Title: Essence

Pen Name: lmbrtvll

Sense: Smell

Genre: Romance

Characters: Alice and Jasper

Rating: M

Jasper tilted his head upward as he paused in the chaos of the hunt. The hunt, the sport, the one time where he could really let the animalistic nature of his true self emerge from the depths at which he kept it buried. Pine and the spicy aroma of damp wood assaulted his nose as he inhaled deeply and he could almost feel the piquant air swirling in his lungs. Unfortunately, wood wasn't what he needed to sate his appetite.

The rustling of underbrush and fallen leaves alerted him to the presence of nearby game before a pocket of air, laced with musk and warm, circulating blood, wafted towards him. A growl rumbled low in his chest and he couldn't fight the smirk that slid onto his face as he bared his teeth – instinct rather than intimidation.

Jasper was an experienced tracker; the training from his early years forever instilling the drive, the absolute need to chase and ultimately kill. Except now, instead of preying on the finer of the warm-blooded beings – humans, he now hunted animals. Chasing these lesser creatures definitely changed the game, but all he needed was a brief hint of the fear running rampant in the animal's hot blood, hormones and sweat leaving a messy trail behind, and his unharnessed wild side ruled him.

Letting intuition take him over, Jasper followed the masculine aroma that lingered in the air, interwoven with pungent bursts of a bouquet smells – freshly crushed leaves and newly snapped branches. Every muscle in his body was tense with the trill of the hunt, every sense trained on the buck he was following. Venom flooded his mouth, preparing for the most feral of moments, the moment he latched onto the neck of the beast and drank it dry.

The buck's scent became stronger as Jasper closed the distance between the two and his body hummed with the tension and excitement of nearly overtaking his prey. He could hear the animal's heart pound furiously in its chest and an influx of adrenaline coursed through its veins, sweetening its blood.

Abruptly, he came to a stop. The animal had, for some reason, gained a false sense of security and paused in a small yet still canopied clearing just ahead. Nostrils flaring, Jasper again inhaled deeply, deep enough to taste the sweetness of the blood and the tartness of the musk on his tongue. The sense of smell was a powerful one; able to deter one from enjoying a meal, or capable of enhancing the pleasures of the other senses, like now for instance. Scent had always been Jasper's favorite way of tracking – of experiencing what was surrounding him.

Crouching low, he silently crept toward the buck until he was close enough to tackle it. He was in the air for all of two seconds before his body came into contact with the warm solid flesh of his prey. Expert hands found their way to the animal's slender yet strong neck and positioned it as Jasper lowered his head. With one swift move, he latched on to the pumping jugular and pulled the hot liquid in haste. The blood was soothing as it went down and though it wasn't as rich or smooth as that from a human, his feral side didn't discriminate.

The buck was drained in mere minutes and Jasper's thirst sated. A breeze, thick with the scent of something familiar brushed past his face and he froze. The bouquet of lily's, cherry blossom and something unidentifiable yet familiar, was the most appetizing smell he had tracked all day. He turned himself to completely face the breeze and drew a large breath to fully taste the aroma. His hard chest muscles shuddered and his strong arms trembled as the delicious smell completely swathed and overwhelmed him.

He had to have it.

Jasper made quick work of figuring out which direction the scent was coming from and pursued it as if he were a man dying of hunger being led to dine on a rich supper. He couldn't suppress the low growls the vibrated from deep within his chest as he moved closer and closer to the source of the mouth-watering aroma.

His quarry stood just yards ahead of him and stared straight into his eyes as if to tease him – to challenge him. Being the feral creature of war that he was, he gladly accepted the challenge and broke out into a full run as soon as his prey darted ahead. In the thrill of the chase, the blissful aroma heavily permeated the air and pushed him onward. He had no doubt that his chase would be his, he was stronger, faster and driven by primitive instinct.

The gap between him and his quarry was closing quickly now; he was close enough to enjoy the sight of its taut muscles pull and flex as it ran gracefully over logs and through underbrush.

With a final burst of speed from his legs he dove at his prey and pinned it to the ground. His eyes were pitch black with thirst and want, his unruly blonde locks bedecked with twigs and leaves, but none of that mattered. All his untamed mind could focus on was finally taking what was his.

"Alice," he snarled.

Immediately, tiny yet powerful hands searched his body, swept over every inch though never satisfied. Jasper took both her wrists in one of his large hands and pinned them above her head before allowing his mouth to continue it's assault on her tempting flesh – her bare neck, her soft shoulder. His nips and nibbles teased her skin, traveling lower until he reached her peaks. He tore her shirt from her body and attacked her nipple, already raised with arousal – desire.

