Chapter One

“Is everyone ready?” Moore asked, looking at the people gathered around him.

Davey ignored him. Moore always checked if everyone was ready before they left, which was ridiculous because they knew what to expect. Of course they were ready. They’d been raiding labs and saving people for a while now.

Davey swallowed and bounced on the balls of his feet. He was more than ready to go, but he had to wait for Moore to give the signal. As soon as Moore did, Davey turned to Teddy, who held out a hand and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t get why you’re always so eager to go,” he said as others touched him.

“Why wouldn’t I be? The labs shouldn’t exist, and we’re taking them down one by one. I don’t know about you, but it’s the perfect job for me, and I take great pleasure in making sure those doctors won’t hurt anyone ever again.”

Teddy didn’t look convinced, but there wasn’t time for them to talk. As soon as everyone was touching him, he shimmered them away, and the raid was on.

They couldn’t afford to be distracted, which was good because Davey didn’t want anyone to start asking questions. He wasn’t ready for people to find out why he was always so eager to go on raids. He didn’t know how Moore would react if he did, and he needed to do this.

He stepped away from Teddy once they landed because he wanted to avoid more questions, and he huddled close to Olga instead. She glanced his way and arched a brow.

Maybe he shouldn’t have chosen her.

“What do you know?” he asked her.

“Who says I know anything?”

“You see the future.”

“I don’t see all the future.”

“No, but you have that face, and I know you know something.”

She grinned. “Do I?”

She was infuriating. She saw the future, but as far as Davey knew, she’d never been able to control that power. She saw whatever the universe wanted her to see, so it probably had nothing to do with him.

But it also could have everything to do with him.

There was no way for Davey to know, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Olga was secretive about the things she saw. She always said that she didn’t want anyone to do things differently just because of what she saw, especially when it came to their private lives. As far as Davey was concerned, he didn’t want to know if anything she saw involved him. He didn’t even want to know if she saw his mate, because he wasn’t ready to meet whoever that was. Maybe he never would be.

He definitely didn’t want to meet his mate before he managed to rescue Evan.

He swallowed and took a careful step away. Olga snickered, but Davey ignored her. That was made easier by Moore getting everyone’s attention and the small crowd around them quieting down.

“You know what to do,” Moore said, gesturing at the lab they were standing in front of.

It was hidden between the trees. That had to have been done on purpose, because the only thing that Davey could see was a metal door embedded in the wall. The vegetation covered everything else except for a small white box on the wall by the door.

The alarm system.

That wouldn’t be a problem. Matthew stepped up to the door and examined the white box for a moment before pressing two fingers to it. Davey was sure that when the scientists had experimented on them all and had changed them, giving them powers they thought they would be able to replicate and exploit, they hadn’t expected the mutants to get out of the labs and work against them. Matthew’s electricity, Davey’s water manipulation, Olga’s future seeing—they could have used it for their personal gain, but instead, they were using it to kill as many doctors and scientists as they could.

Davey loved it. It was revenge, but at the same time, he felt like the scientists should have expected it. Did they really think that the people they experimented on would stay in their cages and wait for whatever came next? Hadn’t they realized that the people they hurt would eventually want to hurt them? Whatever the case, Davey was happy that he could do all of this. He’d saved himself and countless other people, and even though he hadn’t yet saved the most important person, he was sure that eventually, he would.

He just had to find Evan first.

Matthew opened the door and gestured at everyone else to get in. Davey rushed forward, walking into the building right behind Olga. She looked badass in her black uniform, all playfulness gone from her expression. She was laser-focused now, ready to take down whoever stood in her way.

As was Davey.

It always took a while for them to reach the prisoners. They had to take care of the guards first, then of the scientists and anyone else who’d been working here. It always amazed Davey in the worst way that so many people were ready to hurt others for a paycheck.

He rounded a corner and noticed another metal door embedded in the wall at the end of the hallway. There was a guard standing in front of it, a gun in his hand. He raised it when he saw Davey, but Davey was faster. He reached a hand out and pulled the water from the guard’s eyes.

The guard screamed. Before, Davey would have done something much showier, like pulling all the water from the guy’s body and turning him into a dry husk. That took quite a bit of power, though, and he wanted to be ready for whatever was behind the door. Taking the fluid out of someone’s eyes was just as effective because it meant the guard was blind.

The guard continued screaming, and Davey kicked his knee. The gun clattered on the floor when the guard went down, and while Davey didn’t usually use weapons, he picked it up in case someone decided to come around while he was in the room.

