Isaac shook his head, though a reluctant smile tugged at his mouth.“In 1813 we had to hunt for what we ate.Now we’ve got Wi-Fi and Uber Eats.Some things have improved.”
“Some didn’t,” Nolan shot back.“At least back then, people believed in magic.Now, if you tell them about curses or witches, they’ll stick you on a reality show.‘Love Island: Supernatural Edition.’”
Isaac laughed, nearly choking on his bacon.“I can see it now.Contestant profiles—‘Likes long walks under the full moon.Dislikes silver jewelry and commitment.’”
Nolan leaned back, holding his fork like a mic.“Name’s Nolan, I shift under the moonlight, and I’m single.Swipe right if you don’t mind a little fur.”
Isaac groaned again, dropping his face into his hands.“If there’s a Moon Goddess up there watching, she’s probably already regretting giving you back your wolf.”
They fell into companionable silence, plates steadily emptying, before Nolan’s expression sobered.He set his fork down with a clatter.“About that curse...”
Isaac’s fork stilled halfway to his mouth.He’d been thinking the same, but hearing it aloud made his skin prickle.“Matthew’s curse.But if we shifted again ...maybe that means it’s broken.”
Nolan blinked, then slowly grinned, syrup shining at the corner of his mouth.“You’re right.If we’re here, if shifters are back—then Matthew must be dead.And Liam, Jacob ...they must have found Libby again.”
Isaac felt something tight in his chest ease for the first time in centuries.He let out a long breath.“That’s why we’re back.That’s why our wolves woke.Because they did it.They finished it.”
Nolan thumped his fist on the table, plates rattling.“Damn right they did.Our brothers finally got their happy ending.And now it’s our turn.”
They both sat back for a moment, grins spreading slow and certain, celebrating the knowledge that the sacrifice they had made had not been for nothing—that shifters once more walked the world.
Isaac pushed his plate away, leaning forward, elbows braced on the table.“You remember what the glowing lady said?At the end of the dream?”
Nolan’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.“She said our mate was close.In danger.”
The words hung between them like thunder.Their mate.Saffron.The woman who had walked through fire and centuries for them, the one with one golden eye and one blue who haunted their blood and bones.
“Tomorrow,” Nolan said firmly.“We hunt for her.The bond—it’ll lead us.Faster than anything else.We’ve waited too long already.”
Isaac nodded slowly, rubbing at the back of his neck where tension had settled like iron.“And we figure out what the Moon Goddess meant.About saving her.About fixing all this.”
Nolan’s grin sparked, wild and reckless even through the seriousness.“First step, find her.Second step, solve whatever insane Goddess quest we’ve been dumped into.Third step, happily ever after.I’m calling it.”
Isaac rolled his eyes.“Right.And somewhere in there, we’re supposed to track down a druid stone.Don’t even know what the hell that is.”
Nolan leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head, smug as a cat.“Details, details.How hard can it be to find one mystical rock in the entire world?”
Isaac stared at him flatly.“Two hundred years and you haven’t changed a bit.You’re still the reckless one.”
Nolan winked.“And you’re still the cranky one.Balance, brother.It’s all about balance.”
Isaac snorted, pushing his empty plate away and standing to pour himself more coffee.His reflection in the dark surface trembled slightly, wolf eyes glowing faintly.“Balance.Fine.But mark my words—tonight’s the last night we spend without her.Tomorrow, everything changes.”
Between them, the unspoken truth hummed like a heartbeat.Over two centuries of loss and longing, and tonight would be the final night without their mate where she belonged.And that was happy and healthy and pressed between the two of them.Preferably naked.
****
The low hum of machinesand the faint buzz of a tattoo needle filled the air at Fated Ink.The parlor smelled of ink, disinfectant, and the faint spice of incense that Ursula always kept burning.The walls were lined with framed artwork—wolves, ravens, Celtic knots—and shelves of ink bottles glinting under soft lights.A couch sprawled against one wall, occupied at the moment by Willow, who could barely sit still as she hovered around her mates.
Saffron crouched on the arm of a chair in her cat form, tail flicking lazily.She preferred it this way tonight.Easier to ignore Ursula’s pointed looks, easier to pretend she didn’t hear the tattoo artist’s musings.Easier not to talk.Sometimes, two centuries of words were too much, and silence inside fur was her only refuge.
On the main chair, Liam sat shirtless, muscles taut but jaw relaxed, the needle buzzing over his skin as Ursula etched an intricate Celtic knot across his shoulder, sweeping down to his left pec.Over his heart, the names Willow and Libby had been stenciled together, waiting for ink.Beside him, Jacob waited his turn, rolling his shoulders like he could barely contain his excitement.His design was identical, and over his heart the same two names—Willow and Libby—were placed as a joint tribute.
Willow leaned over, pressing a kiss to Liam’s temple.“You’re sure about this?”
Liam smirked, though his hand tightened on hers.“Never been more sure.Ink fades slower than memory, but both last forever.”
Jacob grinned.“Besides, I want Libby right here.A mark no curse can erase.”
