Ethan POV

The scent hits me the moment I open the door.

Jasmine and rain.

My entire body goes rigid. Ellen surges forward, clawing at my control.

'Mate! Mate nearby!'

I freeze in the doorway, scanning the dim room. Alice's birthday party is in full swing downstairs—music and laughter filtering up through the floorboards. I came up here looking for a quiet place to take an important call from one of my border patrols.

But that scent—

It's ...