Page 70 of Flint's Arrow
“Then we search for another month. And another. However long it takes.” Levi’s voice was steady, certain. “But we won’t come back empty-handed. I can feel them out there, Cal. Can’t you?”
“Yeah.” Calvin’s grip tightened. “I can. It’s like…like there’s a thread pulling me somewhere. North, I think. Or maybe east. I can’t pin it down exactly, but it’s there.”
“Same.” Levi felt it too - a gentle but persistent tug in his chest, directing him away from the Alley, away from Montana. Pulling him toward something he couldn’t name but desperately needed. “We’ll follow it, both of us, together.”
“Together,” Calvin echoed. Then, softer, “Always together.”
“Always.” Levi meant it with everything in him. “That’s not going to change, Cal. Our third, whoever they are, they’re going to be ours. Yours and mine. Not one or the other. Both.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because that’s how it works for us.” Levi tapped Calvin’s chest, right over his heart. “We’re a matched pair. We always have been. Whoever’s out there waiting, they’re meant to complete the set, not break us apart.”
Calvin searched his face for a long moment, then finally nodded.
“Okay,” he said. “Okay. We’ll talk to Cyrus tomorrow. Ask for a month off. Pack the truck and just…drive.”
“You mean it?”
“Yeah.” Calvin pulled Levi into a tight embrace, his arms banding around Levi’s back. “I’m scared as hell, but yeah. I mean it. We’re doing this.”
Levi wrapped his arms around Calvin and held on, relief and anticipation warring in his chest. It was the right thing to do. He knew it the same way he knew the sun would rise tomorrow, the same way he’d known Calvin was his person all those years ago in Texas.
They stood there for a while, just holding each other in the quiet kitchen. Outside, the Alley was dark and peaceful. Their friends were all safely tucked into their homes with their mates. Python with Cyrus. Storm with Pax. Devon with Wren. Flint with Arrow.
And soon - Fates willing - Levi and Calvin would have that too. They’d find their third, their missing piece. The person who would look at both of them and see home.
“Come on,” Calvin said finally, pulling back. “Let’s get some sleep. We can talk to Cyrus in the morning.”
“Yeah.” Levi followed Calvin toward the bedroom they’d shared for over two decades. “Sleep sounds good.”
They stripped down to their boxers and climbed into bed, settling into their familiar positions. Calvin on the left, Levi on the right, their legs tangling together in the middle.
“Lee?” Calvin’s voice drifted through the darkness.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for pushing this. For being brave enough to say what we were both thinking out loud.”
“We’re doing this together, remember?” Levi reached over and found Calvin’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Both of us.”
“Both of us,” Calvin agreed. He squeezed Levi’s hand. “And soon, all three of us.”
Levi closed his eyes, feeling the tug in his chest - stronger now, more insistent. Their mate was out there somewhere, waiting. Maybe they were sleeping right now, dreaming of two bulls who would turn their world upside down. Maybe they were awake, feeling the same pull, the same certainty, and wondering why they were feeling that way.
Either way, Levi and Calvin would find them. They were good at doing things like that. It was only a matter of time.
To be continued…
