Lucas was surprised at how easily he settled into life in Tanesab. Maybe it was the fact that Rohan was there, someone he could rely on or someone he could ask questions about his fraying imprint bond.
Alternatively, the village chief is so friendly that he could be anyone's grandmother. Perhaps hanging out in Mara and Elijah's garden like a lost puppy helped him feel at ease.
It was almost as if he'd always lived in Tanesab.
"Are you having fun so far, Lucas?" Mara inquired, quietly pruning her bonsai trees by the side of her vegetable garden.
Lucas did not respond right away. He was sitting on an overturned wooden crate near the tomato bed, knees drawn up to his chest, watching a tiny brown butterfly land on a withered leaf.
The afternoon sun was soft and filtered through the old acacia trees that lined Mara and Elijah's property. Behind him, Elijah was hammering a loose post in the chicken coop.
The sound was rhythmic, almost like a heartbeat.
"I think I am," Lucas finally said, his voice quieter than he intended. "That's good. Is Rohan treating you well?"
Mara did not look up from her bonsai. Her hands were steady and cautious, as only old hands could be. Lucas hummed in response. It had only been a few days since he had fully settled into Tanesab, and it was nothing like home.
There was chaos at home. Home was where his old packs were. Home was where he could see Sebastian and Becca in their own world.
However, Tanesab also felt like home. As if he belonged here.
Lucas hugged his knees more tightly. He could feel a faint thrum from his bond somewhere deep in his chest.
It wasn't painful anymore, just present, like a radio playing static in another room. Rohan said it was normal.
Rohan has said a lot of things recently, always in that calm, patient tone that made Lucas want to believe him.
"The chief said you live near the large sea?" Mara asked Lucas, a small smile spreading across her lips.
"Yeah," Lucas answered, sighing as the tightness in his chest resurfaced. "Rohan mentioned your sister has a shop," Lucas said. "Down south."
Mara smiled. She smiled softly, deepening the crow's feet around her eyes.
"Aida. Yes. She sells herbs, charms, and other items that the townspeople claim they don't believe in. But business is good. It's always been good.
She snipped a stray branch.
"Aida and I share the same ancestry, blood, and gift. But she preferred the noise and foot traffic. I, on the other hand, prefer this," she said, making vague gestures toward the garden, the trees, and the mountain in the distance.
"Did you miss her?"
Mara gave a soft laugh.
"Child, I miss arguing with her. We fight like cats whenever we see each other. When she came by yesterday, she commented that my bonsai looked constipated. Could you imagine? A bonsai cannot appear constipated."
She put down her pruning shears and finally looked at him. "Do you miss having her here every day?" Lucas asked, as quietly as possible, like a child scared of stepping onto something he wasn't supposed to step on. "
No. She had already chosen her path. I've got mine. And Elijah has me."
Lucas looked over to the chicken coop, where Elijah was currently testing the new post with his weight.
The man moved as if he had forgotten how to be a wolf and had to learn it all over again.
Broad shoulders. Quiet eyes. He caught Lucas' eye and gave a small nod before returning to his work.
The hammering stopped a moment later. Elijah stepped forward, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
He crouched next to Lucas' crate, picking up a small stone and turning it over in his palm. "You had breakfast this morning?"
Lucas blinked. "Uh. Yes?"
He simply nodded once, stood up, and walked back toward the coop.
Lucas looked after him before turning to Mara with a puzzled half-smile. "Is he always like this?"
Mara picked up her shears again. As she moved, a faint shimmer passed over her fingers, possibly due to light or something else entirely.
"Elijah asks because he cares. He just does not know how to say it the long way. You would know, right pup? They feel everything so deeply that words become too small. So they ask about breakfast instead."
She turned her head toward the house, where a pot of something savory was simmering on the stove. Lucas smelled it from the moment he arrived.
"You're staying for dinner, of course."
Lucas opened his mouth to say he didn't want to impose, but the words fell flat on his tongue. That was the thing with Tanesab. Nobody here seemed to believe in imposition.
They believed in extra plates, leftover chairs, and the unspoken assumption that there was always room for one more.
"Okay," Lucas replied. For the first time in weeks, he didn't feel obligated to agree. He felt as though he was saying yes because he wanted to stay.
The butterfly emerged from the leaf and flew toward the garden's edge, disappearing into the tall grass.
A rooster crowed in the distance, lazy and unhurried, as if time had decided to slow down for this afternoon.
Mara smiled again, this time smaller, before returning to her bonsai. Her fingertips lost their soft glow as she reached for the next branch.
Lucas, still sitting on the wooden crate, allowed himself to breathe.
The walk back to the cabin was peaceful, in the best way. The path led through a grove of bamboo, and the wind caused them to knock against each other, hollow and musical. Lucas kicked a loose stone and watched it skitter forward.
The cabin door stuck slightly, as it always did. Lucas had to lean his shoulder against it to get it open. He stepped inside and paused.
"I am home!" Lucas announced, walking through the door with both hands in his pockets and closing it with his left foot.
"Rohan?"
Lucas searched the dimly lit house for the man who had assisted him since he began living in Tanesab. Rohan hadn't moved from the counter. He was simply standing there, hands flat on the wooden surface, head bowed.
The pot was still on the shelves. He'd not taken it down.
"Rohan?"
No answer at first. Then Rohan lifted his head and looked at the window again, even though there was nothing to see anymore except his own reflection and the dark outside.
Lucas walked around the house, peeking through every corner, looking for the older wolf. "Are you not home?" He tried again, this time a bit louder so Rohan would hear him.
He did consider that the older wolf may be outside, roaming around the place mindlessly, looking for something or someone.
It could be the bond making him do it, or it's just his wolf making him do it.
"Ro–"
Lucas stopped; in the little corner of the living room stood Rohan.
The younger alpha walked closer, careful not to make too much noise. He stood a few feet behind Rohan and followed his gaze out the window.
The sky was turning the color of overripe mangoes near the horizon. The sea was dark and patient.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Lucas tried asking. He could hear a soft, low sigh from the older male.
"I do this sometimes," Rohan said finally, his voice low. "Stand here. Watch the water. Try to remember."
"He liked the water. Not swimming, just standing at the edge. Letting the waves touch his feet. He said it made him feel small. He liked feeling small."
Rohan uncrossed his arms and let his hands fall to his sides. "Uncle Logan?"
Rohan nodded. Only once. "For a vampire, he enjoyed the sun. He enjoyed the warmth of the rays on his delicate skin. He enjoyed the rain, winter, and even the autumn. But he despised the fall."
Lucas watched his uncle lean forward on the windowsill, fog forming against the glass as he sighed deeply.
"I remember him laughing sharply and quickly, as if he were surprised every time. I sometimes remember his hands. His fingers were long and thin, like pianists. He would tap them on tables while he was thinking. I used to think..."
Lucas saw him gulp whatever lump was in his throat, eyes squeezed shut as Rohan's hand moved to his chest, pressing flat against his heart as if he could still feel the strings of his deceased mate pulling from afar.
"I used to think that our love would last forever," that nothing could tear us apart.
Rohan laughed with a scoffing tone. Bitter, sharp, and broken all at once.
"Then I killed him. I killed him, Lucas."
Lucas felt the words hit him like a physical thing. He set the cooked dinner from Mara and Elijah's house down slowly on the small table near the door, not wanting to make any sudden noise, not wanting to startle the man who looked like he was barely holding himself together.
"I killed my mate."