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Another knock at the door interrupted them, and Vaughn entered the room.
“Ah, here you are. Alice and Kyr are ready to meet with you again.”
“What have they found?”
“You know what Alice is like. She won’t say anything until everyone is there,” Vaughn replied. “We’re in the family room if you want to do it there, or I can get them to come here.”
Aaron looked at Marshall, who shrugged. “I’m easy.”
“That’s good to know.” Aaron couldn’t resist teasing and shied away when Marshall lightly punched his shoulder. “Hey! That’s no way to treat your mate.”
Marshall laughed and pushed to his feet. He offered a hand to Aaron, pulling him to standing. “Come on, Alpha.”
Everyone from the day before was waiting for them when they arrived in the family room. Marshall and Aaron settled onto the couch, and Alice gave them a wide smile.
“The soul bond is looking stronger already,” she said happily.
Both Marshall and Aaron looked down between them and then laughed when they realized they’d both done the same thing.
“We’ll take your word for it,” Aaron told her.
“The more time you spend together, the better. The bond will grow stronger, and as a result, so will both of you.”
“So, no more symptoms?” Marshall asked.
“We don’t think so,” Alice replied. “With you not being a shifter, we aren’t sure what the end result will be. You’re looking better after just spending time with Aaron this morning, but your reaction when the soul bond reconnected yesterday is a concern.”
“He had a moment earlier, too, when I touched him,” Aaron said, and Marshall glared at him.
“Touched him how?” Sam asked, tablet at the ready to take notes.
“My leg spasmed, and I stumbled. Aaron caught me, and that was fine, but then he brushed my hair off my forehead, and I got hit with flames firing through my bloodstream,” Marshall recounted tiredly.
“But then we held hands for the walk back to my office, and there was no problem.” Aaron put his hand on Marshall’s leg. “See, he has no reaction to some things, but then to others, he does.”
Heat flickered through Marshall at the touch, but it was one of desire rather than painful flames.
“I’ve sent a sample of your blood to my friend at the lab in Stone City,” Sam told them. “He said he’ll do it as quickly as he can, but it won’t be for a few days.”
“What did you and Kyr find out?” Aaron asked.
The tall librarian pushed his overlong hair from his eyes. He looked tired, but also, an air of excitement shone on his face.
“The main thing we found is that ananima vinculumis always between two shifters.”
“Are you sure?” Marshall asked. The look he got in return from Kyr had him holding his hands up in apology. “Sorry, didn’t mean to cause offense. I’m sure you looked at every possible resource, and I’m grateful for the hours you’ve put in.”
Kyr seemed appeased by Marshall’s apology and gave a short nod. “The records we have here in the pack go back several generations, back to Jedediah West, who settled the land and formed the pack.”
“I contacted the Supernatural Assembly’s chief librarian,” Vaughn said. “I was discreet in my inquiries, and they came back with the same answer. They have only ever heard of a soul bond between two of shifter blood.”
Marshall slumped back in his seat, disappointed. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been hoping that whatever was between him and Aaron would fix him. Fix them both. And now? Now, it looked like whatever Alice and Darcy thought they could see wasn’t a soul bond.
“Don’t give up hope, Marshall,” Alice said. “You and Aaronarefated mates. You are two halves of one soul.”
“All evidence to the contrary,” he countered. “I’m sorry, Alice. I’m sure you see something, but is there any chance you’re wrong?”
There was a muffled chuckle, quickly disguised as a cough, from Aaron. “Alice is never wrong.”