The door was locked, but that wasn’t a surprise. Davey didn’t have Matthew’s electricity ability, so instead, he crouched next to the whimpering guard and started going through the man’s pockets. He found a badge and pressed it against the white box by the door.

The lock made a loud click when it opened. Davey grinned at himself, pocketed the badge, and opened the door.

The smell hit him first. It was always the same—unwashed bodies, blood, infection, and death. The various labs were slightly different from one another, but the cage rooms were always the same.

It was where the scientists and nurses kept the prisoners. When they needed to hurt them, they picked them up and took them to the operating rooms. When they didn’t need them anymore, they returned them to the cages to suffer and sometimes die.

Davey swallowed and stepped in as he slipped the gun into the back pocket of his jeans. He looked around the room, expecting more guards, but there was no one there. That was strange, but maybe the guards had decided to focus on the areas of the facility that were more easily defended. Here, they’d be in danger not only from Davey and his people, but also from the people in the cages.

Most of them were cowering at the back of the cages, barely looking at him. His first instinct was to open them to let them out, but he’d seen what could happen a few times, and he wasn’t ready for that. These people deserved to be free, but first, his team would have to ensure they wouldn’t attack. Sometimes these poor people lost their minds and mistook Davey and the other mutants for nurses or doctors.

Davey couldn’t blame them. He knew what it was like to be in their place.

He walked down the row of cages, keeping an eye on the prisoners. Some of them were naked, while others were in their animal forms. Some wore scrubs, and all of them looked terrified.

A whimper caught his attention. He looked at a cage on his right and stopped moving.

A small figure was bundled up tightly at the back of the cage. The man was wearing scrubs, but beyond his blond hair, that was all Davey could see of him. His shoulders shook, and he was visibly terrified.

“Evan?” Davey called out.

The man in the cage tensed and started to turn. Davey’s heart raced as he looked around the cage. The lock didn’t have a key but rather a small screen. Davey pressed the badge he’d found on the guard against it, sighing in relief when the door unlocked. He opened it and stepped in, his gaze on Evan.

Who turned and raised a gun.

* * * *

“What do you think?” Rikar asked.

Orion looked around the room. He had his hands on his hips, and he was trying to be serious, but inside, he wanted nothing more than to laugh. His chest bubbled with happiness, something he hadn’t felt in too long.

In fact, he couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy. It was hard to believe he did, but he was here, in the middle of the village, standing in a closed bakery.

Maybe it wouldn’t be closed for much longer.

He grinned at Rikar. “I like it.”

“Then it’s yours,” Rikar said with a smile.

Sometimes, Orion still had a hard time accepting that the village had welcomed him and his brother with open arms. Well, maybe not exactly open arms, but after Perseus and Orion had told them everything they knew about the hunters and their father, they’d become part of the village. Their position had been strengthened when Perseus and Teddy had bonded. They were truly part of this place now, and they weren’t going anywhere.

Which was why Orion was thinking about opening his own bakery. It had been a dream of his, but he’d never actually thought he would get to do it. He’d believed he’d be a hunter for the rest of his life and that it wouldn’t take him long to die. Hunters seldom lived long, except for a few of them who were smart enough to take a step back when they got hurt.

Orion’s father was still alive because he was a coward. He never hesitated to send Orion and Perseus on hunts, but he didn’t often go with them. He preferred controlling everything from his couch, which was one of the reasons Orion hated him.

He had a very long list of reasons he hated his father.

“Are you sure?” he asked Rikar because he didn’t want to think about his father.

He ignored the way Perseus bumped their shoulders together and kept his attention on the village leader. He already knew what Perseus was trying to tell him, anyway.

Rikar nodded. “I’m very sure. As you can see, the bakery’s been closed for a while. The people who ran it moved away from the village, and we haven’t found anyone else who wanted to give it a try. I miss fresh bread.”

Orion looked around again. “I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it. I mean, I’ve never actually owned a bakery. I love to bake, and I love to eat what I bake, but I don’t know how that will translate to opening a bakery.”

Rikar grabbed Orion’s shoulder and squeezed. “You want to open a bakery, right?”

“Yeah.”

Sometimes, it didn’t feel real. Orion could hardly believe he was allowed to talk about his dreams and, even more so, to try to make one of them come true.

