Page 23 of The Librarian’s Familiar

And he was not going to trip and fall into the closet with August. He also didn’t need the reputation of the librarian who slept with every available man while he was there. However, he also didn’t want to spend the next two years and nine months celibate… although at least August wouldn’t kiss and tell.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

While a large chunk of the town were shifters, it was generally considered polite not to shift until out of town, mostly because small children, especially the witch or human ones, were terrified of polar bears. Even some adults were scared; it was like the fear of large predators was pre-programmed into human brains. Not only that, but it was impossible to tell a shifter from an actual polar bear, and it was not the kind of mistake anyone wanted to make, as it would be fatal.

August had hiked out after dinner with his two brothers. They all had small backpacks, containing just in case survival gear: first aid kit, water, and food, as well as a radio because phone reception became a little patchy if they went too deep into the mountains.

They’d shucked their gear and clothes at the family fishing hut near the lake—there were about a dozen scattered around in various states of disrepair. Most were fixed up by the relevant families and used over the summer. If one knew where to look, there were still signs of the old houses that had ringed the lake.

On four feet, they’d roamed through the trees and semi-darkness before ending up back at the lake for a swim. The water was icy cold, fed by the snow melt off the mountains. August couldn’t remember the last time he swam as a bear, though it must’ve been one of the last times he was home.

He waded ashore and shook, sending water flying in all directions. He padded over to the hut and sat down, staring up at the stars, which were so much brighter—and closer—than in the city.

It was so peaceful by the lake. A kind of silence that he’d never found anywhere else. While the world around him was calm and silent, his thoughts had been anything but. After spending the morning with Charlie in the library, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. Usually, it was easy for him to move on. Maybe he was stuck because there was nothing else for him to do. He had no distractions. No training on the ice or otherwise, no games to watch and review, no player to run through. So his mind had latched onto the first interesting thing, person, around.

That wasn’t fair to Charlie, yet after sitting with him and talking to him, he wanted more, even though Charlie had been pushing back with all the reasons why it was a bad idea.

The worst part was that he understood, but that didn’t stop him from wanting.

When Charlie had raked his gaze slowly over him, his blood had heated like he needed to shift. It wasn’t a need that needed to be scratched; it had felt like a bone-deep hunger had been awakened, but it could never be quenched by anything other than Charlie.

He crouched and shifted back to human, running his fingers through his wet hair. He pulled on his track pants and a hoodie. He was tugging on his socks when Keaton waded out of the lake and shook in much the same manner as he had. Harvey followed close behind.

They both shifted without taking a moment to admire the beauty of the night.

“You were done fast,” Keaton said as he grabbed his pants—no one wanted to be caught naked by the lake, but it was too late for humans to be hiking, and the hotel made sure to warn humans that it was not safe to be in the mountains at night. “I thought you were keen for a shift?”

“I was, and I enjoyed it.” He wasn’t used to swimming as a polar bear, and it had been harder than he expected, not that he was going to admit that to his brothers.

“You’re thinking about something,” Harvey gave him a nod. “You have that look on your face.”

“What look?” Not only that, but half his face was hidden by a beard.

“He’s right, you get a look.”

“I don’t get a look.”

Keaton snorted. “Please, I’ve been looking at your face for longer than you have.”

August couldn’t argue with that, given that both of them were older than him. Not only that, but he was thinking about something, or at least someone.

Could he tell his brothers?

Or would they punch him in the arm and call him an idiot?

“He’s probably thinking of the best way to spend his millions,” Harvey said with a laugh. “Are you planning on having a hospital wing named after you?”

“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, okay? I wasn’t planning on retiring.”

Keaton sat in the dirt next to him. “Sorry. We didn’t mean to touch a sore spot.”

“Or a blind spot,” Harvey said as he sat in August’s blind spot. Asshole.

Keaton leaned around and punched him in the arm. “We’re not supposed to make a big deal out of that, dumb ass.”

“It’s fine. Just don’t sneak up on my left or I might hit first and ask questions later.” He rested his arms on top of his knees and leaned forward. “It’s weird, okay. Like being plucked out of the life I was living and dropped somewhere else without any instructions.” Nearly his entire life, he’d been given instructions, told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. “I’m adjusting.”

Keaton nodded. “At least you had a home to come back to, and you don’t need to worry about starving to death.”