brought something for you.”

Daddy carried her toward the stove where Gavin was stirring something in a pan.

“Lean her over it,” Molly said. “You can let go of your nose, Rylee.”

Rylee stared at the steaming pot and released her nose. Her next inhale was such a relief that she smiled. As if she hadn’t breathed in an hour, she took several long deep breaths.

“What is that?” Daddy asked.

Gavin shrugged. “My mate is a genius. She made it.”

Rylee glanced at Molly to find her shrugging as if it was no big deal. “I did a little research this afternoon and found this recipe. It’s basically like a potpourri of pleasant scents. I meant to bring it over the next time I came, but when I heard what the bears were saying, I knew you would need itnow.”

Rylee continued to breathe in the delightful smells. “That’s amazing.”

“It’s basically eucalyptus, tea tree oil, and several other things combined. Strong pleasant scents that block icky odors. I made you several different types. One is citrus based. Another is peppermint. And there’s a lavender one. You can try them all and see what you like best.”

“I love this one.” Rylee’s heart rate slowed as she continued to calm. The entire house smelled of eucalyptus now. It was wonderful.

Daddy carried her over to the living room and sat in an armchair, while Gavin and Molly joined them on the couch, keeping the blanket tucked around her mostly naked body.

Rylee rubbed her eyes. “I should have stopped him,” she murmured.

“No,” Molly said. “It’s not your fault.”

Daddy kissed her temple. “Listen to Molly, Little one. You girls cannot take the blame for anything someone else does. The burden will become tremendous if you do.”

Rylee sniffled. “What did you hear?”

Molly sighed. “I heard Thorn and Surge and two other bears busting into a shack where they found Drow having just murdered Firat. Apparently Drow and Firat had gotten into a fight. Drow had a plan to sneak up on our homes in the night and kill us off one house at a time. Firat argued against the idea, going against his friend, so Drow stabbed him.”

Rylee nodded and leaned her head against Daddy’s shoulder. “Now I know why I smelled death on Drow earlier.”

“Yeah.” Molly leaned into her Daddy.

Hayes held Rylee tightly. “You couldn’t know if that scent was something that had already happened, a precursor to the future, or even possible premeditation.”

“Maybe I should have said more to Thorn and Surge.”

Daddy shook his head. “Nope. I warned them. They knew something bad was on the horizon.”

Molly nodded. “They went directly to their council, gathered two more men, and spent the afternoon looking for Firat and Drow. Nothing you could have said would have changed anything.”

“Okay,” Rylee whispered. That was comforting. But what would happen next time?

“It’s over, Little one,” Daddy said. “You’ve had a challenging day. When you woke up this morning, you had no idea you hadthe ability to smell death or any number of other things. Now you know. I can’t say I’m excited about the prospect of you having to breathe in evil, but we’ll take things one day at a time.”

Gavin lifted Molly onto his lap. “I don’t like my Little girl having to listen to evil either, but it happens. You might have to do like we’ve done and shut the house off from the outside now and then. Molly sometimes wears earplugs to block all the voices. Maybe you could wear nose plugs when you need a break from all the scents. Seal off the house, too. We insulated ours. You could probably do something similar to keep the smells on the outside.”