"Hey, where are we?" Sean asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"About fifteen minutes out of Belle Fort," I replied.

He rubbed his eyes and moved his seat upright. "We should stop and get food before we go looking for the alpha."

"You're right. No one likes a hungry bear, let alone two hungry bears. I hope this lead gets us somewhere," I said, whispering the last part.

We'd been searching for every clue, every lead, looking for any sign of my brother for the past month. It was hell because we always came up short. That is until the previous tip. We heard about a wolf pack dealing with human hunters and traps. It sounded like the situation we were dealing with in my sleuth.

"Me too. It would be nice to go home," Sean replied.

"Thank you for co—"

"Shut the fuck up. If you thank me one more time for coming with you, I'm going to kick your ass. Ollie is like a little brother to me. There's no place I'd rather be."

I snapped my mouth shut and smiled. Sean had dropped everything and turned every stone along my side. I was eternally grateful for everything. He was a true friend.

"There's a diner. Let's stop there." Sean pointed.

I pulled into the lot, and my bear perked up. I scanned the area, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but he was up and pacing in my mind. It's probably because we're in another shifter's territory, I thought.

I parked, and we got out. I raised my arms over my head and groaned as I stretched my back. It felt great getting out of the vehicle. Even though it was a big luxury vehicle, we'd been driving for hours, and I still stiffened up.

"Come on, Ozzy," Sean called, walking toward the entrance.

I smirked. Sean always got excited when it came to food, and by the smells wafting out from the building, it was wondrous.

I picked up the pace and followed Sean into the restaurant. I paused and inhaled deep. I moaned at the scent. It was the most delicious aroma I'd ever smelled in my life. It smelled like an entire bakery of fresh sweets. My cock began to harden, and I moaned again.

"Hey! Cut that shit out. People are staring," Sean said, smacking me in the chest with his hand.

I scanned the room and blushed. There were several heads turned our way, mixed with expressions of confusion and amusement.

"Welcome to Mike's. Two?" a chipper blonde asked.

Sean smiled. "Yep. Just us two."

The woman didn't move. She glanced around, then leaned forward. "You're not going to cause any trouble, are you? This is my dad's place. Does our alpha know you're here?" she whispered.

"We're not here for trouble. We plan to speak with your alpha, but we figured we should eat first. Bears can get cranky if they're hungry," Sean whispered back.

The young she-wolf nodded. "Okay, right this way."

We moved across the dining room, and I looked around. The patrons were primarily wolf shifters with a few humans. I wondered how large the pack was. I hoped that they could help us with finding my brother.

"Here you go. Menus are on the table. Enjoy," the perky girl said.

Sean took his seat, and I followed suit, quickly grabbing the menu. My stomach rumbled, and I glanced up at Sean's laugh.

"It's all right. It does smell good in here, and I'm starving," Sean said.

I looked back down to read when the most alluring smell reached my nose. I was instantly at full mast. I moaned, and my head fell back.

"Dude. What the fuck is wrong with—"

I growled and swung my gaze to the side. A young man was standing by our table with trembling hands. He held two glasses of water, and his eyes were wide with fear.

My bear roared within me, wanting, no needing, to defend this beautiful creature with long brown hair and scared blue eyes. I jumped to my feet, and the small man gasped as he stared up at my face.

"Ozzy. What the hell are you doing?" Sean said, also standing.

The room had gone silent, and several heads had turned. I ignored them all and stepped forward. I raised my hand and softly touched my beautiful mate's cheek.

"I'm sorry. Please, I-I," my mate said.

"Hush, pup. Do you know who I am?" I asked.

He shook his head, and his hands trembled more. "Oz, man. You're scaring the wolf," Sean said in a hurried whisper.

I growled, and my mate flinched. No, that wasn't right. I didn't want him scared. "Smell me, Pup. Recognize who I am."