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“Something’s happened. Rafe and Aaron are injured,” Marshall ground out. He leaned weakly against the brick wall of the bar, breathing deeply as he focused on the soul bond. He could feel pain and confusion. He fumbled for his phone, hand shaking as he pulled up Aaron’s number.
*Mate* *Love*
Marshall winced at the faint words that pushed into his brain. No. He wasn’t losing Aaron now. Not when he’d just found him.
“Marsh, come on,” Saint’s voice had him dragging his eyes open. He hadn’t realized he’d closed them. “Murph’s on his way with the car. He’ll be here in a second.”
“Gotta call…” he gasped as another wave of pain washed through him. “Aaron.”
“I know. Two more seconds, Marsh. Once we’re in the car. I promise.”
Marshall nodded and sighed in relief when Murphy screeched to a halt just a few feet ahead of them in Saint’s SUV. Marshall staggered over to the car and pulled the back door open before climbing in. Murphy and Saint manhandled a nearly unconscious Blake in next to him. He nodded in reassurance as Saint made sure they were both belted in before slamming the door shut.
Instinct had Marshall pulling the panther shifter into his arms, rubbing a soothing hand down his back. Blake moaned and gripped Marshall’s shirt.
The sound of a phone ringing echoed over the car’s Bluetooth system as Murphy deftly guided them through traffic and onto the highway toward Bakersfield.
“West Mill Pack, Belinda speaking. How may I help you?” the calm voice of the receptionist did little to allay Marshall’s fears.
“Belinda, it’s Marshall. Can you put me through to Aaron please?” he asked, keeping his voice as steady as possible.
“Oh, hi Alpha-Mate. I’m sorry, Alpha West is in a meeting and asked not to be disturbed. I can pass a message on though once he’s free.”
Marshall gritted his teeth. The meeting with Harlan. He’d thought it would have been over by now. He hated pulling rank, but his mate was injured, and he needed to speak to him.
“Belinda, this is an emergency. I can’t get through to Aaron on his cell phone, and I need to talk to him. Now!”
“Oh. Of course, Alpha-Mate. I… I’ll see what I can...” She broke off briefly. “Oh. Hold on one second Elder Vaughn is here.”
“Marshall, that you?” Vaughn’s voice came onto the line.
“Yes. What’s happened? I can feel Aaron’s been injured.”
“Where are you?”
“We’re on our way back. I’ve got Blake with me. He’s in a real bad way. He’s saying Rafe’s hurt too. What the fuck has gone on there today?”
“Dammit. I forgot about the twin’s bond. Look, I can’t go into it over the phone. Suffice to say, get back here as quickly and as safely as you can. Aaron and Rafe have both been shot. Sam has them in the clinic now, but having you and Blake here will go a long way toward helping them both recover.”
“Shot? How? Who?” Marshall’s blood ran hot at the thought of his mate being wounded.
Vaughn gave a long sigh, and Marshall could hear the weariness, worry, and resignation in his voice. “Harlan. Look, I’ll explain everything when you get here, okay?”
“Yeah. Sure. Tell them we’ll be there soon and to hang on, okay?”
Saint hung up the phone at Marshall’s nod, before clapping Murphy on the shoulder. “Murph, you heard the man. Get us there, stat.”
Thankfully, the roads were fairly quiet once they’d cleared the city limits, and Murphy got them to Bakersfield in record time. In a scene reminiscent of just a week ago, they pulled up in front of the pack house doors, and Marshall and Saint tumbled out of the car.
Murphy ran round to help Blake, and they’d just stepped into the foyer when Vaughn greeted them.
“Thank goodness you’re here. Come on, we need to get to the clinic.”
Saint gave Marshall a gentle shove. “Go. Murph and I will bring Blake.”
Marshall hesitated for a second, before racing towards the clinic. Now he was closer to Aaron; the soul bond was drowning him in hurt and confusion. He kept a tight hold on his own feelings, not wanting to overwhelm Aaron any more than he already was.
He burst through the clinic doors, instinct guiding him to the room where Aaron was. Striding into the room, he didn’t care what Sam was doing; he needed to see his mate.