Opening a bakery had only been one of his dreams. He wanted to find someone to share his life with, to have a family together, and to live a happy life. He supposed it was good that he had at least one of those ready to go. There was still time for the love thing, and even more so for the family.

“Then this is yours. I don’t think anyone in the village expects you to be a perfect baker right away. They know you don’t have experience, but the few who’ve tasted your food were very enthusiastic. They can’t wait for you to open this place again.”

Orion flushed and looked down at his feet. He still had a hard time accepting compliments, especially when they came from people with authority. Perseus had always told Orion that everything he baked was perfect, but he was Orion’s brother. He kind of had to say that.

But Rikar didn’t. The village leader tried to be honest with everyone, and Orion wasn’t any different. If Rikar hadn’t thought Orion could do it, he wouldn’t have offered him the bakery. He wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.

“You won’t have to do this alone,” Perseus murmured, knocking their shoulders together again.

Orion snorted. “Are you going to help me bake?”

Perseus grimaced. “I think I’d probably burn down this place if I tried. I might not be able to help you with the baking, but I can clean. Maybe talk to the people who’ll come into the shop.”

“You’d scare them right back out,” Orion pointed out. “You’re grumpy on the best of days and even grumpier when Teddy isn’t with you.”

Perseus’s mate was on a raid today. Orion was curious about what happened during those raids, but not curious enough to ask to go with them. He wasn’t a hunter anymore. He never should have been one, but he hadn’t had a choice.

Now, he did.

“I won’t growl at the customers,” Perseus promised. When Orion arched a brow, he quickly added, “Much.”

Orion couldn’t do this by himself, but he wouldn’t have to. His brother wasn’t going anywhere, even though he had a mate now. They’d been hunters together, and they’d escaped together. If it weren’t for Perseus, Orion would probably be dead right now, but instead, he was here, starting a new life. Perseus would be with him every step of the way, and now Orion also had Teddy and all the other mutants.

Some of them were still wary of him and Perseus, as were some of the people who lived in the village. Orion didn’t blame them. He’d be wary of himself, too, even though there was no reason to be. He didn’t expect these people to understand that he and his brother had been forced to be hunters by their father. When they were ready to accept Orion and Perseus, they would, and in the meantime, Orion would strive to show them that even though he’d been a hunter, he’d never been a bad person.

He hoped that opening the bakery would help with that. He prayed that people would come in and buy his goods and maybe get to know him. He wasn’t going anywhere. That meant opening up to the people who lived here.

Perseus didn’t care about all of that, but Orion did, and he wanted more. He wanted to be part of something good, and while he supposed he had been part of something when he was a hunter, that hadn’t been good. He wanted to do something good, and this was his opportunity to do so.

“I can’t promise I’ll be able to do this, but I’ll do my best,” he told Rikar.

The Nix nodded. He was still smiling, which made Orion think that maybe he believed in him. Perseus had always been the only one who did, so this felt good.

“That’s all I’m asking,” Rikar said before turning to Perseus. “What about you? Are you serious about working here with Orion, or do I need to find you something else to do?”

Perseus and Orion weren’t allowed to go on raids, which was perfectly fine with Orion because he didn’t want to. He was eager to help and give the mutants information, but he was done with violence. From now on, his life would be focused on firing up ovens and baking cookies.

“I’ll work with Orion, at least initially,” Perseus said. “I want to help him establish the bakery, and I think he would have a hard time finding people to work with, considering the situation.”

“If you have any kind of trouble with anyone, I want you to tell me. I understand people aren’t sure what to think about you, but you’re members of this tribe now. Both you and Orion are part of our family, and I take that seriously. I won’t allow anyone to hurt you.”

“I don’t think they’d hurt us physically,” Orion said, still glancing around because he couldn’t quite believe this place was his. “And I don’t blame them. We were hunters, after all.”

“With extenuating circumstances, and even then, you’ve been helping us. You deserve a place here.”

Orion suspected it would take him some time to believe that, but that was fine, because he had time.

This was his home now. It might feel like a dream, but it wasn’t.

Orion was still afraid because he felt like he could never be truly free of his father, but he knew that eventually he’d settle and relax into his new life. In the meantime, he was planning on working as hard as he could to build his future.

Almost dying had been the best thing that could have happened to him.

* * * *

The gun fired before Davey could do anything. For a few seconds, he felt like nothing had happened. Then something hit him in the shoulder as he stared at the man crouched at the back of the cage.

Not Evan. Never him.

