Bryan moved closer, leaning in. “I can’t believe it,” he muttered, staring intently at the mark on Baba Razz’s arm. “It’s identical and exactly at the same place and arm.”
Aiden tilted his head for a moment, wondering. “How is this even possible? Are you…are we…” Then he chuckled confusingly.
“Who are you talking about?” Baba Razz asked them, his expression shifting from confusion to concern.
“Our mate, Kira.” Aiden answered, sharing a quick glance with Bryan. “She has a mark just like yours.”
“That’s… peculiar,” Baba Razz said slowly, letting out a deep breath, and then asked them. “Is it truly the same mark? Are you sure?”
“Yes! Absolutely.” Bryan insisted. “We are not sure what to make of this. What does it mean?”
“Can it be a coincidence?” Aiden asked Baba Razz, “I also can’t help but feel it is not a coincidence with everything you have told us about the mark.”
“Unbelievable,” Baba Razz murmured, shaking his head. “I need rest.”
“What do you mean, you need rest?” Bryan pressed on, this time feeling annoyed. He hated how some questions would be left unanswered. “We just want to know what this means! Like you said earlier, there is a reason we found you, right? What exactly are you not telling us.”
“Yes. It feels like there is something we are missing,” Aiden chimed in.
“Please, you must leave,” Baba Razz said to them, a look of exhaustion on his face. “I can’t talk anymore. I have exhausted myself for today, you need to leave.”
Bryan and Aiden stared at Baba Razz for some moments, unsure if they should believe him or not. They thought he was just pretending so they would leave, and sincerely it was fine, they decided to let it be. So, they got up, preparing to leave.
“Thank you for accepting us into your home, for your time and your knowledge,” Bryan said to Baba Razz on behalf of himself and his brother before they turned to leave.
As they turned to leave, suddenly, Baba Razz’s eyes turned white. Then, just as quickly, his eyes returned to their normal state.
“Wait,” he called out, his voice suddenly firm. “If your mate ever needs help, send her to me, alone. Alone,” Baba Razz repeated, emphasizing on alone. “I will help her.”
“Let’s just go,” Aiden said quietly to Bryan.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Bryan agreed as he glanced back at Baba Razz before they left.
As they stepped out, the wooden door creaked shut behind them. Bryan and Aiden paused at the porch for a moment, breathing in the earthy scent of nature.
“Damn, we spent half of the day in there,” Aiden muttered. He then pulled out his phone to check the time, holding it up, so Bryan could see. It was almost five in the evening.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Bryan glanced at his watch and gave a low whistle. “Let’s head back,” he stretched and cracked his neck.
Heading back, they walked in silence. They were lost in thought about Baba Razz’s strange behavior, a bird giving a sharp cry from a distance somewhere as they walked.
“Still can’t wrap my head around that mark and Baba Razz’s strange behavior. It is weird, isn’t it?” Aiden inquired from Bryan.
“Yeah.” Bryan agreed absently, glancing up as they reached the village and were now out of the woods.
He saw a few villagers moving about, preparing for the evening. They both did. A man carried firewood under one arm, while a child chased a stray chicken down the street, giggling.
“Smells good,” Aiden commented, sniffing the air as they passed the pub.
“We could grab some ale later after calling Kira,” Bryan suggested, nodding toward the pub. “I could use something to take my mind off all this.”
“Sure… I’m down,” Aiden agreed.
Just as they were about to turn toward their lodgings, a woman’s voice called out to them from the side of the street. “You there! You two. Can you lend me a hand, please?”
They turned to see an older woman, her gray hair neatly braided. She stood by a wagon laden with heavy sacks of grain. “The miller’s boy never showed up to help me unload these,” she huffed, patting the side of the wagon. “My old bones aren’t what they used to be. Would you mind giving me a hand?”
“Sure.” Bryan and Aiden shrugged, “We got time.”
“Thank you, boys.” The woman smiled in relief. “These bags aren’t going to unload themselves.” She gestured to the wagon, and Bryan and Aiden got to work, hefting the sacks of grain one by one onto their shoulders. It didn’t weigh much to them, but they didn’t let it show.
“What is all this for?” Aiden asked the woman, setting down a bag by the door of a small bakery, which they assumed to be hers.
“For the bread and ale tonight,” the woman replied with a grin. “You can’t have a proper night in the village without it.”
“Sounds like a good night to me,” Bryan chuckled, wiping his hands on his handkerchief once they were done.
“Thank you again,” the woman said, handing each of them a small loaf of fresh bread in gratitude. “You have saved me a lot of trouble.”
Aiden smiled and gave a polite nod, as did Bryan. “No problem. Enjoy the night.”
They continued down the street, the warmth of bread in their hands as they headed back to their room.
Pushing open the wooden door, they stepped inside their room, the faint warmth of fire greeting them.
“Finally,” Aiden muttered, taking off his jacket and throwing it onto the back of a chair.
Bryan did the same, rubbing the back of his neck. “The bread was totally worth it,” he said, chuckling.
They ate in silence for a moment, the bread warm and soft. Bryan took a drink from a pitcher of water by the window as soon as he was done and handed it to Aiden, who did the same.
“Should we call her?” Bryan asked, wiping crumbs from his hands and reaching for his phone.
“Of course, we have kept her waiting long enough,” Aiden replied, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth as they were both seated on the bed, getting excited to hear her voice.
Bryan tapped on Kira’s contact, and the phone rang only once before her soft voice came through the speaker. “Hii! I have been expecting your call,” she said cheerfully, bringing a smile to Bryan and Aiden’s face.
“Hi, my love,” Bryan murmured, his tone softening. “How are you?”
“Hey, gorgeous,” Aiden added playfully, leaning closer to the phone. “We miss you a lot.”
“I am great, and I miss you both too.” Kira responded while laughing softly. “Although, it had been too quiet without you two.”
They talked about everything and nothing, how much they missed her laugh, the things that happened in the village, but omitted the part about Baba Razz for the moment. Kira teased them a bit and also filled them in on how things were going in the pack. For the teasing, they teased her right back, making her laugh until her sides started to hurt.
“We can’t wait to be with you again,” Bryan said softly at one point, his voice sincere.
“We really can’t wait,” Aiden admitted too, also sincere.
“Same here,” Kira whispered. “It feels like it’s been forever.”
“I know right,” they both agreed with her, chuckling.
“I have to go now, though,” Kira said reluctantly after a long pause. “But we will talk again soon, okay?”
“Yeah, of course. Take care, my love,” Bryan replied, his voice full of love and warmth.
“We will talk later, amore,” Aiden added. “I love you.”
“I love you both,” Kira said softly before ending the call.
Kira set her phone down just as the soft knock came again from the office door. She glanced up, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, and called out,
“Come in.”