Isaac’s gaze swung from Paul to Simon and back again. He vaguely remembered Paul’s parents being killed in the war, but something about Simon’s body language seemed off.
“He’s lying,” Isaac whispered, causing them both to look at him.
Simon snarled, looking ready to cut Isaac’s tongue out, but Paul’s next words stopped him.
“I know he is.”
“You believe a fucking traitor over me?” Simon scoffed.
“I had an interesting chat with Professor Damien when we were searching the Davidson pack territory for Michael and the others. He said my parents would be so disappointed to see me working for the HRU, terrorising the humans in the CEG when they’d fought alongside those very humans to free themselves in the first place.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “You took advantage of my grief over their deaths, fed me lies upon lies about how all humans are the same, how they all want us enslaved, that the only way to be free is to rule them like we do now.” He drew in a shuddering breath. “I wanted someone to blame for their deaths, and you took that and used it for your own gain.”
Simon snorted. “As if you needed any encouragement. I’ve seen you interrogate people. Youenjoyedit.”
“You made me hate all humans and everyone who associated with them.” He squared his shoulders. “I’ve done some fucking awful things, I know that. But letting you kill Isaac Mothecombe isn’t going to be one of them.”
“Letting me?” Simon’s fingers twitched, tightening around the knife, and Isaac watched the whole thing unfold like it was happening in slow motion.
Simon lunged forward, but instead of aiming for Isaac, he thrust the knife towards Paul’s throat. But Paul was HRU too, trained for combat, and despite Simon taking him by surprise, he leant back out of the way, grabbing Simon’s arm and twisting his wrist until the bones cracked.
Roars and snarls filled the air, Isaac helpless to do anything but sit and watch as they tore into each other with teeth and claws, shifting mid-air in a collision that had him flinching back in his chair.
* * *
Michael shifted backas the last HRU member collapsed to their knees, hands in the air. “Stay there and don’t fucking move.” Blood dripped from a wound on their necks, the tattered remains of the black HRU uniform barely covering the scratches and marks on their skin.
All around him, his team stood—battered and bloodied—but alive.
And victorious.
But he didn’t feel like celebrating. How had it come to this?
The HRU had been his pack less than two weeks ago. His to protect and guide.
How did I fail them so badly?
Jacob came up to him, his T-shirt ripped open, revealing five deep scratches across his chest. It would heal, but it had to hurt. “We’re going to put them in the cells for now.” He gestured to where Logan, Cole, and the others were helping HRU members get up, then walking them over to the cells. They went willingly, all the fight seemingly drained out of them.
They hadn’t all survived, and Michael forced himself to look at the bodies of those who’d refused to back down.
“It’s not your fault,” Jacob murmured, easily reading him. “They were all adults. They made their choices.” He gestured to the five HRU who’d chosen to stand by Baker instead of Simon. “Just like those five did.”
They all looked worse for wear, but they were alive.
Baker moaned, rolling onto his back, and Michael rushed over to him. “Hey,” he said, setting a hand on his throat before remembering that Baker wasn’t his beta any longer.
He was the alpha now.
“Michael.” He smiled. Blood stained his lips and his jaw, but the injuries were already healing. Craning his neck, he looked around him, eyes widening at the carnage. “Is it over?” he asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position.
“Not quite. We still have more HRU outside, and we haven’t found Simon and Paul yet.”
Baker’s lips curled back into a snarl at the mention of Simon. “He’ll be in the interrogation rooms. They both will.”
Isaac.
“I need to go find him.” Michael drew his bottom lip between his teeth. They needed to take care of the HRU outside too, couldn’t afford to have them come back and take them by surprise. They might have won this fight but were in no fit state to do it all again.
