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Marshall pulled up short at the sight of Aaron’s wolf lying stretched out on the bed, a dark shadow against the white of the sheets. A bandage across his shoulder and chest stood out starkly. He stepped up to the bed and reached a tentative hand out.
“It’s okay, you can touch him. It’ll help,” Sam told him. Marshall glanced up, realizing that Sam was in the room. The bear shifter looked tired, with deep shadows under his eyes.
“What happened?” Marshall asked, leaning a hip on the bed as he ran his hand gently down Aaron’s back, taking comfort from the regular breaths and warmth coming through his thick fur. A little of the tension in his shoulders eased.
“I don’t know the full story, just that they were in a meeting with Aaron’s cousin, who turned violent and pulled a gun. He shot at Aaron, and Rafe jumped in front of him, but Aaron had already leaped towards Harlan, and they both got hit.”
Marshall glanced at the other bed where Sam was tending to Rafe. “Why are they both still in their animal forms? I thought their natural healing would have had them changed back by now?”
“Normally, yes. As soon as I removed the bullets and stabilized them, they should have shifted back,” Sam paused.
“Why haven’t they, Sam?”
“The bullets were spelled.”
“Spelled? As in magic?”
“Yes. At first, I thought they were tipped in aconite, but they had none of the usual symptoms. Alice and Darcy did a reading and confirmed they hadn’t been poisoned. There is some sort of deep sleep spell coating the bullets, and it’s also stopping them from shifting.”
Marshall gripped the side of the bed, trying to contain his fury. If he got his hands on Harlan, there wouldn’t be much left of the man by the time he’d finished with him.
“Doc! Where are you?” Saint’s voice rang through the clinic.
“Saint’s got Blake. He was barely conscious by the time we got here,” Marshall told Sam as he rushed to the door.
“Bring him in here,” Sam said. “He needs to be next to his twin.”
Saint and Murphy all but dragged Blake into the room and heaved him onto the bed next to his brother. Blake reached out a shaking hand and rested it on Rafe’s head. Rafe’s ear twitched, and Blake gave a sigh of relief.
“He’s gonna be okay?” he whispered.
“Yes. They’ll both make a full recovery. Alice and Darcy are looking into the spell that was used. They said it should only be another couple of hours and they should both wake. Once they do, we can get them to shift to help with the healing process.”
“Was Rafe’s injury bad?”
“Yes and no,” Sam said, leaning wearily against the wall. “Aaron’s was a through and through, so I just needed to patch his shoulder with a few stitches. The bullet that hit Rafe striped across his stomach before lodging in the top of his groin, where it meets his hip. I had to open him up to get to it.”
“No wonder you dropped like someone had kicked you in the balls,” Saint said to Blake. Blake waved a finger at Saint before closing his eyes.
Sam regarded them with interest. “I figured Marshall would feel when Aaron was injured because of the soul bond, but I didn’t realize your connection with your brother was so strong, Blake.”
“Yeah. It has its uses, but it can also be a curse,” Blake replied. “Case in point.”
“Did your superior officers know about it?” Marshall asked.
“They knew we had a link, but not how strong. We were warned at a young age not to let on just how strong a bond we have.”
“Good advice,” Marshall agreed. Knowing how their military worked, if they’d known they would have exploited the twins, and if the enemy had got hold of the information, a bounty would have been put on both their heads.
Sam gave a loud yawn and then apologized profusely. “Sorry, I’ve been up since the early hours of this morning helping Mary. She safely delivered a little boy this afternoon. I was just heading to bed when all of this happened.”
Marshall stood up from the bed and gently gripped his shoulders.
“It’s been a long day for all of us. I swear that hour in the car felt like ten. Go and get some rest. We can keep an eye on these two. If we need you, Saint will come and find you. I promise.”
“No. I’m good,” Sam said, but then yawned again.
“Are you defying your Alpha-Mate?” Vaughn asked, gentle amusement in his tone.
