Page 69 of Flint's Arrow
The fear in Calvin’s voice made Levi’s bull bellow inside his chest. They’d had the same conversation before - late at night after watching Python claim Cyrus, after Storm brought Pax home, after Devon and Wren completed their bond. Every time, Calvin circled back to the same fear - that finding their fated mate would mean losing each other.
“Cal.” Levi cupped Calvin’s face, forcing eye contact. “We already know we’re mates.”
Calvin blinked. “What?”
“You and me.” Levi held his gaze. “We’re mates. We’ve been mates since we were kids, even if we’ve never done the claiming bite. We live together, we work together, we share a bed. Hell, we share everything. You think that’s just friendship?”
“I…” Calvin’s expression shifted, confusion giving way to something softer. “I never thought about it that way.”
“Well, think about it now.” Levi ran his thumbs along Calvin’s cheekbones. “We’re bonded, Cal. Maybe not in the traditional way, but we’re bonded. Our bulls recognized each other before we even understood what that meant.”
“Then what’s missing?” Calvin’s hands came up to grip Levi’s wrists. “Why do we both feel this pull? This…emptiness?”
“Because there’s supposed to be three of us.”
The words hung in the air between them. Levi had known it for years. He’d felt it in his bones every time he watched the other mated pairs at the Alley. Storm and Pax fit together perfectly. Devon and Wren completed each other. Python and Cyrus moved like two halves of a whole.
But Levi and Calvin…they were two-thirds of something, like a triangle missing its final point.
“You really believe that?” Calvin asked.
“Don’t you?”
Calvin was quiet for a long moment, his eyes searching Levi’s face. Then he nodded slowly.
“Yeah,” he admitted. “I do. I’ve felt it for a while now, like there’s someone out there waiting for us. Someone who belongs with us the way we belong with each other.”
Relief flooded through Levi, so intense it made his knees weak. He’d been carrying the certainty alone for months, afraid to voice it because he didn’t want to scare Calvin. But Calvin felt it too. They were on the same page.
“So what do we do?” Calvin asked.
“We go looking,” Levi said firmly, no room for doubt. “We take a month off. Tell Cyrus we need personal time. Get in the truck and drive until we find them.”
“A whole month?” Calvin’s eyebrows rose. “Lee, we’ve never taken more than a week.”
“I know. But this is important.” Levi stepped closer, until their chests nearly touched. “We’ve spent more than thirty years building this life together. Working together, fighting together, and surviving together. Don’t you think we deserve to find the person who’s supposed to complete us?”
Calvin’s expression softened. “When did you get so romantic?”
“I’m not romantic, I’m practical.” Levi allowed himself a small smile. “And practically speaking, we’re both miserable. I can feel it in you, Cal. Every time we come back from a job and watch Flint curl up with Arrow, or Devon carry Wren to bed, or Storm feed Pax donuts…You feel it too.”
“Yeah.” Calvin’s voice cracked slightly. “I do. I want that. I want someone to look at us the way Wren looks at Devon. Someone who chooses us, both of us, and makes us feel complete.”
“Then we go find them.”
“You really think they’re out there? Our third?”
“I know they are.” Levi pressed his forehead against Calvin’s. “You feel it too, don’t you?”
Calvin closed his eyes. Through their decades-long bond - unofficial and unclaimed but no less real - Levi felt his partner’s emotions. Fear, yes, but also hope and longing. A bone-deep certainty that matched Levi’s own.
“Yeah,” Calvin whispered. “I feel it. It’s like a compass pointing somewhere I can’t see yet. It’s been getting stronger.”
“For me too.” Levi pulled back enough to meet Calvin’s eyes again. “Especially the last few months. It’s like…like they’re calling to us. Or maybe we’re calling to them. Either way, I don’t think we can ignore it anymore.”
Calvin nodded slowly. His hands slid from Levi’s wrists to his shoulders, gripping tight.
“What if we can’t find them?” he asked. “What if we search for a month and come back empty-handed?”
