a Primal Pursuit

thirty six

My question took Asra aback; the sheer surprise on his face was almost comical. I had never seen him so unexpected by a question before. The man was usually stoic in his responses. He blinked slowly before shaking his head and letting out an exasperated scoff.

"What do you mean, smell the same? Of course, you do." He coughed a laugh.

"On the surface?" I cocked my head. "Or deep down?"

"Tulip, I am not following..." He frowned, eyebrows knitting together.

I sighed, pinching my eyes shut. "Eris said that Arabella was a human of similar blood."

"Yes..."

"Similar does not mean the same," I stated. "Similar means like. She was a human of blood, like mine."

"Right..." His nose scrunched as he peered at me from opposite the desk.

I sighed, exasperated. "So that means she does not have the same blood as me!"

"Tulip... Ailia... Look." Asra sighed. "Eris likes to play games. She likes to taunt."

"But she is also a vampire who has amazing senses with a speciality in blood." I rose an eyebrow.

"Humans have different blood types. They come from different eggs, different sperm. They will not smell exactly the same." He shook his head. "Eris most likely meant nothing by it, I can assure you of that."

I frowned, still not agreeing with his explanation. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Tulip. As far as I can tell, you smell the same, but now you smell like me, so it is a little different." He shrugged.

"Okay," I sighed. "I suppose you have a point."

"If I noticed anything, I will tell you. Okay?"

A small smile lifted my lips as I agreed verbally with him, but I still disagreed. Eris' words taunted me; and I couldn't help but overthink them. Asra's scent sniffer must be off. Perhaps I needed another dog to have a test run at it.

But even if Eris said it without having meaning, it was the fact she still used those words. She could've just said the human or just the girl, but she had to describe Arabella by her blood. Predator or not, it was a weird way to describe somebody. It was like she knew something I didn't.

Asra cleared his throat. "Anyway, your sister is in her room."

"Really?" My eyes widened with glee.

"Yes, so I suggest you go find her and both of you cleanse yourself." He sheepishly smiled.

"Oh, I will!" I grinned, jumping from my seat.

I was gone without another goodbye, knowing I would be back in a bit, anyway. I rushed around the house, throwing myself into the death-box without another thought. Impatiently, I waited for it to arrive at her floor before hurrying to her room. The door was open, and a soft murmuring came from inside. As soon as Bella saw me, her tired eyes widened.

Embracing her was like a bucket of water had been dumped on my burning skin. Immediately I felt relief, my shoulders sagging. We didn't hug for long before she was pulling away from me with a grimace.

"What happened?" She wondered.

"I made him come to his senses," I shrugged. "But he is not getting away with it so easily. Come, he needs to apologise."

"Oh no, it's okay." She was quick to shake her head.

I ignored her sudden bashfulness as I led her towards Asra's office. The moment we were face to face with the solid wood, she tried to back away. Grunting at her sudden strength, I pushed the door and dragged her inside.