“Of course I did. I know things were messy the night you escaped, but I’ve done a lot of thinking since then, and things here...” Rich shook his head. “They’ve not been good.”
“Where are the rest of your team?” Michael asked.Why are you alone?
“Dead or about to be. I killed two of them when they attacked me. The rest were headed to the training floor. I managed to escape. Figured I’d loop around and come in this way.”
It sounded plausible enough, and yet there was something that rubbed Michael the wrong way.
“I wished I’d gone with you that night. It all happened so quickly. I should have fought with you instead of against you. I’m sorry I was a shitty friend.” Rich staggered and fell into the wall, and that was all Smith needed to hear. He rushed over to him, arms coming around him to help Rich up.
Too late, Michael saw the flash of metal as Rich pulled the knife from a sheath on his thigh.
“You fucking traitor!”Rich snarled.
Nick roared beside him, racing forwards, but Smith’s shocked gasp filled the hallway as Rich buried the knife in his chest.
He yanked the knife out to stab him again, but Nick barrelled into them, pulling Smith back and out of the way.
Rich lunged at them, but Michael was quicker. He grabbed Rich by the throat, lifted him off his feet, and slammed him into the wall. The knife fell from his hand and clattered to the floor as his body went limp.
Michael held him there, the urge to snap his neck hard to resist.
“Let him rot in jail,” Nick hissed. He didn’t look up, focus entirely on Smith.
Dropping his hands, Michael didn’t bother letting him go gently, and Rich fell to the floor. Grabbing the handcuffs attached to Rich’s belt, Michael snapped them around his wrists before crouching down next to Smith and Nick.
Nick had his hand pressed to Smith’s chest, blood covering his fingers.
“How is he?” Michael didn’t like the look of that wound. Shifters healed, but not if they were losing more blood than they could replace. And Smith was losing a lot.
“Still... here,” Smith muttered, eyes fluttering open.
“Good. Make sure you stay that way.” Michael’s smile was short-lived as Smith’s eyes closed again.
“Hey.” Nick cupped his jaw, stroking a thumb across his cheek before giving him a gentle shake. “Stay with me.”
Smith licked his lips, struggling to stay conscious. “Trying.”
“Fuck,” Nick whispered, glancing at Michael with worried eyes.
“They have medical supplies in the training centre. Can you get him back there on your own?”
“Yes, but...” Nick’s gaze swung to the two remaining doors. “Simon and Paul could both be in there.”
Michael stood and cracked his neck from side to side. “Let me worry about that. You get Smith some help.”
He looked torn, but Michael refused to lose anyone, not if there was a chance they could be saved. “Go.” He infused the command with alpha power. Nick might not be part of his pack, but an alpha’s command still carried some weight.
Nick didn’t even comment, too worried about Smith to call Michael on it. “I’ll come back.”
Michael nodded, waiting for Nick to hoist Smith into his arms and disappear with him up the stairs.
His eyes narrowed as he looked over at the last two doors. Rich had been headed for the farthest one before he’d seen them. Michael was done ignoring his instincts.
With a deep breath to centre himself, he rushed to the last door and slammed it open.
