Page 17 of Twin Warriors

No! They were nothing like those males. Iron, a fellow Arusian, would have seen the signs and locked them up. He trusted Iron as much as he trusted his brother. If there was something wrong with them, Iron would have taken care of it before they had a chance to hurt anyone.

But even so, he still couldn’t help but think that the tiny female they found in the cave was too small, too weak to be a mate for two large Arusian males.

Shaking his head, he began moving back to the complex again. Cane had sent him back to get a translator for the female, knowing that he was faster in the trees than Cane was.

It tore at him inside to leave her. The moment he laid eyes on her small body being held in Cane’s arms, his entire world shifted. He felt Cane’s response to her when he touched her, which is what made him jump into the cave without a second thought.

At first, he thought that Cane had been hurt somehow. That maybe the fall into the small hole in the ground had injured his brother.

But when his eyes met the large, shocked green eyes of the female, his body, mind, and soul stilled in a way he had never felt before.

Unable to stop himself, he was drawn to her like an insect to a flame. When he touched her, every thought, every worry, every fear he held in his mind of what would become of them stilled to a calm, peaceful silence.

He smiled, thinking about how she had watched him when he climbed out of the warm pool he fell into. She may have been scared at first, the scent of her fear still thick in the small space, but her eyes showed something else. A deep, sad longing that he knew all too well.

Jumping off the wall into the compound, Cole ran for the medical unit in the center of the complex. He didn’t pause when Iron stepped out of his office, nor did he slow when he approached the medical unit.

Two medics jumped as he barged through the door.

“I need a translator injector, now!” He barked out, his heart still pounding in his chest. Even as he stood waiting for the medics to get what he asked for, his body still trembled at the thought of finding the female and what she meant to them.

“Cole!” Iron’s deep voice called from the entrance to the medical suite.

He spun, his eyes wide and his chest heaving.

“What’s happened?” Iron asked, coming to stand beside him.

Cole took a moment to gather his thoughts. He needed to tell Iron about what they found in the cave. About what was happening, but he didn’t know how. He still wasn’t sure if it was real.

Panic flooded him at the thought.

“Iron… We need your help. Please.” Cole said in a low, quiet voice so the medics would not hear him.

A deep frown creased Iron’s brow as he studied Cole.

“What is it?”

Cole looked around the room, taking note that only one medic remained by the far wall, preparing the translator for him. Grabbing Iron’s arm, he pulled him out of the medical suite and into the long hallway outside. Once he was sure they were alone, he met his friend’s eyes.

Iron frowned deeper with concern at the sight of fear, pain, and hope in his eyes.

“Cole, tell me what has happened.”

“Cane and I… we have had problems over the last few weeks.”

Iron sighed deeply, “I know. I have been keeping my eyes on you both in case the worst were to happen. Is that what this is? Has Cane fallen into madness?”

Cole shook his head, “I’m not sure. I fear we both might have. We need your help.”

Iron nodded, “Tell me.”

Cole took a deep, calming breath and began. “While out searching for the thief, Cane fell into a cavern in the ground. Inside he found a female. I… I felt something happen to him through our connection, so I followed him into the cave. Iron, our mark appeared when we touched her, but I fear that we are only seeing what we want to see. That our mind made the mark appear because it is splintering.”

“Does the female bear your mark?” Iron asked in a concerned voice.

“We don’t know. She had markings on her wrists that would hide it if she did. I won’t let us hurt her, Iron. Not the way other males-”

“Cole,” Iron interrupted him with a metal hand on his arm, “You are nothing like those males. I will go with you to this cave and see the female for myself. If your mind is lost, then she will be terrified of you and Cane. Is Cane still with her?”

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