His Second Chance

02 | his scent

"Choose the right team next time," Olivia said before taking a deep breath. "Now, shut the fuck up, it's ritual time."

Olivia walked over to the mini fridge that was concealed behind the bar and pulled out a plastic shopping bag. The gray hue of the bag prevented me from seeing what was inside, but I didn't need to see what lay beyond the thin plastic to know the contents.

The decaying scent of rotting flesh hit my nose, and I stumbled backward. Spencer reacted similarly, only he pinched the bridge of his nose in detest.

"How long did you let it decompose before you put it in the fridge?" He stifled.

"Only a few days."

"A few days?" Spencer's head shifted toward the door.

Olivia laughed while pointing at the window above the bar. "Your exit is that way."

He groaned as Olivia walked closer to us, the plastic bag still gripped in her hand. The couch had been shoved against the wall to clear as much space in the center of the room as possible. A couple white candles were delicately placed around a large, crystal bowl.

Olivia kneeled in front of the bowl, opened the bag, and plopped the contents inside. Olivia slowly rose to her feet to wash her hands while my eyes glazed over the decaying rabbit's foot, which was slowly slipping down the side of the bowl.

The foot had been cut off somewhere around the upper thigh, blood dripping down the side. Even though I regularly ate wild rabbits while in wolf form, it was hard to stomach the smell and sight while standing in my human form.

Something about it didn't feel right.

When Olivia came back, she quickly lit the surrounding candles and motioned for us to flock to her sides. Following Olivia's unspoken orders, I positioned myself by her side. Olivia held out the palms of her hands.

I took her hand as we slowly settled on the carpeted floor. Olivia cleared her throat and began, "Now, let's see how much luck we can squeeze out of this leg before placements. What do you say?"

She looked around at both of us. Her green eyes lit up with excitement as we nodded our heads. Olivia took this cue to start the ritual.

Since her mom was part witch, Olivia had picked up a thing or two when it came to practicing witchcraft. However, everything she learned had been through the countless books lying around her house. She had no formal training, so we never expected much to result from the spells and rituals conducted.

But we could use all the luck we could get for the placements.

Olivia had us close our eyes during the ritual. She often got embarrassed when she leaned into her witch heritage. No amount of convincing would make her feel otherwise.

She chanted a few phrases in a language I could not understand. I could feel her rocking back and forth as the intensity of her chants grew more rushed. Her tempo increased and increased as her body rose ever so slightly with each word. My hand strained to stay in her hold until—with an abrupt jolt—she returned back to the ground.

A chill flashed through the room, and Olivia squeezed my hand. It was her signal we could open our eyes. Slowly prying my eyes open, I looked at the rabbit's foot.

It looked the same, but the candles had been blown out.

"Well," Spencer yawned, stretching his arms high above his head.

Olivia blushed. "I guess we'll just have to see if it worked tomorrow."

"That's it?" Spencer blinked.

"That's it," Olivia echoed, mimicking Spencer's dull expression.

"I want a refund."

Olivia placed her hands on her hips. "Get the fuck out."

"Liv—"

"Spencer," she warned while he tensed at her side. "Don't make me repeat myself, Spencer. I have another ritual to perform."

"Another ritual?"

"One to hopefully reverse whatever good vibes I put in the universe for you," she countered.

"Olivia," Spencer whined, hanging his head back. "Olivia, I–"

She sighed. "Help clean up and maybe all will be forgiven."

Spencer nodded his head vigorously while Olivia turned to me with a devious smile.

He's a dumbass, she said to me.

You could have gone easier on him, I responded. You know nerves do bad things to his bowels.

That's how we'll know if this luck ritual worked.

I shook my head, playfully nudging my elbow into her side. Spencer and I helped Olivia clean up the scene of our good luck ritual, making sure nothing was out of place. Olivia's mom would kick up a storm if she knew her furniture had been moved around in order for Olivia to practice magic.

Once we had finished cleaning, it was well past midnight. Both Spencer and I did not live far from Olivia, so the journey home would not be a long one, but it would be treacherous. As a result, we decided to bunker down and spend the night at Olivia's.

While staying at Olivia's house was debatably risky with the threat of her parents finding out we were here looming around us, it was undoubtedly safer than betting our odds with the Reapers. Olivia brought down two sleeping bags and said we could use the couch cushions as pillows before she stalked off to her room to fall asleep for the night.

After tossing and turning to the sound of Spencer's snores, I was able to fall asleep myself. However, as soon as the first sign of sunlight streamed through the basement, Spencer and I scrambled through the window to make it home in time to prepare ourselves for the placement results.

As I hoisted myself back through the window, more gracious this time, I thought my biggest worry of the day would be my impending placement. But that was before I caught wind of a faint yet tantalizing scent.

A scent that could only belong to one person.

My mate.