Sunflower (Temporarily on Hold)

Chapter 2; books and dust.

Dani.

The bell to the library jingled as Dani stepped through, engulfed by the scents of old books and mouldy pages that most likely had been left near an open window. From what he could tell, there weren't that many humans in the library, much fewer wolves. It was 9 pm. He shouldn't be surprised. In fact, he was grateful for the solitude.

His body felt heavy as he walked over to the front desk where an older woman with dark brown hair stuffed in a bun stood. She had green eyes, similar to the sunflower he had met a few hours before. On instinct, Dani gritted his teeth at the memory of her face and scent.

She felt like flowers and the sun. The animal in him was enchanted, for the first time in a year. Up until this point, they had been grieving too long to notice any other female. But her- Ophelia- left him speechless. Dani couldn't pinpoint what it had been, nor why he had gone into the school in the first place.

Amelia had ordered him to stay put in the car claiming that he didn't need to embarrass her with his brooding nature, and especially because they could smell the other wolves around the school. They were intruding in pack territory, something his father had failed to mention.

He supposed that it didn't matter, not when he overpowered them enough to not be threatened. Still, it would have been nice.

The lady on the desk, Abi as he read on her name tag, smiled up at him. He could smell the sunflowers scent all around her. They must be related, or at least close.

"Hi, how may I help you, honey?" The woman chirped, setting down a stack of books on the trolley behind her.

"I came to register," he said, giving up a small smile. His face felt strange and unnatural, not used to the simple action. It had been so long since he had last smiled.

"Alright there, all I'll need is an Id and your address," Abi was already pulling up the correct forms on her computer. The smell of books was intertwined with her scent, heavy to his senses. Dani did what she asked and answered all her questions as politely as he could.

"Oh! You live right next to me," Abi exclaimed, her eyes filled with excitement, "you're the new neighbour."

Dani's ears perked at that news, his wolf attentive to the conversation. It meant that they would be near the sunflower, Ophelia. The animal in him found that thought exhilarating, eager to get to know the female that enthralled him so much. He couldn't get the painting out of his mind, or the sad look that lingered in her eyes.

He could tell that she was older than his siblings. Her scent made her more mature, ripe for taking; it was a sign that she was at the perfect age to bear pups. He could smell another scent on her that he hadn't come across yet and didn't want to think about, especially not in front of Amelia after she had grilled him about scaring off a potential friend and especially not in front of Abi.

"We've just moved," he finally replied, accepting the library card Abi extended to him.

"Welcome to the neighbourhood then," Abi laughed, "feel free to pop in if you need anything. And give me a shout if you can't find what you're looking for. I know this library like the back of my own hand."

Dani nodded his hands, smiling in return. The truth was he wasn't exactly certain about what he was looking for. He had come here with a need to forget the girls scent and to hold back his wolf from taking over and trailing after it like he wanted to do. Wolves hungry for mates were dangerous since they weren't exactly understanding. It wouldn't matter to his wolf whether Ophelia understood, he would want to claim what had him so enchanted.

It was a problem his skin faced too.

Dani walked to the back aisle where the fantasy section was. Despite being part of a species that was often written about as fiction, he was enamoured by tales of dragons and legends, of fairy tales and magic. Books always seemed to paint it brighter, better to the reality that they lived in. In books, his kind was half human and half wolf. They were docile, temperamental only to some. The reality was that they were all eighty per cent wolf and twenty per cent human.