He stumbled back and hit the cage behind him. He still couldn’t feel pain, but he knew what had happened now.

He’d been shot.

Someone yelled, and Davey turned toward the door. Moore was rushing in, Leon and Teddy behind him. Davey could relax. They would neutralize the man who’d shot him and ensure he couldn’t hurt anyone else.

It wasn’t Evan. Once again, Davey hadn’t found him.

He slumped against the cage and slowly slid to the floor. Moore ran to the man in the cage. One flicker of Teddy’s hand and the gun in the man’s hand exploded. The man screamed and stumbled back, holding his hand against his chest.

That had to hurt almost as much as taking a bullet to the shoulder.

Leon knelt next to Davey and reached for Davey’s shoulder. Davey shook his head, not wanting anyone to realize how badly he was hurt. He shouldn’t have been in this room on his own. He shouldn’t have been on his own at all. When they raided labs, they had to be in pairs. Davey usually managed to get around that rule so he could look for Evan without anyone asking questions, but clearly, this time, he wouldn’t be able to hide.

“Let me see that,” Leon said as he tore Davey’s t-shirt to get a better look at the wound.

Davey whimpered, because it fucking hurt. Leon wasn’t being particularly gentle, probably because he wanted to heal the wound as quickly as he could.

Leon helped Davey sit up to check the back of the wound. “It went through, so I don’t have to worry about digging the damn thing out,” he muttered.

Davey closed his eyes. He trusted Leon with his life. His friend would heal him, and he’d be as good as new in just a few moments.

He kept his eyes closed as the pain slowly faded. He groaned in relief when he could move his shoulder again without wanting to scream, then opened his eyes. “Thank you.”

Leon’s expression was serious. “You’re welcome, but please, don’t get shot again.”

Davey huffed. “I’ll do my best, but I can’t make promises.”

Leon got to his feet and offered Davey his hand. Davey took it and allowed his friend to haul him to his feet. When he looked at the man who’d shot him, he wasn’t surprised to see that Moore was already dragging him out of the cage.

From behind, the man had looked like Evan, but he didn’t from the front. There was no kindness in his eyes and no apology on his lips. Evan would never have shot anyone, let alone Davey.

Moore marched the guy down the hallway, ignoring his begging. Davey watched him go, his stomach churning with anxiousness and fear. He needed to find Evan.

“He’s a nurse,” Teddy said. “I guess he thought that by hiding in one of the cages, we’d think he was one of the survivors. Someone would have told us that wasn’t true, though, so he had to act.”

Davey nodded. “Makes sense.”

He could feel both Teddy and Leon staring at him, but he ignored them as he walked down the hallway between the cages.

“You were here on your own,” Leon said.

“I’m fine.”

“Only because I healed you. You wouldn’t have been fine if I hadn’t been here.”

“But you were, and I’m fine .”

Leon didn’t look convinced. Davey didn’t have it in him to answer questions, so he ignored him and left the room with the cages. People were rushing in to help the survivors, but he couldn’t find it in himself to do it. All his thoughts were focused on Evan and the fact that he wasn’t here.

That was all Davey could think about as they explored the facility and poked around. His thoughts were never far from his best friend, but today especially. He really thought he’d found Evan.

He hadn’t.

He knew he was in trouble when, once they were back at the village, Moore grabbed his shoulder to stop him from leaving. Together, they watched the others scatter, all of them eager to go home. Davey was, too, but Moore wouldn’t let this go, so he might as well not even try to avoid him.

“I’m putting you in timeout,” Moore declared.

Davey whipped his head toward him. “What are you talking about?”

“What you did was incredibly dangerous. You shouldn’t have been alone, especially not in that room. You know how some of the survivors react when we reach them. You know some of them are dangerous.”

“None of them attacked me.”

“No, but you were shot. What would have happened if we hadn’t arrived when we did?”

Davey would probably be dead, which meant he wouldn’t be able to find his best friend. “I promise I won’t do it again. I just wanted to check on them, you know?”

Moore stared for a second before nodding. “I do know, but it’s getting too dangerous. I can’t trust you not to act on your own, and I’m afraid to trust you with the lives of the other mutants. Until you get your head out of your ass, you’re off the raids. You need to take a step back, rethink about why you’re doing this, and find a better balance.”

“I swear you don’t have to do that. It was a one-time thing.” Davey couldn’t afford to be left behind when there were raids. He was sometimes, because Moore didn’t take every mutant with him every time, but Davey could deal with that when he knew that next time, he’d be there.

