Chapter 120: Smelling For The First Time

Raul

My eyes snapped open and I sat straight up as my heart tried to beat out of my chest. What the fuck had happened and why in the hell was I on the floor? I looked around and instinct made me breathe in deep. I smelled the most mouthwatering lilac scent coming from behind me. I turned slightly and an aroused growl rumbled in my chest when my eyes landed on a sleeping Tasha. I ran my eyes over her body, my eyesight clearer than ever before and my hearing picked up on her slow steady heartbeat.

I lifted my face up again as more scents hit my nostrils. I drew in a deep breath and I focused on a dark mint one. I looked around the room again, finding Falcon curled up by the door. I carefully untangled myself from Tasha and crept over to him. I bent down to sniff him and almost moaned with the arousal that rushed through my body. I reached out to touch him, freezing at the last moment. How would I explain running my fingers over his face if he woke up?

I stood back up and looked towards the bed where the other five guys lay sound asleep. I walked over to them and bent down to sniff Jamie. Pine. Mmmm. I crawled over him to sniff Lee. How did someone smell like warm soil? Better question, how the fuck did I know what warm soil smelled like? I shook my head and moved on to Sebastian. I groaned. He smelled like the woods outside. I leaned in closer to his neck and inhaled again. Fuck! Why did they all smell so good?

I cautiously sniffed Tony and laughed quietly. Cedar. Is this what Tasha and Falcon smelled when they were close to us? Is that why she was always sniffing us lately? We must remind Maddy of her home in the wild. I went to move onto Timothy but the monitor had me climbing off the bed to go to his side. I ran my fingers over it curiously before leaning down to sniff him. Maple. Wait… I sniffed him again and the scent of… something else registered. I sniffed him again. He smelled… I couldn’t describe it. His sweet scent had an underlying scent of something that made me anxious for lack of a better word.

“He’s sick.” I looked over to Falcon who was now sitting up, watching me. “Cancer.”

I straightened up. “Excuse me? I think we would know if he was sick.”

He bent his leg at the knee. “Would you though, if he had help hiding it?”

“Who would be stupid enough to help him hide cancer?”

He sighed. “Think about it, Raul. Who do you know that is a doctor and has an intimate knowledge on everything bear?”

Karen. I bared my teeth at him. “She wouldn’t hurt Tasha like that.”

His eyes moved to her and I saw the sadness pass over his face. “She would if she thought it would buy her a few more days of happiness.”

“She’s not that cruel.”

“Don’t believe me then but I saw his medical records. Tammy showed them to me. Don’t you think it’s weird that only he is hooked up to a monitor? Listen to his breathing. Do you hear how it moves through his lungs? It sounds painful. I hear lung cancer will do that to a person.”

I glared at him for a moment before pressing my ear to his chest and listening to the air move through his lungs. Crackling, wheezing and a very small amount of actual airflow could be heard. I closed my eyes and a tear rolled down my face. This wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. What were we going to do if he left us? My eyes snapped open to look at Tasha. How would she handle it? She loved him more than the rest of us.

“Fuck.”

“Yep. That pretty much sums it up.”

“How long?”

“Tammy said like 6 months, maybe a year.”

I ran my fingers over his face. “Will transitioning fix him?”

“If he survives, I hope so. If not…. Well, it’s best not to think about it if not.”

I walked over to sit next to him. “We should have a plan just in case. We can’t let this be another you. Did you tell her?”

“No. I was going to last night but… well other stuff happened.”

His face turned red and I chuckled. “That good, huh?”

“Did you know she has a lingerie box….?”

My heart sped up at the thought of her in lingerie. I knew she had a demure lingerie outfit but a whole box? He chuckled.

“I can tell you didn’t. She modeled an outfit for me. Says she has one for each of us. I got to see the one she had for me last night and when I tell you… if yours are anything as sexy as the one she chose for me…. Be prepared to not think.”

“I can’t wait. So, why did you tell her he’s hooked up to a monitor?”

“I didn’t. She also didn’t ask. She knows something is wrong but I don’t think she wants to know the exact reason.”

I sighed as I watched Timothy breathe. “She’ll know as soon as she smells him.”

“I know. Osprey asked Mona about him today and now they’re both upset when I explained that he was sick.”

I glared at him. “You told our son that his father was sick?”

“I said sick, not dying. Mona knows the truth.”

I sighed. “So many people are going to be crushed if he passes. Tasha more than anyone,” I murmured sadly as I watched her.

He hesitantly took my hand and I leaned my head against his shoulder. “I want everybody to survive. I’m not sure exactly what happened but thank you for being with her.”

He squeezed my hand before letting me go. “We do want you, Raul. All of us do.”

“Do you want me, Falcon? Do you want all of us? Or is this just about making her happy?”

He didn’t respond and I could almost feel his emotions. I wasn’t sure exactly what he was feeling but I knew they were strong. Finally, he sighed and stood up.

“If this was just about making her happy, you would be dead.” He shrugged, trying to appear like he didn’t care and I eyed him as I waited for him to finish. “I wouldn’t have been in here waiting for you to wake up either. So, take that as you will.”

He walked over to the bed to pick Jamie up. He carried him to the couch before moving Lee to the rug in front of the window. He put Sebastian on the floor closer to the door before moving Tony to one half of the bed before shifting Timothy closer to the middle.

“Falcon?”

“Mmm?”

“Why are you moving them?”

“Because it is just safer for when they shift so they don’t crush each other. We had to move you.”

“Oh.”

He walked toward me and I got up. I stepped in his way and put my hand on his chest to make him stop.

“I hope one day that you can be as comfortable with us and how you feel as we are with each other. We can all be happy together if you’ll let us love you like Tasha does. Don’t just accept us… be with us.”

He searched my face for a moment before stepping back. He opened his mouth to speak when a soft moan from behind him made him quickly and silently leave the room.

“Raul?”

I went to kneel beside her. “Hey, baby.”

She smiled at me. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good. We need to talk about something,” I answered.

She sighed and pulled me down to lay next to her. “Have you spoken to Falcon since you’ve been awake?”

“Yeah. We-”

She put her finger over my lips, making me stop talking. “I don’t want to know. I want to hold onto my hope that this will fix everything. I can smell it in the air. Please, let me have my hope. I’ve already lost it twice. My father and then Falcon. Let me keep it for Tim. I’m begging you.”

I sighed and held my woman in my arms. I kissed her forehead. “Alright, baby.”

She ran her fingers over my chest. “I have a present for you if you want it…”

My cock twitched with excitement. “Oh, do you, now?”

“Yep. It’s your favorite color, too.”

I groaned. “Is it going to drive me crazy?”

She smirked at me. “I hope so.”

I got up and picked her up. “Where are we going for this present?”

“To your room?”

“As you wish.”

She leaned against my chest and brushed her fingers over the back of my neck.

“Thank you for coming back to us.”

I lifted her a little to kiss her softly. “Thank you for loving me enough to give me forever.”

She nuzzled into my chest as I walked into my room. When I turned to close my door, my eyes met Faclon’s for a brief second down the hall.

“Always will, Raul,” I heard him whisper as the door clicked shut.