Soft moss and earth depress between my toes as I push my body to the point of pain. I want to feel the burn of my muscles and the ache in my bones because it’s better than the pain in my heart. I can’t take seeing my brothers like this, knowing there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

When I get to the back of Red’s Goodie Basket, I see Dominic Wolfe playing in the nearby woods with his cubs. He catches my scent sooner than I thought he would, and he nods to me in greeting. He’s the sheriff in town, and the few times that we’ve met I’ve really liked him. His wife Ruby runs the bakery with her friend Gwen, and they are always nice to my brothers and me.

I shift back to human form and grab some spare clothes from the box they keep beside the back door for passing shifters that want to come in and have a snack. There are picnic tables set up out here, so it’s a safe place for us to be ourselves away from any tourists that might wander inside the store.

I pull on a pair of clean sweatpants and a muscle shirt, thinking how only a shifter would know that the clothes can’t smell like someone else. It would irritate us too much to have the scent of another male on our bodies.

“Come to get an evening snack?” Dom says as he walks over and offers his hand to me. His smile is easy.

I take his hand and nod. I thought I’d get some homemade food to take back to the guys, thinking it might cheer them up. Every now and then Snow will bring food over, and it always lifts their spirits.

“Could use some of your wife’s famous magic bars,” I say, rubbing my stomach.

“Be careful. Those things have been the end of my six-pack days,” Dom says, glancing back to his young wolves playing with one another.

“I envy you,” I blurt out without thinking it through. “Sorry, that came out wrong.” I shake my head feeling like an idiot.

“Actually, I understand where you’re coming from.” There’s a gentleness to his voice that I don’t expect. It must come from having a mate and a litter of his own. “But you’ll find yours one day. All shifters do. We don’t always know it, but we are led to where they are. There’s a reason you’ve been in Gray Ridge so long. Your wolf knows it’s in the right place, and you won’t be able to leave until it tells you to.”

I nod, feeling my wolf stir in my chest. It’s something Flint suspected, but we didn’t know for sure.

“There are many females in this town you haven’t met, and more come every new moon. Be patient,” Dom says, patting my shoulder. “I suggest you get a basket of the banana nut muffins to go as well. They’re fresh made and make everything feel better.”

He’s right. Being impatient isn’t going to solve the situation, and I need to focus on being a good mate for when the time comes.

I say goodbye and go into the bakery, grabbing a basket and loading it up. Another perk of being shifter owned is that they provide baskets for us to carry back in our mouths so we can go home in any form we choose. They think of everything.

I greet Ruby politely, being respectful of her mate Dominic and not getting too close. Even a faint trace of another male would make him angry, and she is clearly marked. I stand on the other side of the counter, ten feet from her, and there is no mistaking his claim.

I see a carrot cake and my stomach grumbles. I ask Ruby to give me the whole thing, along with the individual slices next to it. I don’t know why, because I’ve never really thought much about carrot cake before, but suddenly I’m ravenous for it. My mouth waters as she loads them up, and I can’t think of anything else besides the sweet cinnamon and cream cheese. A growl forms low in my chest, and when Ruby pauses to look at me, I clear my throat, embarrassed.

“Just hungry,” I mumble.

She smiles brightly at me, offering more cookies to take, but my basket is overflowing, and this should last us at least a day.

I slip out the back as Dom and his family are coming inside. I make the mistake of looking back to see him go to his mate and rub his body against hers. Envious pain creeps into my rib cage, and I hurry outside so I don’t have to witness it anyone.

I place the dirty clothes in the second box that’s used for discarded items so they can be cleaned and reused. When I shift back, I grab the basket and head home. Hopefully this can put a smile on someone’s face. Even if it’s not my own.