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“Yeah. I’ve got five minutes between meetings, and I wanted to call you.” Aaron sounded tired, and Marshall longed to be there beside him to draw him into his arms. “Is everything okay with you? How are things going?”
“It just got better,” he admitted and smiled at Aaron’s chuff of laughter.
“When are you coming home?”
Marshall eyed the mess on his desk. Everything he had to do, he could do from the pack house, and now with Saint’s idea, they’d need to work up a new business plan, and he’d need input from Aaron for that.
“I could be back tomorrow, or at the latest, the morning of the day after. Saint’s just come up with an idea that I need to talk to you about, but there are a few things I need to tie up here before I do.”
A surge of happiness washed through Marshall, and he knew his mate was happy with the news.
“I miss you,” Aaron’s voice dropped, and Marshall closed his eyes against the onslaught of feelings that raced through him.
“I miss you too,” he whispered back. “I promise I’ll be home as soon as I can be, okay?”
The line was silent for a moment. “You called this home,” Aaron said quietly.
Marshall waited for the surge of doubt, but all he felt was contentment at the thought. “Yeah. I did.” His voice cracked a little, and he cleared his throat. “So, how long is your next meeting?”
“It shouldn’t take long,” Aaron replied, his tone no longer soft. “It’s Harlan’s disciplinary meeting.”
“I didn’t realize that was today,” Marshall said, kicking himself for not checking the date.
“It was going to be after our mating ceremony, but I want us to go away for a few days afterward, and I don’t want this hanging over our heads and tainting our return home.”
“Are you whisking me away on a honeymoon, Alpha West?” Marshall teased.
“I am. So hurry up and get your sexy butt back here so we can get this ceremony out of the way and then take a few well-deserved days off.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Marshall growled, and Aaron gave a quiet moan in return.
“Bastard. You can’t call me Alpha in that tone and then not be here to deal with the consequences.”
Marshall laughed. “I wish I was there, too. I promise to make it up to you when I get back.”
A murmur of voices in the background had Aaron sighing. “I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay. I’m going for drinks with Saint and Blake, so I will be back at my apartment a bit later than normal.”
“That is one odd friendship,” Aaron commented.
“Tell me about it,” Marshall agreed. “Anyway, go do your Alpha thing, and we’ll talk later.”
Aaron closed down his phone and slipped it into his pants pocket before turning to face Rafe and Josh. Rafe had his usual implacable look on his face, and Josh was looking at him with a mixture of amusement and concern.
“Everything okay with Marshall?” his brother asked.
“Yeah. He’s hoping to be back soon.” He switched his attention to Rafe. “What’s going on with Blake and Saint?”
A dark look flashed across Rafe’s face before he hid it behind a bland stare. “Nothing I know about.”
Aaron decided that now was not the moment to give the panther grief over his twin’s friendship and nodded.
“Shall we get this over with?” he asked, nodding towards the conference room.
Both men fell into step with him; Josh to his right and Rafe just behind his left shoulder. Aaron took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping into the room.
Harlan and an unknown shifter sat at the middle of the table. At one end sat Secretary Fuller and another unknown person. Standing just behind the Assemblyman was an enforcer Aaron recognized from Assembly events. Also in attendance were the West Mill Pack Elders, made up of his father, Elder Donovan, and Elder Lee.
