Love at First Scent
: Epilogue

Two weeks later…

“Caro, are you done with those chocolates?” Ellie came into the kitchen, her gaze latching on to the chocolate-covered caramels Caroline was just finishing.

But when her sister reached for one, Caro smacked her hand and the oddest loud yip escaped her mouth.

Both Ellie’s and Caro’s jaws dropped open, and Caro slapped her hand across her mouth in shock.

“What the hell was that?” Ellie asked, her eyes narrowing, “Are you feeling okay, Caro?”

Was she?Caro took inventory of how she’d been dealing with an unusual amount of itching today, all over her body. She’d shrugged it off to allergies and pushed forward since their store was due to open this weekend, but was it more than that?

“Umm, I’m not sure,” she finally admitted with a shrug. “I’ve been itchy all day, and my skin’s kind of crawling, to be honest.”

Ellie gasped and immediately dialed Craig on her phone. “Craig! I think it’s happening today. You need to get your a*s over here!”

“Honestly, Elles.” Caro sighed. “There’s no need to get hysterical. It’s probably just allergies.”

Ellie reached in once again for a chocolate, and Caro swiped out at her with another yip, much to her shock.

“Allergies, eh?” The smirk on her sister’s face said it all.

The more Caro thought about the shifting process, the more panic began to rise inside of her—which in turn just made the itching worse. Anxiety began to niggle at her until she was pacing back and forth in the kitchen.

“I need to get some air—” She started for the back door before her sister jumped, blocking the way.

“No! If you shift and take off into the woods that would be a disaster,” Ellie yelled. “I still can’t separate scents. We need to wait for Craig.”

Just then, he barreled through the door, relief showing in his eyes as he saw Caro. “Are you okay, babe?” he asked, running his hands down her arms. “You need to breathe.”

He was right, and Caro took a deep breath. The scent of her mate and alpha brought calmness with it. But his scent also brought something else—it brought a consciousness inside of her head to the fore, and for the first time, Caro felt the curious thoughts of her vixen poking through amongst her own thoughts.

“Oh!” She stilled. “That’s different.”

“What is?” Both Ellie and Craig asked, but before she could even answer, the most overwhelming urge to move came over her. Before she could blink, she found herself looking up at them from the floor.

Ellie squealed, and Craig smiled as he knelt and reached out to her.

Caro went to him, and that was when she realized she was on four paws. She melted as his hands moved over her fur, bringing the urge to have his hands running all over her body, and just like that, she was suddenly n*ked on the floor in his arms.

“Well done, little vixen.” He hugged her. “You didn’t even need any coaching to come back.”

“Just the incentive of your touch.” She sighed, exhausted.

“On that note,” Ellie said wryly, “why don’t you two get out of here and I’ll close up for today.”

“Good idea.” Craig helped Caro dress and picked her up to carry her out

.

Over her shoulder, Caro piped up, “You leave those chocolates alone.”

Ellie smirked before taunting her sister by popping one into her mouth. “Make me!”

The loud yip out of Caro made her gr0an in embarrassment as she covered her face. “Oh, my God, is that going to happen all the time?”

“I hope so.” Craig n!pped at her neck. “Because it’s adorable.”

She pulled back to look at him, raising one eyebrow in disbelief. “You love that too, huh?”

Craig looked her straight in the eyes, and once again, this man took her breath away. “Everything, Caroline. Always.”

The End