Mostly.

He always freaked out when he was left behind, and he suspected that Moore had noticed. Why else would he be doing this now?

Moore didn’t know what Davey was doing or why it was so vital for him to go on all the raids. He didn’t know that because of Davey, Evan was being hurt every day. He didn’t know a lot about Davey, and while Davey wasn’t planning on telling him any of it, he needed to come up with something that would convince Moore to allow him to go with the others.

But Moore was already shaking his head. “I’m not going to lose you. You’re making stupid mistakes, which, to me, points to the fact that you’re emotionally involved.”

“Aren’t we all? I mean, we were all in those cages at one time. How can you not be emotional when you see them?” Davey still had nightmares, and while he knew that the raids weren’t making things any easier on him, he wasn’t giving up.

“I’ve seen the way you behave, and I’m not the only one. It’s like you’re searching for something or maybe someone. Is that what’s going on?”

Davey wanted to tell Moore, but he was afraid of what would happen if he did. He fully expected to be kicked out of the village and never be allowed to go on the raids again. He couldn’t risk it. No matter how much he wanted to tell Moore and the others about Evan, he couldn’t.

“I told you I was fine,” he said through gritted teeth. He felt like if he allowed himself to, he would blurt out the entire story.

“You’re not, and you haven’t been in a long time. I understand it might be because of the labs and everything else, but that’s one more reason for you to take a step back. I’m not kicking you off the team or out of the village, so I don’t want you to worry about that. I just feel you need to take time off away from the fighting, and that’s what I’m offering.”

“I don’t need to take time off,” Davey snapped.

Moore crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s non-negotiable. I wasn’t asking you if you wanted to do this. I’m telling you it’s happening.”

Davey could see that nothing he could say would change Moore’s mind. He glared at him and stomped away, eager not to see his face again. Moore didn’t call him back.

“What happened?” Hansen asked as he fell into step with Davey.

Davey hadn’t seen him lurking around, but he should have. “Nothing.”

“More like nothing you want to talk about. Don’t do anything stupid, Davey. There’s a reason Moore benched you, and going out there on your own isn’t going to help. It’s going to get you killed, in fact, and no one wants to lose you.”

“Just leave me alone,” Davey grumbled before speeding away. He didn’t start running, but it was a close thing.

He understood why his friends were worried about him. He would feel the same way if one of them was behaving like he was.

But they didn’t know the entire story. They didn’t know that Davey had to save Evan.

* * * *

Orion and Perseus were still poking around the bakery when Teddy walked in. Rikar had left a while earlier, promising Orion that everything would be okay and that he would have the support he needed from both Rikar and the tribe. Orion still couldn’t believe these people were so willing to help him. Even though he always tried his best never to hurt people, he’d been a hunter. Why weren’t these people afraid of him?

He had no doubt that some of them were. He didn’t miss the way some tribe members crossed the street when they saw him coming. He wouldn’t deny he was intimidating, but they had to know that he wouldn’t be here if he was dangerous. They were avoiding him because of who he’d been, and that was fine. It would take time for people to trust that he wouldn’t hurt or betray them.

It would take even more time for him to believe he could actually do this.

“This place looks nice,” Teddy said as he made a beeline for Perseus.

Perseus grinned at him, and his entire body relaxed. It was something that only happened when Teddy and Orion were around, but Orion hoped that now that Perseus was at peace, he wouldn’t be so guarded all the time.

They weren’t hunters anymore. They were two members of a tribe that consisted of a bunch of shifters, Nix, and people who’d been rescued from the labs and their families. In time, even the people opposed to Orion and Perseus being here would soften toward them.

Orion knew not everyone would like him, and that was fine, even though he was a people pleaser. He didn’t mind having one or two tribe members hating him on sight. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do his best to pull them to his side, though. He wasn’t above bribing people with his cupcakes.

“It’ll look even better once we paint and fix it,” Perseus said, glancing around. “Can you imagine how nice it will be when it’s full of customers?”

Orion rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if we’re ever going to be full. I mean, I don’t have experience. Maybe my cupcakes will be disgusting.” Like the time he’d forgotten the baking powder.

Perseus stepped away from Teddy, even though Orion knew he probably wanted nothing more than to drag his mate home and ensure there wasn’t even a scratch on him. Perseus always reacted like that when Teddy went out on raids, which was one of the reasons Teddy had asked Moore to allow him to stay home more often than not. Moore had agreed, and he tried to work around Teddy’s request, but he couldn’t do so every time.

