Brielle’s stomach flipped.She wanted to scoff, to dismiss it, but the memory of how Hunter’s gaze had snagged on hers, how Lennox had looked almost winded ...it unsettled her.“Shifters?”she asked finally, voice laced with disbelief.“Shifters react to scents and bonds.You are saying that you think they’re...?”
“Yes.”Liam’s tone left no room for doubt.“I suspect Hunter and Lennox are shifters.I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure, but Nolan and Isaac agree.”
As if on cue, the stairwell door opened again, and Nolan and Isaac stepped out.Nolan folded his arms, his sharp gaze locking on Brielle.“Liam’s right.We tested it when you were in the hospital.We pushed dominance into the room—just a little.Enough to see if they would react to it.They felt it for sure.Reacted like shifters would.”
Isaac nodded, his expression grave.“Which means their animals were always there, buried deep.Marcus’s curse trapped them in human skin.When that curse broke, the bond was still blocked.But after Saffie destroyed the curse completely with the druid stone...”He spread his hands.“Now, their animals are awake.Fully.”
Brielle stared at them, trying to piece it together.“So, let me get this straight.We think that they are shifters.”
Liam nodded.“Yep, pretty fucking sure.”
Brielle nodded.“And that this afternoon they could scent me, not because I smell, but because it is a scent that, shall we say, resonated with them.”
Willow grinned at her and clapped her hands.“Yes!That’s it!Your scent resonates with them.”
Brielle nodded again.“And that resonance, had them reacting to me.They could scent me.And they ...reacted to that scent.”
“Exactly,” Liam said evenly.
She threw her hands up.“Okay, but what does that mean?Because right now it just sounds like I’m walking around with eau de chaos.”
For a moment, no one answered.The wind tugged at her curls, carrying the city’s noise back to them.
Then a familiar voice that had her heart beating faster and her skin tingling said.“It means that you are our mate, sweetheart.”
****
Not being able to waituntil the next day, Lennox and Hunter pushed open the door to Fated Ink that afternoon, at the end of their shift.The bell above it chimed, the sound sharp against the low thrum of tattoo guns coming from the back.It smelled of antiseptic, ink, and something faintly metallic, but there was a hum of magic in the air that made Lennox’s skin prickle.This wasn’t just a tattoo parlor.This was something else.
Ursula was bent over a sketchbook behind the counter, while Saffie leaned on her elbows, scrolling on her phone.Both women looked up in unison as the brothers walked in.The sudden weight of their combined gazes had Lennox shifting awkwardly, his instinct to bristle tamped down only because he needed these women on his side.
“Here to check out the art we have available for tattoos?”Ursula asked, her green eyes assessing.“Or are you here for something else?”
Hunter cleared his throat.“Both, maybe.”His shoulders twitched, and Lennox knew exactly what his brother was thinking—this place didn’t feel like neutral ground.It felt like being watched.
Ursula set down her pencil.“Do you two already have ink?”
Lennox and Hunter exchanged a look.“Yeah,” Hunter admitted, a little sheepish.“Not exactly proud of it.”
Saffie arched a brow.“Let me guess.Drunken decisions?”
“Not drunk,” Lennox muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.“Just young and stupid.”
Ursula’s mouth curved.“Show me.”
The brothers hesitated, then slowly tugged up their sleeves on their right arms.Hunter revealed a faded anchor etched into his bicep.“Thought I’d end up in the Marines,” he said quietly.“Didn’t exactly work out.”
Lennox rolled his sleeve higher, revealing the bold script of a woman’s name,Sophia,dark and permanent.“Thought she was forever,” he said, his voice dry.“She wasn’t.”
Saffie snorted, her grin quick and merciless.“Oh, that’s rich.”
Ursula chuckled.“We’ll fix those mistakes.I’ll start working on your new designs tonight.”
Lennox frowned.“New designs?”
“You’ll want something that fits who you actually are,” Ursula said simply.“Not the ghosts of who you thought you’d be.”
Hunter gave a small shrug, a half-smile twitching at his mouth.“I guess that makes sense.”