Free Three Mates, One Destiny by Scarlet Hyacinth

but couldn’t. His limbs had been bound to the bed to prevent him from hurting himself if he seized again. His eyes widened in panic. “What’s going on?” he croaked out. “Who are you people?”
    “Doctors,” the spirit wolf medic replied. “How do you feel?”

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    Ross ignored the question, straining against the bindings. “Please, just let me go.”
    Paulie shared a look with the spirit wolf. They couldn’t dare to risk it just yet. “Once you’re better, we’ll do that. Your illness made your limbs move, and we’re afraid you’ll accidentally be injured.”
    Ross looked skeptical, but finally nodded. “Okay. All right. If you’re going to release me afterward.”
    He didn’t seem happy about it, but he was struggling to accept the explanation, something Paulie found a bit odd. If he were in Ross’s place, he’d have cursed and spat at his captors until they let him go.
    Musing over this dilemma, he asked Ross, “Do you remember what happened to you?”
    The young man blinked in confusion. “I… I’m not sure.” He squinted, as if thinking very hard. “I don’t remember anything,” he finally said. “Oh, God… I just know my name, and that’s it.”
    Their patient seemed to be hyperventilating now, so Paulie decided more questions would have to wait. Gently, he wrapped Ross in an embrace. They were most likely around the same age, and yet, so very different. Paulie’s heart hurt for Ross. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “We’ll help you.”
    Ross didn’t answer, the tension in his body betraying his disbelief.
    “Get some sleep,” Paulie said. “It will help.”
    The spirit wolf doctor injected a sedative into Ross’s perfusion.
    Soon, their patient fell asleep. “Go on,” the other man told Paulie.
    “I’ll call you if something else happens.”
    Paulie thanked his colleague and left the room, going over Ross’s words. Could the serum cause amnesia? If so, why? He needed to consult it with his dad.
    Predictably, he found Drew in the lab. “Hi, Dad,” he said. “Guess what? Ross woke up.”
    Drew immediately looked up from the viral cultures he was studying. “Why didn’t you call me?”

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    Paulie rolled his eyes at his dad. “There was no time. He was exhausted and shaken, so we sedated him. I may specialize in animals, Dad, but you’ve taught me a lot, remember?”
    His dad laughed. “You’re right. When am I going to remember you’re not a kid? So did he say anything?”
    “Not much. According to him, he doesn’t remember anything.”
    Drew looked surprised. “Amnesia? Well, that’s something I didn’t expect. We need to examine this as soon as possible.” He seemed to be considering options. “He’ll be frail, now, but I’ll drop by briefly, regardless, maybe take another DNA sample. Then when he wakes up, we can have another talk.”
    As his dad left, Paulie remained alone and took over the lab operations. It was lonely work, and something he enjoyed as a rule.
    Even so, Paulie found himself wishing for the presence of two certain men. He remembered Marcus’s words and the cell phone burned in his pocket. Just hearing their voices would be perfect.
    After all, what would it hurt? It was only a tiny call. Paulie didn’t have to say anything he didn’t want to, and he could hang up at any moment. It would be rude, and he’d never do it, of course, but that was beside the point.
    Without another moment of hesitation, Paulie retrieved his phone and chose Marcus’s number at random from his contact list. He dialed and waited for his mate to reply. Marcus picked up on the second ring. “Hi, Paulie,” he said. “What are you up to?”
    “Work,” Paulie replied. “Ross woke up.”
    “Great!” Marcus answered, and Paulie could hear the genuine pleasure in his voice. “Poor kid. We couldn’t believe a feral would do such a thing to him. Did he say anything?”
    “No,” Paulie said. “It seems he