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“How do you feel?” Servas asked.

Mostyn took his time answering. “Incredibly overwhelmed, but I’m not angry. Not with you, not with anyone. It’s a medical emergency that made you come forward, and I can respect that. You guys care about Palani.”

“He’s…” Isam searched for words. “He’s special. Give him a problem, and he’ll fix it. He’ll find a solution. And he’s fair. He always treats everyone the same.”

“I hadn’t met him, but I did talk to Kean for a bit,” Mostyn said.

Servas hummed. “Those two could’ve been twins. They look alike, but their characters are even more the same. Palani is a little harder than Kean, I think, but that’s also because he used to be an investigate journalist, so he’s seen his fair share of shit.”

Mostyn nodded. “I used to read his articles. Always made me proud he was a fellow beta, you know? It’s not often we succeed in such an alpha-dominated profession.”

“But we would’ve felt the same about anyone in the pack,” Servas then said. “We’re family and family takes care of each other.”

Mostyn pressed his lips together. “Is there a way to test if you’re right? It’s not that I don’t believe you, but…”

“If we can shift, we’re fated mates,” Isam said. “That’s the test we’ve used so far.”

“God…” Mostyn blew out a breath. “I can’t even wrap my head around that. I mean, how do you even shift? Is there like a process? Specific words you need to say?”

“From what I understand, you get naked, close your eyes, and call up your wolf,” Servas said. “And if that sounds vague, I’m sorry, but that’s all I know. Obviously, I don’t have experience either.”

“So we just…try?”

“We’ll need permission, so we’d have to talk to Lidon first. Or maybe Bray or Kean.” Isam frowned. He had no idea what the right procedure was here, so Lidon would probably be their best bet. He would need to know anyway.

“Okay.” Mostyn straightened his back. “I’m willing to try.”

“Right now?” Servas asked, sounding shocked.

“Look, I don’t want to be an alarmist, but Palani’s symptoms are bad. I’ve seen enough patients with similar symptoms who had bad diagnoses.” Mostyn met Servas’s eyes first, then Isam’s. “He doesn’t have time to waste, so we’ll focus on the goal of getting him that MRI. Anything else can wait.”

“Thank you.” Servas sounded a bit choked up, and then he wrapped his arms around Mostyn and hugged him. “Thank you for being so open to this.”

Mostyn hugged him back with a sad smile on his lips. “Let’s do this.”

Isam walked outside in search of Lidon, but he didn’t have to go far because the pack alpha stood right outside, far enough away that he couldn’t have overheard their conversation, but close enough to keep an eye on the door. Bray and Kean flanked him, and all three men looked at Isam as he walked toward them. The silent plea in Lidon’s eyes made Isam swallow. If the prognosis was as bad as Mostyn thought it to be, how would Lidon take that news? How would his other mates?

“Mostyn is willing to try to shift to test if we are indeed mates,” he told Lidon, whose expression immediately shifted to pure relief.

Lidon took a step forward, and suddenly, he hugged Isam. Lidon Hayes, the biggest alpha badass Isam had ever met, hugged him, clinging to him with a fierce gratitude that left Isam teary-eyed.

“Is it okay if we’re there too?” Bray asked when Lidon finally let go, which earned him a proud look from Kean. Bray was an alpha who wasn’t exactly known for being sensitive, so this was a good step for him.

Isam nodded.

The three men followed him as he walked back inside, where Mostyn and Servas waited for them. Lidon immediately approached Mostyn. “Thank you. I don’t have the words to tell you what this means to me.”

“I can’t make promises,” Mostyn said. “I don’t know how this shifting thing works. If it will work.”

“I understand, but the fact that you’re willing to try already means the world to me.”

Okay. Now came the hard part. Stripping naked in front of an audience wasn’t something Isam had done before, and for a moment, he hesitated.

“We’ll give you some privacy,” Kean said, and Isam couldn’t hold back a smile when the other two alphas followed Kean’s example and turned their backs toward Isam, Mostyn, and Servas.

“Please tell me this is weird for you two,” Mostyn mumbled. “Because I feel awkward as shit.”

“Me too,” Servas assured him. “So it’s not just you.”