Far away from the trouble in the woods, on a busy highway August and Alex were cruising down the busy blacktop, putting as much distance between themselves and where they started. They already knew they were not going to quite be able to keep to their original loose plan and time line. They had lingered too long with their family, and were late getting started.
They didn't mind, they had no concrete plans, they were doing what they always did on these trips. They both felt like something was calling to them. On their first trip out. They had thought the other was just in a great mood, enjoying their first taste of freedom away from their family. That was why every time one of them suggested they take an exit, the other had readily agreed.
Alex and August had just been so glad to have a taste of freedom back then. No sisters, No Cassian, no parents, no nosy pack gossips watching their every move. It had been freedom like they had always been dreaming of their entire lives. Both so full of their own joy and wanderlust it had been easy to just live in the moment.
All good things need to come to an end. They had fought after three weeks on the road together on their inaugural trip. Really, they had lasted longer without fighting than expected. It had been such a stupid fight. August had been flirting with a local girl at the pub they were eating at in a town neither brother could remember the name of in present day. Alex had struck out, and the beauty was all for August. The small town sweetheart was not of a mind to try a threesome. The only other women present, were older than papa Holland, and not in the nearly immortal dragon or fae kind of way.
Alex had wanted to leave and just head back to the hotel, without the girl. If they both couldn't have a good time, Alex didn't want to wait around alone for his brother to get laid while stuck in a town that closed at sunset. August was pissed his brother would block him like this. They had never once stood in each other's way. Though the options for a one night stand at the pack were substantially more diverse than this town, thanks to the resort mom had opened on the land soon after mating Dad.
Alex was tired and cranky, he had underestimated the effort it took to live on the road and how much he enjoyed comfortable living. August was just as worn out. Neither man was at their best that night. It had been ugly. They had never once before in their lives ever fought like they did at that bar, first it had been just shouting. But that was enough to get only strangers in the town kicked out of the only business still open. The girl was horrified by their aberrant behaviour and fled back into the mix of locals.
The twin alphas had managed to hold themselves in control of themselves until they walked far enough away from any houses or business. Into the woods. Undressed silently with tension and repressed rage thick in the air and shifted. August's wolf was entirely white like his fathers, just as Alex's had the same inky black coat as Holland. It wasn't sparing, it wasn't training, they were both angry, tired, and frustrated in ways they could not articulate.
Their wolves were not long in shifting them back to humans. This fight was human business and they were not interested. These pups needed to learn pack. Alex had been the first to throw a punch in human form, catching August completely off guard. "You selfish asshole!" Alex had yelled at his brother. Flicking his long chestnut hair over his shoulder.
August held his jaw in his hand, "What are you talking about!" His jaw wasn't working correctly, garbling his speech, "You're the asshole! Asshole!" Spitting pink tinged saliva to the ground. His mouth tasting of blood.
Alex moved like he was going to hit August again. August reacted much faster this time and instead landed a solid uppercut directly into Alex's diaphragm, knocking all of the air out of his lungs in one forceful rush. A weaker or less angry man might have gone down in a heap. Alex instead flung his hand up in a wild hail Mary attack, managing to grab a tangle of August's shaggy strawberry blonde hair in his fist.
August returned the favour, except it was much easier to get a solid grasp on Alex's long straight hair. The brothers were reduced to clutching and yanking at each other's hair while slapping ineffectively at each other with their other hands. From their pile of clothes had come a voice they both recognized.
"You're both being assholes." Shocking both Alex and August into coming to a halt. "Stop fighting before someone sees you two!" Their sister Lumi's voice projecting loud and clear, from both their phones. August and Alex immediately let go of each other. Pointedly not making eye contact with each other.
"Good. Stop being stupid." Alex was pouting, and August was angry as the fracture in his jaw healed, he hated the itching sensation of bone regrowing quickly as his wolf healed him. "Remember, words not fists first. Love you both." Just as quick as she had butted in, Lumi had left them alone.
