Finding Home: A Twin Shifter Romance

“Bree—help—Silver—having dreams—wolves—out of time—don’t come.”Beep! The answering machine recorded the message just as Bree opened the door. The key always stuck, and she always thought of fixing it but never had the time.Her heart sank when the last beeping sound signaled that the person on the other line had dropped the call. She heard Bran’s voice on the other side of the door as she wrangled with the stubborn lock.He never called during the week, knowing she was at work, so she felt disappointed that she made a last-minute decision to pass by the grocery store instead of heading straight home.Bree tried to call the number back by dialing *69 but it gave her the busy dial tone. It had been a couple of weeks since they last spoke and not having her brother nearby for more than half the year got her concerned. And after the puzzling message Bran left on the machine, she felt more anxious. Why would he ask for help, and then tell her not to come? He had been in trouble before, b

“Bran, is it too late to convince you not to leave?” Brianna asked as she picked on the straps of his backpack. She was still hugging him and wouldn’t let go. They were at the airport and Bree took the day off to drop him off before his big adventure.“Bree, I’m just a few states over.” Brandon pushed her off his chest a few inches so he could see her face, but she had her head bent because she did not want him to see the tears in her eyes. He grimaced and kissed her forehead. “You can always hop on the plane and see me if you want.”He hugged her again, making her tear up more.“I know that. I guess I just don’t like being left behind.” She mumbled.“I’ll be back in six months and then you’ll tire of having me around the house. Enjoy your time without me. Grab a boyfriend or two while I’m gone.”Bree snickered. “Sure, let me flirt with the hot police officers while I’m training. That will do me good.”“As long as you like them, then I’m okay with that. Don’t let them intimidate you i

“What can I get you, honey?” A middle-aged lady asked as she sat on the counter.“A cup of coffee and pancakes if you have them.” Flying out early that morning made her miss breakfast, and because of the short flight, the airlines did not bother to serve any snacks.“You new around town or just passing through?” the woman inquired politely.“Actually, I am looking for my brother. He was here a week ago, using your phone to call me. I wonder if you’d seen him around.”“What does he look like? Lots of people come around here and I’m good with faces.” The lady looked sympathetic, which put her at ease.“He looks exactly like me, same brown eyes and black hair. Probably scruffier around the face because he has a beard by now and is more than a foot taller.”“Can’t say I’ve seen someone like that pass through here.”“Do you have any cameras we can check? Maybe you weren’t here when he came in?” “How are you so sure he called from here?” The old lady asked suspiciously. Bree noticed she had

In the car, Grayson did not hesitate to interrogate Bree as soon as he set the car in motion. “So you want to tell me why you were looking for me?”“I called and left several messages a week ago regarding my brother, Brandon Stone, and nobody called me back.”“Brothers disappear all the time. I take it this is not the first time he left home without telling you?”“My brother has been on this six-month-long hiking trip on the Continental Divide. He was supposed to come home two—no, three weeks ago when he decided to extend his trip, said he wanted to see the waterfalls here in Washington.”“Silvercreek is a long way from that trail. Are you sure he was in this area?”“Yes, I’m sure he was in this area because the last phone he called from was the diner’s landline.” The sheriff’s brows furrowed. “Bran calls me every weekend without fail and it’s been two weeks. I have a feeling something bad happened to him.”“Why did you wait two weeks?”“I called your office and the ranger station a fe

Grayson was in the backyard, chopping wood to eliminate the tension he felt on his shoulders. The forest felt too quiet, and the air too calm, even for a small town like Silvercreek. Instances like these spoke of impending catastrophe, but his wolf could not figure out what was causing it. Sure, there were animal attacks in the forest, but those were nothing to be concerned about. They were just wild wolves driven to the nearby cities out of hunger.As the big felled trunk split in two, he wondered if a rival pack had invaded their territory to cause trouble. It had been several years since the Washington wolf packs and the surrounding neighbors made a peace treaty. There was no way a group would violate those rules unless there was some altercation between the packs he was unaware of.Wolves were naturally territorial and would protect the lands handed to them by their forefathers, even to their deaths. Grayson knew most of the Washington packs were peaceful and they would never make