As Paul stepped back, Simon backhanded him so fast his hand was a blur. He caught him full on the jaw, the loud crack echoing around the interrogation room, the force of the blow so hard it sent Paul flying backwards into the wall. He fell in a crumpled heap and didn’t move.
Simon ignored him and walked up to Isaac, wasting no time in plunging the syringe into his neck.
Even though Isaac knew it was coming, had braced himself for it, the speed of the half-shift still caught him by surprise. Pain, sharp and sudden, exploded in his face and his hands as his fangs were forced to extend in a jaw that wasn’t made for them, and claws slid out from the ends of his fingers.
His heart raced, and Isaac took deep breaths, forcing himself not to panic, not to let Simon see how much it hurt to remain in this state.
He walked back in front of Isaac and crouched down, looking Isaac in the eye. “All members of the HRU go through this as part of their training.” He shrugged. “Even me.”
Isaac rolled his eyes.
For the love of the Goddess, what waswrongwith him?
“So I know exactly how painful it is,” he continued as though they were chatting like old friends. “And how long it takes before the pain becomes unbearable. Especially with the handcuffs forcing your body to try and fight it.”
He straightened and fetched a chair so he could sit in front of Isaac, elbows resting on his knees. “Tell me where Michael and the others are.”
“I don’t know.”
Simon tapped his chin. “That’s funny, because Marie said he was headed south. And you’re south.”
Isaac didn’t react. The pain of the half-shift making it easy to hide his surprise at that. Did Simon not know about Baker’s involvement? “A lot of places are south,” he slurred around his fangs.
“True. But you’ve already helped escaped members of his pack once. Why not again?”
Hispack. Notmypack.
Simon leant in and sniffed. “And his scent is all over you.”
Isaac kept quiet.
“If you refuse to answer, I’m going to pull your fangs out, and then your claws.” His tone was so matter of fact, Isaac fought a shudder. “They’ll grow back, of course, but the pain is excruciating.”
“Bet you don’t dothatin training.”
Simon grinned. “Not sure I’d have many recruits if we did.”
“Pretty sure none of them are voluntary anyway,” Isaac hissed.
“You’d be surprised. Not everyone thinks like you and Michael.”
“And how’s... that.” Isaac struggled to get the words out, the ache along his gums getting worse.
“That humans deserve to have as much say in how this country is run as we do.” His eyes were cold, hard, and full of hate. “Don’t you remember what it was like?”
“Of course I do,” Isaac spat. “Things had to change, I know that, but is our way really any better?”
“For us, yes.” He glanced down at his hands and then back up at Isaac. “Do you know how many times we suffered at the hands of the so-called authorities because we heal fast? How much delight they took in reminding us where we came on the food chain?” His lips curled back into a snarl. “They tagged us like animals, and we were supposed to thank them for allowing us to shift on a full moon.”
“I remember,” Isaac said, softer now. Because as much as he hated to side with Simon on anything, everything he said was true. It’s the reason he and Michael had fought to overthrow the human government in the first place. “They did awful things to us, I’m not denying that, but it wasn’t just us who wanted to change things. We couldn’t have succeeded in gaining power if the humans who believed like we did hadn’t helped us.” He met Simon’s gaze. “And look how we fucking repaid them.”
For a second, he thought his words might’ve got through. Simon’s expression wavered but then hardened again, and Isaac sighed.
“They deserve everything they get.” With that, he lurched forward, forced Isaac’s head back with a fistful of hair, and yanked out two of his fangs.
Isaac roared, claws digging into his palms as his hands curled inwards, the pain indescribable. Blackness flickered at the edge of his vision, and the last thing he heard as he lost consciousness was the sound of his fangs hitting the floor.
* * *
