Things were going smooth. Maybe too smooth.
That’s when I felt an itch down my spine. My bear stirred restlessly, a prickling warning in my chest. I lifted my head and sniffed the air.
Cinnamon, sugar, pine needles… and then something else. Something familiar. Sharp. Ferrous. A flicker of aggression, quickly buried, but not fast enough.
I excused myself from the stall, Sean giving me a worried glance.
“I’ll be right back,” I told him.
He didn’t argue, just nodded. That trust, that was everything. I followed the scent away from the crowd.
It dragged me past the booths and into the quieter picnic area near the edge of the woods, where the trees cut the sunlight into slants and the breeze carried more scent than sound.
And there he was.
Levi.
My brother.
He was sitting on a bench, chewing on one of our bear claws like it was just another morning.
Same thick build, same unruly brown-blond hair, but there were more scars now, etched along his jaw and throat, and dark shadows under his eyes like sleep had forgotten him.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” I said, my voice low.
He looked up and finished his last bite, licking sugar from his fingers like he had all the time in the world. “Wasn’t sure if I wanted to be here.”
My bear surged toward the surface, defensive and possessive, but I reined him in. Levi wasn’t radiating threat. If anything, he’d muted his bear so well I had to focus to still feel it.
“How long you been here?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Got in last night. Slept in my truck. Didn’t want to make trouble.”
My mouth twisted. “Why are you here, Levi?”
He looked me dead in the eye. “Your mate invited me.”
I blinked. Of course he did. I let out a slow breath.
“That sounds like Sean,” I said.
He gave me a look. “You mad about it?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what I felt. Seeing Levi here, it stirred everything. Guilt. Memories. The screaming matches. The cold winters.
The fights we walked away from bleeding. He stayed behind when I left. Someone had to deal with the mess. Someone had to keep the others from falling apart. And it wasn’t me.
“This tasted good,” Levi said, holding up the empty paper wrapper. “Paid some kid to stand in line for me.”
“You bribed a child?” I asked, amused.
“Two, actually. Also got one from the wolves’ stall. Yours was better.”
A breath of laughter escaped me despite myself. “Low bar.”
He grinned. “Still. You really made something here.”
I looked away. “Yeah.”
