Finding Home: A Twin Shifter Romance

“Bree—help—Silver—having dreams—wolves—out of time—don’t come.”

Beep! The answering machine recorded the message just as Bree opened the door. The key always stuck, and she always thought of fixing it but never had the time.

Her heart sank when the last beeping sound signaled that the person on the other line had dropped the call. She heard Bran’s voice on the other side of the door as she wrangled with the stubborn lock.

He never called during the week, knowing she was at work, so she felt disappointed that she made a last-minute decision to pass by the grocery store instead of heading straight home.

Bree tried to call the number back by dialing *69 but it gave her the busy dial tone. It had been a couple of weeks since they last spoke and not having her brother nearby for more than half the year got her concerned. 

And after the puzzling message Bran left on the machine, she felt more anxious. Why would he ask for help, and then tell her not to come? 

He had been in trouble before, but he always kept Bree out of his issues, and for sure, he never even once asked for help. Even when they left his face black and blue, taking weeks for it to heal so he could see from one eye.

Bran dealt with everything on his own and over the years came up with a strategy to always be on top. When the older kids in the neighborhood tried to give him trouble, instead of avoiding them, he joined their small gang of misfits and became their leader.

Bree knew there was more than the death of their parents bothering him because she felt the stirring in her blood too, but she had more control when it came to quieting down the intrusive thoughts in her head.

She always regretted not sending him to therapy when they had the chance. Now, it might be too late.

-=-

Their childhood had been happy. Born five minutes apart, to loving parents, the twins were popular, but having distinct personalities kept them grounded. Bran was outspoken while Bree was more mellow. 

They held each other’s opinion highly until an accident took their parents’ life.

At the tender young age of ten, the twins were forced to live with their grandmother, and that was when Brandon became more detached and more anxious.

Moving to a different city left them with unfamiliar surroundings. Nobody knew they were twins because nobody bothered to befriend them. They were different. Their parents were dead. 

Grief and loneliness in the beginning kept them closer. Bran did not trust anyone and kept muttering that bad people were looking for them. He kept a close watch on Bree, preventing her from having any friends, but he did not care one bit, as long as she was safe. 

And she said nothing because Bran was her best friend, and he’d never do anything to harm her. The role of protector was a persona he took when their parents passed.

Grandma did not seem surprised by his attitude, although the police reported their parents were killed in a vehicular accident. The man driving the big rig had a heart attack, which is why he lost control and slammed into their car. 

Bree remembered little to nothing from the accident, so she could not verify if Bran was telling the truth. But grandma cautioned them to always be alert of their surroundings. 

When the nightmares about the accident wouldn’t stop, the twins were taken to a psychiatrist, and that was when things changed. The siblings drifted apart. Bran became melancholic while Bree became popular.

They would pass each other in the halls and they would not look each other in the eye, but when people spoke ill of Bran, she would immediately step in. 

She felt the uneasiness and change in attitude, but Bran would not let her help, so it did not surprise Bree that he wanted to go hiking through the wilderness alone on their 18th birthday, instead of choosing to go to college.

For the next two years after they came of age, Bran worked odd jobs to come up with the money to buy expensive camping equipment and gear for his trek through the Continental Divide.

The Continental Divide trail was a three thousand mile hike from New Mexico, a southwestern state of the United States, heading north toward Canada, passing through Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho, then ending in the border of Montana and Alberta in British Columbia, Canada.

When he began working, Bree thought it meant Brandon was finally coming out of his shell. She hoped interacting with the community would make him stay and re-think his trip.

During those years Bree went to the local college to prepare for the police academy, Bran turned his attitude around and became the brother she knew from before.

They joked around a lot and watched TV on the weekends. During weekdays, they hung out with friends she met in school, and on Fridays, they spent nights watching local bands play at the pub.

It was an ideal situation, one Bree always smiled about. It was how she imagined having a best friend would be like.

But everything fell apart when their grandmother passed away a few months before they turned 21. 

Grandma Elizabeth Stone had been the glue that kept them together. She had the constitution of an ox, and they rarely saw her ill, so they were surprised.

She cooked all their meals despite having to work at the grocery store as a cashier during the day. They always thought she would live forever, but she passed away because of an unknown malady before her 75th birthday and willed the house and her belongings to the twins.

Fueled by their grandmother’s passing, Bran decided it was time to leave for his trip. 

Bree thought it was grief that made him fidgety and more impatient than usual, even with her. But it wasn’t the case. He had the call from the wild, and was ready to answer it.

At first, Bree thought he might be on drugs, so she sat him down to understand the change in his attitude.

Days after Bree got that nagging feeling that something significant was about to happen in their lives, she made time to confront him.

“What is happening, Bran? Why now? Why are you leaving? Aren’t you happy here with me?” She stood to level their stare, but he had grown more than a foot taller in just a year, making it hard to plead her case when he looked down on her.

“I just want to find out who I am, Bree. See if I can do this on my own.” Bran stood by the bookcase in the living room, picking at the well-worn books on the shelf, ignoring her, so she sat back down.

“Of course, you can do anything,” she said encouragingly. But then tried to pull at his heartstrings. “But why now? I’ll have no one.”

He raised a brow. They were adults, and Bree had been always independent since they were kids. So he knew this was an attempt to make him stay.

“Because we’ve always talked about this hiking trip with Mom and Dad, remember? And it’s time to conquer the grea