Page 48 of Shifter for Brains

"People a few doors down are giving their shutters a fresh coat. What about this?"

Apparently they tossed me some easy ones when I struggled. I’d complain but—hang on, what was that? A hint of something, a strangely indescribable scent…

"Is this a trick question?" I wondered as I wracked my brain for the illusive scent.

"What do you mean?"

"The answer isn’t nothing, is it?"

"No."

“I… I’m not sure. Is it, I don’t know, is it even a scent?”

“Yes. One that doesn’t originate in what you might call the traditional way.” What? “It’s not really something a human nose can smell…”

Oh boy. Talk about a challenge.

"You can do this," Temple said. “When we learn these skills while growing up, we struggle too. When we falter, we have our pack to support us and ground us. They help us keep going.”

“But I don’t have a pack.”

“Maybe one day. You do have us. So trust us. You can do this.”

Okay. Concentrate. Deep breath. Oh, there. Not the scent but a sound I hadn’t noticed before. The scent flared strong for a few seconds, filling my nose, then quickly started dissipating. Yet each time the scent flared, a sound and a quiet grunt preceded the occurrence.

"Do that again."

“Oh yay.” Temple sounded annoyed.

The sound again, like skin hitting skin. A clashing, clacking sound followed this time, two hard objects colliding and dragging…was Temple grinding his teeth?

"Oh my god." I laughed as the pieces slotted together. “Are you slapping Temple in the face?”

"You’re supposed to find the smell. Not the action."

"Don’t worry, take your time,” Chase assured. “I could do this all day."

Hitting him, how would that produce a smell—oh my god. The annoyance in Temple’s tone, the action, they were all clues and were they trying to nudge me into smelling…a feeling? Amazing.

“Annoyance,” I said. I smelled afeeling.Some emotions were strong enough to produce a palpable scent that shifters were capable of detecting.

I felt positively giddy and almost demanded they continue when another scent reached my nose. Oh, had we already started another round?

O-okay… the spicy, intriguing aroma lured me in and I let myself follow it. What was that? So rich and deep, I wanted to bathe in it, that had to be an animal impulse.

God, I stepped closer to the source, feeling the heat of another body, hearing the sharp intake of breath and the exhale grazing across my face. Chase and I were pretty close together but distancing myself wasn’t an option, too curious to feel bashful. I had to find that scent—

Light blinded me as the blindfold flew from my face with a sharp tug.

“Alright, this is a good stopping point.” Chase addressed the comment to my shoes.

“In the middle of an exercise?” Temple questioned.

“Yep.”

“Aren’t I in charge of these sessions?”

“Temple, Iswear to god—”