Kace smelled that scent, an intoxicating scent that drove his beast crazy. He did not even realized when he started to grumble and scared Arabella in front of him.
"Kace, are you okay?" Ariana touched Kace's upper arm as she looked at him worriedly. "What happened?"
Ariana could see Kace's blue ocean eyes had turned dark, indicating that his beast tried to surface and took over.
"I am sorry." Kace shook his head, tried to push back his agitated beast, though his eyes still the color of the night. "I feel weird."
Ariana squinted her eyes, but before she could ask anything further, she watched Kace abruptly stood up and walked out of the room.
Hugging the little Arabella in her arms, she followed Kace and his mate, who had gone first, out of the dining room.
On the other hand, Kace was unsure why he felt this agitation. No. It was his beast. The beast in him felt restless because of this scent.
It smelled like fresh morning scent, pure and crisp. Kace felt the surge of happiness just by smelling it and he wanted more.
At this moment, his feet worked faster than his brain did. While her mind was still riling over the scent and wandering about what the source of this intoxicating smell, his feet had brought him toward it.
It just took less than three seconds when before Kace watched Serefina's head over Alec's shoulder. he halted his steps and heard how the witch greeted him casually.
"Hi Kace." Serefina greeted him.
'Hi'? Kace didn't believe with what he heard.
Serefina had just left him for God knows how long and she was standing right in front of the door way with that sickly smile on her red lips?
She almost drove him crazy because of the long- waited, without news, without anything and now all she could say was a simple 'hi'? As though they just parted their way yesterday.
"Don't 'hi' me!" Kace growled, but his eyes caught a sight of a bundle that Serefina was cradling in her arms.
Kace was certain that the source of this scent that drove him crazy was coming from that. Even when he couldn't see it, he knew. His beast recognized this sensation.
"Well." Serefina shrugged, she noticed the changed on Kace's expression and the way his eyes couldn't avoid the 'thing' in her arms. She was right this time. "Then, tell me. Is it her?"
It was like a slow motion in a movie, when Serefina showed him a sleeping baby in her arms.
Kace felt his feet rooted to the ground as he felt his whole universe was centered in one thing, the only thing that matter for him. Even his own life was not significant compared to her.
"What is it? What do you mean with 'is it her'?" Alec's voice was like a whisper from faraway place that reached Kace's ears and brought him back to the reality that he had been staring at the sleeping baby for eternity.
And then there was a squalling sounds from behind Kace's back, it was Ariana with her three years old baby girl.
Her expression morphed into understanding about the situation.
"Is it your mate? The baby is your mate?!" Ariana voiced it out in a brief explanation. The female Alpha knew it too well the way Kace stared at the baby in Serefina's arms.
"No way…" on the other hand, Alec breathed out in disbelief. "…she is just a baby…"
Yes, that was what exactly in Kace's mind too. She is a baby! How old is she? A month? Two months? What is this another joke from the moon goddess?
Wait, but that wasn't matter, right?
Kace ignored the gasping surprised from Alec and Ariana as he walked, very slowly, toward Serefina. Toward the baby in her arms.
Upon closer inspection, Kace didn't doubt it again, the feeling was unreal and this was as if the long wait that he had been enduring all this time was worth it.
Everything was worth it when Kace watched the serene of her sleeping face.
==============
"Don't you want to carry her?" Serefina grumbled as she shoved the baby toward Kace's sturdy chest. As if electrocuted, Kace backed away almost immediately.
"Don't do that! You will hurt her!" Kace growled, trying to keep his voice low and didn't wake the baby up.
"My arms are hurt! I have been carrying her for two hours now!" Serefina protested. "You don't want to carry her and now you don't allow me to put her down! Do you think my arms made of steel!?" she was agitated by the way Kace acted.
"SSTTT! SSSTT!" Kace put his forefinger in front of his lips to shut the witch. "You will wake her up!" The Lycan hissed out of frustration.
How he could hold something so fragile like the baby? The thought of hurting her, almost drove him crazy.
The panic flashed on Kace's face when he watched how the baby's soft eyebrow scrunched slightly as if she was going to wake up.
"Uncle Kace!" Arabella called for him, but Kace put his finger on his lips again.
"Sst! The baby is sleeping." Kace said in voice that barely a whisper.
"Kace, you are very tense…" Ariana was having a headache when she watched Kace's reaction over small thing. He would end up with high blood pressure if this continued.
Swiftly, Ariana gave her daughter to her mate and took the baby in Serefina's arms, as the witch breathed in relief, and cradled her.
"Slowly… slowly…" Kace was panic.
"You. Sit down!" Ariana commanded the Donovan, one of the most feared Lycan, like he was just a little puppy.
With his mate in Ariana's arms, Kace did what he was told, yet his eyes still glued on his mate.
"Stretched out your arms." Ariana said again.
"No! I am not doing it!" Kace knew what Ariana was going to do, but she shoved the baby toward him regardless, out of reflect, of course Kace would hold her. "Sh*t Ariana! Don't do that!" he cursed as bead of sweat started to form on his forehead.