He’d been convinced going back to the pack wasn’t an option, yet Aaron was now telling him that it most definitely was. Even though they’d be the pack pariahs for a few months. It was a small price to pay to be able to help people again, but the selfish part of him didn’t want to do it. Didn’t want to have the rest of his pack give him shit and have to suck it up and take it.
He wanted to be with Cole.
And for a few moments, in his imagination at least, he’d thought he could be.
But the harsh reality of their situation would never allow that to happen. Aaron was right. There was nowhere for either of them to go but back home. “What about Cole?”
“What about him?” Aaron’s eyebrows drew together. “He can leave with his parents and the others, probably in the next day or so.”
Shit.
Of course Aaron didn’t know.
“Max bit him.”
“What?”
“When Lewis shot at the crates, Max and Cole were hiding inside, and two of the bullets hit him. We got caught up in traffic on the way here, and...” He held out his hands. “It was either that or let him die.”
Aaron glanced up at the ceiling, body deflating. “Bollocks.”
“Yep.”
“Have you spoken to Mothecombe about it?”
“Why?”
“Because as I see it, Cole’s got two options. Persuade the Jersey packs to grant Cole access, or—”
“Jersey?” Logan had wondered if that’s where everyone ended up, but he’d tried not to give it too much thought.
“Oh come on, where else would it be? We’re so close to Plymouth, it’s bound to be Jersey. They have their own government, which thankfully doesn’t enforce the same rules as ours. I wish I could go live there.”
Logan too, but they’d closed their borders to UK shifters soon after the new laws came out, and travel there was prohibited. “What was the other option?”
“He could stay here, become part of the Mothecombe pack. It’s remote enough that they could easily keep him a secret until all this blows over.”
Logan hated that idea. Hated it with a passion.
“You don’t think that would work?”
“What?”
Aaron pointed at his face. “You’re scowling. Hard.” Narrowing his eyes, Aaron studied him closely. “Ohh. Jesus, Logan.”
“What?” he snapped and knew he was giving himself away. “I just don’t think it’s fair to ask Cole to join a shifter pack when that’s the very fucking reason we got him out of London in the first place. Not after everything he’s been through.”
“The Mothecombe Pack is hardly the same as our pack. And you seem to be forgetting the fact that Cole is no longer human. The same rules don’t apply anymore.” Aaron slid his legs off the bed and stood, albeit a little shaky to start with. Walking slowly over to Logan, he then put his hands on his shoulders and met his gaze. “Tell me the truth. Do you have feelings for him?”
Logan looked away, but Aaron tilted his chin up, forcing him to meet his eyes.
Fuck.
He couldn’t lie.
Not to Aaron. Not again.
“Yes.”
