The Scent of Another

Elara's POV.

My breath hitched in my throat as I stood frozen in the open doorway. The brass deadbolt had just clacked shut behind me, sealing off the cool draft of the hallway, but the chill sinking into my bones had nothing to do with the morning air. My gaze lifted from the worn floorboards and locked instantly onto Kaelen.

My exhausted mind began spiraling with dark, suffocating anxiety, dra