Thankfully, Teddy was home now, and he was fine.

“Nothing you bake is disgusting,” Perseus said as he grabbed Orion’s shoulder. “There will be people who don’t like what you bake and who will have all kinds of things to say about it. Most of those things won’t be nice. You need to be ready to face that, but you also need to remember that other people will love what you do.”

Teddy snorted. “People won’t dare say anything bad because they know you’ll glare at them hard enough to set them on fire if they do. Face it—you’re a helicopter parent.”

“I am not.”

Teddy snickered. “You are a bit, but I think Orion enjoys it.”

Orion did. There were two things he’d dreamed of when he was a hunter. One of them was to one day be able to open a bakery, and the other was for his brother to be safe and happy. Perseus had always been there for him, and he always would be, just like Orion would always be there for him.

“We’ll all help,” Teddy promised.

Orion’s heart felt like it was about to explode. “You don’t have to.”

“But we want to. You’re one of us now.”

Orion knew that Teddy really believed what he was saying, but he still felt a bit like an outsider because, technically, he was. He might be part of the tribe, but he hadn’t found a mate here. He didn’t know everyone who lived in the village, so there was a chance that he would, but what would be the odds?

Perseus had kept himself isolated from the people who lived in the village, but he and Teddy were together, so he’d been pulled in no matter how little he wanted it. Thankfully, Orion wasn’t as grumpy as his brother, and he hoped that would help. He was a bit worried about Perseus wanting to work at the bakery because he wasn’t sure most people would enjoy his scowl as he stood behind the counter, but they’d deal with that when the time came. First, they’d have to fix the bakery. Orion needed to start making lists about the things he needed to buy and what he was planning to bake.

“When do you plan to open?” Teddy asked, looking around.

“I don’t know. I want to finish cleaning up first, then I’ll think about it.”

“I think you should give yourself a goal. We can start making flyers or something so that people know the bakery is about to reopen.”

“Actually, I was thinking about opening and hoping for the best.”

Teddy looked horrified. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I don’t want to be disappointed.”

Perseus clicked his tongue and wrapped an arm around Orion’s back. Orion suspected he’d aimed for his shoulders, but he was shorter, so he couldn’t reach that high. Normally, Orion would have teased him over it, but he felt like his heart was a bit bruised. He wanted to hope he’d find a home here, and part of him was cautioning him.

What if Perseus forgot all about him now that he and Teddy were together? What if Rikar decided that Orion wasn’t worth the trouble and decided to kick him out? What if their father found them and attacked the village?

So many things could go wrong, and thinking about them was enough to petrify Orion. He couldn’t move, could barely breathe, and could feel the panic swamping him.

But then Perseus turned around and hugged him, and everything was better. No matter what happened, Perseus would never abandon Orion. He hadn’t when they’d been hunters, when they’d been forced to hurt people, or when Orion had been wounded and needed help. He wasn’t going to start now, even though he had Teddy.

Orion was sure of that. If there was one thing he knew he could count on, it was his brother being by his side through whatever happened next.

“I’m going to call some friends,” Teddy said as he took out his phone. “They’ll want to help. That way, you won’t have to wait too long to open the bakery. You should probably focus on buying ingredients, maybe start baking.”

“We need to paint first.”

Teddy winked. “Don’t worry about that. We’ll take care of it. You focus on the part you love the most.”

Which was baking.

Orion leaned closer to Perseus. “You were damn lucky when you found him,” he murmured.

Perseus grunted. “I’m aware. I didn’t choose him, but I couldn’t have had a better mate. I don’t know what Fate was thinking, but I’m grateful. Maybe she was drunk that day.”

Orion laughed and hugged his brother back. “Or maybe after everything we’ve been through, we both deserve to be happy.”

Perseus looked up at Orion. “Are you? Happy, I mean.”

“Happier than I’ve ever been. I guess that wasn’t hard to beat, considering everything, and there’s more that I want, but yeah. I feel great.”

“You’ll find someone,” Perseus assured Orion, reading him like he was a book that Perseus knew by heart.

“I want to, but it’s not my priority right now. The bakery is.”

“The next few weeks aren’t going to be easy, but by the end of it, you’ll have your dream.”

That was all Orion had ever wanted—for him and his brother to be safe, a place to call home, and never having to see his father again. All in all, he felt he was getting there.