The air outside Rory's hospital room was thick with tension.
Maverick, who was earlier in the room Rory lay was outside now, and Lachlan, they both moved through the corridors, drawn forward by an unseen force, their footsteps echoing through the sterile hallways. They were both strong handsome alphas.
The same intoxicating scent was all over them, Rory's scent. And now, by some unseen fate, they met at the same crossroads.
Lachlan's expression remained carefully neutral as he laid eyes on Maverick. The man looked very strong, his broad shoulders cutting so powerful against the hospital's pale walls. His brown eyes, dark and deep, burned with something Lachlan recognized all too well, possession.
Maverick was a threat.
But Lachlan didn't let his emotions show. Instead, he simply stared, waiting for Maverick to acknowledge him first.
Maverick, however, seemed wholly unconcerned. His fingers held the walls absently, his head was up, slightly, as if still entranced by the lingering traces of Rory's presence. Then, in a low murmur, he sang,
"A scent so wild, yet delicate still,
It calls to my soul, bends my will.
Fire and moonlight, earth and sky,
Who is she? I must know why."
Lachlan's hands curled into fists. Was this man singing about Rory?
"She's not yours," Lachlan murmured to himself, under his breath, though he wasn't sure if the words were meant for Maverick or himself.
Before either could act on the tension building between them, a new presence entered the hallway.
Alexander.
The moment he stepped inside, all eyes fell on him. He was tall, commanding, his piercing blue eyes scanning round the hospital interior as if searching for something or, someone. His sharp jaw was set with quiet determination, his movements were sure and deliberate as he followed the same pull that had drawn him so far from where he was to the hospital. A scent, a strong scent.
Alexander barely glanced at the two Alphas before his attention locked on a man standing further down the hall.
Alpha Dorian.
The leader of the pack stood with his shoulders stiff, one hand gripping the edge of a chair, the other running down his face as if trying to steady himself. His daughter, his most cherrished daughter was unconscious behind closed doors, and nothing in his long life had prepared him for what had happened tonight.
Alexander approached him.
"Alpha Dorian?" he greeted, his voice deep, unwavering.
Dorian glanced up, his very disturbed eyes meeting Alexander's. He didn't have the strength to pretend everything was fine.
"What do you want?" he asked, voice rough.
Alexander took a step closer, inhaling deeply.
"I followed a scent," he admitted. "Something powerful. Something unlike anything I've ever known." He paused. "I tracked it here, and now that I'm inside…" His lips parted slightly as his gaze flickered toward the hospital room where Rory lay. "It's stronger."
Dorian stiffened. He was shocked.
Alexander turned his full attention to the Alpha now, his expression unreadable. "Tell me, Alpha. Who is she?... wrong question, where is she?..... My most precious mate.. where is she?"
Dorian's grip on the chair tightened.
The attention of Maverick and Lachlan fell on the man who had walked in on the call of the same scent.
Then it dawned on them, it wasn't just them that perceived the same scent, some other person, some other Alpha had come from a distance just for Rory.
A competitor.
Before Alpha Dorian could respond, movement caught Alexander's eye.
Maverick and Lachlan stood nearby, their bodies rigid, their gazes locked onto him with an intensity that sent a clear message.
They had heard every word.
The realization settled in all at once.
Alexander wasn't the only one drawn to Rory.
Maverick was already on edge, but now his eyes narrowed, scanning Alexander as if assessing him as an enemy rather than a fellow Alpha.
Lachlan felt his breath cut, but he masked his emotions behind a cool exterior. If Alexander, one of the strongest Alphas known from the distance had sensed Rory's scent too, then that meant he was a competitor. And if Maverick was also drawn to her…
Lachlan was surrounded by rivals. But how many of them yet?
The realization made his wolf stir uneasily.
Alexander, however, didn't seem bothered by their reactions. If anything, his confidence only grew.
He took a slow step forward, his piercing gaze locking onto Maverick's first. "You sensed it too, didn't you?"
Maverick held his ground. "What does it matter to you?"
Alexander smilled, but there was no humor in it. "It means I'm not the only one affected. And if that's the case…" His voice dipped lower, laced with intrigue and something darker. "Then she isn't just anyone."
Lachlan exhaled sharply through his nose, keeping his expression carefully blank. Inside, though, he was restless.
Alexander thought he was the only one drawn to Rory. Maverick thought he was the only one drawn to Rory.
Neither of them knew the truth.
Lachlan was also drawn to her.
But unlike them, he wasn't ready to admit it.
Not yet.
Before anyone could speak, a sudden shift in the air made every Alpha in the corridor go still.
The scent intensified.
It was no longer just a lingering fragrance in the air. It was everywhere, it was stronger than before, overwhelming their senses.
Then, as if the world had just taken a sharp breath in, a crash came from Rory's hospital room.
Dorian whipped around, fear was in his eyes. Maverick, Lachlan, and Alexander all tensed, their instincts screaming at them to move.
Then, there was a voice.
It wasn't loud, yet it echoed through the hospital walls, curling around their minds like a whisper from something ancient.
"They are here."
The hospital lights flickered.
Alexander's fists clenched. "What the hell was that?"
Dorian didn't answer. He was already moving toward Rory's room.
Maverick was right behind him. Lachlan and Alexander weren't far behind.
As the door to her room swung open, the sight before them sent ice through their veins.
Rory was no longer lying still.
She was floating.
Her silver eyes were open, glowing with a light that did not belong to this world.
The scent that had drawn them here had transformed. It was no longer alluring. It was no longer a call.
It was a warning. "One more to go" The voice stated again.
But what did that mean?