Page 51 of Soul Bound

“Thanks, I think we’re both feeling a lot better,” Aaron agreed, and Marshall nodded his agreement.

“The soul bond is looking a lot healthier,” Alice confirmed. “Your wolf is stronger than he’s been for a while.”

Aaron nodded. “Yeah. He’s the strongest I’ve felt him since I got sick.” Marshall squeezed his hand, and Aaron threw him a smile.

“So, where are we in terms of information?” Vaughn asked, looking at Alice and Kyr.

“I’ve had Marshall’s DNA test back,” Sam interrupted, blushing slightly when everyone’s attention swung to him.

“And?” Aaron prompted.

“You do have traces of shifter in your DNA,” he said with a small smile.

Shock rattled through him. He honestly hadn’t expected there to be any shifter blood in his family at all. “How much of a trace?”

“From what we—my lab friend and I—can determine, a grandparent or possibly a great-grandparent.”

“But how? There’s been no mention of shifters in the family?” Marshall was confused.

Kyr cleared his throat. “I may be able to help there.” He nodded to the pile of paperwork in front of him. “From the family research your aunt has done, your paternal great-grandfather was adopted.”

“Adopted? No one’s ever mentioned adoption in the family, and if he was a shifter, surely that would have been recorded?”

“As we’ve had a couple of extra days to do research, I went through old archives, and it appears that there was a spate of foundling children around ninety to a hundred years ago. It was around the time of great unrest between supernaturals and humans. We—“ Kyr nodded at Alice and Darcy, ”—found that there was a great stigma in having a child‘out of species’.”

“But if my ancestor was a shifter and adopted by a human family, surely that would have been frowned upon just as much?”

“How much do you know about the history of Stone City and supernaturals?” Kyr asked.

“Just the basics that were covered in high-school history,” Marshall admitted.

Kyr nodded. “Okay, a quick Cliff-Notes version then. Supernaturals and humans have co-existed for centuries. As with most races, there have been disputes and wars. The biggest was nearly two hundred years ago when humans wanted supernaturals to be registered. Of course, that didn’t sit well with the community, and a three-year war ensued. Peace was finally brokered, and the Supernatural Assembly was set up to act as a liaison between the humans and everyone else.”

“Stone City is one of the country’s oldest established cities, and after the war, it was agreed it would become a neutral space and a safe haven for everyone, regardless of species. It’s not affiliated to any packs, covens, or clans. As a result, many interspecies babies and children were abandoned there. Their parents knew they would be safe. If your great-great-grandparents were allies of the supernaturals, lived in or around the city, and wanted to adopt or foster a baby, then they would have been given a child, regardless of its heritage.”

Marshall mulled over what Kyr had said. It certainly made sense. His family had always lived and worked with all supernaturals. They lived in a predominantly shifter neighborhood; hence why he and Saint were best friends. For years, his father had worked with shifters, vampires, gargoyles, and mages. As long as they were of good character, then Richard Cavendish didn’t care what their species was.

Aaron squeezed his hand. “What are you thinking?”

“It makes sense. I mean, our house has always been an open home to everyone, from shifters to humans.”

“Hey, remember the time that fae kid accidentally turned your hair pink?” Saint said.

“Oh, Goddess, yes!” Marshall laughed. “We were, what? Ten or so? This new fae kid had moved into the neighborhood, and I guess he was desperate to fit in and cast a glamor spell.”

“Only it backfired, and Marsh ended up with pink hair rather than the tiger stripes we were going for,” Saint said, laughing.

“Pictures, or it never happened,” Blake said from across the room.

“Oh, there are pictures,” Saint promised. “I’ll message Ma and get her to send me copies.”

“Don’t go down that road, Saint,” Marshall growled. “Don’t forget Ma has lots of incriminating photos of you as well.”

Saint promptly shut up, and Marshall returned his attention to Vaughn. “So, if I have a shifter in the family, does that explain why the soul bond connected Aaron and me? Is there really enough DNA there to make the connection?”

“It does. Though how and when remains a mystery if you two have never met prior to this week.”

“It could only have been at Club Zero when I ran into Davy,” Marshall said. “But, is the soul bond really strong enough to find its way across a crowded room?”

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