Jasper buried his face in her chest and inhaled, the aroma from before more pungent and spicy, snarling in the yearning brought fourth. He finally identified the smell he couldn't quite place before – her arousal.

Alice's hands dug deep into Jasper's hair and pulled causing him to yelp in pain and ecstasy. He moved his mouth over to the other peak and again used his mouth to get a taste of the creature with the overpowering, mind-pulling scent.

Keeping Alice's wrists pinned in one hand, Jasper used the other to raise Alice's skirt and deftly rip off her panties. These, he did not throw to the side; instead he raised them to his nose and breathed in, his eyes nearly rolling back in pleasure. A forceful growl erupted from his throat and Jasper carelessly ripped off his own clothing. He couldn't let anything stand between him and his quarry.

He released Alice's wrists and immediately they were at his back, clawing in urgency. As she broke his skin, his own recognizable scent of leathery musk and grass wafted up causing Alice to snarl and suck on the sensitive skin between his neck and shoulder.

"God, Jasper. I need you." Alice's voice was gravely and low and heat flooded Jasper's belly, his already hard cock stiffening even more.

That was all Jasper needed to hear. With a single, swift movement, he sheathed himself to the hilt, deep within her, both growling in almost painful pleasure.

"Fuck, Jasper," Alice cried out, scratching anything she could, his back, his butt, his neck. "More. I need more. Fuck me, Jasper."

Within seconds Jasper was on his feet, still buried completely in Alice, and pushing her against the nearest tree. The tree quivered at the impact but held steady. As they moved against the bark, the fresh, sharp scent of pine and tree sap pervaded the air, mixing with Alice's arousal. Jasper groaned at the new combination of scents and thrust harder against Alice.

She wrapped her hands around his neck and threw her head back against the tree, giving Jasper the perfect angle to latch on to her neck. Here, her scent, her natural, intoxicating aroma was at it's strongest.

"You like that, darlin?"

"Ungh, fuck. Yes. Harder, Jazz."

Jasper complied and Alice cried out and arched her back as he hit a new spot within.

"You're mine, darlin. Mine." He bit down forcefully on her neck, marking what was rightfully his. His mate would forever bare his mark, signifying to others that she was taken – claimed.

"Tell me. Tell me who you belong to." He wanted – he needed to hear it.

"You. I'm yours Jasper. Forever and completely."

Their hips rocked together in a wild frenzy and the air was heavy with the scent of arousal. Jasper could feel himself approaching the edge and he ground his fingers into the bark of the tree to anchor himself.

"Alice…so close. Fuck." His growl echoed throughout the woods and he emphasized each word with a nip or thrust, making sure to bury his cock completely in her tightness each time.

There was no rhythm to their thrusts, just a primal passion – a need – to mark the other as their own, to satisfy the animalistic urge that drove them onward.

"Come for me, darlin. Fuck," he grunted as Alice's walls clenched around him. "Come now!"

They erupted into a cacophony of snarls and growls as each found their release; Alice gripped tightly around Jasper's hard cock while he emptied himself completely into her.

Jasper dropped his head to Alice's shoulder, completely overwhelmed. He collapsed to his knees and laid both of them down, making sure to pull Alice to him tightly. He brushed her now disheveled hair out of her eyes and once again brought his mouth to her neck, tasting, sucking - indulging himself.

He shivered in delight when he was hit with Alice's delicate yet potent fragrance again, made more intoxicating by recent activities and the heavenly smell of her arousal that still hung lightly in the air. He could still pick out and separate each component – the lily, the cherry blossom. But now it harbored a new element and was slightly musky. It was him, his essence that now colored Alice's floral aroma for part of him was now part of her.

His lips curled into a smile and he knew he had completed the ultimate as an animal of instinct. Their coupling was proof of not only their love and desire for each other, but of his claim over his mate. Now when others caught her scent they would know she was mated and bound.

They lay on the forest floor in a heap of bare flesh and intertwined limbs, both silent and spent. Jasper relished the feel of Alice's smooth skin against his own, the waves of sweet breath-like air that washed over him as she shifted in his arms. He knew that after all that they had been through, and all they were sure to encounter in the rest of eternity, as long as he had lilies and cherry blossoms, he would want for nothing.

My first time writing any type of smut…eek. ;)

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