Pregnant After One Night with the Lycan
Chapter 57

Tanya’s POV

There is no time to waste on the hows and what-ifs. If I am going to get Mr. Barlow, his badge back and keep Marco’s arm attached to the rest of his body, then I couldn’t waste any more time worrying. I have to put my plan into action and just hope for the best.

“Does anyone have a pen and paper?” I say with clear urgency in my voice.

“I do!” Mr. Barlow shouts, handing them over to me without question. I quickly jot down a list of perfume-making equipment, ingredients, and raw materials that I know I’d need. With pen in hand, my fingers rush over the page in a scribbly mess as I’m aware of time. When I’m done, I turn to the one person who knows every item listed on the page, because he has been the one to set up my entire perfumery room… back when…

Oh no…

I stammer, frozen in confliction as I’m about to hand Marco the paper. I try to hide my realization, and sudden epiphany. That if Marco doesn’t remember our previous relationship, he definitely wouldn’t remember his gift to me for Valentine’s Day. Oh, how silly I feel, and how strange I must have looked, turning to him, only to gape and with-draw my hand and paper so suddenly.

He’s confused of course by my hesitation, but suddenly takes the paper from my hands without question, probably thinking I was just a little overwhelmed. “Is this what you need?” he asks, ignoring my blatant stammer.

“Yes, but.”

“I recognize all these things; Lily use to use them when she made perfumes. Give me the keys to your shop,” he’s so focused and resolute about the matter of wanting to ensure I have the best possible chance of succeeding, but I continue to fumble with my words.

“Tanya, the keys,” he snaps my mind awake, and I finally regain some form of mobility. I toss him the keys and watch still flabbergasted as he rushes off to fetch what I need.

He takes no longer than five minutes to bring two massive bags. With no nearby table, I settle down on the grass bed beside the Blue Moon Tree and unload all the contents from the bags. Despite the urgency of the situation, the atmosphere is light and calming, and I fall into my usual rhythm when creating my perfumes.

My unorthodox activity within the area also starts to attract some people. And soon, a crowd forms to watch me work. But I don’t mind the curious eyes, as I withdraw into a bubble of my own comfort while doing what I love most.

I extract and ground up the necessary ingredients, from regular practice and also from experience from the competition, I know what accents work well with the Blue Moon Tree’s aura. And while Marco has been getting my things, I have also taken the time to pick some flowers from the tree and now add that to my mixture.

But what matters the most, is that I have chosen ingredients that are very aromatic, and strong in scent. And as my perfume becomes thicker and fuller, it soon seems that my predicated calculations are correct. A moment after my solution starts to emit the desired smell, a butterfly flutters close by, comfortably resting itself on one of my perfumery utensils.

I continue to work in silence, all while noticing the crowd growing louder and louder with their gasps of admiration and wonderment. I finally look up, smiling to see thousands of butterflies of all different sizes and colors hovering around me.

Some rest upon my work equipment, some found seating on my shoulders and head, while others flap their dainty wings to stay close to my perfume that oozed with a smell that I know is delectable to their kind.

It is a pretty site in fact, but I know the next step would only be more wonderful. Still conscious of time, I only have a couple of minutes left. And whilst Raphael seems overly confident to begin with, he now doesn’t look so sure as to whether I’d lose.

I’m done with my mixture and pour the perfume into a small spray bottle. The resting butterflies twitch awake as I stand up. With excitement bubbling in my chest, I spritz them with a bit of the liquid, before turning towards the tree. I spray quite a bit on its leaves and branches, and like moths to flame, the butterflies chase the scent in union.

Because I used the Blue Moon Flower in my perfume, there’s a natural glow that it emits, creating a fluorescent light exactly like the Blue Moon Tree. By lacing the wings of all the butterflies with the perfume, their insect bodies glow a soft hue. Sparkling in a dance of color as they gently flap their wings whilst perching on the branches and leaves of the tree.

I’m awed by the sight, and so is the crowd. I’m also just in time too. I’ve made the Blue Moon Tree glow!

I now turn to Raphael, who is looking particularly miserable and heavily disappointed.

“I’ve done what you asked. I made the Blue Moon Tree glow within thirty minutes. So, I win. Now please return the badge to Mr. Barlow as you promised.”

Not wanting to admit defeat, he tries to fire back a response. “No, that can’t count. You didn’t actually make it glow. You used the butterflies, that doesn’t count!”

My brows furrow, unable to decide how to respond. But thankfully, my crowd of onlookers do it for me.

“She won fair and square!” one yells.

“Yeah! Look at the tree! It’s glowing! How can she not win?” another adds.

“You’re trying to cheat! That’s not right!”

And before long, the crowd is growing angrier and angrier at Raphael by the minute. And despite Raphael’s domineering temperament, he couldn’t fight back against an entire crowd.

“Alright! Alright fine! Quite you’re yelling. Tanya wins!” he yells back in frustration, disgruntledly handing me the badge. The crowd cheers in good spirits and I turn to hand the badge to Mr. Barlow, who smiles at me warmly.

“Thanks kid. I honestly couldn’t have gotten that back without you. I owe you one,” he says with a cheery attitude.

____________________

Marco’s POV

I barely utter a word to anyone, I’m silenced, awed by Tanya’s ability to craft perfume. Her movements are fluid and graceful, and in these past days of knowing her, I’ve never seen her so confident in her actions and mannerisms.

Her calm aura soothed me and left me at ease watching her work. I wouldn’t have had a problem watching her work for hours, just because how relaxed it made me feel. The sensation was strangely nostalgic, and I just couldn’t put my finger on where I had felt like this before.

When she is finished, I bask in the glory that is the Blue Moon Tree. It was always beautiful to me, but even more so than ever now with the thousands of butterflies that grace its leaves, dazzling with brilliant light that glows alongside the setting sun.

But whilst I admire her work, a strange thought thrusts its way to the front of my mind. Tanya is beyond talented in the art of perfumery. Better than anyone I’ve ever seen, even better than Lily I’ll admit. So then why would she destroy Lily’s sense of smell?

It doesn’t make much sense. Tanya doesn’t need to do that, she is already better than Lily, it would just get her into trouble. She’s already at a stature above everyone else in her industry, so why risk it all?

Did Lily lie to me? But why would she lie?

Just before I can consider the worrying prospect, the sun finally sets. The flowers on the Blue Moon Tree finally bloom and release their magnificent glow that lightens the surrounding the greener beautifully. It’s angelic to witness, and I’m once again in awe while recalling how this was the place my parents fell in love.

Just then, Tanya turns to me, her eyes shimmering with excitement, and I can’t help but mirror her glee. It’s strange… the situation feels so familiar. The place, the tree, her. I feel like I’ve been here before. With her…

But how…

Before I can come to a resolution, or ask Tanya, Mr. Barlow yells out in clear panic. “Wait! Claire’s missing! She’s gone! Where has she gone?”