It wasn't long before I heard a child's laughter, punctuated by the rhythmic squealing of a set of swing chains. The path beneath my feet changed from the smooth, square-shaped slabs from the sidewalk to something a little rougher and littered with pebbles and bark dust.
The wind shifted, and I clenched my grip on my cane. That scent, wafting from the park, was so very familiar and yet foreign. For a split second, I wondered if my obsession with the student was the reason why I thought I'd scented him now. Except this smell wasn't all Shiloh. Not even mostly Shiloh. But, it was Shiloh-adjacent, and my steps slowed.
"Is this what you think you need now?"
The question came from a man near the source of the scent. Sheep shifter, if I wasn't mistaken. The shifter he spoke with was a hawk, like Shiloh. I had a hunch who this person was, but I didn't want to be correct.
"No, I'm just all stocked up. I can't even sell what I have at the moment."
I frowned. That voice, like the scent, was familiar while also foreign. Without context, I couldn't be sure what he was talking about, but again, I had an idea. I wanted to be wrong.
"What about your brother?"
I stopped in my tracks.
The other voice grew hard. I recognized the way his words came out at a slightly higher pitch. Shiloh had done the same when he'd been trying to convince me to let him into my class early.
This shifter had to be Shiloh's older brother, the one who had tried to burn down the university after I'd refused Shiloh admittance into Abnormal Shifter Behavior. Shiloh had indicated he had a history of bad choices, and I didn't doubt the sheep shifter was one of those choices.
What danger had Shiloh's brother placed him in?
"Leave my brother out of this," Shiloh's brother hissed.
It was too much to hope Shiloh's brother could handle this threat levied against his younger sibling. I needed to be sure.
"Or what?" the sheep shifter replied, his words a clear challenge. He was an alpha, but he was also threatening Shiloh. Surely his brother would protect him. "Leave your brother out or what?"
My hands clenched into fists. Anyone who had ever interacted with Shiloh Formes had to recognize his vitality. He had a spark for life that wasn't common. Talking to him the two times we'd spoken had put a spark back into how I approached my research. It had always been important work. But I was reenergized, excited once more as I'd been in my younger years.
I waited for the brother to answer. I had to be sure. If I was going to be putting distance between Shiloh and myself, I needed to know he'd be safe.
"Or nothing." The fight had left his voice. "Just—this isn't his thing. He's a good kid."
The sheep shifter laughed. "If he's anything like you, he isn't. Maybe I'll just swing by your house—"
I stopped listening. I didn't need to hear more. Shiloh was in danger, and I couldn't rely on his brother to protect him. Since his stunt, he wasn't living at home with Shiloh. It was obvious he didn't have the necessary means to protect his little brother.
And leaving Shiloh unprotected wasn't an option.
Had I caught the danger in time? That thought hurried my steps from the park toward campus. My cane swung back and forth in front of me almost too quickly to be of use. When I began to hear and smell the familiar stimuli of the campus, I didn't slow but attempted to catch Shiloh's scent.
I didn't know enough about the man to automatically know where he might be. That would have to change. At the least, I'd have him tell me his schedule.
But I knew some things about him. He was a dedicated student. He'd have to be, to graduate from high school as early as he had. I took the right toward the university library, not caring who I shoved through on my way. All I could hear were that sheep shifter's taunts.
Maybe I'll just swing by…
He'd been a drug dealer; that much was clear. And Shiloh's brother had history with him. That was enough of a reason for me.
My toe stubbed against the first step of the stairs that led up to the university library. A curse shot from my mouth as I caught myself with the railing. I didn't give myself time to fully recover before continuing to climb the steps.
When Shiloh's scent, pure and concentrated, exploded in front of me, I released a sigh of relief. He was here, with me.
"Professor Crawford?" Shiloh's alarm was music to my ears because it meant Shiloh was here, safe, with me.
At the same time, I realized my reaction to the supposed danger might have been premature.
"Did you run here?" he asked, coming close enough that I felt his body heat radiating out.
"Is everything okay, Shiloh?" a young woman asked.
He didn't rush to assure her but addressed me in a quiet tone. "Is everything okay, Professor Crawford?"
"I need to talk to you." That wasn't nearly what I wanted to say, but it was all I could say. At this point, I couldn't claim with certainty to know what the state of my appearance was. Though it was safe to assume I didn't look my typical composed self.
I led us to the side where we could stand without being in the flow of traffic. Shiloh remained close, telling his friends to go on without him. That only made me more anxious. Was Shiloh accustomed to being alone?
"Where are you headed after this?" I asked, mostly wanting to know how much danger he'd been in as soon as we parted again.
"Um, just home, maybe?"
"Home alone?" I barked.
"Professor Crawford, I don't know what you mean. I might be alone, if my mom works tonight. I'm not sure. It's okay. My birthday is in a few weeks, I'm almost eighteen."
I shook my head, frustrated that he'd assumed this was some sort of welfare check. It was, but my concern wasn't that Shiloh was too young to be home alone, but that he'd be alone when that shifter came around. "Will you come with me to my office?" I needed time to think and come up with a plan that would make me reasonably certain that when Shiloh left my presence, he'd be in the same happy, whole state the next time I was with him.
"Sure," Shiloh said, but I'd already taken the lead, and he was already skipping to keep up beside me.
I slowed my pace so that Shiloh's breath could slow as well.
It wasn't until we'd reached my building, went into my office, and shut the door that I allowed myself to breathe freely. "Please sit, Mr. Formes." My formal speech just sounded ridiculous now.
"O-kay. Am I in trouble? I didn't try to register for your class behind your back."
My thoughts were nowhere near that topic. "I believe I encountered your brother today."
Shiloh's lips smacked together, and I assumed he'd closed his mouth suddenly. "What happened?"
I scowled at his immediate mood reversal.
"Nothing happened. But I have concerns. Have you ever felt in danger from your brother's activities?" Why did I have to sound so administrative?
Shockingly, Shiloh laughed. "Oh no, Professor Crawford. I mean, he's hung out with not-great people, but Seamus wouldn't let them hurt me."
I didn't believe that. I believed Seamus would like very much if it were true, but I could only go off the evidence before me. "But he doesn't live with you anymore?"