They didn't know Lumi could do that. She had never been one to flex or show off what she could do. Lumi always acted like she was embarrassed or ashamed of her magic. August opened and closed his mouth a few times, making sure the joint was fine. "You broke my fucking jaw." He told his brother. Alex didn't say anything as they both got dressed. Stalking angrily back to their bikes. At the hotel, Alex had not said a word as he got himself another room. Grabbing his toothbrush from their original room and leaving without a word.
Both brothers had stayed up all night. Mad at the other one, and certain that their anger was the justified one. The next morning they met at their bikes. Packed their saddlebags without making eye contact or acknowledging the other. Silently going to the coffee shop. Ordering separately, and sitting at different tables to eat breakfast and drink coffee.
The coffee was especially burnt tasting here. Perhaps the worst brew yet. They had been doing a running commentary every single morning trying to decide what trait most affected the experience of a morning coffee. This was the first morning in weeks they didn't banter. Later that day, after hours on the road and not a single word exchanged. August felt the subtle desire to take the next exit.
Before he had worked up the nerve to make the suggestion, certain that his brother would either ignore him and just blow past the exit out of spite, or blow up at him again, when Alex made the suggestion to take the next exit to August through the mind link.
August said sure. As they kept travelling some of the tension between them lessened. By the time they stopped that night Thankfully in a more populated city this evening, both were ready to apologize directly once they took off their helmets.
August was slower than his brother, "Dude, I didn't mean to break your jaw." Alex kicked a rock with his boot, "Sorry." He mumbled.
August playfully punched Alex in the shoulder, "Lucky I have a white wolf and heal quick. I was an asshole, at the bar." August admitted. Just like that, the brothers were back on the same page, and went to check into their room for the night.
At first it had been easy to overlook how consistently they each agreed to the same exits and changes in direction. Never any argument, or debate. Then after a few more fights and bad moods they had finally talked about the faint calling they both felt occasionally, realizing that they both were having the exact same experience.
Normally there were no secrets in their large family; two wolf fathers, a dragon and a Forest Fae for fathers was a formidable wall. Aspen could commune with the trees, and apparently trees were excellent informants. Then there had been mom. Hannah was supposed to be human, but no human should have the energy their mom had. Every occasion was celebrated, all eight siblings got one on one time frequently. Hannah had managed their large family, the resort business, her original performance company, while still filling the role of being the Beta family matriarch for the pack.
Failing their parents, Lumi had eyes and ears everywhere there was electricity and a cell tower. Apparently even more strongly than they had realized after she had broken up their fight. Lumi did at least stick to her own little ethical code, and did not reveal secrets. Unless Cassi was in a ruthless mood. Lumi was no match for their dragon sister. No one was. Alex and August both feared for whatever poor sucker that would eventually catch Cassi's dragon's affections. All of Hannah's fire and drive, with a dragon.
Pandora just didn't care enough about other people to waste the effort trying to suss out secrets. Pandora was too busy with her own schemes and plots. Penny had been in love and mated since before August and Alex had had their first kisses. So of their dozen family members the brothers could only count on two to leave them alone.
The more they talked after that fight, the more obvious it became that they were not imagining the pulling sensation. Not knowing or understanding what it was, they kept it to themselves. They had kept looking ever since. Trip after trip out exploring, enjoying different girls in different towns. After the second trip, August had bought a map. Tracing out each trip in different colours on the paper. Whatever they were seeking, after months of tracking, it was clear that nothing was more clear or made any sense.
There was no pattern to where they were attracted to heading. They went in different directions, and they were steered away from places they had been before. Almost like they were seeking a moving target. One that moved around a lot. Which was going to make it harder to figure out where the end of their could possibly be. Their map became more worn. Every colour possible had been used, some repeated now. Each line dated, overlaps marked with arrows to show where different paths had gone. Something felt different this trip. The pull had been getting stronger and stronger.