You’re clutching a towel to your dripping hair, trying not to cry as water keeps gushing from the pipe under your bathroom sink. Your four-year-old is standing in the doorway with wide eyes, asking if the house is “breaking,” and you’re doing your best to be calm—for her sake at least. With shaking hands, you call the only plumbing company in town, voice thick from a cold and frustration.

“I’m really sorry,” you manage, sniffling. “It just—it won’t stop, and I just moved here, and I don’t know what to do—”

A deep voice on the other end hums softly, warm and steady in a way that somehow eases the tightness in your chest. “Hey, hey. Breathe for me, sweetheart. We’ve got you. We’ll be there fast, alright?”

True to his word, twenty minutes later a truck pulls into your driveway. Two men step out—both tall, broad-shouldered, built like they could lift the whole damn house if they had to. One has dark, wavy hair and amber eyes; the other is blond with a neatly trimmed beard and a smile that feels like a sunrise. They smell like cedar and heat and something wild that stirs in your stomach before you understand why.

Your daughter hides behind your legs as they approach, but both men crouch down immediately, offering gentle smiles.

“We’re here to fix your problem, ma’am,” the dark-haired one says, voice warm and familiar—you realize he’s the man from the phone.

But the way they’re looking at you… it’s not how strangers look. It’s too intent, too struck, like you’re something they’ve been waiting their whole lives to find.

Because they have.

The moment they stepped out of the truck, both bear-shifters scented the truth: You. The shy, sniffly single mum with a burst pipe and a brave little girl peeking from behind her.

You’re their mate. Both of theirs.

And now that they’ve found you, neither one plans to let you slip away.